CHAPTER SEVEN
Sunday, April 8th
Daphne grabbed a stool at the bar and watched her sister take one as well. They had decided to grab dinner and drinks before they headed home, and Selah had suggested the Rare Form which was next to Petco Park. Looking around, she was surprised to see how cool it was and wondered if her sister had changed in the two years she’d been gone.
The place was a funky delicatessen and bar, and there were absolutely no bikers or musicians around, so it didn’t seem like a place she would choose. “This looks great, Selah.”
“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t last five minutes in my regular haunts, so I classed it up for you.”
Looking at her sister, she wondered how it was that they shared the same blood. As similar as they were, their outsides did not match their insides, and she often wished she had what other siblings seem to have and that was a friend.
They hadn’t managed it since high school, and she wondered if it was ever going to be possible. Taking her sister’s hand, she squeezed it. “Thanks.”
Scoffing, she gave her a sad smile. “Doesn’t take much to make you happy.”
“I love you, and even though we don’t have much in common anymore, we still share the most important thing, and no matter what you say, that will never disappear.”
Throwing her long hair over her shoulder, she shrugged. “Whatever.”
Picking up the menu, Daphne knew she had said more than Selah was comfortable with, so she decided to leave it alone. “What are you going to have?”
“Not sure.”
She noticed that her sister was busy with her phone and decided to leave it be because, clearly, whoever had just texted her was a lot more important. Checking her own phone, she saw that it was blank and assumed it would stay that way. Not only had last night gone badly, but Bryce hadn’t tried to get in touch. Not that she expected him to, but disappointment filled her nonetheless.
She picked up the menu and felt a wave of sadness wash over her shoulders, which was so stupid. If a man was going to give orders after only one date, then she wanted no part of him.
No matter how attractive, smart, funny, brave, and kind he seemed to be.
No way.
Seeing her sister set down her phone with a smile, she figured the man du jour was working out. Where Daphne was cautious and followed a plan, Selah was reckless and went where the wind took her.
A lot of it had to do with their personalities, but she believed it also had a great deal to do with their early childhood. Everyone reacted differently to trauma and chaos, and she and Selah were perfect examples of that. “Do you think you’ll stay in San Diego for long?”
“Not sure. Depends on what kind of places I find interested in my work and what sort of space they’ll offer me.”
Pulling her sister’s arm forward, she pushed up her sleeve and traced the latest tattoo. “This looks like one of the designs you’ve been drawing since you were nine or ten. It’s beautiful.”
Lifting her arm, she twisted it right, then left, and nodded with satisfaction. “Yeah, the whole mermaid fascination never left, and it seems that’s what people want most from me when they sit in my chair.”
“You are a talented tattoo artist, that’s for sure.”
Tilting her head, she pulled Daphne’s arm forward. “When are you going to let me ink you up?”
Pulling her arm back, she shook her head. “Not anytime soon. The regs have been relaxed for two years, but I don’t think having a sleeve of tattoos will help my career.”
“How in the hell did we come out of the same womb?”
“Not sure,” lifting her finger, she motioned between them, “no doubt we did, though.”
“I could give you a little makeover if you want.” Waving her hand around, she shuddered. “You don’t have to look so plain all the time.”
Looking down at her jeans and sweater, she laughed. “I like my clothes, so leave me alone.”
“No one can ever accuse me of not trying.”
“I’m fine as I am.” The waitress approached, and they ordered drinks, and then Daphne stood. “I’m going to run to the ladies; I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t forget to wash your hands when you’re done.”
Laughing, she shook her head at the old joke because it was something their grandmother had said to them every day without fail. They used to hate the constant reminder, but she’d give just about anything to hear it one more time.
***
As Bryce walked along the busy street in downtown with the guys, he tried to keep his thoughts away from Daphne and what an idiot he’d been. Never before had his instincts failed him like they had with her, and he wondered what in the hell had caused it.
Was it nothing more than chemistry and lust that had fogged his brain so completely?
Probably.
Trevor elbowed him and raised an eyebrow. “You still brooding over Daphne?”
“No, man, haven’t given it a second thought.”
“You can’t lie for shit and shouldn’t try.”
Raising his finger, he flipped his friend off and felt the heavy weight that had been his constant companion since yesterday shift. Probably in another day or two, it would be gone completely, and he would be hard-pressed even to remember what she looked like.
Caid pointed to a place in the middle of the street and nodded. “We’re going to the Rare Form; they have killer food and decent beer.”
Following the guys, he vowed not to think about Daphne for the rest of the evening. The only way to get over whatever it was they had was to shove every feeling and thought he had so far down that they’d never see the light of day.
As the group walked in, Bryce took a moment to look around and appreciated the cool retro feel of the place. They had long communal tables that dominated the center of the restaurant with a decent-sized bar taking up one wall. Caid snagged a table, and they all collapsed into chairs.
“This will do,” Ace commented as he picked up a menu. I’m starving and haven’t eaten in a couple of hours.”
Caid shook his head and picked up a menu. “You just ate a ton of shit at the game; there is no way you can be starving.”
“How long have we known each other?”
“Close to ten years,” Caid responded.
“Have you ever known me to skip a meal if we’re stateside?”
“No.”
“Why would I start now?”
Holding up his hands, he sat back. “I don’t know why I try.”
“Either do I,” Ace replied with a smile.
“Oh, shit,” Trevor commented quietly.
Lifting his head, Bryce looked at his friend. “What?”
“Take a damn big breath and relax because nothing good will come out of a confrontation.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Lifting his finger, Trevor pointed to the bar. “Better you find out now.”
Feeling like he got kicked directly in the gut, he saw Daphne sitting at the bar with a pair of jeans sitting so low that little was left to anyone’s imagination. Getting up slowly, he shook out his hands and moved in her direction and immediately saw a tatted-up asshole with long hair grab the seat next to her.
“Fuck this shit,” he mumbled as he walked slowly toward her. Feeling Trevor on his six, he knew his buddy wanted to make sure he didn’t completely lose it. As he watched the guy sitting next to Daphne, he saw her lean back and cross her arms. Didn’t take a genius to figure out what that meant.
They may not be meant for one another, but that didn’t mean he’d let a guy insult her or come on too strong. “Daphne.” When she didn’t turn around, he let out a growl. Moving as quickly as he could through the crowd, he watched the guy lean forward and pull her closer.
“Not on my watch,” he ground out as he covered the last foot that separated them. He was at the guy’s side and had him in a wrist lock almost instantly. “Doesn’t seem the lady wants to be touched.”
“What the hell is wrong with you, man?” the guy spit out, and his face turned red.
Bryce knew the man was in an excruciating amount of pain because he had pressure on all his tiny joints and, if he increased it slightly, he could break his hand or arm.
“Daphne, if you want me to get rid of the guy, just say the word.”
“I’m not Daph…”
Feeling anger that he knew was dangerous boiling in his gut, he took a deep breath.
“Bryce, what in the world are you doing?”
His eyes flew up, and he thought maybe he’d lost his mind because Daphne was walking toward him from the back of the restaurant.
Releasing his hold on the guy’s wrist, he kept him in his sights and watched him shake out his arm.
“Why are there two of them?” Trevor asked as he widened his stance.
Looking back at the woman sitting at the bar, he noticed for the first time that tattoos were peeking out from the sleeves of her shirt. “You’re not Daphne.”
“No shit, Sherlock.” Pushing Bryce back, she stood in front of the man and put her hands on his arms. “Are you okay, Jack?”
“What the hell just happened and why is this guy trying to fuck me up?”
Seeing Daphne approach with a look of anger made him take a step back. She was pissed, that was for damn sure. “Hey.”
“Don’t hey me. What in the world is going on?”
“I thought this guy was hassling you.” Running his hand over his face, he looked back at Trevor. When he shook his head and stepped back, he knew coming back from this was going to be damn near impossible.
“I’m heading back to the table,” Trevor said before turning around.
“You have a twin,” Bryce commented weakly.
“Yes, I do,” Daphne replied as she moved in front of him. She looked at her sister and lifted her shoulder. “You’d think that a man who had kissed you would be able to tell the difference, but apparently not.”
“You’re identical twins; if I had a second, I’d have figured it out.” Putting his hand out to the guy, he said, “My apology for the wrist hold.”
Moving back, he held up his hands. “I’m good, don’t need to shake hands.”
“He’s a musician and doesn’t need it broken,” Selah added caustically.
Daphne looked at him and shook her head. “Bryce, this is my sister Selah, and her friend…”
“Jack,” Selah responded.
“Nice to meet you, Jack,” Daphne said as she shook his hand and then stepped back.
“Yeah, same.” He looked between the two of them and then crossed his arms. “If it wasn’t for Selah’s ink, there’s almost no difference. I bet people switch you two up all the time.”
“There’s a ton of difference, and we haven’t been switched since high school,” Daphne said tersely.
“We’re out of here,” Selah commented as she stood and slung her purse over her shoulder. “This place has a bad vibe, and we don’t need the Navy up our asses.” Hugging her sister, she then took Jack’s hand and pulled him out of the restaurant.
Sliding into her seat, Daphne’s shoulders slumped as she took a sip of her drink. “You can go, Bryce. The show is over.”
Taking the chair next to her, he bent his head and looked into her face. “I’m sorry, Daphne.”
“Fine.” Pulling her phone out, she pulled up the Uber app. “I’m going home.”
“I’ll drive you home.”
“No, thanks, you’ve done enough this weekend.”
“That’s a fair statement, considering I was responsible for getting you knocked out on Friday and then ordered you around on Saturday, and almost broke your sister’s boyfriend’s arm today.”
“At least you managed to get me Chinese food and ice cream on Friday.”
“Yeah, I guess it wasn’t a total shit show.”
“It was close, though.”
“If I told you that I never screw up and am always on point would you believe me?”
She gave him a side eye and snorted. “I might, just make sure never to bring that guy around because he sounds like an uptight perfectionist that would be absolutely no fun to be around.”
“Roger that.” Moving his hand, he covered hers and let their fingers tangle together. “Any chance you’d come over and have supper with the guys and me?”
When she finally looked at him, he felt a jolt of excitement and awareness. “Or I could take you somewhere else and we could talk. I’d like to apologize and see if I can talk you into giving me a second chance.”
“I like you, Bryce, and while I can’t seem to remember any of the reasons why at this exact moment, I would like to be friends. I don’t think it will ever be more than that because I don’t want to be ordered around, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friendly.”
Lifting their entwined hands to his mouth, he pressed a kiss to her fingers and then smiled. “I’ll take whatever you give me.”
“Kissing my hand is a being a little more than friendly.” Shaking her head, she untangled their hands. “I want to be mad at you, but you’re making it really hard.”
Leaning over, he kissed her head and let out a laugh. “Damn good news, sweetheart, ‘cause this certainly won’t be the last time you’re mad at me.”
He slid off the chair and then stood. “Come and eat with us and then I’ll take you home.”
“All right, as long as you promise to behave.”
“I’m a card-carrying Eagle Scout, and you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“If only that were true,” she mumbled as she followed him.
He didn’t respond because it was Sunday, after all, and he didn’t want to be struck down by lightning.