Under a Georgia Moon: Georgia Moon Romance Book 1 (28 page)

Sydney gave her a sympathetic smile and pushed the drink away from her. “We’ll get someone to take it away.”

When a waitress passed by their table, Sydney lifted a hand and waved at her. The woman stopped and placed another drink in front of Addie. This one had a cute little umbrella sticking out of it. “Hey, sugar,” the waitress said. “The cowboy who sent this wants to know if you’ll join him at his table.”

What the heck!
“Uh…” she didn’t know what to say.

The waitress tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to a table across the room. Another man she definitely recognized from her trip to the bathroom gave her a smile and raised his drink. The only way she remembered him was because he resembled the syndicated sportscaster, Jim Rome.

Addie shook her head, and whirled back around. She took a shaky breath as another waitress swooped in with another alcoholic drink, telling her a man in the back sent it to her, along with an invitation to join him. This was so embarrassing. Chase was going to think she was a complete idiot.

Full of exasperation, she turned to find Sydney staring at the drinks. Her eyes flickered back to Addie. Slowly her lips stretched into a smile and a puff of laughter escaped. “
What
did you do on your trip to the bathroom?”

“Nothing,” Addie whispered. “I just said hello to a few people as I passed by.”

Sydney covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh any louder. “Oh, Addie. I should’ve warned you not to make any eye contact or talk to anyone.”

Now she tells me
. One by one, Addie pushed the drinks away from her, careful not to slosh any over the rim of the glass. If the men took her nervous hellos as a hey-I’m-available-and-want-to-get-to-know-you-better invitation, she might be in a lot of trouble. She was from Idaho. Everybody said hi to everybody! And she’d said hello to quite a few men.

She sunk low in her seat, wishing she could disappear. Sensing her despair, Sydney scooted over and patted her on the back. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll send them back with the next server that comes by.”

“What if they bring more drinks? I didn’t know that giving a simple greeting would be misconstrued as flirting.”

Sydney reached for a big fat French fry and handed it to Addie. She obviously knew her well. Food always helped. “It’s not your fault,” Sydney said, taking a fry for herself. “Men here take any eye contact as a sign of interest. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Maybe not. Still it was humiliating. She might as well be wearing a shirt that said:
Naïve
,
sheltered
girl from Idaho
.

Chapter Twenty Two

Chase
tried not to focus on Addie as yet another drink was placed in front of her. In total, six men had sent her a drink. He could see the distress written all over her face. There had to be a story behind all the unwanted invitations. At least Sydney seemed to understand. She pushed each drink away, and would pat Addie on the back.

It was almost time for a break, but Chase wanted to play the song he’d written for Addie. He hoped it would convey how he felt about her, and possibly put a smile back on her face.

“Hey, y’all,” he said into the mic. “Before we take ten, I wanna play a new song I wrote just last night.”

His eyes flickered to Addie and he could see he had her attention. “It’s called
Make Believe
.”

He started the ballad, and his talented band joined in. They’d only played through the song twice today, but they picked it up easily. After razzing him about writing a love song, they told him it was good and could go on his first solo album. Chase had no idea if the rep from Country Sounds Music showed up tonight, but if they did at least they’d know he could write music.

Strumming the last note of the intro, Chase began singing. “It was only supposed to be make-believe, but nothing’s felt more real. Your laugh, your touch, the kisses we shared. I know what they make me feel.”

When he started in on the chorus, his eyes locked on Addie. “So baby don’t leave me, please don’t go. What we have is forever, and I can’t let you go. Yeah, what we have is forever, and I can’t let you go.”

A look of wonder and love radiated from her face. She smiled, and put both of her hands over her heart. In that moment, she was the only girl in the room. The crowd, particularly the obnoxious drunk women in the front, all faded.

Their eyes held throughout the song. His voice trembled slightly as he sang the last lines. “No this isn’t a fairytale, it’s not make believe. Our love is forever, baby please don’t leave.”

The crowd went wild, like he’d just announced drinks were on the house. Addie’s reaction was all he cared about. The tender smile she gave him indicated she liked it.

Chase waited for the applause to die down a little before speaking into the mic. “Thank you. Y’all have been a great crowd. The boys and I are gonna take a little break now.”

He slipped off his guitar strap, disregarding the dark-haired woman in the front, offering to help him take his break. Chase had learned a long time ago to ignore women—drunk or sober—and their comments.

A Luke Bryan song blared over the bar’s sound system, and cut out some of the lewd comments coming from the same brunette. Chase made the promise to Addie that he’d never take a lady to a sleazy bar, yet that’s exactly what he’d done.

“Hey, man,” Beau said as Chase laid his guitar in its case. “It looks like your date is popular tonight.”

Chase glanced over at Addie. She looked uncomfortable with all the raucous action around her. “Don’t tease her about it. I already feel bad enough for exposing her to all of this.”

Jackson arched an eyebrow. “Exposing her to what? Secondhand smoke?”

“No,” Chase said. “The environment. Drinking, lewd comments and, yes, the cigarette smoke.” Somehow, after singing in bar after bar, Chase had become immune to the skanky atmosphere.

“Dude,” Jackson said. “This place is nice compared to some of the places we’ve played before.”

“I know, but she’s not into this kind of scene. Just don’t tease her, okay?”

“Okay, bro. We promise not to say anything.” Jackson clapped a hand to his shoulder. “By the way, your new song killed it.”

“Thanks.” Chase could hardly wait to ask Addie what she thought about the song.

He kept his eyes focused on her as he stepped down from the stage. He and his buddies were immediately swarmed by women looking for companionship.

Jackson held up his left hand and pointed to his ring as he pushed through. “Sorry, ladies. I’m happily married to that gorgeous woman sitting over there.”

Chase tried to stay close behind Jackson, but the obnoxious brunette had other plans. She stepped in front of him, flattening her palm against his chest. “Hey, sugar. C’mon over to my table and I’ll buy you a drink.”

Beau and Jackson made it through the obstacle course, leaving Chase to fend for himself. “No thanks. I’m meeting my girlfriend.”

The woman pouted and pressed closer. The overpowering scent of her perfume and the smell of alcohol assaulted his senses. “Oh, c’mon. She won’t mind.” One of her fingers made a circular motion on his chest as she attempted to be coy. She failed miserably.

Chase looked over the top of the persistent woman’s head, and searched for a path to Addie. He found her standing by the table with her eyes zeroed in on the brunette in front of him. She minded all right. Even from here, he could feel the spark of jealousy radiating from her.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” He removed her hand. “My girlfriend’s waitin’ on me.”

The woman grunted and said something under her breath, but at least she moved out of the way. Chase turned sideways and squeezed through the crowded barroom floor. The smell of alcohol, tobacco and a variety of colognes and perfumes, mingled with the scent of warm bodies. The combination made him feel slightly nauseated.

As he neared Addie, a big brute of a guy stepped in front of him. “Hey, baby, I sent you a drink. So what happened?” he questioned, his words slurred.

Chase hoped he wasn’t talking to Addie.

“I don’t drink alcohol.”

Oh, man
. It was Addie. And she was having to defend herself against some drunken cowboy.

“That’s okay, sugar. I can make you feel just as good without it.”

A hot flush seared his neck as Chase pushed past another person. He did his best to get to Addie, but it was like every time he got close enough to reach her, someone else would get in the way.

“No thanks. I’ve got a boyfriend,” she said, sounding a little bit intimidated.

The man gave a low chuckle. “I don’t see a boyfriend.”

“That’s because I’m standing right behind you,” Chase growled, trying to squeeze around the guy. “And I believe the lady told you no.”

The guy slanted him a glance, his lip curled up in a sneer. “That right?”

Chase now stood in front of Addie, trying to protect her from her assailant. He had to look up. The guy had him by a few inches and at least a hundred pounds. “Yeah. That’s right.”

The man leaned down and spoke close enough for Chase to smell the alcohol on his breath. “Then I suggest you tell that…” He called Addie an ugly name, along with a few other expletives which included a reference to her bra size.

Chase didn’t think about what happened next. It was an automatic reaction as he drew back his arm and drove his fist into the man’s mouth. Sharp pain engulfed his hand, shooting up his arm. He was pretty sure he just busted a few knuckles. The guy was drunk enough his reflexes were pretty slow. His head snapped back and he staggered, trying to gain his footing.

Chase turned and looked into Addie’s face. Her eyes were wide with shock.

Before he could apologize, she said, “Did he just call me what I think he called me?”

Chase shook his hand in an effort to ease the pain. “Unfortunately.”

“And you hit him for it?”

He eyed her with caution, wondering if she found his actions heroic or thought of him as some hothead. “Yeah.”

She surprised him by giving him a soft smile. “Thanks. Nobody has ever hit someone for me.” She squinted and pursed her lips. “Of course, no one has
ever
called me that before.”

“I’m—” He didn’t get another word out as he was yanked around, coming face to face with the cowboy he’d hit. He heard Addie scream and Beau yell for him watch out as the man took a swing at him.

Chase pulled his head back, the man’s knuckles just grazed his face. A string of profanities flew from the man’s bleeding mouth and he caught Chase by surprise with a sneaky left hook.

He fell back into Beau’s arms. “You just had to go and hit the biggest guy in the bar, didn’t you?” Beau said, helping him stand upright.

Chase shook his head, hoping the double vision would go away. The next thing he knew a barroom-brawl broke out.

Between the two of them, he and Beau did pretty well holding their own. But when the cops showed up to break up the fight, Chase
knew
Addie would never talk to him again. Not only had he exposed her to this deplorable environment, she also heard words no lady should ever have to hear. And on top of that he was probably going to be arrested.

In the end, they lucked out. Because Chase and Beau hadn’t been drinking and because they were the hired entertainment, the cops let them go with a warning.

“I better not catch you boys in another fight, ya hear?” Officer Jenkins said, trying to hold back a grin.

Chase held his ribcage with one hand and a wet washcloth to the side of his face with the other. “Yes, sir.” He swallowed back a little blood from his split lip.

The officer lifted his face and winked at Addie. She stood next to Chase, holding a glass of ice-water that she would periodically dip the washcloth in. “And you, little lady, keep this one out of trouble, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” she said, sending a worried look Chase’s way.

Chase tried to smile, but winced from the split lip. He couldn’t believe Addie was still speaking to him, let alone caring for his wounds. And she was the one responsible for the light reprimand. When the cops showed up trying to figure out who to arrest, Chase had been targeted as starting the whole thing. Addie had stepped forward and said something to Officer Jenkins. Then she rose up on her tiptoes and whispered in the cop’s ear.

The man’s face turned as red as a lobster and he immediately arrested Bubba. That was seriously his name. Bubba was outraged and let loose another string of profanity. Officer Jenkins had actually gagged the man before hauling him away to the police station.

Beau moaned and Chase turned to see Sydney helping him. His friend looked worse than Chase did. One of his eyes was already swollen shut.

Jackson and Drew came back in after loading the last of their equipment. The two of them hadn’t gotten caught in the foray. Drew had still been out back talking to his wife when he heard the sirens. Jackson had tried to help, but he ended up protecting Sydney and Addie, getting them safely outside. By the time he got back in, the police had broken everything up.

“Okay, boys,” Jackson said with a smirk. “Let’s get you both home.”

Home.
Chase dreaded going there. That was the problem with being a twenty-eight-year-old man living at home. He still had to answer to his parents. Particularly his mother. He winced as he stood up. “Sorry we couldn’t help. Do you have my keys?”

Jackson pulled them from his pocket and dangled them out in front. Addie snatched them out of his hand. “I’ll drive Chase home. Can you guys get poor Beau home?”

Beau grunted. “Yeah, since I don’t have a girlfriend or a mother to coddle me.” Beau’s family had relocated to Florida. Beau had stayed behind, mainly because of the band.

“You can come home with me,” Chase said. If he had Beau with him his mother might not get as mad. “My sisters will take care of you. Taylin volunteers at the hospital, so she sort of knows what she’s doing. And we all know Ashlee would jump at the chance to take care of you.” He liked teasing Beau about his little sister’s crush.