I know he’s just being friendly and it would probably help me to get out of the house, but I’m not dressed and I don’t know anyone besides Tyler. As much as the hairs on the back of my neck are tingling with the idea of going out with him tonight, I grip the phone tightly to my ear and say, “Thanks for the offer, seriously, but I can’t tonight.”
“I’d like to know what’s so important that you can’t skip re-watching episodes of The Big Bang Theory to come have some fun on the town.”
I roll my eyes and glance around my messy bedroom. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Tyler’s voice turns coy. “I’m about to find out.”
A bright beam of light appears in my bedroom window, scanning like a set of spotlights across my entire room as a car turns onto my street. No—I realize with a cold shock of terror—not onto my street, but into my driveway. I shoot out of bed and grab the first shirt I find, an old Texas A&M T-shirt that’s entirely too big, and throw it on over my sports bra.
I take one look at my hair in the mirror above my dresser and realize there’s no reason to bother trying to rake my fingers through it—I’ve got one bad case of bed hair.
Two seconds later the doorbell rings and I look down at my phone to find the screen has gone black because Tyler hung up on me. With my heart thudding in my chest, I tiptoe to the front door (as if that would stop a murderer) and peek through the tiny peephole. Tyler smirks at that exact instant, as if he knew I would be looking through the glass to see his little cocky expression. He lifts his hand and knocks loudly on the door, making me jump.
With trembling fingers that are more embarrassed than nervous, I unlock the deadbolt and reluctantly pull open the door, allowing him to see me in my full sloth-mode glory.
“Hey,” he says entirely too cheerfully as he steps inside my door, which is kind of his door since he owns it, and lets himself into my/his living room without asking permission. He shakes his head at the stack of DVDs on the floor next to the television and then turns to face me. He’s wearing dark jeans over boots and a black cotton t-shirt that hugs his chest as if it were woven on his body. God, I had no idea country boys could be this hot.
I appreciate how he only looks into my eyes and not at my ratty hair, knobby knees and bare feet with chipped glitter toenail polish. “Let’s go.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to go. And I’m not dressed.”
“I don’t care if you don’t want to go. I have been given explicit directions to make sure you don’t become a crazy old cat lady by staying cooped up in the house forever.”
“What?” I slam my hands on my hips. “You told you that?”
He cocks an eyebrow at the stupidity of my question. “Miranda,” I say. “Of course it was Miranda.”
He nods. “She didn’t give me a choice in the matter, so I’m not giving you a choice either. I’m not sure what made you move from Houston to Salt Gap, but that girl made it very clear that I need to get you out of the house.”
I turn my eyes to the ceiling and let out a long, dramatic sigh. It is right about now that I realize I will be going with him tonight, no matter how hard I wish I could stop it. My brain and my heart are battling and I have no idea which side I’m on, or even which side I want to be on. “Fine, I’ll go.”
His face lights up and his crystal-blue eyes go all twinkly at the sides. I hold up my hand in defiance. “Not because of you. I’m doing this for my niece is who is one feisty beyotch when she doesn’t get her way.”
“Fair enough. Get dressed.” He crosses his arms in front of his chest. It takes a massive amount of effort for me to look away from his bulging forearms and that cute vein that starts on his bicep and disappears under the sleeve of his shirt.
Tyler drives us to a metal warehouse a few miles off the main road, parking in the grass next to a row of trucks that are all similar to his own beat up Chevy. You’d think this place was some kind of manufacturing facility if not for the blaring music and tacky neon beer signs that lead the way to a raised garage door. A bouncer who looks no older than twenty-one himself nods at us as we walk inside and I’m a tiny bit offended that I don’t get carded. I always got carded in Houston.
Pop-a-Top is different from the bars I’m used to back at home. Sure, we have our hole-in-the-wall shit holes in Houston, but most of the bars I go to are classy and upscale which is the total opposite of where I am tonight. The music is country, the smoke in the air is just from cigarettes and not weed, and the people are friendly. I’m definitely not in Houston anymore.
Tyler leads us through rows of pool tables to the back of the building where the bartender, a hot woman covered in tattoos, takes my drink order and then pops off the cap of my Bud Light bottle with her thumb ring.
Tyler holds up his beer and we clink them together although I’m not sure what it is that we’re toasting to.
“To Robin getting out of the house!” he says, taking the thought straight out of my head. I roll my eyes and take a long sip of beer. It doesn’t escape my notice that he watches me the whole time. I find myself thinking really stupid things like, I wonder if I drank this beer sexy enough.
“How about another toast?” I say after swallowing a deep bitter gulp.
Tyler drinks from his beer and then lifts an eyebrow along with his drink. “Okay, what’ll it be?”
“To new friends,” I say with a smirk. “To new, annoying, intruding, demanding friends.”
“Aww, come on,” Tyler drawls, tilting his head to the left as his lips form into a pout. I’m not even drunk yet and the only thing that goes through my head is how badly I want to run my tongue across those gorgeous pouty lips.
I poke him in the chest. “Don’t aww me,” I snap. “You took me out of my peaceful afternoon and forced me to come here. I think I’m allowed to complain about it just a little bit.”
“Fair enough,” he says for the second time tonight. “But you’re only allowed two more complaints for the night and then I’m cutting you off.”
“Only two, huh?” I hold up one finger. “You told me I was dressed appropriately for this stupid bar and you lied. All the girls here look like some kind of cowgirl slut and here I am in a freaking dress.”