CHAPTER ELEVEN
" Dax," I said as I offered my hand to the stunning woman occupying the barstool next to me. She was more than half way to drunk, but that didn't at all detract from her looks. She was the epitome of a California girl – tall, blonde, and shapely, with a megawatt smile. I didn't want to like her just on principle, since these were the girls who had tortured me when I was a teen. They always maintained a distance that kept them just out of reach.
This woman was different from those girls, though. She seemed less severe, less judgmental. Her long blonde hair had been wound into a loose bun at the back of her neck, but was now trailing loose pieces that she kept blowing out away from her face in a comical way. She was wearing the uniform of every Los Angeles lawyer, but somehow, on her it looked both sexy and professional, and I had a difficult time keeping my eyes up above the gap in her blouse that revealed the tops of her rounded breasts as she leaned forward to grab her beer glass.
"I'm Brooke," she said, shaking my hand as she looked at me with her intensely blue eyes. There was something about her that was open and yet mysterious. I wanted to turn on the charm and seduce her, but there was an air about her that told me if I did that, I'd blow it and that if I blew it, I wouldn't get a second chance. So, I held back and waited.
"Nice to meet you, Brooke," I replied and then let go of her hand. "What brings you here on this fine evening?"
"Stupid men," she said as she picked up her glass and drank from it. She didn't sip like so many women do. She actually drank her beer. I watched her for a moment, unable to take my eyes off of her lips and the way they wrapped around the edge of the glass. Then, I closed my eyes and tried to think of car engines, greasy fries, and road kill – anything to keep the blood from flowing too far south and making me uncomfortable.
"What did the stupid man do?" I asked.
"What do you think he did, Dax?" she asked as she turned her gaze on me. Her eyes were so intensely blue that I felt like I'd been cornered, but I couldn't look away. She held my gaze with an expectant look.
"I'm sure it wasn't good, I'll tell you that," I said, finally tearing my eyes away from hers and looking back at my glass.
"Damn right, it wasn't," she said as she wobbled a bit on her stool. I reached out and steadied her. Her silk blouse was soft under my fingers. It was transparent where the beer had splashed on her when she dumped her glass and I had the urge to slide my hand up her arm until I could cup her breast. She turned and looked at me and blurted out, "You hitting on me, Dax?"
"Well, let me put it this way, Brooke," I said as I leaned in and spoke softly into her ear. "You are one smoking hot woman, so I would say that yes, I am hitting on you."
"Oh, you're good." She grinned as she looked at me and then took a long drink from her glass.
"Thank you," I smiled.
"You're quite handsome," she said as she leaned close and rested her hand on my arm. "More handsome than any man has a right to be."
"Does that gain me any advantage?" I asked, leaning in close enough to smell the lingering scent of her perfume.
"It might," she whispered as she leaned a little closer.
"Either of you want another one?" Billy's voice broke the spell. "Sunshine? You okay?"
"Fine, Billy, I'm just fine," she said as she looked at me and smiled. "And, I think Dax here is fine, too, aren't you?"
"Fine, I'm fine, too," I said smiling back at her. There was something about her look that told me before long I would be pulling that wet blouse off of her and exposing those gorgeous breasts. It had been a while since I'd gotten laid, and I could feel how tight my pants had become since I'd sat down next to Brooke. I needed relief and she seemed like a woman who would enthusiastically seek it out with me.
"I like you, Dax," she said as she slid a hand up my thigh under the bar. "I like you a lot, I think."
"I like you, too, Brooke," I said in a low voice as I leaned closer and pushed a stray lock of hair away from her face. I was bending down to brush my lips across her neck as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I ignored it, but the sound continued, then stopped and then started again. I sat up, apologized, and then pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the screen. It was Riza. "I'm sorry, I have to take this. It's business."
Brooke waved me off with an understanding nod, and I stepped away from the bar and answered the call.
"What's up?"
"Bad news, boss," Riza said.
"Lay it on me, then," I replied.
"I found Lydia," she said.
"So, bring her back to the club and we'll dry her out. She's got a bail hearing for Pook and Jimmy in the morning," I told her.
"Well, that's gonna be a problem, boss," Riza replied.
"Why? She's been on benders before, and we've always sorted her out and gotten her clean before court. No biggie."
"Boss, she's dead."
"What the fuck?"
"She's dead," Riza repeated. "The Coast Guard pulled her body out of the water about an hour ago."
"Riza, who did this?"
"Not a clue, boss. They won't let me get anywhere near the body before the coroner gets here, so I can't check to see how she was offed," she explained. "I'm gonna hang out here and see what I can find out, then I'll swing by the club and let you know."
"Find out who did this, Ri," I said. "I'll take their sorry asses out and leave them laying in the street as a message to all the rest of those lousy fuckers who think this shit is okay. Fuck!"
"I know, I know," she said. “Chill out, I've got it covered. I'll be back in the club in a couple of hours."
"Okay, see you then," I said and disconnected. I walked back over to the bar and gave Brooke the best smile I had, then said, "I gotta run. Business calls."
"Oh, I see," she said as her smiled faded and she looked down at the scratched wood on the bar. "Well, it was nice talking with you, Dax."
"Brooke?" I said as I slipped my fingers under her chin and tipped her face up so those blue eyes were locked on mine. "I'd like to take you to dinner, maybe tomorrow night if you're not busy?"
"Oh, you are good," she smiled up at me. "I'd like that."
We stood there staring at each other like a couple of lovesick teenagers until Billy said, "Brooke, please give Dax your phone number so that he can call you and arrange for a pickup time."
"Oh! Yes, of course," she laughed as she looked down and opened her purse. She pulled out her card, flipped it over, and wrote her cell number on the back. "Call or text, whatever is easiest."
"I'll give you a call in the morning and confirm the time," I said. Then, I leaned down and gently kissed her cheek before I turned and walked out the door.