Prodigal Son(11)

“Thanks,” Krystal said as she took the glass.

I hoped that it was disappointment that I saw in her face, but I wasn’t certain enough to just take what I wanted. I knew that it was possible that the alcohol was interfering with my decision-making skills, and if that meant that I had to let an opportunity pass me by, so be it.

“Want to see the rest of the place?” I asked, hoping to end the awkward silence that was building between us.

“Sure,” Krystal answered, taking another sip of wine.

I led her into the dining room and then into the second bedroom, complete with its own bathroom.

“Too bad you don’t know anyone in town,” Krystal said as she walked into the full kitchen. “You could throw one hell of a party here.”

“Well, I was thinking about filling the room with hookers and blow,” I joked.

“I know people who could make that happen,” she replied.

I expected her to laugh at her joke, but I realized that she wasn’t kidding at all. She must run in different circles than I was used to. I didn’t exactly know what to say, so I just led her back through the living room and headed for the master suite.

“Holy shit, there’s more?” Krystal asked.

“Yeah. Believe it or not, that’s only half of it.”

I walked her through the sitting area and opened the room to the master bedroom.

“So we’re finally going to end up in the bedroom,” Krystal said with a knowing, backward glance at me as she walked through the door.

Jesus, did she turn me on. I couldn’t tell whether she meant the sexy, flirtatious things she was saying, but I knew I wanted her. She walked past the bed, trailing her hand along it, and I thought about what she’d look like, naked on the bed. My mouth felt dry, and I followed her into the bathroom, where she stood, staring at the huge tub.

“Wanna get naked?” I asked, mostly joking, but also hoping that she’d just strip down.

She looked at me as if she was sizing me up. “I don’t think you could handle it, sugar,” she said as she turned around and walked back into the living room.

I was insulted and turned on all at the same time. I wondered if the sway of her hips was deliberate, or if she just couldn’t help oozing sex. When I got back into the living room, Krystal polished off her glass of wine, set it on the bar and turned to look at me.

“I really do have an early day. Thanks again for the drinks.”

I was puzzled. She acted like she was interested but then she was ready to walk out. I couldn’t figure the girl out, but I certainly hoped that I’d have the chance to give it another shot.

“I’ll call or text you tomorrow,” I said as she headed for the door.

“And I’ll check my calendar,” she said with a smile as she walked out.

I resolved to finish my ginger ale and check the baseball schedule first thing in the morning. I had to see Krystal again, one way or another.





Chapter 6


Krystal


As soon as I got into the elevator, I could feel my phone vibrating again, and I decided that I’d wait until I got back to my car before I called Bug back. He was probably already going to be pissed, and I wasn’t going to have an embarrassing conversation in the lobby of a fancy hotel. He’d never been exactly pleasant, but since the Savage Sons had completely stopped selling meth, money had been tight for all of the guys, and that made his temper even shorter. I figured that if Bug knew that I’d been drinking wine in some guy’s fancy hotel suite, he’d probably kill me.

I walked the couple of blocks to my car and dialed Bug’s number without listening to any of the four messages he’d left me.

“Where the fuck have you been?” he asked.

“Wow,” I answered. “I’m fine. How’re you?”

“Don’t fuckin’ play games with me. Where are you?”

“I’m leaving work. On my way home.”

“Bullshit, you lying fucking whore. I called the bar, and that pussy manager of yours said you’d left early.”

Goddamn it. I hadn’t thought to ask Mark to cover up for my absence. It hadn’t occurred to me that Bug would call my work to track me down. He really was unbalanced, and he just seemed to be getting worse.

“I went out for a drink.”

“Where did you go? Knowing you, you probably went to some shitty motel with some dumb fuckin’ college kid.”

I had to smother a laugh when I thought about the contrast between the hotel room that Bug had in mind and where I’d actually spent the evening.

“Bug, that’s just stupid. I went out for a drink. That’s all.”

“Don’t you call me stupid, you fuckin’ whore. If you think I’m so stupid, you can just go back to being a club whore. You’ve already fucked practically all the Sons anyway.”