“If it’s about the order, then tell me.” She set her eyes on me. I saw the resolve there. The strength to stand up for herself.
“Damn,” I muttered to myself, but I wasn’t entirely sure she didn’t hear me. Another vice of mine—I said whatever was on my mind. And right now it was this girl.
“No, the beers are fine.” I picked mine up and took a swallow to prove a point. It wasn’t the beer I wanted. It was her.
“Ok, then I’ll check back with you soon.” She turned to go.
“Wait, you have a name?”
She swiveled on her heels, then pinched her lips together as if she were deciding what name to give me. “Julie.”
“Nice to meet you Julie.” I held out my hand to touch hers. “Kane. And this is my buddy Joe.”
Joe grimaced. “Don’t buy his lines, darlin’. We call him Hawk for a reason.”
I gritted my teeth. “You call me Hawk because my last name is Hawkins.”
“Oh, ok, so which is it? Kane or Hawk?” she asked.
I grinned. “I’ll let you choose.”
Her eyes fell to the floor again. “I’ll be back to check on your beers.”
Before I could keep her at the table for another round of sparring she wedged herself between an oncoming party and disappeared.
“Fuck,” I whispered. There was a certain thump under my ribs. Women were my vice. And for a quick second I thought that one had the potential to kill me.
“Looks like we’re going to be here all night ordering drinks.” Joe laughed, watching her retreat into the darkness of the bar.
I touched the glass to my lips, seeking the poison to fill my veins with the kind of speed and power I needed.
I placed the empty glass on the table. “I'm trying to behave for Savannah. She's always busting my balls for drinking too much and being seen with too many different women.”
“Tonight’s not going to help your case.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not.” I searched the few tables for any signs of Julie.
Joe kept talking. “Kenny is the same way. Always trying to be my daddy. What’s the deal with these damn agents?”
I shrugged. My attention was somewhere else tonight.
I spotted a familiar face coming from the bar and I smiled. I stood, meeting him at the table with a warm hug. He slapped me on the back a few times before pulling up a chair.
“It’s good to see you, Pops.”
“You too, son.”
Pops was my neighbor growing up. He taught me all about women and was the epitome of what a ladies’ man should be. I probably shouldn’t have taken his lessons so literally, but as a young kid without a dad, he was like a god, especially with women.
“How have you been, Kane? It's been a while. How’s life at the top of the food chain?” he asked with a wink.
“Not bad. Sharks are two weeks from the playoffs.”
He nodded. “I know. I never miss one of your games.”
My stomach clenched. I was so used to doing my own thing, I forgot there were people out there who remembered when I was a kid. When I didn’t have shit for parents. Pops, who watched me on television, like a dad watching his son.
“Just a game away,” I repeated. I looked around for Julie. We needed another round.
“I tried to get to one earlier this season, but $400 a ticket is too rich for my blood.”
I stared at the man who had tried to replace the biggest void a boy could have in his life. He stepped in when no one else tried. “If you want tickets, you’ve got them.”
“No. No. You don’t have to do that.”
“Fuck if I don’t. You’re going to the next game. Family box.” I eyed him. “No arguments.”
He was getting ready to say something when the hot waitress appeared.
Pops smiled at her. He saw what I did. What every hot-blooded man in this bar saw. She was sexy as hell.
“There you are.” I winked.
The blush on her cheeks traveled down her throat to the tops of her breasts. Fuck.
“Did you want another round?” she asked, clearly bothered by the attention.
I held her eyes for a moment, nodding but not answering. I definitely had found my mark for the night. I just needed to know if she was up for it.
“Three more.” I held up my fingers.
“All right. Anything else?”
I closed my eyes and imagined everything I would do to her. My hand reached out gently, caressing hers as she turned toward the bar. I heard a sharp intake of air and I had my answer.
2
Julie
I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand, waiting at the side of the bar for the last drink order.
“Three beers for you, sweetheart.”