Jerk: Delinquent Rebels MC (4 page)

“I want to take you to lunch,” Van told her, as she struggled to find a way to comfortably carry everything. She let the statement sink in, and then she shook her head again—half-wondering if she’d regret that too.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He didn’t ask her why she thought that. Instead, he reached into his wallet, produced a small card, and handed it to her. Against her better judgement, she took it and stuffed it in her pocket.

“Ladies drink free at the bar tomorrow before eleven,” he explained, and she felt a blush creeping across her cheeks. “I work from eight to one… You should drop by. Free drink.” He paused, perhaps sensing her hesitation, and then added, “Totally harmless.”

April almost laughed, and as she struggled on her walk home, the business card burning a hole in her pocket, she decided that while she always appreciated a free drink, nothing was ever harmless with a guy like Van.

CHAPTER FIVE

It shouldn’t be so intimidating. After all, it was little a slip of paper, a tiny rectangle with some writing on it, yet April hadn’t been able to stop fiddling with it since she slipped it in her pocket. Van hadn’t gotten in touch with her since their market escapade the previous morning, but she knew there was a question hanging between them: Would she take up his offer for a free drink?

Apparently he worked at Cedar Lodge, a bar near the prestigious resort her mom had gotten completely piss drunk in the first night she was reunited with the Palmer family. From what she remembered, it was a fairly upscale place, with cigar lounges and a martini bar on the patio. There was a pretty good chance that if she went, April would run into more old friends, the ones she hadn’t made much of an effort to contact since arriving in Cascade Falls a little over a week ago. Maybe it would be a nice surprise.

Plus, she was getting a little sick and tired of sitting around in her mom’s apartment every night, her butt glued to the couch as the TV blared for hours on end. It was like she was in high school all over again, not a grown woman who had a degree and the potential for a career.

As she spent the day considering Van’s offer, her mind wandered to Johnny. After all, Johnny would have been the safer choice of the two, and she knew there were no underlying…
feelings
revolving around him. Sure, she’d had a crush on him when she was sixteen, but those days were long over. If they were to meet up for drinks, it would be because April genuinely wanted to hear about what had been happening in his life. His touchy-feely crap from the market would be stopped gently but firmly—and that would be that.

If she went to the bar Van worked at… Well, there was no guarantee things would go so smoothly. As much as she tried to busy herself with apartment renovations and movies and books, April couldn’t stop her mind from drifting to Van. Hell, every time she left the kitchen she recalled the way his muscular arm wrapped around her waist, dragging her to him in the midst of their paint fight. The memory gave her chills, her skin erupting in excited little goose bumps.

But Van brought complications. He brought their history, no matter how fleeting and
amazing
that had been, and he also brought his dad’s unnerving warning. She and her mother had gone to look at a few wedding dresses the day after James issued his threat, and as much as April had wanted to spill the beans on her mom’s fiancé, she kept her mouth shut. Fear had a way of silencing people. However, she went to bed every night with knots in her stomach thinking that a guy like James would be her stepfather.

There was so much to think about, to dwell on, and by late afternoon on Saturday, April started to feel claustrophobic in her mom’s guest room. Hell, she felt claustrophobic in her own brain. Groaning, she tucked the business card away, using it as a bookmark for her latest read, and flopped back on her bed—which was so hard she woke up with back pain every morning—with a loud groan.

“Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

She bolted upright as her mom’s voice floated in, spotting her loitering in the doorway across the room. April had filled her mom in on the details of her market adventures, cautiously excluding the fact that she and Van had a slight sexual history that was tainting all their current interactions.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, shrugging and tucking her hair behind her ear. “I don’t even know if I really feel like it… I’d have to get dressed and put makeup on and…”

They were all lame excuses—that much was obvious. Her mom gave her a sympathetic smile, followed by a nod.

“Honey, you do whatever you want to do.” She checked her watch briefly and then looked back to April. “You know, I’m meeting the girls for dinner tonight, and… I think you should go.”

“Really?”

“No one’s forcing you to spend the night there,” her mom continued, as April’s frown slowly faded, “and you won’t have to pay for anything. I think it’ll be fun. You’ll see some old friends. You and Van can bond a little.”

She pressed her lips together. If only her mom knew bonding with Van was
exactly
what April was trying not to do.

“Plus, I think you’re starting to get a little cooped up in here,” her mom added, and this time it was April nodding. The woman still knew how to read her, even after living apart for almost seven years. “A change of scenery would be nice.”

With a little gentle prodding from her mom, April eventually made up her mind…she’d stay for one free drink. It might do her some good to see Van working somewhere, putting in a hard night’s effort—because the image she had of him in her mind was less than flattering, and maybe, just maybe, that wasn’t entirely fair.

He could still be a womanizing creep that she ought to steer clear from
and
have a good work ethic. That would bump him up a few points in her book.

Once her mom had left for her dinner date with her friends, a social butterfly in the golden years of her life, April rooted through her suitcase for something to wear. Even though this was a long-term visit, she’d yet to unpack, feeling that her home was back in
her
apartment, not here. It felt strange hanging up her things, putting them away in drawers.

At first, she went with a dark pair of fitted jeans and a tank top, which she covered with a dressy jacket. However, an image of Cedar Lodge popped into her head, as she studied herself in the mirror, and she quickly switched into a little black dress instead. It clung to her curves, modest yet sexy, and it had little cap sleeves and a hemline that stopped at her knees. Paired with a set of bright heels, and she’d be a catch.

Midway through her makeup routine, she hesitated, not wanting Van to think she actually put a lot of effort into her look for the night. Rather than doing the smoky eye she’d originally envisioned, April went with some liner and mascara, then a nude lip. Her hair she left as is, though she used a bit of product to add some waves. Cascade Falls was making her thin blonde locks straight as a board these days, and she had to wonder if it was something in the water.

Satisfied, she grabbed a clutch, put on her heels, and then realized it wasn’t even seven yet. Van didn’t start work until eight. And she wasn’t about to show up as soon as his shift started. A little embarrassed, April headed for the kitchen and made herself a sandwich, hoping that would settle her knotted stomach before she left for the night for one free drink and nothing more.

***

Cedar Lodge was nothing like she remembered. Even though she’d only been there a few times in her teens, usually with her parents, always during the day, things had changed. Instead of the upscale establishment she’d expected, April walked into a bar where most of the men were in plaid and jeans, and the women were equally casual. In her little black dress and heels, she was woefully overdone for a place like this, and just standing in the doorway, she could already feel the stares.

This was a mistake.

Panicked and a little self-conscious, April turned on her heel and made a beeline for the front doors. There were old license plates on the walls, stuffed animal heads, and neon signs. The place had gone to a decorator’s personal hell, but it was the busiest she’d ever seen it—all the more reason to get out. Just before she made it to the doors, however, a hand caught her by the elbow, stopping her dead in her tracks. She whirled around, ready to give the presumptuous bastard a piece of her mind.

Only to have her breath catch in her throat when she collided, chest to chest, with Van. Well, more like face to chest, given that he was a full head taller than her. April caught a whiff of his cologne, the scent tickling her nose and making her blush. It was the kind of smell that she’d always associate with him—even years from now when they were on polite familial terms. Anytime she smelled that damn cologne, she’d think of Van.

He looked smart tonight. Well-dressed. Nothing like the bar-back slob she’d expected. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied the waitresses, in their white cotton tees and jean skirts. Most were in flats. Van had a pressed dark button-up on, and when she dared to peak down, she noticed dress pants and some polishable shoes.

“What the hell?”

“Sorry,” he chuckled, arms crossed as she staggered back. April pressed her lips together tightly, realizing she’d actually vocalized her confusion at how well he was dressed. “I thought you were trying to slip out before saying hi. Figured I’d catch you this time.”

She inhaled deeply, ready to tell him to put a damn cork in her little escape routine from that fateful night, but then she thought better of it. Instead, she gestured down to her dress. “I thought I might have overdone it,” she said. “I remember Cedar Lodge being a little more… You know…?”

“Uptight?” The music grew louder all of a sudden, and April was forced to step closer to him just to hear what he was saying. “Yeah, it was, but then with new ownership came a new vibe. The town’s bullshit elite can go to the resort if they want their fucking cigar bars and underpaid servers.”

Did he know his dad was one of those “bullshit elite” thanks to all the rumored shady dealings he’d had over the years? Maybe. It was hard to tell with Van. He’d yet to share an opinion with her about his dad, aside from the fact that it was crazy that their parents were getting married.

And what about his dad’s warnings to her? Was Van privy to
that
little gem of an incident?

Again… Probably not. If so, she doubted he’d try to make an effort to see her outside of forced family get-togethers.

She looked around, taking in the younger crowd of patrons. “I bet it makes more money now. College kids drink.”

“Hardly a lot of college kids here,” he argued, and she raised an eyebrow at him. Van leaned down, his hand on her lower back, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood. She should have pushed him away. Removed his hand. Glared. April, however, did none of those things. Instead, she merely stood still, trying her hardest not to concentrate on the warmth radiating from his palm, nothing but a thin slip of black dress separating them. “Most of them drink at, you know, actual college bars.”

April nodded. Most of the people looked like the kinds she’d met in college, which made her feel oddly… old. Apparently twenty-five was the new fifty.

“Why don’t I give you the tour?” Van suggested, taking her hand and pulling her into the crowd. She stumbled after him, gripping his hand back for the briefest of moments before pulling it away, thinking it was pretty presumptuous of him to just grab her like that. Van glanced back when they broke apart, but said nothing, nor did he reach for her hand again.

Like any tour, Van showed her the highlights of the new Cedar Lodge. There was a stage in one corner, upon which a DJ played with his equipment. There were three bars, effectively splitting the crowd and cutting the wait time—according to Van. One bar was on the main level, one upstairs in the lounge area, and one outside on the patio. The weather was a little chilly tonight, which meant most people made use of the two inside.

“And this is where I will be for the rest of the evening,” Van told her, dipping his head down to speak in her ear. They were far from the speakers as they approached the main floor bar, and he’d led her to the quiet corner where the staff seemed to enter from. There was no need to be so close to one another; she could hear him just fine at a distance.

But April found she almost preferred it this way, so she said nothing. Instead, she snagged an empty barstool and placed her hands flat on the counter, waiting until he appeared behind the bar. All he needed was a towel thrown over his shoulder and the look would be complete. Behind him, two other bartenders catered to the rest of the patrons—though now that Van was there, a few of the bar-goers wandered down to her end demanding beer. Van pointedly ignored them.

“What will the lady be drinking this evening?” he asked, and April wondered how many other girls he’d used those words on in the last week. He must have been able to just reel them in, dressing handsomely with that killer smile. Squaring her shoulders, April cocked her head to the side as if thinking on it. She decided that she could indulge in his game—just this once.

“Surprise me,” she said finally, and he tapped the bar top with a grin and a nod, then disappeared to the wall of full alcohol bottles behind him. She half-expected he’d return a few seconds later with a shot of gin. As she recalled, that was his drink of choice back in the day.