“How the hell are ya, Jax?” Rayna slaps her hand on the bar.
I can see she has a good buzz going on. I always liked the girl. She was good for Slate. “I’m doin’ okay,” I say. She looks good, too. Shit, I hope she doesn’t ask about Slate.
“So, you and your brothers own this place?”
“Yeah, opened it a couple years back. It’s doin’ okay.”
“Looks like it,” Rayna glances around. “Watched you fight, you kicked ass.”
“Yeah, he did,” Melody says, as she walks up with an empty tray in her hand. “The last time I saw you fight was eons ago. Shit. Who was it,” she stares at me then her eyes light up. “Oh, I remember! It was that guy you went to the prom with,” she turns to Emmie Rue. “What was his name?”
“Garret Roberts,” Emmie says, and I feel her eyes burning into me. I don’t look at her. But, hey, we both know that fucker had it coming for what he did to her back in high school. So, yeah when he walked in here and signed up for a fight, I made sure it was me he was gonna be in the cage with. He was, after all, now a legal age for me to kick his ass.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Melody points at me. “I was surprised to see your name next to Garret’s on the roster that night. That fight lasted what, like thirty seconds. You slaughtered him, and,” she glances at the girls, “Jax never fights.”
“Yeah, I can’t afford to end up with a concussion or something. Then who’d manage the bills and keep the staff in line here?” I smile at Melody.
“So what reason did you have to fight tonight,” Em says.
“Slate was supposed to fight, wasn’t he,” Melody jumps in.
I nod my head and glance at Rayna. Fuck.
Her eyes go wide. “Slate fights?”
“Yeah,” Melody leans in toward Rayna, “and don’t tell Zeke, but Slate brings in the biggest crowd. Sorry, I didn’t tell ya your ex owns this place, but honestly, he’s rarely here, only comes when he fights, and I heard earlier that he wasn’t gonna be on tonight.”
I see Rayna’s mouth about to open. But needing to sway away from a conversation that involves my fucked-up little bro with his ex-girlfriend, I say, “So, who’s your friend, here?” I look over at the cute redhead next to Rayna.
“Oh,” Rayna blinks, “this is, ah…Lurlene.”
“Nice to meet you.” I smile, and after Lurlene returns the gesture, my eyes wander over to Em. Like when I was serving those chicks at the bar, and when she discovered I kicked her prom date’s ass, she’s vigilantly watching me.
“Ah,” Lurlene says, “Rayna and I are going to go check out what’s happening in the back bar. Wanna join us, Melody?” I get the sense she’s trying to give me and Emmie Rue some alone time. I like the girl already, and I’m all good with it. Besides, I don’t want to talk about Slate. I’m not sure what I’d tell Rayna.
“I’ll meet up with you. I need to get some drinks for a customer first,” Melody says, and then she heads behind the bar.
Not taking her eyes from mine, Em stirs the straw around in her drink. When the girls take their leave, she lifts the glass up for a sip. “I bet that happens a lot,” she says setting her glass back down.
“What’s that,” I arch a brow, “naughty girls following me into dark rooms after a fight?”
“No, smartass,” she scowls, cheeks flaring bright red. “I was talking about the woman hitting on you at the bar,” she says, back to stirring her drink with those beautiful blue eyes glaring up at me.
“Oh, those ladies.” I smile. “They’re just drunk.” I shrug. “Nothin’ to worry about.”
“I’m not worried. I’ve never been the jealous type.”
“I wasn’t talking about you, princess.” I chuckle. “They’re nothin’ that I need to worry about.” I grin.
“Yeah, ‘cause if they’re bad, you’ll just spank them, huh?”
“Come on, Em, admit it.”
“Admit what,” she glares at me.
I lean toward her. “You liked havin’ that ass spanked.”
She bends in closer to me. “You call that an ass spankin’?”
A smile breaks across my lips, my cock liking her answer. “I thought it was all a princess could handle.”
“Then I guess we were both duped, huh?”
Damn! I want to drag her across the bar, yank her skirt up around her waist, and give her ass a proper spanking. Beat it red. Instead, I hold my smile, pull my cell from my pocket, and slide it across the bar. “Here, put your number in there, in case I want to call you.”