"Having a good time, bro?"
I look over my shoulder and see Linc standing there, holding his typical glass of Scotch. I give him a nod and hold my beer up in acknowledgment.
"Well, it's going to get better tonight. See those two women over there..."
I look to where he's pointing. Sitting on the couch are two ladies that are ferociously gorgeous. They're both wearing tight, short dresses and sky-high heels. I can tell at a glance that both have put copious amounts of money into breast enhancement.
Who says my observational skills in the Corps were wasted?
"Nice," I reply. And I mean it.
"They're for us...tonight ...after everyone leaves."
Of course, they are. Linc always looks out for me in that department. He thinks I have no clue how to talk to a woman or get one in bed. He takes my silence and unwillingness to engage people as an inability to get laid. I hate to break it to him, but it's not that hard. There are plenty of women out there who appreciate straight, simple talk without the need to spout poetry at them.
But I don't want to hurt his feelings so I just smile at him and say, "You rock, man."
Linc ambles off and heads straight over to the two women. He plops himself on the couch in between them and I watch as they fawn all over my little brother.
What a player!
I glance around and notice the front door open. More partygoers coming in. I recognize one of Linc's good friends, Ryan Burnham walking in, along with his wife, Danny. Now that is one cool chick. Linc told me she was a graduate of Julliard but she rocks some awesome dyed hair and face metal. So not what I picture a hockey wife and classical musician to look like.
And walking in just behind Danny...
My breath freezes and my bottle of beer stops halfway to my mouth. It's Emily. The girl that ran me over last week.
What the hell is she doing here?
As mad as I was at her last week, I've spent the last several days remembering how beautiful she is. And I see my memory serves me still. Her long hair shimmers like melted dark chocolate and her eyes are the lightest, warmest brown I've ever seen. They look like amber swirled with copper.
The whole incident with Emily was baffling to me. I was fucking pissed that she ran my motorcycle over and part of me wanted to strangle her. And yet, by the end of our meeting, she had convinced me to let her make payments for the damages. I still can't fathom why I agreed to it. Nix Caldwell doesn't cut anyone slack.
I watch in disbelief as Harley barrels through the crowd and jumps up on her. I start to move forward to pull him off but she just grabs him in a big hug and buries her face in his neck.
I'm amazed. Stupefied. Bumfuzzled.
I've never seen a woman react to Harley that way. Usually, his hundred pounds of brute force tends to scare most people.
Emily gently lowers his front paws to the ground and continues to rub his ears as people come up to her to say hello. She clearly knows a lot of the hockey players here and I'm wondering if she's one of those women that are looking to get laid tonight or walk off with a potential husband.
The thought does not set well with me.
And then I see Ryan Burnham turn to her and whisper in her ear. She punches him in the shoulder over whatever he said, and it hits me like a ton of bricks. That's Ryan's sister. Duh...Emily Burnham. Watching them stand next to each other, there is no mistaking the family resemblance.
She must have been here at Linc's place when she hit me that day. He never said a word to me and he usually tells me about all of his sexual exploitations. Maybe Emily is special to him and he's keeping her under wraps.
As I watch her though, she looks over at Linc, who is still wrapped up in the double-trouble beauties. She just shakes her head with a fond smirk. She's clearly not upset that he is with other women. No...she had to have been here for something else that day. Not that I care nor is it any of my business.
So I just sit back...and I watch her.
***
I never leave my spot, leaning up against the wall. I finish my beer but I don't make a move to get another one. I'm fascinated watching Emily work the crowd. Ryan brings her a glass of red wine and a bottled water for Danny. Emily then proceeds to mingle around. She clearly knows most of the guys, and even makes small talk with some of the girls. I notice she laughs a lot and it's hard not to notice the way her eyes light up when she finds something amusing.
Probably twenty minutes of her laughing and joking with other people goes by, and then the inevitable happens. She glances my way and locks eyes with me. Instantly, the gregarious smile on her face melts and she actually looks disappointed to see me there.
Can't say as I blame her. I was a real prick to her the last time we met.
Oh, well. It's no skin off my back. That's who I am.
I turn away and walk into the kitchen to get another beer. After opening it up, I take a long swallow and lean back against the counter top. No one is in here and I'm enjoying the blessed quiet. It's my solace. I look down to study the Frye boots I'm wearing. They're getting pretty scuffed, and there's a nice gouge on the heel of the left one, compliments of Miss Emily Burnham running me over.
"Hey, Nix."
My head snaps up and Emily is standing there.
Up close, she's even more beautiful that I remembered. She's wearing a dress but it's not the hooker wear that most of the women in the living room have painted on their bodies. It's butter yellow, fitting nicely across her breasts--which are not surgically enhanced, by the way--and flows softly around her legs. The thin straps showcase creamy, sun kissed skin. The dress comes demurely to her knees and she has on a pair of gold sandals I notice after dragging my gaze down her shapely calves.
Emily is tall for a girl. She must be close to five-foot-six, as the top of her head comes about to my shoulder. It's the perfect height to pull a woman in close and press up against her body.
I shake my head. What the hell am I thinking?
I fuck women and leave them. I don't take stock of the beauty of their clothing, or how soft their skin looks.
I look her in the eyes and I make myself be me. "Well if it isn't the lady that likes to run people over."
She blushes and averts her eyes from my gaze. I watch as she clasps her hands in front of her then grabs her lower lip between her teeth. The move is innocent and wrings of nervousness, but damn if it doesn't make me want to take her lip in between my own teeth and bite down softly.
I wait for her to say something. Finally, she looks back at me and says, "I have to talk to you about the money I owe you."
I raise my eyebrows at her. "What's to talk about? You owe me the money and you have about three more weeks to make the first payment."
"Yeah, about my ability to get the money...my source has sort of dried up."
"What do you mean?" I ask. I really shouldn't care about it but I find I want to talk to her more. So this is the perfect excuse.
"I...well...um..." She's stammering with pink cheeks and I find it adorable. Normally, that would be a major turn off for me.
"Spit it out, Emily."
She takes a deep breath and plunges forward. "Okay, here's the deal. I'm a trust fund baby. No surprise there, right? Well, I'm allowed to take out two thousand dollars a month until I turn twenty-one, which is in ten months. When I turn twenty-one, I get full control of the trust. I had planned to just turn over that two thousand every month to you. Unfortunately, I've managed to piss my parents off completely and they cut me off."
Emily blows out a long, slow breath and I see that it is painful for her to admit this to me. But I'm not moved. "You know this isn't my problem. Why don't you just give me your insurance information?"
"No," she exclaims. "I can't."
"Oh, that's right. Mommy and daddy will take away your Beemer, right?" I can't help the sneer in my voice.
She shakes her head. "It's worse than that. If you file an insurance claim, the police will have to do a report. And if
I have another accident, I'll lose my license."
I watch her for a minute and she's chewing on that lip again. It makes me want to suck it into my mouth and see how she tastes. I start to feel movement below and holy hell, I'm getting a fucking hard on just by looking at her lower lip. I realize, all of a sudden, that I want this girl.