Chapter 20

Bishop

This is not how I was hoping to spend my fucking Friday night. I’m currently not the guy who would spend it partying with friends. I’m now the guy who wants to spend it with my girlfriend.

Yeah…my girlfriend. That’s exactly what Brooke is, and it’s something that is actually real between us. At least, in my mind.

Between all the tiptoeing around the actual subject of what we are to each other, and couching our feelings in terms of “let’s have a good time” and “we’ll extend the charade for the benefit of everyone,” I came to one stunning conclusion tonight.

There mere fact that I’m beyond furious at Nanette and I’m heading there right now to deal with her so Brooke doesn’t have to and can get some sleep means that she is without a doubt my girlfriend, and it’s as real as it comes.

My personal interactions with Nanette have been nominal, mostly observations, because Brooke is right, she likes to hear herself talk. Those observations include watching her that first night we met for drinks and the following night when it was just me, Brooke, Dax, and Nanette. We had dinner and drinks, and yeah, Nanette held the spotlight for most of the night. I wasn’t surprised Dax took her home that night, but I knew he would cut her loose very soon. He’s not looking for anything long term, but he’s the type of guy that is monogamous. I know he just wants it to be with someone who is at least pleasant to be around if they’re not fucking.

Once in the car, the first thing I do is call Erik. It’s almost 1 A.M., but I know I’m not waking him up. Not on a Friday night.

When he answers, it’s with a, “What’s up, dude?”

It’s surprisingly quiet in the background, so my question is answered before I have to ask it.

“I was hoping you’d be at the Sneaky Saguaro with Nanette,” I say with frustration.

“Um…yeah…no! That chick is bananas,” he returns in a low voice. “No offense to Brooke, you know.”

“None taken,” I assure him. “Where are you?”

“I’m at this girl’s place I met tonight,” he murmurs, and I can hear the smile on his face. “She’s in her room getting changed into something more comfortable, and we both know what that means.”

With a short chuckle, I reply, “Yeah…know what that means, bud. Have fun.”

“Will do,” he says, and I prepare to hang up, but he asks, “Hey, why are you looking for Nanette?”

“She just called Brooke stating she was broke and needed a ride from the Sneaky Saguaro. She said she wasn’t with you, but I wanted to check and make sure in case she was lying. There’s something off about that woman and I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

“She called me yesterday and tried to make plans,” he returns with a slight level of disgust in his voice. “Right on the heels of Dax cutting her loose. Sorry…I don’t do sloppy seconds, but she wouldn’t accept no for an answer. She said that was fine if I didn’t want to go out with her, but she’d love to still hang out with the group. Wanted to know how to get in contact with Legend, but no way was I giving him up. Just a little too stalkerish for me.”

“I hear ya,” I commiserate. “Look, get back to your girl in the comfortable clothes.”

Erik busts out laughing and then we sign off.

Bummer. I’d hoped that he was there and would do me a solid to get her home. It was a long shot, but I didn’t trust what Nanette had said, so it was worth a try.

When I pull into the parking lot of the Sneaky Saguaro, I’m pissed that Nanette isn’t standing outside. With a lot of grumbling and cursing under my breath I park the car and make my way inside to look for her. The place is packed—standing room only—and I know it’s going to be hard to find her. I wind my way through the various seating areas of the main floor before moving up to the second. I canvas almost the entire area when I finally spot her.

Dancing on top of a table surrounded by men.

Actually, by a few of the Vengeance rookies, I note: Vance Gather, Derek Kemper, and Guy Demere. I don’t think any of the three are over twenty-one, but that won’t stop them from drinking. Either they’ve got fake ID’s or the management here is serving them anyway because it’s good business to have professional hockey players hang out at your establishment.

When I reach the table, I get fist a fist bump greeting from Derek, but before I can say a word to the other guys, Nanette sees me. She’s wearing a short cherry-red form-fitting dress that leaves nothing to the imagination. Her eyes, glazed with alcohol, light up when she sees me and she holds her hand out to me as she yells, “Yay…Bishop is here! Come up and dance with me.”

I ignore her and turn to Vance, who’s looking at me in shock that I know the girl on the table. “How long she been like this?”

“We just got here, man,” he says as his eyes go from me to Nanette and back to me again. “You know her?”

His tone is slightly condemning, and that actually amuses me and makes me respect him at the same time. He knows I’m dating Brooke, the coach’s daughter, and he’s suspicious I’m stepping out on her. Nanette goes back to dancing, ignoring us all now. She has a beer in one hand and her hair fisted in her other to hold it on top of her head while she rotates her hips lewdly.

“She’s Brooke’s friend, just visiting. She just called us to come pick her up.”

Vance nods in understanding. “Like I said…just got here. Said she’d give us a table dance if we bought her a beer, and well, wasn’t going to say no to that.”

Not sure quite what the look on my face says, but Vance can see I’m not happy about the situation. “But she seems really cool, man.”

I know he offers this only because he doesn’t know the nature of Nanette’s relationship with me or Brooke. So I clue him in. “Yeah…she’s really not, so you’re going to thank me for taking her off your hands.”

Turning my attention back to Nanette, I yell at her to be heard above the music and din of bar chatter. “Nanette…let’s go.”

She either doesn’t hear me, is too drunk to understand, or is ignoring me. She keeps dancing, looking out around the bar to see if anyone is watching her in return.

“Fuck,” I mutter before reaching up to grab the beer out of her hand. I hand it off to Vance.

That gets her attention and she turns angry eyes at me. “Hey…What the hell, Bishop?”

“Get down and let’s go,” I say to her, holding my hand out so she can step from tabletop to chair to floor. She glares at me a moment, dropping her fistful of hair.

Then she appraises the situation, which tells me she’s not as drunk as I’d thought. There’s a flash of something calculating in her eyes, and then she’s flinging herself at me. She actually just sort of drops from the table, assuming I’ll catch her, which I do. She’s in my arms no more than a few seconds before I’m dumping her on her feet.

She sways a bit and throws her arms around my neck. “Oh come on, Bishop…let’s dance. Why do you have to be such a drag all the time?”

Reaching back, I lock my hands around her wrists and peel her arms off me. I hold them tightly in front of her body while she smirks at me. “I am not here to dance with you, drink with you, or even talk to you. I’m picking you up for Brooke because you rudely called her and demanded it. Now grab your purse and let’s go.”

Her face sours and her lips press into an ugly flat line. She jerks her wrists from me and waves one hand toward Vance, Derek, and Guy, who are standing there watching this unfold with their eyes bugging out. “I’ve got new friends. I’m going to stay out for a while.”

She turns and gives a sexy pout to the guys. Vance immediately takes two steps back, hands held in front of him. “Sorry, but we have plans to be elsewhere and have to go.”

Vance shoots me a quick look as if to ask if that’s the right thing. I give him a curt nod, because I don’t want any more of the Vengeance tied up with this woman. They turn and start to walk away, but I call out, “Hey.”

Three heads turn to look at me over their shoulders. “I don’t care that you’re underage drinking. Just be smart and careful, okay?”

“Got it, Bishop,” Guy says, answering for the other two, who are merely nodding.

“Have fun,” I tell them before bringing my gaze back to Nanette. She’s now standing with her arms crossed over her chest and one hip jutted out, still glaring at me.

“Let’s go,” I say as I turn to the side and motion her to precede.

“Fine,” she snaps, and grabs her purse from one of the chairs. She stomps past me, pushing her way roughly through the crowd. With a sigh, I follow her.

Nanette gives me five minutes of blessed silence on the ride to Brooke’s house before she starts talking. She turns slightly in her seat to face me, her range of motion limited by the seat belt. “Why are you such a downer tonight?”

This comes out as a bit of a whine, which causes me to grit my teeth.

“Not a downer,” I say neutrally without taking my eyes off the road. “Just tired and a little bent out of shape I had to come get you.”

She doesn’t respond at first, which makes me think she’s calculating something. I feel her fingertips on my shoulder, then she shifts in her seat and slides her hand behind my neck. In a throaty voice, she purrs, “I could show you some fun tonight, Bishop.”

Keeping one hand on the wheel, I use my other to pull her hand off me and push it back to her side of the car, gently but firmly. It’s my voice that bears the true message. “Don’t put your hands on me again, Nanette. It’s not wanted and won’t ever be returned.”

“Fine,” she grumbles, and slumps down in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest again.

I have no clue if she’s drunk or not, but her words aren’t slurred and she walked okay out of the bar. But while I have a captive audience, I figure I’ll go ahead and delve. “I heard you have a job interview with the Vengeance organization next week.”

“Yup.” I glance over at her to see her examining her nails on one hand.

“What’s that all about?” I ask. “Why do you want to get a job here in Phoenix?”

She shrugs. “Why not? This seems like a nice place, and once again, Brooke has the perfect life here, so why can’t I?”

“What does Brooke have to do with it?”

“Look,” she says, turning to face me. I spare her a brief glance to let her know I’m listening, before putting my attention back to the road. “I’m just at a good point in my life that I could make a career change. I came here to check the area out. Then Sebastian told me about the job, so I thought, why not?”

“Nothing wrong with that,” I say neutrally. I don’t mention that Brooke was hoping to move into merchandising. She had not told Nanette about that, so I wasn’t about to. “But can I give you some advice?”

She gives a sigh. “Sure. Go for it.”

“Be a little bit of a better guest to Brooke,” I tell her bluntly, shooting her a look that locks in place for just a moment.

“What do you mean?” she asks, and to her credit, she sounds dumbfounded.

I know I can’t change her personality. Someone so stuck on herself is not going to miraculously become humble. But I can plant a seed. “Just…try to be more aware. Help out around the house. Be gracious to Brooke. Don’t call her in the middle of the night because you’re broke and need a ride.”

I brace and wait for anger. I get curiosity instead. “Why do you care? What you have with her is a sham. It’s not real.”

I laugh and turn to look at Nanette. “Now that’s where you’re very wrong.”

“Really?” she asks in a skeptical voice.

“Really.”