Revenge (6 page)

He grinned. “Okay, okay. Geesh. I get it. All looky, no touchy.”

“Damn straight.”

He looked at me and smiled. “So…where’s Art? Chained up downstairs in some medieval torture device?”

“Juliet told you?”

“She tells me everything,” he said, sipping his cheap beer. “But don’t worry. I won’t tell the dude anything. It might be kinda cool to see how it all plays out, like some damn reality show or something.”

I shook my head. “That girl can’t keep a secret to save her life.”

“Hey! She keeps secrets from everyone but me. It’s funny as hell, by the way.”

I smiled.

“That asshole shouldn’t have treated you that way in high school,” Kyle said. “Matter fact, we could teach him a lesson right now. I’d be happy to kick his ass if you want.”

“I can handle him,” I assured him.

“Well, nobody messes with my childhood friends.”

“I thank you for your loyalty,” I said, “but I need to do this my own way.” Kyle was a real jerk when it came to being faithful to girls, but when it came to being a friend, he was the friends-are-friends-forever kind of guy, and that was refreshing, considering some of the jerks I’d known.

“Okay. Whatever you say.”              

I smiled as Art approached, tying an apron around his perfectly lean waist. “Bob’s not comin’ in,” I announced.

“So?”

“So you might wanna get to work on the dishes in the back.”

“What? I’m not a dishwasher.”

“You are tonight.”

He turned abruptly, muttering a curse under his breath.

“What’s up with Bob? He sick or somethin’?” Kyle asked.

“No. I just told him to take the day off.”

“Wait. On purpose, just so Art would be stuck with the pile of dishes?”

I smirked. “Yep, and I added a few glasses and saucers for good measure.”

“You devious little bitch! Damn. I’ll be sure not to cross you,” he said. “You might cut my dick off.”

“Funny.”

“Yeah, yeah. Very funny. Until it happens to you.”

I laughed. “In all seriousness, though, I’m surprised one of your little bimbo conquests hasn’t gone all Lorena Bobbitt on you.” I held up my fingers with a scissor-snapping gesture, and we both burst out in laughter. “Snip-snip.”

“Why would they? I never hide my true intentions. Relationships suck. I see nothin’ wrong with having a little fun and a good time, no strings attached.”

“Tell me, Kyle, as a major player on campus, why would you say guys have one-night stands?”

“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging. “It’s easier, I guess, purely physical act with little or no emotion attached. Guys have a lot of reasons for that. I mean, we’re all damn horny. Who doesn’t wanna be banged without all that baggage? I guess some guys are just lonely, or maybe they’re like me and just want a little taste of everything that’s on the menu before they settle on an entrée. The one thing I can tell you is that any bump-and-grind session is best when there’s a lot of alcohol involved. Takes the edge off or something. Who wouldn’t want a night of hot sex, especially if you can skip all that drama and bullshit that goes with the dating scene?”

“Sure, but it seems you fail to make an escape plan sometimes. What if the girl gets too attached?”

“Every good Casanova has a great escape plan.”

I threw a sticky rag at him, damp with beer. “You’re always lookin’ for the next girl who’ll have you, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, and I gotta say, that Debbie chick is hot.”

“I told you, she’s off limits! Just stick to your fuck-buddies and booty calls. Boy, I’m glad we’re just friends.”

“Right. So you got any advice for me…friend?”

“Yep. No more drunk hookups.”

“But I love drunk sex.”

“They’re okay, with the right person.”

“Hey, I’m not such a bad guy. I never make girls feel used, and I won’t drag anyone’s reputation through the sexual mud. It’s not like I go around bragging to my friends about all the notches in my bed post.”

“You don’t tell your entire frat, but you tell Juliet everything.”

“Only her. I don’t kiss and tell when it comes to my frat brothers, ‘cause they don’t need to know a damn thing about what I do with my dick. Hell, the girls don’t even mind if I leave early, because I pleasure them beyond anything they’ve ever experienced. I know how to fuck, Alexis, and believe me when I tell you I can double-double a girl’s refreshment, if ya know what I mean. I might be a player, but I’ve got class.”

“Ah. So you know how to fuck, but do you know how to make love?”

“There’s definitely a difference between the two, and I can honestly say I’ve only experienced the second one…one time.”

“You’ll find it one day when you least expect it.” I sighed. “I can’t believe you get away with so much though.”

“It’s easy. I just don’t make promises.”

“Like?”

“Like…I don’t promise to call.”

“You never even ask for phone numbers?”

“No. That would give false hope, right? It’s a hit-it-and-quit-it-game for me, and the girls know this up front. I don’t believe in lame lies, the kind some other guys tell. It’s better not to ask for the digits than to flat-out lie.”

“The Players Code of Honor? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t wanna be considered a jerk. Too many girls start thinking you’re a jerk, and you find yourself spending your Friday nights jerkin’ it yourself, ya know?”

“Not to sound like eighth-grade health class or anything, but I just hope you’re using protection.”

“Of course. I’m not into weird discharge and—”

“Too descriptive. Save the gory details for Juliet.”

He laughed, and then his expression grew a bit serious. “I tell all the girls that I really enjoy the sex, but I also make sure they know I haven’t really gotten over my ex.” He looked a bit hurt. “When she took her own life, she also took mine,” he whispered. “I’m broken now, damaged goods.”

“Oh, gosh, Kyle, I’m sorry. You know she’s always in my heart, and it kills me to see you so sad.”

“It was years ago…” he said, but then his voice drifted off. He clearly did not want to revisit the painful memory.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Juliet grabbed his arm. “Hey! You ready?”

He smiled. “Yeah.”

“You guys have a good time,” I said.

“We will. And hey…”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for putting up with me,” he said. “I’m not the easiest guy to have as a friend, but I couldn’t ask for better ones than you two.”

I grinned. “Me neither.”

Juliet tugged at his arm. “You’re damn lucky you have us. Now let’s go!”

He laughed as they headed out the door.

***

An hour later, Art finished the dishes and returned to the bar to help me make drinks. “I can take on anything you throw at me,” he said, wiggling a cocktail shaker.

I turned on the blender. “Sorry. Can’t hear ya!” I shouted over the loud whir.

When I salted the rim of a martini glass, I caught his gaze. He boldly smiled as I grinned. I was helplessly falling prey to him, being taken in by his charm all over again. In spite of all I’d done to him, he wasn’t mad at me; he seemed to consider it a challenge, one he enjoyed. Instead of being pissed off, he just seduced and disarmed me with that damn beautiful smile of his, the one that had been haunting my dreams for so long.

“So…I’m making steak and potatoes for my date tomorrow,” Debbie said, disturbing me from my reverie.

Art smiled. “The way to a man’s heart, huh?”

“I don’t think so,” I chimed in.

“Really?” Art said.

I grinned. “Whoever said that must have flunked geography.”

He laughed.

I stretched to reach for a bottle of gin on the top shelf. I was so close yet so far away, but only for a moment. He moved from behind me and reached above me, barely grazing my shoulder.

“Here ya go, Boss,” he said.

“Thanks,” I answered, trying to pretend like his touch didn’t faze me.

We stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment.

“Bartender!” somebody screamed, shattering our shared trance.

“Art!” I called, inundated with drink orders.

“What do you need?” he asked, walking over just as a lady shouted yet another order at me.

“A long, slow, comfortable screw against a wall,” I said, repeating the brunette’s order.

Art grinned. “I can do long and slow.”

I laughed. “Can you just get the drink? I’m swamped.”

“And then can we screw against a wall?” he asked in a sexy voice.

I playfully nudged him, and Debbie noticed the flirtation.

“Aw! You’re crushing on Art,” she said. “See? I knew you hired him for his good looks.”

“No way. Heck no.”

“Please. You so are. Why don’t you just do that stupid cherry trick the guys love so much?”

“What? Tie the cherry stem into a knot with my tongue? It’s so…cliché.”

“I thought you hated him?” she said.

“Why do you even care?” I asked, looking at her hard. “You got a thing for him or something?”

“Honey, you know that boy had me salivating the second he walked his fine ass in the door.” She sighed. “But a bitch can’t have every bone she wants, right? He likes you, the girl who wants to take him down.”

“Shh!” I said, glancing Art’s way and fearful he would overhear us.

She shrugged, then walked away to tend to a customer.

“Can you help me out?” Art asked as he opened five beers.

“Whatcha need?”

“A screaming orgasm,” he said.

I grinned, touching his elbow. “I can give you plenty of those.”

He laughed. “Really? That’s good, because I need a hand-job too.”

“You’re just full of demands, aren’t ya? You sure you don’t want a little foreplay first? We’ve got plenty of amaretto and pineapple,” I said as I reached for the Jack Daniels so I could mix up the hand-job.

Debbie, Art, and I made a great team and worked our butts off, making all our customers happy. I watched as the cute girls flirted with Art, drooling all over him. As he shook the cocktail shaker, I couldn’t help but take in his perfect form. His shirt stretched across his chest and clung to his powerful frame, muscles rippling in his biceps and forearms.

Suddenly, a college-aged guy slammed down his Corona, jolting me out of my Art-induced hypnosis. “Damn! I gotta piss again,” he said. “Why do these go through me so fast?”

“Because they don’t have to stop to change color,” I joked, nodding at the amber-colored beer.

He burst out in laughter as he ran to the bathroom, holding himself like a preschooler after a long bus ride.

Art laughed, and I couldn’t help but smile back at him.

***

The next day I met Morgan for lunch between classes and quickly confessed, “I’m falling for him.” 

“Again?”

“Yes. I fell for him, then hated him, and now I’m falling for him again. I’ve even quit bossing him around.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it, sis.”

“I’ve got it for him bad, Morgan. We can’t stop staring at each other, we find every excuse there is to be next to each other, and we can’t stop touching or flirting. The chemistry is unbelievable. There’s all this sexual tension between us. What do I do?”

Morgan smiled. “The heart wants what the heart wants. Just go for it.”

“Really? That’s your sage advice?”

“Yeah. Just follow my three golden rules.”

“There’s only supposed to be one.”

“Well, I’ve got three. Don’t deceive, be honest, and, above all, be yourself.”

“I guess I’m a total bitch, because I’ve broken all three.”

“You can only get to know someone through conversation. Just talk to him. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“But I don’t wanna lose him. Gosh, how did I get in so deep? If I could only rewind time. I wish I woulda just been honest from the second I ran into him at that frat party.”

“Yeah, things would sure have been easier.”

“I made a big mistake, sis,” I said.

She wrapped an arm around me. “We all do. Just get back up and try again. That’s what I do. Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future. I read that on this plaque at a flea market once. Or maybe it was on a coffee cup,” she said, waving a dismissive hand in the air. “Either way, it works.”

“Why do I make so many mistakes?” I sighed. “Like the time I dated Charlie.”

“Hey, it’s better to make a million mistakes than to have one regret.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah, but you can’t use your mistakes as a club to beat yourself up with. How can you grab the bright future that awaits you if you can’t let go of the past?”

“I really wanna move forward with Art, but at the same time, I want to forget about him,” I said. “He’s so damn hot, so charismatic. All the girls drool over him, even Debbie. I might not even have a chance.”