I feel someone brush against my shoulder, causing me to grip my beer and tense up. “What’s up, baby? Is this asshole bothering you?”
The familiar voice makes my blood boil. Ryder fucking Lane. The last person I ever wanted to see before I can manage to get out of this shithole town.
Flexing my jaw, I tilt back my bottle of beer before cracking my neck. Keep calm. Keep fucking calm.
Ava nervously runs her hand through her hair and pleads with her eyes for me not to do anything stupid. It’s taking everything in me to not turn around and knock him on his fucking ass.
“Well, Ava, are you going to say something or should I ask this asshole myself?”
“Really, Ava?” I question in a flat tone. “Good choice. I thought you had higher standards.”
Ava looks up at Ryder with a worried look, but I keep my eyes straight ahead, knowing that if I see him it’s all over. There will be no holding back. I calmly grab my beer and take another swig.
I hear a deep throated laugh before a shoulder bumps with mine, sending me into the bar. “Well fuck me. It’s been six years already? It felt more like two, but I’m sure you feel differently about that.”
I squeeze the bottle and take another drink of my beer, preparing for what stupid shit is bound to leave his mouth next.
I feel his hot breath next to my ear before he snickers and reaches for the beer that Ava has just set down in front of him. “I figured you would be too much of a pussy to ever show your face around here again. You have a pair of big fucking balls, Carter. I give you that shit.”
Fighting to keep my shit together I nod my head at Ava, letting her know that I need another shot. She gives me an apologetic look before reaching for the Jack and pouring it to the rim.
She slides it in front of me before looking beside me. “Ryder,” she says in a clipped tone. “Don’t do this shit. Please. No fighting here, dammit. I’m already close to losing my job. This is stupid. Get over it. It’s in the past now.”
Reaching for my shot, I slam it back and close my eyes as the burn slowly flows through my body, not doing shit to calm my nerves like I had hoped. I open my eyes to set the empty glass down. When I look over my shoulder I notice the chick from next door walk up, sweaty and out of breath.
She holds up her finger and smiles while fighting to breathe evenly. “Another round, Ava.” Leaning back, she brushes her damp hair out of her face and turns slightly in my direction, her eyes landing on me. She looks a bit surprised and somewhat excited to see me, but hides it quickly. “Make mine a double,” she says, her eyes burning into mine.
I get lost in her deep green stare before my eyes wander down the slick skin of her damp breasts, glistening as her chest quickly rises and falls. She must have been in the group that was dancing when I first came in. Fuck! The last thing I need to be thinking about right now is fucking her out of that little dress and imagining what she would sound like while screaming my name.
I look back up to her eyes to see her zoned in on my chest. Her eyes slowly check me out, taking me all in before she notices me watching and focuses her attention back up on Ava.
“Sure, Lyric.” Ava gives Ryder a wary look while backing up. “I’ll be right back.” She grinds her jaw while pointing to us. “No shit. Got it?”
“Yup. Sure thing, babe. No shit.” Ryder takes a seat next to me and tilts back his beer. I can almost imagine the smirk on his face as his eyes bore into the side of my face and it only fuels my fire more. The only thing I can do to ignore it is focus my energy somewhere else, so I look back up into Lyric’s eyes and hold her stare, feeling my heartbeat calm down a bit.
She’s standing there, still breathing heavily while mirroring my look. She looks lost in thought as if she’s taking this moment to figure me out. That’s the last thing she should want to do.
My jaw flexes as her eyes dart down to my lips and then back up to my eyes before swallowing hard.
I feel Ryder’s breath close to my shoulder, but I keep my eyes on Lyric, fighting for control. “You do realize that Ava is mine, right asshole?” He leans in close to my ear and lets out a small laugh. “Don’t talk to her, don’t look at her, and definitely don’t put your fucking hands on her. You’ve already done enough fucking damage to this town.”
I chug my beer and slam it down on the bar, close to losing it. If one more fucking word comes out of his mouth, all control is going to be lost. The focusing shit isn’t going to work for long.
Lyric’s eyes move from me to Ryder before she scowls. “Stop being a dick, Ryder. He’s not bothering you.”