"We've been here for an hour and got a few semi interested glances. She strolls in on heels and has three watchers in seconds."
"No shit, right? Bitch, you suck. Why are we even friends with her?"
"Me personally, because some of her cast offs have been fuckin' hot!"
"I know right? That alone should make her suck all the more."
"Yeah, but in a way, she's sharing, and it doesn't always suck. Remember that night in Montreal?"
I listened with half an ear, scribbling furiously in my take-along notebook, to my two besties bickering. Helena and Mika loved giving me shit. Any subject.
So, I had the talent of tuning them down to background noise. I should after twenty seven years of friendship. Which is the main reason I'm comfortable enough with them to be scribbling madly in this very busy, very loud, very public barroom. This idea though, just didn't,
wouldn't
settle until it got down on paper. They knew me so well that even listening only half-ly, I could still pipe up with an appropriate snarky remark from within the madness.
I'd invited them along on this four day jaunt of book store signings, Saturday's Comic Con and wrapping up Monday morning with two radio interviews in metro Memphis. They loved travelling with me and I loved it best when I could get both of them along. At times like this, when the thought caught me up, they insulated me from the rest of the world, took care of me, made sure I ate semi regularly and best of all, kept track of who sent drinks to our table.
When my hand started cramping up, I hit the mental pause button and surfaced for real air, noticing five sparkly purple chips beside my now watery drink.
"What're these?" I asked, interrupting their discussion of the guy two tables over's ass. They glanced over at me, smirked.
"Those, lovie, are the rounds that've been sent over while you were under." Helena grinned, sipping at her rum and coke. I then noticed their empties crowding the table top and scrubbed my hands over my face.
"Thank God you can go without make up or you'd look like a smeary, scary clown." Mika said, sympathetically patting my shoulder.
"You're just jealous." I said, blinking myself back into the wild reality of this bar, looking around. "So, who sent them?"
"Okay, first round was the blond cowboy looking type giant over by the Keno checker." Helena described as my eyes roved the crowded bar. Finally spotting him, talking easily with two other men. Definite prime prospect material. He met my glance, smiled. I smiled back, mouthing thank you. He nodded, smiled a bit wider. "Second, fourth and this round were actually sent for Mika here. He's the brunette cutie, hanging over by the d.j."
I looked over at him, seeing an adorable young man, probably no more than twenty five, tall, slim. His eyes fixed on the ever luscious Mika, his mouth almost drooling and trembling with lust. "The third and fifth rounds came from the black haired monster over by the wait station. He's surrounded with the entourage of bored looking, killer femmes. That one's been watching you since you walked in. Looks like the notch in the bedpost type to me."
"Right up your alley then 'lena, even in the looks department." I said, finding him easily, as he was most definitely watching me. He saluted me with his drink. I nodded with a smile that felt very fake and plastic.
"I was thinking that myself, but he seems to have a one track mind." She grinned. "And in that case, I've already got my eye on the cutie by the door who's already eyeing me back." I glanced over, spotted him, cute ginger, grinned. Quite the cutie, I admitted. I finished my watery Washington Apple, signaling our waitress over, ordering a Wild Mezcal tequila shot, a coke chaser and lime.
When she returned, I caught Blondie's eye, saluted him, making him smile, sucked it down. I felt his eyes at my throat like a caress, watching. Our waitress came back and I asked that my chip drinks be shots. She returned from the bar with the almost empty bottle. With each shot, I saluted they who sent drinks, getting a good buzz on in the process.
Mika's cutie joined us at my third round, introducing himself as Tim Buchannon, from nearby Bartlett. He was adorable, twenty eight, single with no children anywhere, sweet as sweet could possibly be and totally infatuated with the lovely Mika. He got her up on the dance floor, romancing her. Helena and I knew some sort of shenanigans would be going on in her room of the suite tonight and grinned.
"Thank Heavens and the Goddess, her dry spell may just be over!!" Helena laughed.
"What was it this time? Sixteen months?" I asked, glancing over at Blondie, taking in how broad his shoulders were, how delectable his bottom lip looked. He caught my glance, held it. I felt a smile spreading slowly over my mouth as he kept holding it.
"How the hell do you do that?"
"Do what?" I asked absently.
"Always attract them while you're not even here?"
"Well, honestly, the black haired monolith is the unexpected."
"What exactly, are you saying?" Helena asked, leaning closer.
"I'm saying, Blondie over there, is here to meet me."
"You know him? How?"
"We met a little over a two years ago in Knoxville. Had an incredibly enjoyable dinner together, went dancing, and spent the night with him."
"And this is the first I'm hearing of this? Wow...bitch."
"Sorry, had to wait until his shit got settled to say anything."
"What 'shit'?"
"His divorce became final last month." It wasn't quite true, as it was at least a year old. That's dealing with a celeb on a human level.
"Home wrecker."
"Nope, sorry. The home was wrecked long before I ever came on the scene. His divorce has been going on for the last two years. He had a lot of stuff to split up, sell."
"Is that...oh my...it is, isn't it?" Helena asked, looking him over again, recognition dawning in her gorgeous blue eyes.
"Yes, it is." I purred, glancing over at him.
"So you met two years ago and...he's the guy that played your club, before you finally sold it. And now that I'm thinking about it...Portland, Oregon....Vegas."
"Yeah, Detroit and Atlanta too." I admitted with a shrug, grinning as her eyes grew wide.
"That three day conference in Cabo San Lucas?"
"...mmm, yeah." I purred silkily, remembering the moonlight and him, trailing a fingertip along the rim of my shot glass, watching him sip at his drink, argue with his two companions.
"And you denied the rug burns."
"Still do...as they were sand burns. Truth."
"Accepted." She said, raising her eyebrow. "Lucky bitch. Hope I get that lucky tonight." I shrugged my shoulders with a grin, pouring out my last full shot into my glass. "The Loch Monster is staring again."
"Loch Monster?" I asked, pausing in the middle of lifting my last shot.
"The hunky black haired guy with the entourage. He's got that broody highlander air about him."
"Ah, okay." With that, I met his dark eyes, seeing the intensity, the broodiness there. The highlander must've been from his chiseled features, strong jaw, and sharp cheekbones. Definite prime prospect material, if I'd been looking. I raised my last shot to him, swallowed, holding his steady gaze. He nodded once. "...I dunno...he's kinda creepy...too intense..."
"Yeah, I caught that too. Oooh, oooh, cutie alert!" Helena murmured beside my ear, watching as her cutie finally gathered his courage and sauntered over, asking her to dance. With a hopeful grin on her face, she rose, leaving me alone at the table with a wave.
Blondie appeared a few moments later, at my shoulder, setting a fresh tequila bottle on the table. I smiled, motioning to the seat beside me.
"Your business all done?" I asked as he poured out two shots, set the bottle aside.
"Finally. Little bastard." He growled, picking up his shot. I clinked my glass to his, swallowed, getting lost in his warm amber eyes. "Hi! I've missed you."
"Hi! I've missed you too." I smiled, taking his face in my palms and kissing him.
"Mmmm...how'd they take it?"
"Prelims look favorable."
"Dance with me." I nodded, rising with him, actually aching to have his hands on me. In his arms, his chin resting against my forehead, his hands trailing lightly, slowly up and down my back. "Just so you know, I nearly swallowed my tongue when you walked in in this skimpy little thing. When can I get you out of it?"
"Soon enough." I crooned against his throat, barely brushing his skin with my lips. His fingers trailed up my bared neck, raising my gaze to his, as his fingers unclipped the barrette, releasing my hair to cascade down my back. I saw him smile playfully, as his fingertips travelled over my bare shoulder.
"Mmmm, so whatcha got under it?" He drawled, sliding his fingertip inside my bodice and gently pulled it out. He groaned deep in his throat at the sight of the half cup corset. "...dear God...these skimpy, silky scraps make me weak..."
"Just repaying the favor." I purred, kissing a light trail along his jaw. With a growl I felt more than heard, he captured my mouth, plundering it passionately. His tongue teasing mine into a thrash. His hand slid into my hair, cupping my skull in his palm, while his other hand slid slowly down my back, molding my body to his in time with the slow Latin beat.
I felt his heart thundering under my palm, felt my own tripping triple time beside his. Dancing with him is still my favorite foreplay. Between his hands guiding and caressing and his mouth everywhere, I was an instant hornball.
"Do I get to meet them tonight?" he groaned in my ear, swiveling his hips, grinding his hard cock into my lower belly.
"If you'd like."
"What I'd like," quick spin out, zipped right back. "...is to find some shadowy nook in this place and fuck the ever lovin' shit out of you until you scream. Unfortunately, this place has too many lights for shadowy nooks and your ladies have been glancing over here for the last couple minutes."
"Do they have men with them?"
"Men?" he snorted, "Maybe in another five or ten years."
"They want to know if I'm going back with you or them. Either way, one of them wants the key."
"So, which is it?" he asked, nuzzling at my earlobe.
"I'm going with you. Either to my room or yours."
"I'm told mine is soundproofed."
