Thank you for your continued support. I appreciate it.
Standard disclaimer.
There was a part of me that wished I drank, while I bartended, because, after the kind of day I had, I'd get good and plastered tonight.
But alas, I was pretty sure the owner of Marcy's, would so not appreciate me passing out behind the bar, tucked in next to the service well.
Ryder Jackson Lynn, more commonly known as Jax, had cleaned up Marcy's, with nothing more than elbow grease, pure grit and determination.
The bar had been a crap hole before he came along, rumored to be nothing more than a druggie hangout...but not anymore.
He circled his arms around his girlfriend Marley's waist and her response was immediate and so endearingly natural.
She leaned into him, as they stood, not too far from the worn pool tables, grinning at another couple.
Hell, there were couples everywhere.
It was like, it was couples night at the bar and someone forgot to tell me.
Chris Harley and his fiancée, Avery Morgan, sat at one of the tables, a beer in front of him and a glass of soda in front of her, being their normal super cute selves.
Avery had this amazingly gorgeous red hair and freckles, looking like she could be a walking ad for Neutrogena, and Chris was handsome in that all-American way.
Taking another look at the couple Ryder and Marley were talking to, I realized it was Chris' younger sister Suzy and Hunter Clarington.
Those two were simply striking together, like the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie of Marcy's.
Then, there were Brittany and Jeff, blonde bombshells...the latter, who was explaining to one of the guys holding a pool stick, that there are fifty-two Fridays in 2015, or something equally bizarre as that.
The last time I'd talked to Jeff, he had told me he was starting up a business, where he was selling leashes...for tortoises. Wow!
Adjusting the glasses, I should be wearing all the time, I let my gaze drift back to Marley and Ryder, and I felt my lips spread into a smile, as I reached for the bottle of Jack.
Witnessing two people, who truly deserved to be loved, fall in love, was probably the most amazing thing to see.
It made my teeny-tiny heart all mushy, when she tipped her chin up and he dropped a kiss on her lips.
Tonight was about them...well, about her.
She was leaving on Monday, heading back to Shepherd and Ryder had closed the bar down tonight, for a little going-away party...the private party that I'd told Kurt about.
Pouring a Jack and Coke for Milton, who was older than Father Time and practically had his own stool at the bar, I grinned, as he winked and grabbed the short glass.
"That's love right there," he said. He spoke over the old rock-and-roll song that was playing, nodding in the direction of Marley and Ryder. "The kind that lasts."
Actually, it was like love threw up in the bar.
Even Denny, who worked with Sam and his brother, was here with his wife. They were all cuddled up together.
But Milton was right, and it made me a little sad, because, I'd be pouring myself into bed, all by my lonesome tonight.
Oh well.
"Yeah, it is," I said. Sliding the bottle back on the shelf, I leaned against the bar top and asked him, "You want wings or anything?"
"Nah, sticking to the real deal tonight." He lifted the glass as I raised a brow. "It's good about those two," he added, after taking a drink. "That girl...she ain't had the easiest life. Ryder will...yeah, he'll take good care of her."
I was of the mindset, that Marley didn't need Ryder to take care of her, that she could do it all by herself, but I got what he was saying, in that old-fashioned way of his.
One just had to look at her, to know that some bad...real bad...things had happened.
She had a scar on her left cheek, one she didn't try to hide so much anymore, and she'd told me what the fire had done to the rest of her body.
It had happened when she was a young girl, and she'd ended up losing her whole family.
Her brothers had died, and her mom dived off the deep end, while her dad had bounced, unable to deal.
So like I said, it was amazing, seeing someone who really deserved love...find it.
Milton tilted his grizzly cheek towards me, as I straightened the glasses perched on my nose.
"So what about you, Mercy-girl?"
Looking around the half-empty bar, I frowned.
"What do you mean what about me?"
He gave me a toothy grin.
"When are you gonna be out there with your arms around some man?"
I snorted. I couldn't help myself.
"Not anytime soon."
"Famous last words," he replied, tipping his glass to his lips.
Shaking my head, I laughed.
"Ah, no. Not famous. Just true."
He frowned, as he slid off the stool.
"I saw you going into that Italian place with that one boy last week. What's his name?"
"I'd like to think, I don't date boys," I teased. "So I have no clue who you're talking about."
He finished off his drink, in a way that must've made his liver proud.
"You date a lot, little lady."
Shrugging a shoulder, I couldn't argue with that statement.
I did date a lot and actually, some of the guys did act like boys, thinking that a cheap dinner at the Olive Garden, meant they were getting some action afterwards.
I mean, geez, it should be a rule somewhere, that said, filet and lobster had to be on the menu, before second base could be achieved.
"Yeah, well, what about the one who looked wet behind the ears? The redhead kid," he said. "Yeah, he had red hair and some peach fuzz on his face."
'Peach fuzz?'
Oh geez, I bit down on my lip to stop from laughing, because, I knew who he was thinking of and the poor guy seriously couldn't grow facial hair.
"You're talking about Sean?"
"Whatever," he said dismissively. "I don't like him."
"You don't know him!" I pushed off the bar, grinning, as he rolled his eyes. "Sean's actually a pretty nice guy, and he's older than me."
Milton grunted.
"You need to get with a real man."
"You volunteering?" I threw back.
That got a deep, throaty laugh out of him.
"If I was younger, girl, I'd show you a good time."
"Whatever," I laughed, folding my arms across the lettering on my T-shirt, which said HUFFLEPUFF DOES IT BETTER. "You want another drink? Beer, though, because, it's obvious you don't need any more hard liquor."
He snickered in my direction, but quickly got all serious with me.
"You got someone walking you to your car when you get off?"
I thought that was a weird question.
"One of the guys always walks me to my car."
"Good. You need to be careful," he went on. "I'm sure you heard about the girl over in the Prussia area? She's around your age, lives alone, and works late. Some guy followed her home...messed her up pretty badly."
"I think I remember hearing something about that on the news, but I thought it was some guy she knew. An ex-boyfriend or something."
He shook his head, as he took the bottle of beer I offered.
"Last I heard, he was cleared. They think it was a stranger. Prussia ain't far from here, and you remember that girl who disappeared about a month ago...Kelly Winters, I think was her name. She lived over in Abington Township. They still ain't found her."
He tipped the bottle at me, and I vaguely remembered seeing Missing Persons photos, shared on Facebook.
If my memory served me right, she was a pretty girl with blue eyes and brown hair.
"Just be careful, Mercy."
Leaning against the bar, I frowned, as Milton ambled off. Now that was kind of a creepy turn in our conversation.
"Wanna make a bet?"
I turned and looked way up at Noah Puckerman. He took tall, dark, and brooding to a whole new level, and the girls who came in here, ate it right up.
He had an 'I'm gonna break your heart' allure, and yet the girls kept on flocking to him.
I was a little surprised he was talking, because, he rarely spoke to anyone, besides Ryder, and I had no idea how he hooked up with so many chicks, when he was as quiet as a mime.
Noah was a hit-it-and-never-see-your-face-again, kind of guy.
I once overheard Ryder telling him, he couldn't ban chicks he'd banged from the bar, just because, he didn't want to see them again.
"For what?" I asked.
Grabbing the bottle of tequila, he nodded in Ryder's direction.
"He'll be down to Shepherd before the week is out."
A grin tugged at my lips, as I stepped back, giving him access to the rack of glasses.
"Yeah, I'm not making that kind of bet, unless I get to say yes he'll be down there."
Noah laughed softly, which was another strange sound, because, it was also something he rarely did.
I didn't know what his deal was, he could be moody and he was really bad boyfriend material, but I liked him.
"Hey," I said. "Guess what?"
He raised a brow.
"Banana."
One side of his lips kicked up.
"Is that like a code word for something?" he asked.
"Nope. Just felt like I needed to say it."
I grabbed a towel and wiped up a bit of spilled liquor.
"But, wouldn't that be a weird safe word during BDSM play? Like the chick yelling banana in the middle of sex? That would be so awkward," I ended.
Noah stared at me.
"I read this book once, where the girl yelled cat, right before they were about to get some bow-chicka-bow-wow," I told him. "It was hilarious."
"Okay," he murmured, before wandering away.
Ryder suddenly appeared by the bar, both brows raised.
"What in the hell are you two talking about?"
I grinned at him and Marley, who stood beside him.
"Safe words used during BDSM."
Marley's eyes widened.
"Um...all right, wasn't expecting that."
A giggle escaped me, and in the moment, I felt a lot lighter than I had the whole day.
"You two want something to drink?" I looked at her and smiled like the Joker on meth. "How about tequila?"
She drew back, and I almost expected her to hiss at me.
"Hell no! I don't want any of that devil's juice."
Ryder chuckled, as he dropped his arm over her shoulders and tucked her against his side, almost protectively.
And that brought forth an 'aww' moment from me.
"I don't know. It's kind of cute when you cuddle a bottle," he said.
Marley's cheeks flushed, as she placed a hand on his lower stomach.
"I think, I'll just stay away from that."
I ended up forking over a Bud Light for him and a hard lemonade for her.
"Like the shirt," she commented, as she cradled the bottle close to her lips. "I'm gonna miss you and your shirts."
"I'm going to miss you, too!" I shrieked, and if I could actually climb over the bar, I would've thrown myself on her. "But you're coming back, right? We have like, joint custody of you."
She laughed.
"I'll be back before you know it. You won't even miss me."
Wrong! I was totally going miss her.
"I'm tagging along with her when she comes back," Suzy said, appearing beside her, smoothing a hand down the glossy length of her dark hair. "I like it here."
Marley glanced over to where Hunter was talking to Chris.
"I hope you aren't planning to leave him behind, because, I don't think that will work out well for you."
"I'd never do such a thing," Suzy said, as she looked over at me. "He's great arm candy to have around."
My gaze traveled back to the hazel-eyed hottie, known as Hunter.
"True dat," I agreed.
"Okay, I think it's time for me to go," Ryder said. He dropped his arm and pressed a kiss to Marley's cheek. "Hunter is dreamy, though! I'd do him."
He'd said that loud enough, that Hunter sent us a confused look, that he somehow managed to make look sexy, and I cracked up into a fit of hyena-type giggles.
Suzy shook her head, as she leaned into Marley.
"All seriousness, both of us really like it up there. So do Chris and Avery. Good place to get away to."
"And you can always come visit us," Marley said to me.
I nodded absently, as the door swung open.
Only people who were close to Marley and Ryder would be coming in tonight, and I expected it to be San, since she hadn't made an appearance yet, but that wasn't who it was.
Sam Evans walked in, wearing a variation of what he had on earlier today, and my stupid heart did a little jump.
It was Friday night, and being a deputy, shouldn't he be working?
'Dammit!'
He didn't even look to where the guys were crowded around one of the tables.
His attention, immediately drew to the bar and our eyes locked. My girlie parts instantly engaged.
'Double dammit!'
It was like every time I saw him, he took a bit of my breath away. And he didn't even know it.
Maybe it was the way he walked...oh hell, he was heading right for the bar!
I veered around, my gaze landing on Noah.
"I'm going to go check stock."
"One of these days, you're going to tell me why you do this," Marley muttered, and I didn't hear what else she said, because, I was hightailing my big butt out of the bar.
I waited a good five minutes, deciding that Sam would've gotten a drink from Noah by then.
Pushing off the door, I tucked the strand of hair behind my ear and opened it.
"Crimey!" I shrieked, stumbling back into the stockroom.
Sam stood there, hands braced against the door frame, his chin dipped low and jaw hard. He did not look happy.
"Are you done hiding?" he asked.
"I...I wasn't hiding. N-not at all," I stuttered. Heat flooded my cheeks. "I was doing stock."
"Uh-huh."
"I was!" I protested.
He arched a brow, disbelief written on his face.
"Whatever. I need to get back out there, so can you kindly remove..." I started.
"No."
My mouth dropped open.
"No?"
He straightened, but instead of backing off, he stalked forward, catching the door on the way in.
The bicep in his right arm flexed, as he slammed it shut.
"You and I need to talk," he said.
'Oh dear.'
"Buddy, there's nothing we need to talk about," I said.
He kept coming towards me, and I was moving backwards, before I even knew what I was doing.
I bumped into a shelf and bottles rattled behind me.
Then, he was right in front of me, so close, that when I inhaled, I could practically taste the crisp, fresh scent of his cologne.
Two hands landed on the shelf, on each side of my shoulders and then, he managed to lean in even further.
His warm breath danced across my cheek and a fine shiver curled its way down my spine.
Whoa! Girlie parts engaged, locked, and ready for takeoff.
I was so going to hit myself later.
"I've let this go on between us for far too long," he said, and his stare, snared my wide-eyed gaze.
That green...dang, it was like nepeta...a cross between, pine, moss and emerald...a green that was hard to mix and capture with watercolors.
My tongue felt heavy.
He hadn't been this close, since that night with all that whiskey.
"Nothing is going on between us."
"Bullshit, Mercedes. You've been avoiding me for months."
"Nuh-uh," I said, and yeah, that sounded lame, but his mouth was right there, and I remembered clearly, what his mouth felt like against mine.
A wonderful combination of firm and soft, and I also recalled how strong he was. How he'd lifted me right off the floor and...
And I really needed to stop thinking about that right now.
"Eleven months," he said, voice deeper. "Eleven months, two weeks and three days. That's exactly how long you've been avoiding me."
Holy crap, did he just count that out to me?
Because, he was totally right. That was exactly how long I'd been steering clear of him, in between the moments I'd told him to screw off.
"We're going to talk about the last time you and I had a decent conversation."
'Oh no, we are so not going to talk about that.'
He dipped his head, and his voice was right in my ear.
When he spoke, my fingers tightened on the edge of the shelf I was hanging onto.
"Yeah, babe, we're going to talk about the night you drove me back to my place."
I swallowed hard, unnerved.
"You...you mean the night you were drunk off your ass, and I had to drive you home?"
Sam lifted his head and those eyes bored into mine.
Neither of us spoke for a long moment, and I was thrust back eleven months, two weeks and three days ago.
He'd been at the bar, and we'd been flirting with each other, like we'd been doing every time we saw each other, since he returned from overseas.
But when he came back, it was like those years he'd been gone, had washed away.
Visions of marriage and making babies, had danced in my head, despite the fact, I'd ordered myself not to read into the harmless flirting.
But I'd been infatuated and I'd also been an idiot.
That night, he'd asked me to drive him home, and I'd thought he was finally making a move...granted...a really weird way to make a move, but I hadn't really thought the whole thing through.
I'd been crushing on this guy forever and I had been greedy with his attention...so I did it.
When we got to his place, I followed him inside and I had been the one to really make the move.
Gathering up all the courage I had in me, I had kissed him, right inside his apartment, the moment he'd closed the door.
Things had escalated quickly after that. Clothes had come off, body parts were most definitely touching, and I...
"I'd give anything to remember that night," Sam continued, looking me straight in the eyes. And that voice got richer. "Anything to remember what it felt like, being inside of you."
Several things happened to me all at once.
Muscles low in my belly tightened, at the same moment disappointment swelled like a tide, washing away the anger and flushing my system.
I closed my eyes as I bit down on my lip.
Sam believed, that eleven months, two weeks, and three days ago, we'd had sex...wild, animalistic, against-the-wall sex, but he'd been too drunk to remember it.
Too shitfaced to remember anything, passed the moment we'd gotten naked in the hallway.
I just hadn't realized he'd been that far into his cups, which was stupid, because, I bartended and knew when people were plastered and needed to be cut off.
Hell, he'd asked me to drive him home, for crying out loud, but I had been so caught up in him.
So damn hopeful and so beyond crushing, because, it was more than that. I had fallen in love with him when I was fifteen and that hadn't changed in all those years.
I ended up staying the night with him, and when he'd woken up the next morning, hungover and so damn apologetic and regretful...and seconds from chewing his arm off, to get away from me, my heart had cracked.
And in the immediate weeks following that night, when he'd avoided me, like I was infested with the plague, my heart had shattered.
The sad thing was, Sam had it all wrong.
We hadn't even gotten to the point where slot A fit into slot B.
We hadn't had sex that night.
He'd barely made it to the bedroom before passing out, and I had stayed with him, because, I'd been worried and I thought...it didn't matter what I thought, because, we hadn't had sex.
Stay safe!