Damon:A Bad Boy MC Romance Novel(84)

He was covered in tattoos, which poked out from under his t-shirt and  ran all along his arms, even on his knuckles. He wore tight, black jeans  and an equally tight t-shirt under a brown leather vest; his hairy,  muscular arms bulged under the sleeves of the shirt, and you could  follow the deep V of his body all the way down …

I automatically drew my eyes back up to his face, embarrassed of myself  for letting my attention wander in such an uncouth direction. I grinned  nervously. "The drink, please."

The stranger took the drink from my hand and followed me as I walked  Alicia towards the table, where Becky was sitting with her hands over  her mouth, watching us and laughing at the Three Stooges-esque antics.  She gave me a look as I approached, one which I knew as well as the back  of my hand.

It was Becky's Really, Samantha? look, one she reserved for moments  where she didn't quite approve of my decisions but also didn't feel it  necessary to step in and actually stop me. I shot her one of my own  patented Yes, Becky, Really, looks. Alicia was looking at just about  everyone with her I Love You Guys So Much! look, and as I corralled her  onto a seat she caught sight of the plate of French fries and gave them  the same look.

"Oh my God! Are these mine? Can I eat these? I'm so hungry, guys,"  Alicia said, not waiting for permission before grabbing a handful and  shoving them into her mouth. A look of drunken bliss came over her and  she laughed, her cute little laugh that made her so easy to forgive.

"Well, looks like everyone is safe, including the drink," the stranger  said, setting the fishbowl gingerly on the table between me and Becky.  He stepped back, the same lopsided grin on his face.

"Well, thanks, uh … " I said, realizing he hadn't told me his name.

"Boon," he said, holding his hand out. I took it in mine, marveling at  how large it was, and how powerful his grip was. Then, my mind processed  his name. Boon? Oh come on, I thought, and raised an eyebrow as I  looked back at him.

"Boon? Is that your real name?" I asked, blurting out the words before  really thinking about them or how rude they might sound. Luckily, he  seemed to have a sense of humor, and he chuckled and lifted his  shoulders slightly.

"I'll admit, it ain't my birth name, but it's what I go by, I swear," he said, turning as if to go.

"Wait," I called out, nearly falling off my seat to catch him by the  elbow. Becky was giving me a series of hilarious looks, speaking to me  in our silent best-friend body language, making fun of me for being so  desperate. "Let me buy you a drink. As a thanks. And a sorry, for making  fun of your name. I'm Samantha, by the way."         

     



 

"Well, you know, it wouldn't be right of me to turn down a free drink," Boon said, shrugging.

"I'm Becky, by the way," Becky said, suddenly, almost too loudly,  leaning in and holding her hand out to Boon. "And this beautiful mess  over here is Alicia."

"Hi," Boon said, taking Becky's hand in his.

"Hi!" Alicia said from across the table, suddenly coming to life after  gorging on French fries. "We're here from Missoooooooo-la, where're you  from?"

"Drink some water, drunky," Becky said, pushing a glass of water towards  Alicia, who responded by rolling her eyes and looking back at Boon.

"Do you know where to get some marijuana?" she said, pronouncing the  last word in a stage whisper that could probably heard all the way on  the street.

"Well, now, maybe I do. But I thought we were starting with a drink?  It'll be a Seven and Seven for me, miss," Boon said. I nodded eagerly. I  had no idea what a Seven and Seven was. It sounded cool. I hopped out  of the chair and walked to the bar, feeling my stomach full of  butterflies. I'd been right; this really was going to change everything.  Finally, I was feeling what other girls felt when they met a handsome  guy!

I looked back as I waited at the bar. Boon had taken my seat and looked  to be having an animated conversation with Alicia and Becky. I felt a  slight tremor of fear in my heart as I worried about leaving Alicia  alone with Boon; she always had this way of hooking guys she wanted,  where I had about as much guy-hooking experience as I did  tightrope-walking experience. Which is none, by the way.

The bartender came and took my order; I left a generous tip, hoping he  would remember me in the future, and made my way back to the table.

"You stole my seat!" I said playfully as a way of getting back into the conversation.

"Oh my GOD, Samantha, do you know where Stunner is from? Do you know?"  Alicia said, leaning forward across the table and nearly grabbing the  drink from my hand.

"Uh-uh, Leesh, you have 45 more minutes of water drinking. And I think  it's Boon, isn't it?" I said, handing the drink to Boon. His fingers  just grazed mine as he took it from me and I felt a flush through my  body. I grabbed my own straw in the fishbowl and drank greedily,  suddenly wanting to get very, very drunk, if only because my nervousness  was starting to get the better of me.

I never get nervous around guys, I thought to myself with some surprise.  The alcohol flowed straight to my stomach and I felt something like an  explosion of warmth as it began to spread through my veins.

"Okay, whatever, but he's from L.A.! Los Angeles! The city of lights!  Way bigger than Moooo-sola," Alicia said, slurring her words. I shook my  head, didn't bother trying to explain to her that L.A. was not,  generally, known as the City of Lights. Instead, I turned to Boon.

"So, is that true? You're here from Cali?" I'd literally never used the  word "Cali" before in my entire life. I just wanted to sound cool. I  could feel Becky's eyes on me without having to look, and I knew she was  giving me an amused, I Know What You're Doing look. It was all I could  do not to kick her under the table so she would knock it off. I love my  friends, but right now I just wanted to get to know Boon, without  Alicia's inspired slurring or Becky's good-judgment radar.

"Just south of L.A., actually. Out in the desert. Where I'm from is  actually probably smaller than Missoula. I mean, I know it is. I've been  to Missoula. It's a nice little city," Boon said, pinning me in place  with his gorgeous eyes and sipping his drink slowly. I took another gulp  of the blue drink, but Becky pulled it away.

"I'm not taking care of both of you," Becky said, then laughed and took a  huge swallow of her own. "What were you doing in Missoula? Business?  School?"

"Business," Boon said, suddenly seeming a bit more uptight. The feeling  around the table definitely shifted, but the mood passed just as quickly  as it had come, and Boon leaned in as though to tell us a secret. "You  know, I really do know where to get some pot."

"Oh my GOD, I want THAT, LET'S GO," Alicia nearly screamed. She grabbed  Boon's hand and pretended to drag him off, but he remained still in his  seat, chuckling.

"Maybe in a little while. What's the rush? The night is young," he said.  Alicia rolled her eyes but bounced back onto her seat and busied  herself with more French fries.

"So what brings you to Vegas? More business?" I asked, wanting to get  Boon's attention back on me. Making out with a stranger was my goal for  the week; if he also happened to help Alicia fulfill her goal, I would  be happy for her, but tonight I was looking out for number 1.         

     



 

"No, this trip is about pleasure. Lucky me," he said with a grin. He  took another swallow of the drink and I realized that it was also the  last sip of the drink. I prepared myself for disappointment: he'd had  his drink now, and there was nothing keeping us here. He could leave or  stay: I prepared myself for the disappointment of him leaving.

"Can I just say," Boon began, staring into the empty glass, "that this  has been the worst Seven and Seven I've ever had. But, I'm a firm  believer in second chances. I wouldn't feel right leaving without giving  the bartender another shot at making a decent drink."

"That's very kind of you," I said jokingly, elated that he seemed to be planning on staying. At least for one more drink …





5





One more drink turned into three, turned into another fishbowl for me  and Becky, turned into two light beers for Alicia, who we were still  keeping an eye on. She'd sobered up considerably, though, and was  actually using real words and full sentences. Plus, she seemed to have  picked up on my M.O. for the night and had backed off flirting with  Boon, instead playing her version of a wingman, which was admittedly a  little embarrassing.

"Samantha, tell that story about you and the saltines," she'd say,  draping an arm over me. Rolling my eyes and laughing, I remembered it as  just another goofy high school antic. Boon leaned in, though, seeming  interested.

"It's really not that great a story," I said, blushing at his interest.