I owe SoWritten a HUGE thank you for all the help I got with this - so I'm dedicating this to her :) (Hopefully she doesn't regret her offer to beta read for me) *LOL*
Also; thank you to whoever nominated my 'Turning Tables' for the Rookie Choice RB Awards!
His eyes scanned the bar, downing a shot every time they landed on her. He was alone, safely in his seat, accompanied by a bottle of Scotch. Playing a drinking game he'd just invented; I have never... And in this case he actually never had. Almost, but it had just slipped through his fingers. She had slipped through his fingers.
That was partly his fault, but mostly she was the one to blame.
She had betrayed him, made her way under his skin against his will. Partly anyways, and deep down he knew she knew it. Still that didn't stop her from giving him her secret smile, laughing at his lame jokes and making his coffee just the way he liked it.
Andy McNally is a tease.
He didn't mind, and that's what bothered him the most. He actually liked it, hell, he loved it. Until their day was over and it all fell back to normal that was.
She was like a wound on his skin, a scab both of them never left alone long enough to heal and she was becoming a permanent mark on his skin. A scar.
It wouldn't be so bad, if she'd been his. The fact that she wasn't bothered him more than it should.
His eyes found her again, and another shot of Scotch found its way down his throat. He clutched his fingers around the small glass like he was holding on for his life.
He was well aware that you shouldn't drink Scotch like you was in a hurry and he knew he was being stupid.
But Andy McNally made him do stupid things. Stupid things like falling in love with a woman who's heart belonged to someone else. Hell, she was engaged. Engaged!
The word left a bitter taste in his mouth. He grabbed the bottle of Scotch that was standing in front of him and poured another shot, he didn't even bother to put the cap back on. The bitter taste in his mouth was washed away with the burning liquid, only to return after a few seconds.
Him trying to drown whatever this was with Scotch had become a habit lately. Good thing he chose the cheapest bottle Liam had to offer, or else he would have declared bankruptcy by now.
He wanted to tell her to fuck off when she came to stand next to him. He also wanted to tell her all the shit he had kept inside him for the past year and a half.
He wanted to tell her he loved her. He drowned the threat of letting those words slip with another shot.
"Hi." her soft, but to him also very annoying, voice reaching his ears caused him to frown. Her voice always sent a shiver down his spine. No matter what tone she used, they all had an effect on him.
Stupid things.
He lifted his chin in acknowledgement, because he couldn't trust his voice around her with the amount of alcohol running through his blood. If he did speak, this could easily turn into a very embarrassing and pathetic love declaration.
"That's going to be one huge mistake."
She pointed her finger at the now empty shot glass and then to the half full bottle of Scotch. She furrowed her brows at the bottle, probably because she recognized the cheap label. He felt guilty, he knew why.
"My mistake." he growled. His voice sounded like it hadn't been used in years.
Truth was; she was his mistake. A mistake he wanted to call his, a mistake he wanted to feel beneath him, a mistake he wanted to take home every night and wake up with every morning.
Stupid things.
The expression of hurt on her face caused his heart to wrench, but before he could fix it, because he really hated the things that look did to him, she was gone.
"Don't blame me when you have the world's worst hangover tomorrow."
He failed to hide his snort by her words. Oh, he was going to blame her alright, because the world's worst hangover, to him, was her. A permanent hangover that made its appearance the day she tackled him in that alley.
No Advil's were strong enough to cure that hangover.
In all honesty; he hated that he hurt her, but the feeling of being hurt himself was something he despised. Because she hurt him every day.
When what he considered the luckiest man on earth, universe maybe, walked in, the pain on her face was lost on him.
Hah, jealous of Luke Callaghan.
Yeah, really stupid things.
He threw back two shots in a row in a desperate attempt to erase the sight of their kiss and his arm around her shoulder as he led her out of the bar. She glanced over her shoulder before she disappeared through the door. With a sad smile on her lips and the look in her eyes he knew she only kept for him.
Andy McNally – a tease.
Another shot followed the others down his throat. He slammed down the glass and grinned. It wasn't a grin of joy, more a grin that masked his pain. The pain of heartbreak. She broke his heart at least once a day. At least. Every day.
His eyes scanned the bar once again. All of a sudden he felt as if he was looking in a mirror. The same look of hurt he knew his eyes showed. But the eyes in the mirror were hazel and belonged to a blonde detective. She caught his eye and tilted her head towards the door. One eyebrow raised, suggestively, and a slight smirk on her lips. The same kind of smirk that was masking his pain.
He threw some cash on the bar, made a drunken attempt to get to his feet and stumbled his way towards the backdoor. With the bottle of Scotch in his hand, he followed her out.
Tonight he was going to pretend his life depended on him forgetting her deep brown eyes, her long soft brown hair, her beautifully tanned skin that smelled far too good for him to be around as much as he was.
There's one thing he's sure of; Andy McNally is going to be the death of him.
Tonight he was going to down his heartache in hazel brown eyes, blonde hair and pale skin. God, it made him feel like an idiot. But he knew he needed it and so did she.
If she could go home with the wrong man every night then he could go home with the wrong woman.
Yes, Andy McNally makes him do stupid things.
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