Back to Life (6 page)

She
smiled politely. “I’m okay. I was just letting you two catch up.”

“Well,
we can catch up later. Come on,” he said, standing up. “Dance with me.”

I
could see excitement flicker in her eyes. “Oh, no, it’s okay Brody. Really.
Stay and talk to your friend.”

He
pulled her to her feet. “Come on, I insist. You’re the one that said it’s my
night, remember? I can do whatever I want to do, and right now I want to dance
with you. What do you say, Minnie?”

She
smiled a bright smile that reached her eyes. “Okay, Brody. Let’s go,” she said
as he leaned her out on the floor.

Nick
took a swig of his beer and turned back to me. “Well, if they are going to do
their thing, I’m gonna go talk to that brunette chick at the bar that’s been
staring at me.”

“Aw,
Nick, she looks like a nice girl. I hope she doesn’t run away when she sees how
tiny your dick is,” I joked, and Liam choked on his beer, laughing.

“You’re
just jealous because I’m not laying the pipe on you, sweetheart,” he said,
playfully shoved me. I flipped him off and stuck my tongue out at him. “I’m gonna
go talk to her. Liam, keep our eye on this one,” he said, winking at me and
then walking away. I looked at Liam and smiled politely, not sure what to say. Suddenly,
it got way too quiet, and the silence became deafening. Being around him before
was easy because I had Brody, Nick, and Marissa to keep me calm, but now, I had
no idea of what to say to this man. After a few quiet seconds, Liam finally
spoke. “I can’t believe she pulled this off,” he said, smiling. “Sorry about
this.”

I
waved my hand in the air. “Hey, it’s no big deal. It’s like you said, it’s nice
to put a name with a face. Besides, she would have found a way for us to meet
anyway.”

“That’s
true. When Vivian Tanner wants something, look out world. I have to admit I am
a bit surprised though,” he said, taking a long drink from his beer.

I
cocked an eyebrow up. “Oh? How so?”

“Well,
don’t take this the wrong way, but you aren’t at all what I pictured when Mom
described you to me.”

I
laughed. “What were you expecting?”

“Honestly?
I was expecting you to be a, well, a…”

“A
gin-soaked coked-out socialite whore?”

Liam
smiled another crooked smile at me. “Well, something along those lines. All Mom
ever said about you was that you were a stylist at a high end salon, that you
were smart, quick witted, and that you were, and I quote, ‘a stunning redhead.’”
Stunning, huh? Wow. “Anyway, I can’t wait to hear what you expected me to be. Come
on, tell me,” he said, grinning.

“In
the name of honesty, I expected a…”

“A
trust fund yacht club frat boy bitch?”

“That
wears polo’s and smoking jackets,” I said.

Laughing,
he said, “You just described my father,” and a dark laughed laced with contempt
escaped him.

I
knew Liam and his dad didn’t get along, so I decided to change the subject.
“So, Nick’s a trip. How long have you two known each other?”

“Since
we were kids. We grew up together, and my family kind of became a surrogate
family for him when his mother died.”

“That’s
so sad that he lost his mom, but I can see Vivian being nurturing like that.
Your mom’s great.”

“She
is.” He paused for a moment, and continued. “Can I ask you a question?”

As
I threw back another shot of Patron, I said, “Shoot.”

“Okay,
so my mom’s been trying to hook us up for three years now.”

“That’s
not really a question,” I said, and he smirked.

“I
know that, smart ass,” he said, nudging me with his arm. It felt white hot
against my bare skin and I had to fight to keep my wits in check. “I guess I am
just wondering how you have been single after all this time,” he said, his
clear blues eyes locked on mine. “I mean, a sexy redhead that’s rocking some
serious ink and piercings? You have to know you are hot, every guy in this club
has been checking you out.”

I
instantly broke eye contact with Liam and looked around. Immediately I noticed
four men at a nearby table starting at me like they wanted to take my clothes
off with their teeth. I rolled my eyes. “I don’t give a fuck if they are, let
them look.”

“So
you aren’t going to tell me?”

“There’s
nothing to tell. I just don’t date, that’s all.”

“You
don’t date,” he laughed. “Care to elaborate?”

Slamming
back another shot, I glared at him and said, “No.” I felt a dull ache in my
chest.

Liam
must have known I wasn’t about to answer. “Okay, fair enough.” Even though he
had backed off, I could tell he was intrigued, but I wasn’t about to get into
my messed up romantic history on a Friday night.

After
a few uncomfortable moments, I finally spoke. “You have some nice ink of your
own, by the way.” I finally got a good enough glimpse of the tattoos I could
see, and he had a huge sacred heart on his right forearm, and a large dragon on
the other.

He
instinctively flexed his arms, and said, “Thanks.  These are the only ones that
are visible right now. I’m actually working on finishing my back piece.”

“Sweet.
Are you doing a theme or just lots of different things together?”

“A
lot of things. Every tattoo I have is a part of who I am,” Liam said proudly,
but his jaw tightened. “What about you?  What do these all mean?” he asked,
gliding his fingertips under my hair and across the upper part of my back. I
shuttered slightly, and for a moment my heart was beating faster.

“Um,
well, most of these mean something to me, but a few of them are just reminders
to not get a tattoo when you are a little buzzed,” I laughed.

“I
take it that the happy cartoony dolphin will be covered soon?” he laughed, and
I nodded.

“That,
and there’s a Hello Kitty on the lower right side that needs to go,” I laughed,
and he smiled wider.

“Oh
hey, that’s nothing. Remind me sometime to show you where I covered up my
Snoopy tattoo. Now
that
was a challenge,” Liam said, and I almost
choked.

“You
had a Snoopy tattoo?  I’m going to have to confiscate your man card,” I
laughed.

“I
covered him with a skull, that’s got to give me some bad ass points, right?”

“Okay,
points rewarded. You can keep your card for now,” I laughed. I moved my eyes
toward the dance floor, and Liam’s eyes followed mine. Brody and Marissa seemed
to be having fun, dancing excitedly in each other’s arms. He was saying
something to her, which made her smile brightly, and they both looked over at
us. Marissa waved at me happily, and I waved back, giggling.

“So,
what’s up with Brody and your friend? Marissa is it?” he asked me.

“Yes,
and there’s nothing up with them. At least they haven’t figured it out yet.” I poured
myself another shot.

“They
aren’t a couple? Huh, I would have thought they were a thing for sure, they way
he’s looking at her right now,” Liam said. I looked at Brody, and the way
Marissa was dancing around him, he looked at her like she was the most
beautiful girl in the club. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Brody never
looked at anyone like that when we were roommates in college. Lord knows he got
his share of offers though.”

“Yeah,
Brody’s always been a bit of a chick magnet, even in high school. He went on
dates, sure, but he was never serious about anyone.”

“He
and Marissa never hooked up?  She looks like she’s crazy about him.”

“Oh
yeah, always has been. But, he’s never seemed to notice her that way. Well,
until now it seems,” I said, smiling. “I hope they can figure it out. Otherwise
I might have to intervene.”

“Really?
Taking a page from Vivian’s book, are you?” Liam asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Ouch,
below the belt!” I said, faking being insulted. “I’m not that bad! I just know
they would make each other really happy. They already do as best friends. I
just see them being something more, that’s all.”

“Just
like Mom saw us,” he said, shaking his head. “She was right about one thing though.”

“What’s
that?” I asked, with a smile.

“That
you really are stunning,” he said, and I suddenly felt anxious. Oh no, I had
been having a good time talking to Liam, and I had a feeling that he was about
to hit on me. He must have saw the look of panic beginning to wash over me, and
he said, “Relax, Rory, I’m not hitting on you. I just think you seem like a
cool girl to hang out with. You know, like one of the guys.”

“Gee,
thanks. Dick,” I teased, instantly relaxing.

“You
know what I mean.”

“I
know, and I feel the same way. This is the longest conversation I have had with
a guy other than Brody or Brian in a very long time,” I said.

“Brian?”
Liam asked.

“My
GFF.”

“GFF?
Do I even want to know what that means?”

I
smiled, and answered, “Gay Friend Forever. His term, not mine,” I laughed. He
laughed with me, and at that moment, Brody and Marissa joined us at the table.
“Hey you two. You seem to be having fun out there.”

Brody
smiled and wrapped Marissa in a one armed hug. “Who knew this one could dance
like
that?
” Brody said.

“Oh,
there’s a lot you don’t know about me, Brody,” she said, running her index
finger along his torso. Just as she started to bite her bottom lip, I jumped
off my chair and walked to her. Brody just stood there with his mouth hanging
open, and Liam smiled at him.

“Uh,
I think maybe Marissa’s had a little too much to drink.”

She
giggled. “Oh, please! I didn’t have that much.” She started trying to count on
her hands, and then she seemed to forget that she was counting and started to
examine her hand.

“Yeah,
let’s get you to the bathroom. Guys, we’ll be right back,” I said. We passed
Nick making out the brunette as I led Marissa off to the restroom in the back
with Liam and Brody staring after us.  As soon as we got inside, I grabbed
several paper towels and wet them in the sink. When I turned to her, she was
leaning on the sink, and I began to dampen her face. “Marissa, we need to get
you home. I thought you were going try and rip Brody’s clothes off a minute
ago.”

“Rory,
I love him so much. Why doesn’t he see that?” she said, her eyes starting to
get glassy, and I knew she was about to cry.

I
put my hand to her cheek. “Oh, Marissa, believe me, I think he’s starting to
get it. You just about threw yourself at him back there. Thank God I stopped
you before you did something stupid.”

“He
wouldn’t have noticed anyway,” she cried.

Still
wiping her face, I mumbled to myself, “Believe me, he would have.”

“Rory?
I want to go home.”

Throwing
her arm around my shoulder, I said, “Okay, then let’s go. I’ll get Brody and
we’ll get out of here.”  I led her back out through the door, and when Brody
and Liam saw us, they immediately came to where we were.  Brody took Marissa’s
arm and placed his protectively at the small of her back.  “She’s completely
trashed, we need to get her home.”

“Okay,
Rory, let me give you my Visa to pay for the drinks, and I’ll get her outside
and get a cab,” Brody said.

Liam
waved his hand. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of this. Just get
your friend home.”

“You
sure, man?”

“Yeah,
it’s cool.”

Brody
shook his hand, and said, “Hey thanks, I owe you one. You got my number, right?
Me, you, and Nick should hang out this week sometime. Maybe hit up a sports bar
or something.”

For
a brief moment, Liam’s eyes flickered to mine, and then back to Brody’s. “Yeah,
definitely. It was great seeing you again, man.”

“Yeah,
you too.” Marissa shifted a little, and Brody said, “I’m going to get her
outside. Rory, you coming?”

“Yes,
right behind you,” I said. As I was following behind them, Liam stopped me.

“It
was really nice meeting you Rory. Maybe we can all hang out together again
sometime. Just as friends,” he said, putting his hands up.

I
smiled. “Yeah, that sounds cool. You got Brody’s number. Just have him let me
know when.” Before I turned around to meet Brody and Marissa outside, I felt a hand
glide across my ass and squeeze hard.

“Your
ass feels nice baby. I bet it would feel even better on my face,” someone
growled in my ear. I turned around and came face to face with a guy that had
more teeth missing than he had left. He reeked of gin and looked like he hadn’t
showered in a week.

Liam
yelled something at the guy, but I couldn’t hear what it was over the music. I
could tell he was about to knock the guy out, but before he could make a move I
cocked my fist back and punched the drunk guy in the nose, the contact making a
loud crunch against my hand…son of a
bitch
, that hurt! Blood spilled
from the guy’s nose and he screamed, “You bitch!” He stumbled toward me and
before he could try and make a move, I kneed him in the dick and he collapsed
to the floor. I leaned over him and yelled, “Touch me again, mother fucker, and
I’ll break both your legs. You got it?” I stood back up just as Nick came
rushing over. I glanced at Liam for a split second and he had a sexy smile on
his face. He looked impressed.