Tipsy (8 page)

My eyes found his again, and I drew
back in shock. I’d never seen such coldness in his eyes before. It
was as if I was the last person on Earth he wanted to
see.

His gaze flicked away, like he was
dismissing me, and the girl at his side started kissing his neck. I
was going to be sick.

I started moving again,
rushing away from the table… from his angry stare. I didn’t know
what I could have possibly done to make him look at me like that.
Hell, if anything, I should’ve been the one looking at
him
like that. He was the
one that stood me up.

I pushed into the bathroom,
no longer caring how filthy it was, and waited for a stall. I did
my business (hovering over the toilet because I wasn’t about to
touch anything—okay, so I guess I
did
care about the germs after all)
and then washing my hands at the sink. I glanced up in the mirror
above and noted the slightly shell-shocked look on my
face.

Pull yourself together,
Julie,
I told myself.
Go show him what he’s missing.
I
smirked at my reflection. How inconvenient for him that the girl he
just stood up happened to be in the last place he
expected.

After ruffling my hair a bit, I went
back into the club, heading straight for the bar. I ordered another
rum and coke and waved to Dee, who was still dancing it up on the
floor with her man.

When my drink was ready, I pulled some
cash out of my jeans, but a hand reached out to stop me. “I got
this.”

I watched as he threw some bills onto
the counter, grabbed his beer, and turned to me.

He had very dark hair, almost black. It
was wavy and a little too long, causing it to fall over his
forehead and over one eye. He had smooth skin, brown eyes, and full
lips. There was an arrogance that surrounded him, the kind that a
guy carried when he thought he was God’s gift to women.

He was totally not my type.

“
Haven’t seen you here
before.”

“
There’s a first time for
everything.” I had to say it so loud it didn’t sound nearly as
flirtatious as I planned.

Wait. I wanted to flirt?

I glanced down at the drink
in my hand. Alcohol, a bruised heart, an angry ego, and the guy who
caused it all just feet away was
not
a good combination.

He smiled, his eyes drifting over my
body. I had to admit, it was nice someone seemed to notice how good
I looked.

“
Nice boots,” he said,
leaning in and speaking directly into my ear.

I didn’t bother to reply. I just took a
sip of my drink and watched as he pulled away. He was wearing jeans
that rode low on his hips, a white wife-beater tank top, and a red
button-up shirt (that wasn’t buttoned).

Definitely not my type.

Of course, my type was the kind who
stood girls up.

Maybe it was time for a new
type.

“
Let’s dance,” the guy said,
sipping his beer and taking my hand.

“
You got a name?” I yelled,
following him to the dance floor.

“
Dominick,” he called.
“People call me Dom.”

He didn’t ask my name. He didn’t say
anything. He just spun around to face me and we started to dance.
The rhythm of the music was fast and upbeat so I tried to match my
movements. All that got me was my drink sloshing over the rim of
the cup and splattering on my boots.

Dom laughed and took the cup out of my
hand. He walked over to a nearby booth and set down both our
drinks. He gave some guy who was sitting there a fist bump and then
returned to my side.

I felt the back of my neck tingling and
I knew someone was watching me. I wondered if it was Dee or
Blue.

Part of me hoped it was Blue, the
douche. I hoped he was grinding together those pearly whites and
kicking himself. ‘Course, I knew he was probably making out with
the girl that was practically in his lap.

Disgusted, I turned my attention back
to Dom. He had somehow gotten a lot closer than before. Since we
were no longer holding drinks, he had free hands… and he used them
to palm my hips and pull me against him.

His hips began to move suggestively,
and I stiffened slightly. Dancing was one thing. Dry-humping on the
dance floor was another.

I placed my hands on his chest and
pushed back.

He didn’t let go.

His grip tightened.

I looked up at him. He was watching me
with heavy-lidded eyes. He yanked me closer and I stumbled a bit,
falling into his chest. His arms were like iron vises that went
around my body, making me a prisoner in his hold.

“
I can’t dance this close,”
I yelled, hoping he would get the hint.

“
We don’t have to dance.”
His voice was so close that it raised goose bumps along my neck. It
wasn’t the good kind either. This guy was seriously creeping me
out.

“
I need some air,” I said,
pushing away from him again, struggling to get out of his
hold.

He refused to relent. “I got all the
air you need, baby.”

Ew.

He did not just say that.

“
Let go,” I said, putting
some steel behind my voice and taking a step back.

A challenging glint came into his eyes.
Something inside me whispered that I just did something very wrong.
I shouldn’t have come here.

He started to step backward, away from
the dance floor. I dug my feet into the ground, trying to stop him.
It was a futile attempt because he outweighed me by a good fifty
pounds.

One minute I was being dragged off the
dance floor toward some dark and creepy corner, and the next I was
being yanked backward, out of my captor’s arms, and being deposited
solidly on two shaking legs.

I noted the look of surprise on Dom’s
face, but it wasn’t there very long.

Because someone’s fist knocked it
off.

I winced and looked at the guy who
stepped around me, shielding me with his body. I knew that body.
Blue.

He didn’t stop at one punch. He leapt
forward, grabbing Dom by the front of his tank and slamming his
fist into his jaw again. Dom stumbled backward and then scrambled
to his feet. A crowd quickly formed around us and pressed in,
creating an empty circle—a ring—for the fight to
continue.

I glanced around. Where the hell were
the bouncers? Where was the help?

I couldn’t see anything past the crush
of bodies blocking us in. Help wasn’t coming.

I heard another sickening thud of flesh
against flesh and I whipped my gaze back to the men, where Blue was
once again hammering Dom in the face.

His lip split and blood starting oozing
down his chin.

Blue yanked him back once more and drew
back a formidable-looking fist, but he didn’t get to deliver the
blow. Two guys from the crowd pounced on him, pinning him
back.

“
What the hell, man?” Dom
said, wiping at the blood on his lip. He didn’t seem surprised he
was getting his ass kicked. In fact, fighting and bleeding seemed
like a regular occurrence for him.

“
You need to watch where you
put your hands,” Blue growled.

“
Shit, Gray,” Dom spat.
“This your woman?”

Who was Gray?

“
Yeah,” Blue spat. “And I
don’t like to share.” He struggled against the men holding
him.

“
If she’s yours, what was
she doing at the bar all alone? And didn’t I see you with one of
the crew over there in the booth?”

I saw the shift in Blue so slightly
that I doubt anyone else even noticed. It was a slight tense of his
shoulder muscles, as if they bunched up beneath their skin. It was
like he was caught in a lie and wasn’t sure what to say.

“
I said
I
don’t like to share. Doesn’t mean I
can’t do what the hell I want,” he said coldly.

Dom looked past Blue to me. “Damn,
baby. You let him play around like that right in front of you?” he
said. “Dom here wouldn’t do you like that. Dom would do you
right.”

A growl ripped out of Blue’s throat and
the men pinning him back were suddenly gone. He lunged forward and
tackled Dom, slamming his fist in his face once more.

There was some muffled shouting as the
guys rushed Blue again, pulled him up, and pinned his arms behind
his back. Dom surged to his feet and came forward, shoving a fist
into Blue’s gut.

Blue doubled over as Dom hit him again,
this time in the face.

I screamed and rushed forward.
“Stop!”

Blue might be a liar and an ass, but I
couldn’t watch him get beat up.

Dom glanced at me and snarled. “Shit,
woman. You’re a head case. Taking up for a man who will hook up
right in front of you.”

I swallowed. I wasn’t sure what to say
because he was partly right.

Blue recovered and the hands that held
him let go. He straightened. “I wasn’t hooking up. She’s off limits
to you and your crew.”

Dom stepped closer and my stomach
bunched. “This is my turf. Just because you used to roll down the
road doesn’t mean you get a free pass here.”

“
I never asked for a pass.
I’m just here chilling like everyone else.”

The crowd started to move away; clearly
they thought the fight was over. I still wasn’t so sure. I remained
watchful and leery of both men.

“
We should talk,” Dom
finally said after a long appraisal of Blue.

Blue shrugged like he could care less.
“Sure. I’m going to see her out first.” He slung an arm over my
shoulders and pulled me into his side.

Damn if I didn’t feel like I
fit.

“
C’mon. You’re going
home.”

I thought about arguing, but I had no
clue what was going on. I was buzzed, I was tired, and I was a
little scared. Home sounded pretty damn awesome right
then.

We moved away from the booths, walking
around the dance floor. Blue didn’t say anything, but kept me
tightly clasped at his side. When I glanced up at him, his jaw was
set and he didn’t look too happy to see me. I imagined he wasn’t.
Getting caught being a sleazebag probably sucked.

“
Where are you parked?” he
asked as we neared the door.

“
I didn’t drive. I came here
with friends.”

He swore and finally looked down at me.
His eyes were like swirling deep pools of blue that threatened to
swallow me whole. “What the hell are you doing here
tonight?”

I didn’t like the tone of his voice.
“Drinking away the memory of being stood up,” I snapped.

The hard glint in his eyes slipped a
bit.

“
What’s your real name?” I
asked him.

His jaw clenched and he looked around
to see if anyone was listening. What in the hell was going on? What
was all that about?

He must have seen the questions
bubbling up inside me. He reached out and wrapped a forefinger and
thumb around my wrist and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You need to go
home.”

“
I need some
answers.”

“
What I’m doing here isn’t
your business.”

Ouch. He was giving me a serious case
of whiplash. One minute he was charming and getting me to agree to
another date. The next he was standing me up, hooking up in a club,
and acting like I was the last person on Earth he wanted to
see.

If that wasn’t enough to give me a
concussion, he goes and beats up a guy who was dancing with me.
Okay, fine. He was doing more than dancing. He had a serious case
of grab hands. But why would Blue care? I would think he would be
glad to be rid of me.

I glanced between where he held my
wrist and his face.

He was bleeding.

I sighed.

“
You need some ice for that
eye.” I started to reach up and he jerked away.

I dropped my hand like I’d been burned.
I felt something embarrassing coming on… the hot rush of tears
behind my eyes.

Oh hell no you don’t,
I told myself.
You will
not cry over him.

Dee picked the perfect time to come
rushing up with Craig close behind. “Where the hell have you been?”
Dee shouted.

I spun around. “I think we got
separated in the crowd.”

“
You okay?” Dee asked,
peering at me like she had X-ray vision.

“
Of course, but I had too
much to drink. I’m ready to go home.”

When she agreed without trying to
argue, I knew I must look bad. “This place sucks anyway,” she said
and rolled her eyes.

I smiled, but she wasn’t looking at me.
Her eyes had gone past me to Blue. She looked back at me and lifted
her eyebrow. I rolled my eyes and hooked my arm through hers. “He’s
just some guy I danced with.” My eyes connected with his. “I don’t
even know his name.”