Waiting for Love ((Waiting) Book 2) (21 page)

“Hey girlie, how are you?” She asks me and enfolds me in a hug. I squeeze her back and think of how much I value her friendship. This girl has always been there for me when I need her and it’s difficult to find true friends. Hailey isn’t a fair weather friend, she’s an I’ll stick by your side until the very end and we’ll go together, kicking and screaming friend.

“I’m okay, how about you?”

“I’m great. I had a really good week at school. I’m acing all my tests and so far this year seems like the easiest one. Knock on wood,” she jokes. “I probably just completely jinxed myself by saying that.”

Are you lonely with Jeff being away?” At the mention of his name, I smile softly as I think of yesterday morning's passion filled goodbye. He made love to me sweetly and slowly, savoring every moment.

“Yeah, I miss the big lug, but he’ll be back on Sunday night. We have a skype date tomorrow morning.” Hailey waggles her eyebrows at me and smirks.

“You can help him with his morning wood.” We both burst out laughing.

“I’m sure that’s what he thought when he told me what time he would call. Men are so predictable.”

    We pay the cover charge and step through the doorway. Our ears are immediately assaulted by the loud bass of the music thumping through the sound system. The lighting is dim to begin with and the strobe lights flashing on and off bother my eyes.
I must be getting old.
I used to love the whole the club scene only a few years ago. It’s funny how experiences you go through can have such an impact on all aspects of your life. Garrett disappearing, my depression and subsequent suicide attempt, all of those things have had an immeasurable impact on me. As a result, I’ve matured a lot and I’m finally satisfied with who I am today. I have the best fiancé, I love my job, I have a great family and my health is good. What more can I ask for?

     As we step up to the bar to order our drinks my eyes sweep around the room and take it all in. There’s a mad crush of bodies on the dance floor, thrusting and gyrating their hips to the beat. It makes me feel eager to get out there and shake the little bit that my momma gave me. I’m not exactly bootylicious, but Jeff doesn’t seem to mind. He loves my body but he’s definitely a boob man, more than an ass man. My breasts aren’t exactly huge, but they do look large on my slender frame. My curves are subtle and less
POW,
in your face, like Hailey’s are.

     The hot young male bartender approaches us with a smile on his face. His teeth are so white they almost appear to be glowing. I’m all for white teeth, but he may have taken it a few shades too far.

“What can I get for you, ladies?” He cocks his eyebrow as if he’s hoping he can help us out with more than just a drink.

“We’d like four shots of tequila, no lime, please.” Hailey orders our drinks and turns to smile at me.

“Tequila, huh. Are you trying to get me drunk?” I jokingly ask. “You know it," She replies, poking me in the side. "You need to loosen up and dance off some stress tonight." I nod in agreement. She's right, I’m extremely stressed out from everything with Garrett and dancing is a great outlet to release it. I pick up one of the glasses and tip it back. The first shot is always a shock to my system. The burning in my throat is strong so I quickly down the second one. I close my eyes for a moment and wait for the numbing feeling to wash over my body. When it hits me, it’s as if a wave of relaxation is hugging me. My limbs are tingling and they feel loose; almost noodle like. It's a good thing I don't have an addictive personality because I really like the way tequila makes me feel. It's similar to the feeling laying in the warm sun gives me. As I open my eyes, I notice Hailey has also finished with her shots.

     “Are you ready to shake your moneymaker?” I ask Hailey. She snorts and grabs my hand, pulling me along, toward the dance floor. There are tons of grinding bodies all around us as we try to find an open area. The ripe odor of sweat assaults my nose and I try to inhale through my mouth to avoid breathing the odor in again. We find our spot and begin moving to the pulsing beat. Hailey and I dance well together. We usually get a fair amount of male attention when we bump and grind on each other. That’s as far as we take it, though. We’ve never been the kind of friends that make out with each other to get attention from guys.
Eww, no thank you.
That kind of attention, I don’t need. If you meet someone under those false pretenses, you are setting yourself up for a doomed relationship, unless you want to make out with your bestie on a regular basis to keep your man happy. I can keep my man happy on my own, just fine. As I think of Jeff, a feeling of longing overtakes me and I wish he were here with me. If he were, he’d be right behind me, pressing his hardness into my ass and his hands would be roaming over me in a very un-PG like way.

    We dance for about thirty minutes straight before Hailey gestures toward the bar. We make our way over there and it seems, even more, crowded than it was before. We have to wait a few minutes before the same bartender can make his way to us.

“More tequila shots, or do you want something else?” I’m impressed that he remembers what we ordered earlier.

“Two margaritas on the rocks with salt please.” I say and place a twenty-dollar bill on the bar.

“Hey, I’m gonna run to the ladies room real quick,” Hailey says, gesturing with her head in the direction she’s going.

“No problem, I’ll watch your drink.” She holds her fist up for my bump before she walks off. We never leave our drinks unattended and I always keep my eye on the bartender as he or she makes them. You never know what someone may do and we don’t take any chances.

    The bartender places our glasses down in front of me and I push the money toward him.

“Keep the change.” He smiles in my direction, leaning over the bar toward me.

“I get off at midnight if you want to wait for me.” I smile at his over-inflated ego and shake my head.

“No thanks. I’m actually engaged to be married.” His eyes lower to my left hand before skating back up my body in a slow moving journey.

“I won’t tell if you don’t,” He winks at me. I take a sip of my drink from the small straw and laugh to myself as I watch his eyes move to my mouth. I lick my lips to savor the tart taste as I put my glass down. I swear I can see him visibly swallow and I think he just adjusted his dick below the bar, but I can’t be sure. He’s so easy to tease, but I think my fun needs to be over. I can’t make him have false hope for too long. There are plenty of ladies here that would probably be more than willing to go home with him.

“It’s not going to happen. I’m completely in love with my fiancé.” He pushes himself off the bar and takes a step back, putting some distance between us.

“That’s too bad, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.” He crosses his arms over his chest to emphasize his biceps.

“You’re adorable,” I tell him as I crook my finger at him. His eyes light up as if he just hit the jackpot and he once again rests against the bar. I lean over the top and get as close to his ear as possible. “My fiancé fucks like a champion. His cock is the king of all cocks and it’s all mine. I’m not going to change my mind so you can move along to any one of these desperate girls that are giving you puppy dog eyes.” He looks shocked at my words before he smiles at me.

“Point taken,” He says as he backs away and moves down the bar toward another one of the ladies sitting there. I shudder as I think of all the unsanitary places his dick has probably been. I know some women are attracted to guys that have been with a lot of women, but I’m not one of them. Just because someone has a lot of experience doesn’t mean they’re good in bed.

    “You can’t go anywhere without causing a stir.” Says a deep voice I don’t want to be hearing anytime soon. I grit my teeth before turning around.

“Garrett, what a not so pleasant surprise.” I hear a deep laugh at my comment and realize it came from the guy standing next to him.

“I’m Ian, Garrett’s only friend,” He says, reaching out to shake my hand. I giggle as I shake his hand.

“I’m Shelby and it’s nice to meet you, Ian. What horrible thing did you do, that you got saddled with being Garrett’s friend?” He flashes me a smile full of perfect teeth and looks at Garrett.

“I like this girl,” He says gesturing toward me. “Garrett and I go way back. We grew up together. I just moved to Boston a month ago and I’m staying with him until I find a place.” I nod my head.

“Welcome to Boston, Ian. You better find a place quickly, though. Garrett likes to tell people to move in and then disappear on them. Don’t be surprised if one of these days you come home to an empty condo.” I notice Ian shooting a confused look at Garrett. I take a large gulp of my drink and pray for the numbing effect alcohol provides to take over my body soon. I can’t deal with this right now. Why did he have to pick this place to come to tonight? Fate must hate me or maybe I have some horrible karma or bad juju to atone for. I’m buying some sage tomorrow and lighting that shit on fire. I’m going to smudge my home, cleanse my aura, call in a priest for an exorcism or whatever the fuck it takes to get this man to stay away from me.

     I finish my drink, glancing reluctantly at Garrett as I raise my arm to flag down the bartender. I can’t help but notice that he looks angry. I can see the muscles in his jaw clenching and his arms are crossed over his bulging pecs.
When did he get so buff?
My eyes seem as if they have a mind of their own as they continue perusing his impressive physique. His forearms are well muscled although, hairier than I remember. I’m not a fan of arm hair so I need to focus on that shit. Arm hair grosses me out. It’s a good thing we’re not together anymore because his hairy arms would repulse me. His biceps are bulging against the restraints of his tight polo shirt and all thoughts of his hairy forearms are forgotten.
I think I have ADD.
I can see a hint of a tattoo peeking out the bottom of one of his sleeves. The ink is black but that’s all I can make out in the dim lighting of this place.
When did he get a tattoo on that arm?
Seeing him with a new tattoo has made me realize that I don’t even know who he is anymore. He could have a wife tucked away somewhere for all I know. I experience a pang of sadness at the thought of that and scold myself for it. He can do whatever he wants to. We’re no longer a couple and never will be again. At this point, I just really want him to go away and give me some space. My buzz is starting to kick in and with the new drink the bartender just placed in front of me, I’m hoping to pass on over into drunkenness. I don’t need him here ruining my good time.

“Don’t you have someone else you can bother?” I ask him. Ian laughs and slaps Garrett on the back.

“Ouch dude, I don’t think she likes you very much.” I sit in silence and sip my drink praying for Hailey to come back from the bathroom and rescue me.

“So Ian, what do you do for work?” I ask to fill up some of the awkward silence that feels as if it’s drowning me.

“I work as an IT specialist for a company that develops cutting edge technology.”

“That’s great. I gotta be honest, technology scares me a little.”

“A lot of people feel that way about it and if they didn’t, I’d probably be out of a job.” He runs his hand through his blonde hair, messing it up in an attractive way. He’s a looker for sure, with his sparkling blue eyes and bright smile. I wonder if he’s single? I instantly think of Sloane but I wouldn’t want my life tied up with Garrett’s any more than it already is. 

    At this point, Hailey returns from the bathroom and when Ian catches a glimpse of her, his eyes open so comically wide, he reminds me of a cartoon character.

“Hailey, you remember Garrett and this is his friend Ian.” I half-heartedly introduce them. Hailey looks surprised and concerned to see Garrett. She knows I’m freaking out on the inside right now. She puts her hand on my shoulder, patting me twice, to let me know she’s got my back.

“Hello Garrett, long time no see,” She says and I see him physically wince at her barb.
God, I love this girl.

“Ian, it’s nice to meet you.”  He shakes her hand and I notice he looks dazed as he stares into her unusual eyes.

“Ian, give it up. It’s never going to happen.” He finally looks away from Hailey and turns in my direction. His brows are drawn together and he looks confused.

“I don’t understand what you mean,” he tells me.

“Hailey is engaged and very much in love with a great guy. You don’t stand a chance and I’m just trying to spare you the painful turn down that she will deliver if you continue to drool over her.”

"Shelby," Hailey says my name in a tone you'd use to scold a misbehaving child. “Be nice,” she continues. I roll my eyes at her and focus on finishing my drink. It only takes me a minute until my glass is empty and I realize that a trip to the ladies room is in order.

I lean over and try to talk in Hailey’s ear, but my legs are feeling unsteady.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. I need to pee.” I turn and walk in the direction I saw Hailey heading earlier. I hope there aren’t a lot of people waiting because I really have to go. Surprisingly, there’s no line, when I get there and I swear I pee for like a minute straight. My legs are shaky from all the tequila flowing through my system so I brace both of my hands on the sides of the stall to help me successfully hold my hovering position, which isn’t easy to do when you’ve been drinking.  Once I’ve washed my hands, I open the bathroom door and walk into a wall. It’s a warm, hard, familiar smelling wall. I look up and find Garrett’s amused gaze locked on mine.