Promise of Forever(16)

“If you say so,” he said with a shrug and filled my glass to the brim.

I threw back the shot, barely tasting it by this point as it went down as smooth as water.

“Hey, baby,” came a woman’s voice from behind me.

For a split second, I wondered if it was Chloe. I turned around and frowned. It wasn’t her. Wishful thinking, I thought.

The blonde who had spoken slid into the stool next to me and flashed me a smile. “You look like you’re in need of some company. Wanna buy me a drink?”

My eyes gave her a once-over. She was wearing a tiny red minidress that left very little to the imagination.

“You like what you see?” She bit her bottom lip and leaned into me, letting her full breasts spill over her low-cut top, in perfect line with my vision.

Ignoring her question, I turned back to my empty shot glass and motioned to the bartender for another round.

“I’ll have a mojito,” the blonde whispered into my ear. Then I felt her wet tongue lick up against my jaw line before she started to nibble my earlobe. At the same time, her hand moved down my side and over my crotch.

My groin tighten in response—aroused and in need of its release. But before the blonde could begin to rub against my growing erection and stimulate it further, I grabbed her hand and pushed her away.

“Nooot interested,” I said flatly as I pushed my glass toward Joe as he approached with the bottle of Jim Beam.

“What about my drink?” the blonde pouted, somehow ignoring my brush-off.

I finally turned to her. “What about it?”

“Well aren’t you going to order it for me?” She flashed me another smile and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“Nah.” I turned back to my drink and threw it back.

“Why not?” she asked, unwilling to accept my lack of interest.

“Because you’re more than capable of ordering and buying your own drink.”

“What the fuck is your problem?” She glared at me. “I felt how hard your cock got when I touched it just now. Don’t act like you don’t want a piece of this.” She waved her hand down in front of her body.

By this point, the countless shots of bourbon were catching up to me and I was losing my patience.

“Don’t flatter yourself. My cock gets hard when I’m drunk. It would get hard even for Joe over there, and I definitely don’t want to fuck him. So why don’t you go whore yourself out to someone who actually wants your STDs and leave me the fuck alone.”

Just then, a splash of water hit the side of my face. “Asshole!” the blonde lashed out before storming off.

I knew I was a bit too harsh on the girl, but she was coming on way too strong and didn’t seem to get my subtle hints. And tonight, of all nights, was just the wrong night to test my patience. I wiped my face with the back of my hand and motioned for the bartender again. He filled my glass without waiting for me to ask.

I wasted no time and gulped down the liquid. “Leeet me tell ya somethin’,” I began to slur as I slammed the empty glass on the counter. “Life’s really fucked up.”

The bartender raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond. Instead he humored me and stuck around to listen.

I raised my index finger and waved it in front of me. “You think you finally got it figured out. You think you—you have it all. And when you’re just about to be happy with the girl you’ve wanted for the last twenty-three years, life just shits all over it. Life’s a fuuuckin’ shitter—a Goddamn shitter.”

As the room started to sway around me, I groaned and dropped my head down against the bar to steady myself. “Shit—shitting evvverywhere,” I muttered into the cool, wooden surface.

Then I lifted my head back up suddenly and looked at the bartender. “Does life shit on you, too, Jack?”

“It’s Joe,” he corrected as he wiped down some of the bourbon that had spilled on the counter.

“Ohh…really?” I shot a doubtful look. Then I bursted into laughter. “That’s right. You’re Joe. I’m Jack.” I hit my chest a few times with the palm of my hand to let him know who Jack was. “That’s what a lot of people at work call me. Jjjjack.” Then I huffed out a heavy sigh. “And then there’s one person who calls me Jax. She’s the only one that calls me that, and she…” I quickly shook my head in a knee-jerk motion, trying to shake her out of my head. I lifted my glass up again. “Hit me with another one!”

“Buddy, I think you’ve had enough.”

“Come on, man. Just one more.”

Joe sighed and shook his head in pity. “Okay, but after this one, I’m cutting you off and calling you a cab to take you home. I think you’ve had more than enough for tonight.”