Give Me Something (13 page)

“
This is Lila,” he beamed, “my girlfriend.”  This was the first time I'd heard Tucker actually refer to me as his girlfriend.  Maybe it was the simplest way for him to let the country folk know I was with him.  Jeanie must have gotten it because her expression rivaled the Fourth of July.

“
Oh, that's great! It's so nice to meet you, Lila!” She placed her hand on top of mine and gave it a little squeeze.

“
Thank you,” I replied.  Her sweet demeanor was hard not to resist.  I was starting to wonder if I had a slight affection for the rural dwellers.

“
Now, what can I get you two kids?”

After eating the most delicious bacon cheeseburger and fries I had ever encountered, Tucker pulled me and my food baby out the door and across the street to the local bar, Vaughn's Tavern.

“Is this like a honky-tonk?” I teased as he pulled the door open with a smile and a head shake, and he motioned for me to enter.  It wasn't a honky-tonk.  It actually reminded me of the bars back at school.  Sure, there was county music playing through the speakers and the drink of choice appeared to be beer, but there wasn't a cowboy hat in sight.  I took in the surroundings – the cool sleek marble top bar that stretched down the length of the room, the scattering of tables that were filled with locals, all of whom turned to see who had just walked through the front door, and the collection of vintage neon bar signs that illuminated the walls. A voice called out Tucker's name.

“
Tucker!” Her arms were around his neck with such force that it knocked him back a step.  I firmed my grip on his hand, not wanting Miss Overly Excited to knock it loose.  Her shiny ebony hair, hung in silky curls down her back.  I hadn't seen her face yet, but I assumed from the way her country-chic ensemble clung to her very womanly curves, which were now firmly pressed against my boyfriend's body, that it would take more than a cruel twist of fate for her face not to be as beautiful as the rest of her.

“
Hey, Kel,” Tucker said, lowering her red cowboy boots back to the ground.  “Good to see you too.”

“
Who is this?” she asked Tucker, flashing me a smile, complete with perfectly straight, white set of teeth.  I'm pretty sure I heard a ting the second the light hit them. Great body, great smile, gorgeous green eyes, boots that I mentally tagged in my
must haves,
and the fact that she'd literally thrown herself into the arms of the guy who's hand was now probably starting to cramp with my vice-grip on it – I hated this girl.

“
This is my girlfriend, Lila,” he said with a grin before looking down at our hands, reassuring me that he hadn't forgot I was there with him.

“
Hel – ,” I started to greet the Jezebel but was stopped short by her hugging me with the same vigor Tucker had just experienced.

“
It's so nice to meet you!” 

“
Thanks,” I managed to blurt out as the air was returning to my lungs.  As she was pulling away, she must have seen the surprised look on my face.  “I'm sorry, I just get so excited when new people come to town,” she laughed.  “It doesn't happen very often. I'm Kelly.”

“
It's okay.”  I forced a warm look to cover up the fact that I was still feeling a little green about her welcoming of Tucker.

“
Oh my god! Let me get Craig. He's going to be so excited to see you!”  With that she turned and began her quest to find Craig.

“
An old friend?”
I asked, raising my eyebrow in curiosity. 

“
Yeah, we go way back,” he chuckled as we made our way over to an open table.

I was still trying to figure out exactly what Tucker meant by “we go way back,” as we took our seats.  Was she an ex-girlfriend?  I could deal with ex-girlfriends, but it was going to be tough when she looked like that.  If Backwoods Barbie was going to be hugging on my guy all night maybe I needed to rethink my plan of action for the night.  I stared down at my well-planned outfit of skinny jeans, black leather boots and sheer royal blue tunic over a black tank.  The fact that Kelly's simple jeans and vintage, off-the-shoulder t-shirt look so effortless, and that those goddamn boots were going to blow up my search engine when I got back to school, had me second guessing all of the confidence that I usually walked into a room with.  The sound of Tucker slapping hands with someone shifted my self-deprecation.

“Hey, man,” he said as he stood up, pulling who I assumed to be Craig into a hug.

“
It's good to see you,” Craig said, patting Tucker on the back.  Tucker introduced us, and Craig took a seat.  Craig was cute – not too tall, not too short, blond hair, and blue eyes.  He had that good ole boy thing going for him, and I could tell immediately that I was going to like him. Kelly returned with four beers and her million dollar smile.  I gladly took the drink from her hand.  Just as I was pulling it to my lips, I noticed something else that sparkled besides her teeth.  She sat down next to Craig, my eyes still deciphering what I'd just seen.

“
My wife here was pretty excited to see you coming through the door,” Craig said, leaning over to kiss Kelly on the cheek.

Yes.  A wedding ring. I didn't have to hate her! She was married!

“Hey,” she sassed, playfully slapping her husband's arm, “I'm just glad to see Tucker back in town with a smile on his face.” She turned her smile to me and winked.   “The last time we saw him...”  She trailed off.

“
It's okay, Kelly.  I'm fine.”

Her smile went from elated to sympathetic, “Sorry, Tuck.  I didn't mean to – ”

“Don't worry about it.” He smiled.  Tucker looked at me and I shrugged, wondering what they were talking about.  “The last time I was home was for Dad's funeral.”

“
Oh.” That made sense.

“
Really, I'm fine,” he reassured me, placing his hand under the table and squeezing the top of my thigh.  He looked back at Kelly and Craig.  “So, how's your brother doing?”

“
Jess is great.  He moved down to Florida with Alyssa.”

“
Boyd? Seriously?” Tucker asked.

“
Yep.” She confirmed.

“
That's great.  I always thought those two would end up together.  And the kids?”

“
They're awesome,” Kelly gushed.

“
You have kids?” I asked.

“
Two,” Craig replied with the ear-to-ear grin of a proud poppa.

“
God, I hope I look as good as you do when I have kids,” I complimented Kelly.  My new friend.  My new married friend.  She smiled coyly and dramatically flung her hand as if to tell me to stop, but before her gesture had time to set in she motioned to “keep it coming” and laughed. “You really do look great.”

“
Well, you'll see when you have kids of your own.  A full time job and chasing around two little ones keeps the calories off.  Sometimes I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off.”

I furrowed my brow at her analogy.

Tucker's hand slapped against my thigh. “Never heard that one, city girl?”  I shook my head.

“
A chicken's body runs around after its heads cut off.  Takes it a little while for the nerve endings to stop firing,” Craig explained, much to my disgust.

“
Thanks,” I said and grimaced at the visual.  Craig smiled and raised his beer bottle tipping it to signal a “you're welcome.”

“
Let's change the subject,” Kelly placed her hand on Craig's arm and lowered his beer bottle.  “So, tell me how you two met?”

“
Go ahead,” Tucker snickered.  “Tell them how you stalked me until I agreed to go out with you.”

“
That's not really how I remember it,” I chuckled.

“
Really?” Tucker gave a sarcastic look.  “Then please, do tell.”

“
I'm pretty sure you were the one begging me to go out with you,” I stated coyly.

“
I guess you're right.  I would have been crazy not to.”  Tucker stared into my eyes, silently declaring just how
crazy
about me he was.  I held his stare, hoping that I was giving off the same vibe, but knowing that it was impossible not to.

“
Omigod, you guys are too cute!”  Kelly interjected.

After we gave them the run down on our relationship, they excused themselves to go help the band set up.

“Are they in the band?” I asked Tucker, who had now begun to move his hand up and down my thigh.

“
Huh?” He pulled his eyes from my lap.

“
Are Kelly and Craig in the band?”

“
Oh, no,” he laughed.  “They own the bar.  Sorry, I got distracted.” He grinned wickedly.

“
I'll say.” I turned in my chair, pulling my knee up, tucking my leg to my body, to inch closer to Tucker. I leaned in and placed my lips on his, stealing a quick kiss.  He groaned when I pulled away.  “Easy, buddy.” I lowered my hand to his chest, stopping his advance to continue what I'd started.  “So, they own the bar?  That's cool.”  They couldn't be more than a couple years older than me and they were married with children and owned a business.  I was becoming more and more impressed with Kelly and Craig as the seconds ticked.  To be so sure of your life at such a young age seemed impossible, to me at least.  I couldn't even decide on a major.

“
Yeah, Kelly's parents did, but they gave it to her and her brother.”

“
Hmmm.” I nodded.  “What's he like?”

“
Great kid,” he answered shortly, letting his hand wander down my side, the warmth of his touch sending a shiver down my spine.  “Why don't you come back over here and give me some more sugar?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively causing me to almost spit my drink on him.

“
First of all,” I laughed, wiping my mouth, “we are in a very public place.  Second of all, did you just say 'give me some sugar'?”

“
I sure did, baby,” he said straight-faced, holding up his fingers like a pistol and making a clicking sound with his tongue and winking.

“
Oh, you're good.” I jested and leaned in, giving him one more quick kiss. “I'm such a sucker for your grade-A pick-up lines.”

“
That's what I was counting on,” he chuckled, letting his nose rub against mine.  Just as he was about to sneak his lips back to mine we were interrupted by the screech of feedback through the speakers.

“
Sorry about that folks!” the lead singer of the band apologized. “We just want to thank y'all for coming out tonight!  Let's get ready to have some fun!” I hadn't even noticed that the bar was now filled to capacity with anxious people ready to dance the night away.  The drummer rapped out a count with his sticks and the rest of the band started playing.  I rolled my eyes at Tucker when the lead singer started in with her best Carrie Underwood impression.  The dance floor was flooded with whoops and hollers when she hit the chorus.

“
Now it's a honky-tonk,” Tucker laughed, leaning in so I could hear him over the noise.  “Come on city girl. Let's dance!”  With that he pulled me from my chair and out onto floor filled with a two-stepping crowd.

I did my best to keep up with the foreign rhythm.  Nick would have died if he saw me dancing to country music.  It was a far cry from the club beats he mixed, but by the time the band started on their second song I was a pro.  Tucker smiled when the beat slowed and pulled me in his arms for a the ballad that was now being played.

“I'm impressed,” he said as I wrapped my arms around his neck.  “You fit right in.”

“
I don't know about that,” I laughed.

“
Well you're pretty good at pretending then.” He kissed my forehead.

If he only knew.  I grinned uncomfortably before resting my head back on Tucker's chest.  I couldn't bear to look in his eyes.  How long did I really have before he figured it all out?  The guilt continued to fester as the song came to an end. I pulled out of Tucker's arms.  “I need to get a drink.  I'll be right back.” I quickly turned from his now confused stare.  By the time I reached the bar, I was anticipating Tucker to follow and was preparing my answer for leaving him high and dry on the dance floor.  I just needed a minute to remind myself of everything that was on the line.  As much fun as I was having, and whatever I thought I felt for Tucker, it couldn't be more than that.  I nodded to Kelly, letting her know I was ready for another round.

“Imagine that,” Kelly said, handing me two bottles and nodding toward the dance floor.  “You step away for two seconds and that skank is all over him.”

I whipped my head around to see a red head attempting to wrap her arms around Tucker's neck.  Tucker's eyes were on mine and stretched wide as he pushed her arms down, trying to detour her advances.  The girl was relentless.  Despite Tucker's blatant desire not to dance with her, she continued to tug at his shirt and move her body in as closely as possible to his.  Tucker's attempts to get away were quite comical as he pleaded with me to return and save him from the she-devil.