Chapter Fifteen
Two weeks later, Ellie sat across from Forrest Kilmartin at Jensen’s Diner, picking at her food and tuning out his expert opinion on why carb loading was so important. The big alumni game was on Saturday, and Forrest was playing quarterback for the alumni. Forrest had graduated two years ahead of her, but hadn’t played college football. He’d stayed in town and worked for a car dealership in Twin Falls.
But it seemed that he’d never lost his passion for football. It had been all he could talk about for the ten days they’d been dating. When things had fallen flat with the dentist she’d met in Twin Falls, she found herself drawn into a conversation and then more with Forrest. But now that the game day was getting closer, he wouldn’t shut up about it. At this point, she would actually take Mike’s stumbling explanation why he had a Frodo coin bank in his closet over the droning sound of Forrest’s voice.
Ellie smiled just thinking about Mike. Since the almost-kiss, they had tried to put their feelings aside and continue as if nothing had happened. The more time she spent with him, however, the more she looked forward to his goofy texts. The other night he’d sent her a video of a man dressed as Child’s Play Chucky breaking through his movie poster and chasing people down the street with a fake knife. She’d burst out laughing in the middle of one of Forrest’s old football home movies and he hadn’t been happy. She wished she shared more of a connection with Forrest, but like Dale, he was a distant second to Mike. Mike was hilarious, sweet, thoughtful, and he made her wish…
Well, wish for things that weren’t possible.
Mike and Ellie had gone out almost every night, and it was hard being his wing woman when every time another woman smiled at him, Ellie was tempted to scratch her eyes out. Which would defeat the purpose of her changing his image and attitude, and she had no idea how to stop it. It wasn’t like her to be jealous or possessive, but she didn’t want to share Mike. It was killing her to see him with someone else.
Of course, the fact that she might break the heart of Rock Canyon’s golden boy was enough to put a damper on her libido. Since Mike and she had started hanging out, people were almost nice to her. Mrs. Andrews had actually thanked her when she’d stayed after church on Sunday to help clean up. Their partnership was working perfectly.
Except that she couldn’t stop thinking of their almost kiss.
Jenny and Dalton walked in, their arms wrapped around each other. When Jenny waved at her, she reciprocated.
“Babe, you’re not listening again,” Forrest griped at her. “This is really important!”
Pushing Mike and his lips to the back of her mind, she smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I was just saying hi to Jenny.” She picked up one of her fries and eyed Forrest’s plate of spaghetti in distaste. It looked like bloody worms with brain chunks on top. “You were saying something about body fuel.”
“Forget about it.” He looked sullen and butthurt, and Ellie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Are you going to the game tomorrow?”
“I said I would. I’ll even sit in the front row with a pair of pom-poms.” She tried to be funny, and apparently it fell short of the mark, since he didn’t even crack a smile.
“Okay, well, if I don’t talk to you much, it’s because I’m in the zone. We’ve lost the game almost every year because they like to have guys from every graduating year and most of them have gone soft. But this time we’ve got more guys in their twenties and thirties, and I’ve got a good feeling about it. I don’t need any distractions.”
Ellie laughed. “Isn’t it supposed to be a friendly game to raise money for the high school?”
“No. People always make fun of the alumni, and I am done being their joke. As if those little punks would be just letting us win or something.”
He was seriously getting bent out of shape over this?
“Okay, well, I’m sure you guys will be great and I’ll try not to distract you.”
“I’m not worried about it. Drew Carlson is able to play for the defense, and Travis Bowers is going to play receiver. As long as we…”
Ellie really didn’t care, and it was becoming clearer and clearer that although she had felt a spark of interest when they first met, she just wasn’t feeling Forrest anymore.
The door to Jensen’s opened behind Forrest’s shoulder and in walked Mike with Gabe, Gregg, Chase, and Travis.
Mike turned as if sensing her gaze and their eyes caught. His narrowed slightly as he saw who she was with, but before she could blink, the look was gone. In its place was a smile that drew attention to his mouth and the goatee that surrounded it. He had started growing that, and damn if it didn’t make her want to stroke his chin.
He strolled over and stood next to the booth, his friends behind him, and Forrest seemed surprised when he noticed Mike.
“Stevens, what do you want?”
“I’m just stopping by to say hi to Ellie,” Mike said coolly, but Ellie saw the mischief in his eyes. “We still on for tonight?”
“Yeah, my place at eight.” She ignored the way Forrest’s head swung her way. She didn’t need to explain her and Mike’s…whatever.
“All right.” Before Mike turned away, he gave her a wink. Ellie knew he had done it on purpose, hoping to rankle Forrest, who he’d already told her was a punk kid with an inflated ego. From the tense set of Forrest’s shoulders, Mike had succeeded in irritating him.
When the guys were seated on the opposite side of Jenson’s, Ellie went back to her food, hoping whatever bug was up Forrest’s ass would die if she acted like nothing was up.
“What’s with you and Stevens?” Forrest asked harshly.
So much for hoping. “We’re helping each other out. Why? You jealous?” She meant the statement as a joke, but he stiffened.
“Of Stevens?” His loud braying laugh rubbed Ellie the wrong way. “The guy’s a douche. An old douche.”
“You think so?” Ellie’s tone was challenging. “I don’t think he’s douchey at all…and neither do any of the women currently checking him out.”
Forrest stabbed at his spaghetti. “Whatever. I don’t want you seeing him.”
Ellie was tempted to laugh at Forrest, but what good would that do? She might have been able to look beyond his sometimes boorish, inconsiderate nature, but a new light had shined down on him with that one statement.
And no way in hell was she going to put up with it from someone she didn’t even like.
Ellie pulled her wallet out of her purse, thumbing through the bills and pulling out a twenty and ten, more than enough to cover the meal and tip.
“What are you doing?” Forrest asked.
Ellie dropped the cash on the table and stood up. “I’m leaving. Enjoy your meal.”
“What is your problem? Sit back down,” Forrest hissed, trying to grab her arm. She yanked it out of his reach.
“No one tells me what to do. That’s why I’m leaving. At first I thought it was just the excitement of the alumni game that was making you act like a tool.” She sneered down at him as she continued, “But now I realized you’re a self-centered ass.”
Forrest’s face turned purple, and she didn’t wait around to see if he would fight her about it or make a scene. She simply headed for the door, fighting the urge to glance toward Mike and down the stairs. Getting mad at Forrest’s controlling attitude had nothing to do with Mike.
You’re all about honesty, and yet you continue to lie to yourself. You want Mike, and Forrest was insulting him. No shame in that.
Except Mike had probably noticed her slamming out of the diner alone. But her single status changed nothing. He was meant for someone else.
Mike rode his motorcycle out to Ellie’s house that night, his mind still whirling by the fact that she’d dumped Forrest in the middle of Jensen’s. Miss Know-It-All had broken specific details on her blog an hour after it happened, including the fact that Forrest had forbidden Ellie from seeing Mike right before the breakup. He’d printed out the blog to tease Ellie, planning on holding it up and saying, “Aw, you do care.”
As he parked the motorcycle next to her car, he got off and removed his helmet. He shoved his hands in his pocket, gripping the paper as he trotted up the steps and knocked on the door.
When she pulled it open, he forgot all about the blog post or the breakup. All he could do was stare.
Ellie had curled her hair. Her long, straight, beautiful dark hair was in lush, loose curls around her bare shoulders. The off-the-shoulder red blouse that hugged her waist and hips matched her full, glossy lips perfectly. The leather pants that stretched down her legs into high heeled boots made him want to reach out and run his hands over the smooth black fabric and grab her hips. He’d pull her into him, take that mouth with his, and push her back into the house until he had her pinned to a wall.
“Mike, did you have a stroke?” Her sparkling hazel eyes were outlined with black liner and her lashes fanned out fully, making them appear bigger. They were so beautiful, he could stay there for hours, just staring into them.
“Blink once if you can hear me,” Ellie said, laughter making her voice shake.
Pulling himself out of her trance, he blinked.
“Sorry, but you look…”
“Beautiful?” she suggested with a grin.
He sighed, exasperated. “Why don’t you ever let me just pay you a compliment?”
“Because it’s all been said before.” She grabbed something black from inside and closed the door. “Bye, Jenny! Be good.”
“No promises!” her roommate hollered back.
As she stepped out onto the porch, he realized it was a leather jacket she was shrugging into and chuckled.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Your leather from head to toe. Do you have a ball gag in your pocket, too?” he asked.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Ellie said.
“It would be pretty easy to find out, I think.” He held his fingers up and wiggled them.
She pushed past him and approached the bike. “Come on, let’s get going. This place gets into full swing around ten and it will take at least that long to get there.”
“Where are we going?” He came up alongside her as she strapped on her helmet, noting her evil grin.
“There’s a biker bar south of Fairfield that’s supposed to be awesome.”
“What’s wrong with Buck’s?” he asked.
“We’ve already swum those murky waters and ended up with bubkis.” As she straddled his bike, she patted the seat in front of her. “Come on. Let’s make this baby purr.”
I’d rather make you purr.
The image that popped into his head of Ellie stretched out on his bed, purring like a cat as he touched her, made his dick hurt as it stretched against his boxers and jeans. As Mike climbed onto the bike and pulled on his helmet, he also adjusting his dick discreetly.
“Problem?” she asked.
Was it just him or did she sound almost too sweet?
“No, I’m good, but if you want a biker bar, I might have something a little closer.”
He fired up the motorcycle before she could argue and headed out of town. As Mike took the back roads to Bliss, he tried not to think of how good her hands felt over his T-shirt. Every once in a while, she seemed to run her nails across the light cotton, sending shivers down his spine.
By the end of the twenty-minute ride, his cock was straining against the front of his jeans and every time she snuggled her curves closer to his back, all he could think about was burying it inside her.
When he parked in front of Desperados, he took off his helmet and turned on the bike to look at her.
“You sure you want to go in?”
The outside of the bar was painted black and motorcycles lined the front of the building. He waited to see if she’d swallow or fidget, anything to say she was nervous, but she just took off the helmet and leaned forward until her chin rested on his shoulder.
“You scared?”
Her teasing mouth was so close he nearly closed the distance. It wasn’t like she was attached.
What happened to professional business deal? Or this ending badly?
Loud, raucous laughter broke through the moment and she swung off, leaving him cursing silently. He followed her to the door, where a burly bald guy with a pierced lip looked Ellie over like a wolf would a lamb.
Mike stood up straighter, and gave him a warning look.
“ID?” Bald Guy asked, taking hers then Mike’s. When he handed them back, they walked through the doors and loud, country rock blared over the speakers. They headed for the bar, and pushed to the front until Ellie stood next to a short blonde and Mike was pressed into her back.
The blonde glanced their way and he recognized Stacy, the woman who thought he had an STD. He could thank Ellie for that lie.
“Mike! Hey,” she said, awkwardly over the music. She glanced at Ellie and her eyes widened.
“Hey, Stacy. You remember Ellie?”
“Yeah, I do.” Stacy frowned at her, but Ellie smiled in return.
“Sorry for scaring you off Mike. He really doesn’t have any weird spots—at least, none that I know of.”
“We’re just friends,” Mike added. “She has a sick sense of humor.”
“I didn’t think that was very funny,” Stacy said.
“So get a sense of humor,” Ellie said, turning to him. “I’ll get us a table.”
Ellie walked away, drawing every male eye in the place and when he turned back to Stacy, she was glaring at Ellie’s back.
“Sorry. She sometimes forgets her manners.”
Stacy lightened up and laughed, looking him over with appreciation. “There’s something different about you. I like it a lot.”
Mike couldn’t believe she leaned forward, her eyes lashes basically fluttering at him. “Of course, I’ve always thought you were hot, but your…friend’s joke made me uneasy.”
Mike glanced Ellie’s way, and noticed she looked annoyed.
Very, very annoyed.
Was she jealous?
Mike wanted to crow, but it was just a theory. A theory that needed to be tested.