Just One Night (Black Alcove #2) (14 page)

“Logan, Ethan and I
are going out for some beers and to play a few rounds of darts
tonight, you in?’ Conner says, poking his head into the bathroom
while I brush my teeth. I nod and spit.

“Yes.” A drink is
exactly what I need.

I head back to my room
to change and call Sara. The phone rings and goes to voicemail. First
she cancels without much of an explanation and now she isn’t
answering her phone.

I
really need that drink.

Sara

“When was the last
time you went out anyway?” Liam asks me from behind the bar. I
thought we got off this damn subject since this morning. He sets the
tray of new glassware on the counter and waits for my answer. I shrug
and look away.

“I don’t see why
that would matter on the type of music we play.” I say, since that
was the conversation topic.

“It matters because I
think you have been way too focused on getting this place up and
running. You’re missing out on the part where you should still have
a life. Logan’s doing it, why can’t you and … I mean, why are
you in such a hurry?”

I pin him with a glare.
He knows damn well why I want this place to open as soon as it can.
He holds his hands up in surrender style and takes a step back.

“Okay, okay so I know
the answer to that, but come on, Sara. Last weekend didn’t seem to
be out of the ordinary for him. Do you think Logan is sitting at home
every night watching reruns on the tube? No, he’s probably out with
his buddies.”

I grunt and then laugh.
Logan is a social guy, but going out isn’t his thing.

“Seeing as how his
best friend is married with a kid, I doubt Logan is doing a whole lot
of going out. The other weekend was probably an exception to not make
you sit at home with him,” I argue.

“I’m not so sure.
He works in a bar, and I bet he has more than just one friend. I’ve
met him, remember—he’s a people person. Besides, didn’t your
friend’s brother move back? He’s single, right? I bet he likes to
go out.”

Would Logan really
start going out now that Conner’s back? They grew up together and
have always been friends. Logan was one of the few who actually kept
in touch with Conner when no one else knew where he was. What if
Conner wants to hit on girls? What if he needs a wing man? Nah, Logan
isn’t like that—he wouldn’t do that to me.

“I trust him.”

“Well, hey, my
roommate and good buddy of mine—who also happens to be in a band—he
and his band members like to practice in our apartment. Usually when
they’re finished around ten or so, they invite a bunch of people
over and we make it into a thing.”

“You have parties at
your place every weekend?” I ask him. That sounds crazy.

“Not every weekend,
just, you know, three out of four a month maybe.” He crosses his
arms and grins at me. “Just come. I swear you will have fun and
there will be other girls there. Some you’ll even notice you have a
lot in common with. You’ve been here for what, a month and a half
now—have you even made any friends?”

“Yes, I have,” I
say quickly.

“Besides me.” His
eyebrows rise as he waits for my answer. I let out a sigh that
halfway sounds like a groan.

“Fine, okay, so I
haven’t been going out since I’ve been here. There isn’t
anything wrong with that.”

“No, but if you
aren’t going to take my word for it, then what about getting out
there to learn the types of things this town is into? If you want
this place to be successful, you should look at all your options.”

I hate that he’s
right. I just wish there was another way I could go about it.

Defeated, I nod in his
direction.

“Okay, when is this
party of yours starting?” I ask. I should probably make myself
somewhat decent before I go into the public. Liam looks at his watch
and claps his hands together.

“Well, it’s almost
seven so now is a great time to stop working and start a party.” He
reaches for his back pocket and pulls out his phone. I push back my
chair and stand to grab my coat while he quickly types something out
and puts his phone back in his pocket. Hopefully, my agreeing to go
out tonight will make up for the fact I have kept him here later than
usual all week.

“Ready?” Liam asks.
His eyes beam with excitement. He does the male version of a skip
around the bar and doesn’t stop until he is in front of me. He
extends his arm.

“Shall we?”

I smile at the
happiness on his face. Logan always knows when I am upset or starting
to stress out and will do anything to cheer me up. I can’t help but
think that Liam and Logan are more alike each day. Wrapping my
fingers in the crook of his arms, I nod.

“Yes we shall, but I
need to stop by my place to freshen up,” I say as we head for the
door. “Should I meet you there?”

“Nonsense, it’s
getting dark out. I’ll walk you to your place and wait for you.
Then we can head over to my place. There’s no way I would let a
girl who looks like you wander anyplace alone downtown. Nice
neighborhood or not, I don’t trust a lot of people,” he says.

I lock the door and
relax. I might not know Liam very well, but he is becoming someone I
truly enjoy being around. Maybe in another world we knew each other
as more than coworkers. I ponder that thought, and right as we turn
the corner to my apartment, it hits me. I’m about to be alone in my
apartment with a guy. A guy who isn’t Logan.

Logan

I hit send for the
second time since we got to the BA. It isn’t like Sara to ignore my
calls, but I know better than anyone that if it goes straight to
voicemail after a couple rings, someone hit the decline button. And
it’s been doing that all day.

“Dude, what are you
doing?” Conner asks as he pulls the darts out of the dartboard. He
stops next to the round high-top table where I am sitting and takes a
swig of his beer. Ethan left us an hour ago, and I’ve apparently
been poor company since that moment.

“You’re acting like
a total chick right now.”

“I’m not acting
like a girl,” I say, placing my phone on the table and pushing it
away from me.

“Refreshing the
screen on your phone every two minutes is 100 percent girl behavior.”
Conner faces the dartboard once again and positions his foot as far
on the yellow tape on the floor as he can without going over. His
body straightens as he holds the dart in front of his face to focus
on the bull’s-eye ahead of him. The hand with the dart twitches
like he is going to let go, but he doesn’t. Letting his arm drop,
he turns back to me.

“Let's make a wager,
shall we?” A smug grin takes over his face. Everyone in Wind Valley
is aware of Conner Brian and his wagers. In high school, he was known
to never lose. Unless I feel like streaking, getting blackout drunk
to the point I get an embarrassing tattoo of a lovebird on my bicep,
or losing a shit ton of money, I should steer clear of anything
involving Conner and a wager. I’ve learned my lesson—a few times.

“No,” I say before
he continues. I stand, grabbing the dart out of his hand and taking
his spot behind the line. One more great reminder of why I should say
no after losing three times in a row. Ethan and I are convinced
Conner cheats, and that’s after we deliberately set the tape
farther back than it should be. Somehow, he still manages to win.
Conner flops into a chair at the table and crosses his ankles.

“You can’t say no
when you don’t even know what the wager is,” he says in his best
I-know-you’re-interested tone. I shake my head and focus on the
dartboard.

“I think—”

The first dart flees
through the air.
Damn, way off.
I get ready to shoot the next one.

“Hey, are you
listening to me?” Conner asks.

“Nope,” I say,
letting the second dart loose.
Damn,
off again.

“Well, shit—maybe
you shouldn’t bet against me. You’re not playing so hot tonight.”
He laughs. “Is your game off because of Sara?” His tone is
prying, but I ignore him.

“Are you two having a
fight?”

I still don’t answer
and try to keep my focus on the dartboard.

“Is this a situation
where she’s mad and you have no idea why?”

Ignoring him is
starting to get difficult. I pull my arms back, ready to let the
third dart go.

“Is she with Liam?”

Fuck!

The dart goes fast from
my hand and flops to the ground after hitting the board. In two steps
I’m in Conner’s face, and he doesn’t even flinch.

“Shut the fuck up.
She isn’t with Liam. I’m so tired of everyone talking about Sara
and Liam. She isn’t with anyone but me,” I say. My blood is
boiling and my fists are clenched. If he knows what’s good for him,
he won’t breathe Liam’s name around me again. If he does, it
better not be in the same sentence as Sara.

“Okay, jeez, man,”
he says, pushing me out of his space. “I’m trying to be the
supportive friend here. All I’m asking is, are you letting her go
or are we going to jump in the car, drive to Rockland, and kick some
ass to get your girl back?”

My breathing picks up
as his words play in my head.
Get
your girl back.
I hadn’t even realized I lost her, but
maybe I slowly am. I grab my phone off the table and hit redial. With
the phone to my ear I walk away from Conner. If she finally answers,
I sure as hell don’t want him around to hear our conversation.

This time, when the
call makes it past the second ring, my body relaxes. She didn’t
ignore me. When the next ring cuts off halfway through, my heart
starts to race.

“Hey, you.” Sara’s
sweet voice fills my head. “I thought you would never call.”

Never call? She can’t
be serious. Before I can reply to her, her voice is replaced with
loud music and people yelling. I hear some scream Sara’s name in
the background and then
his
voice comes in loud and clear through the phone.
Is
she drinking?

“Hey to you, too,”
I say, attempting to keep my voice calm and pretend I didn’t just
hear him ask her to dance. “I actually did try calling you earlier,
but it went to voicemail.”

“You did?” she
asks, followed by a giggle I’ve never heard before. “Stop it! I’m
on the phone!” she yells and I flinch. What the fuck is going on
over there? “Logan, can I call you back in two minutes? I need to
get outside where I can hear you better.”

“Yeah, sure thing,”
I say and hit the end button before she can say anything else.
“Conner!” I yell over my shoulder as I start for the door. “That
road trip is starting now!”

I don’t know what I’m
going to do when I get there or what I’m going to say, but I do
know I’m not letting her go. Not today.

Sara

I stumble out of the
sliding door to the backyard of Liam and Austin’s townhouse for the
fourth time—I think. There’s a reason I keep coming out here—I
just don’t remember what it is. The grass is surprisingly well kept
and is a bright, healthy green for two young guys who care more about
girls, music, and parties than anything else.
I
bet they have a landlord who takes care of everything.

For the last three
hours I’ve done nothing but drink—moderately of course—dance,
and meet a whole world of people I didn’t know were out here. I
wasn’t planning on drinking, but then someone gave me a glass of
Moscoto and it’s so good, I just keep drinking it.

Kate, one of the
vocalists for Austin’s band, likes Taylor Swift just as much as I
do, even though she doesn’t sing the same music. She also prefers
to read and watch movies over hanging out at a party. The only reason
she’s here tonight is because Liam asked Austin to invite her for
my sake. Sage, the other girl I met, is a definite groupie, but still
we have a lot of the same interests as well. We even made plans to do
a little shopping tomorrow after we have lunch. I didn’t realize
how lonely I actually felt until she invited me.

“Hey, is everything
okay?” I turn at the sound of Liam’s voice.

“Yeah, it was getting
a little too hot in there for me. I just came out for some air.”

“Alright.” He
shrugs. “Find me if you need anything.”

I give a slight nod and
then rest my arms on the balcony. This place isn’t so bad. The
mountains are beautiful and everything is green. I love knowing I can
walk outside and my chances of seeing wildlife are pretty high. My
chances are the same in Wind Valley, but everything in Wyoming is
flat. Pretty, but flat.

I jolt at the sound of
a door slamming behind me and peek through the sliding doors to watch
the commotion. Two guys are shoving each other while another keeps
trying to stand between them. A girl screams and when everyone stops
moving, I clasp my hand over my mouth.
Logan.
No, it can’t be. Crap, I never called him back. How much have I had
to drink? And how long has it been since I talked to him? I didn’t
drink that much, did I? Oh, I am going to have one bad hangover in
the morning if I’m already envisioning Logan. I should call him. I
miss him. Where’s my phone?

“Where the fuck is
she?”

Oh my god. I’m not
imaging him. Logan
is
here.
In Colorado. Crap! He’s at Liam’s apartment, looking for me. And
since I can hear him through closed doors … he sounds pretty damn
mad. Oh no, did something happen at the BA? To Kelsey or the baby?

“Dude, you’re not
going anywhere near her with that attitude.”

“If you don’t tell
me where my girlfriend is, I swear you will wish you had never met me
by the time I am done pounding your face in.”

“Logan.” Everyone
around us freezes at the shock in my voice. “What are you doing
here?”