Untouchable(6)

I’m visualizing Bryant’s douchebag face front and center right now as I help Ashley throw her first dart. It flies through the air and hits the dartboard, landing just outside the bull’s-eye. “That’s pretty good for your first try,” I compliment her as she shrieks and spins around, bouncing with excitement.

As she jumps into my arms, wrapping her hands behind my neck, I turn slightly and catch Raven out of the corner of my eye. Raven, Tessa, Bryant, and his friend are all standing around the pool table a few feet away, looking to be getting ready to play a game together.

Before I can turn my eyes back to Taylor and the group of girls we’re with, Tessa’s eyes meet mine. She glares at me and Ashley, who’s still hanging off of my neck at the moment, before leaning in and whispering something to Raven.

I don’t know what the hell their problem is. They’ve been the biggest bitches toward me since the night the shit hit the fan at Raven’s house. I still can’t wrap my head around why Raven flipped out the way she did. I never claimed to be a one-woman man, and we sure as hell weren’t a couple.

We fucked; that’s it.

I’ve fucked a lot of women in my life, and she knows this. She knows who I am—the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So I can’t understand why the hell she and her little ‘bestie’ seem to want to throw daggers at me every time they see me. I did nothing out of the ordinary bringing that girl back home with me.

I, on the other hand, should be the one acting like a prick and treating them like shit, since they used me to get their kicks while bored on spring break. Chicks are the most confusing species on the fucking planet. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to fully understand why their brains work the way they do. It’s one of the crazy-ass mysteries that’ll never be solved.

“I’m going to grab another beer at the bar. You girls keep practicing, because I plan on leaving here a winner, with some extra cash lining my pockets.”

Taylor yells my name as I start to head towards the bar. “Linc!”

“Yeah?” I shout back over the loud chatter around me.

“Grab me a beer too, will ya?”

Nodding my head at him, I push my way between Mac and the cougar he’s been flirting with over the last hour. I clap him on the shoulder and then flash his lady friend one of my panty-dropping smiles before waving to the bartender, signaling for two beers. “We’re playing a game of darts with that group of girls we met earlier. I didn’t know if you wanted to come over and watch.”

He shakes his head before bringing his attention to the girl beside me. “We were just getting ready to go, but I’ll catch up with you later.”

I watch as they climb off their barstools and disappear into the night as the bartender slides two bottles of beer in front of me. “Thanks,” I tell him as I put a ten down on the bar and head back over to everyone.





Two hours have gone by in a blur. No matter how hard I’ve tried to ignore the fact Raven is so close to me, but is all over Bryant instead, it’s been impossible for me to enjoy my guys night out. Normally, I’d be having the time of my life, with beer flowing, great company, and a super-hot chick all over me, whispering all kinds of dirty things into my ear that would make even a hooker blush—and yet here I am, feeling like a miserable asshole as the bartender yells out for last call.

Right now, I should be dragging Ashley out the door and into a cab, but instead, I find myself stalling, because I want to see if Raven leaves alone with Tessa, or together in a cab with Bryant.

I have no right to be jealous. Like I said before, we were never anything more than a one-night stand. Yet, I have found myself standing here for the last two hours, fighting back the urge to pummel his fucking face in every time he puts his hands on her.

“You guys can head out and wait for our cabs. I’m going to go take a leak really quick,” I tell Taylor and the girls before stalking towards the restrooms. I need to be alone for a minute to try to get my head on straight before we head back to Taylor’s place.

After standing in the bathroom for a few minutes, I finally feel okay enough to get the hell out of here. I shove the bathroom door open as I try to get away from this bar and Raven as fast as humanly possible, and collide with someone. It’s a tight corner in the back of the bar, where the men’s and women’s bathrooms are side-by-side. Sadly, this isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, that I will crash into someone as I try to exit or enter the restroom. It’s even worse when you’re trashed, because your reaction time is far more delayed, like mine is at the moment.

Reaching out, I grab onto the person, catching them before I send them flying onto their ass. As soon as my hands touch their arms, a warm, electric current travels throughout my entire body. I lift my eyes and find Raven’s dark and stormy emerald-colored irises staring up into mine with a look of shock as her mouth falls open.

“I’m so sorry…” My words trail off as I take a step back, but keep my hands locked in place.

“It’s fine. I should’ve paid more attention to where I was walking. What I get for texting and walking. It’s seriously more dangerous than you think.” She lets out the sexiest laugh, and for a moment, it feels like all the animosity between us has completely disappeared.

I rub my thumbs gently up and down her arms as I slowly lick my lips, trying to draw out some wetness from my now parched mouth. She makes every inch of my body go haywire whenever I’m around her. My heart is beating so fast I’m finding it hard to catch my breath. There’s so much I want to say to her, but can’t seem to find the words. Blame it on the alcohol, or blame it on the shock of running into her after a night of avoiding one another, but I feel as if my entire world just tilted on its axis, as we stand in the back of the bar alone. The spark between us is ever-present, having not faded even the slightest bit over these last three months.

“Well, I better get going,” she says, glancing behind her towards the front of the bar, where Bryant and Tessa are more than likely waiting for her. My grip on her tightens as the thought of her leaving with Bryant causes my blood pressure to skyrocket.

Unwillingly, I release her arms finally, but bring my right hand to her cheek. “Me too. Everyone’s probably sitting in their cabs, mentally cursing my ass for taking so long. It was nice seeing you, Spitfire.” I don’t know why, but I can’t bring myself to call her Raven again. To me, she’s still my Spitfire, no matter what’s gone on between us.

The nickname causes her body to grow rigid beneath my touch and her eyelids to flutter closed. I notice her chest rising and falling faster as our bodies finally break apart and I take another step away from her.

Hugging her arms to her body, she shifts nervously on her high heel-covered feet before looking up at me nervously. “Linc…before you leave, I want to ask you if you are free sometime this week to maybe get together at the country club for lunch. I’ve been thinking a lot the last few days, and well, I thought maybe we could try to smooth things out between us. I can’t deal with this awkwardness between us, especially with the wedding next weekend. Things will be a lot easier if we can just sit down and talk about everything.”

Wow. After three months, she finally wants to talk? Nothing like dragging your feet and waiting until the last minute. I know I initially blew her off, but she’s had plenty of time to try again, after giving me a chance to cool off.

Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I stare back at her with a neutral expression on my face. I don’t want her to try to read me and get inside my head. She’s in there enough of the time without even trying; I’m not going to voluntarily open myself up to more of her. Especially not right now, with my head all over the place.

“Sure. I’ll text you this week and we can set up a day. We definitely need to find a way to move past the shit that happened before. I know I was an asshole when you tried to talk to me before you left to go back to Long Beach. I’m sorry; we both said things in the heat of the moment. I think doing it now, after having a few months to let our tempers cool off, is the best way to tackle this issue.”

Giving me a small smile, she says, “Okay, great. So I guess I’ll see you later. Goodnight, Linc.”

“‘Night, Spitfire. Stay safe.” I take a few quick strides toward her, and before she can react, I lean in and brush a soft kiss against her cheek before turning around and making my way out into the warm summer night.

I inhale the fresh, humid air and run my hands through my hair as I look around for everyone. I spot a yellow minivan cab with its parking lights on parked up the street. I know it’s Taylor, Ashley, and her friend waiting for me to go back to Taylor’s apartment, but I’ve suddenly lost any desire I had to go home with her. Instead, I pull out my phone and shoot Taylor a quick text.

Not feeling well. I think I drank too much. I’m going to head straight home. Tell Ashley I’m sorry. FYI...from the way she was talking to me earlier, I wouldn’t doubt that she’d be down for a ménage ;) #tapthoseassesbro

I call up the cab service, ask them to pick me up a block over, and start walking. I know if I hang around here waiting for a cab, Taylor will try to convince me to leave with them. Right now, all I want to do is go home, pass the fuck out, and hopefully give my brain a break from thinking about Raven. Even if it’ll only be for a few hours.