Easy (Chicago Blaze 6)

“Nah, I’m good.” I shake my head as the blond turns my way and scowls.

I rub a hand down my face and say, “It’s not you.”

“You’re Erik Zimmerman, right?” A woman standing nearby asks.

I nod and push away the fresh mug of beer our waitress just sat down in front of me.

“We went to high school together. I’m Rina Barton. Do you remember me?”

“I don’t, sorry.”

“I was a year behind you.”

I look around for the waitress, needing a glass of water bad. The guys are buying me an insane amount of drinks tonight and I can’t keep hydrated. My gaze stops at the bar, where I see the side of Allie’s face, her dark hair hanging straight and loose around her shoulders.

Craning my neck to get a better view, I notice that she’s wearing tight, worn-in jeans, sandals and a gray V-neck T-shirt.

She’s talking to someone, and judging by the fact she has on makeup and her hair looks like she spent lots of time on it, I assume it’s a guy.

“Fuck this,” I mutter, looking away.

But not two seconds later, I’m looking again. Allie’s laughing and tucking her hair behind her ear. Her nails are painted bright red. I bet she smells good. Maybe she still wears the same perfume.

“You guys good?” the waitress asks as she breezes past our table.

“Hey, excuse me,” I say, motioning her over.

“You need another one?”

“Do you know Allie Douglas?” I ask her.

She furrows her brow, confused. “Yeah, dark hair, works at Fox Foods?”

“Yeah. She’s at the bar right now. Do you know who she’s with?”

The waitress shrugs and I take out my wallet, pulling out a twenty-dollar bill. “Would you see who she’s with, please?” I push the money into her hand.

She takes the twenty and gives me a nod. She makes a show of checking on customers as she walks past the bar and circles back to our table.

“I don’t know her name, but she’s with the lady who works in the bakery department at Fox Foods,” she says.

I relax with relief. “Hey, thanks.” I take another twenty out of my wallet. “Will you bring them both another drink for me?”

“You got it.”

She pockets the money and walks over to Allie. I move my chair over a little to hide behind Kit so she has to look hard to see who just bought her a drink. She gets off her barstool to locate me and I grin.

Allie flushes and breaks into a huge smile, mouthing “Happy Birthday.”

She remembers. I mouth back, “Thank you.” She holds my gaze for a few seconds before turning to sit back in her seat. Her friend looks over to get a glance at me and I wave at her.

“Someone you know?” Kit asks me, looking over at them.

“You might say that. The dark-haired one, anyway.”

“She’s pretty.”

“Don’t get any ideas,” I warn.

“I’m not letting all that Silly String go to waste, man. You want her, you better go stake your claim.”

“Who?” Alexei asks, snooping on our conversation. “Allie?”

He turns to look around and I groan. “Leave it alone, man.”

“Is she here?” Alexei asks.

“She might be.”

“Did you invite her to hang out with us? I want to meet her.”

“You’re not meeting her.”

“Which one is she?” Alexei asks Kit.

“That brunette at the bar,” Kit says as he points in Allie’s direction.

“You’re not meeting her,” I repeat.

“Who?” Jonah asks.

“No one,” I say.

“Easy’s ex,” Alexei says. “The one he’s still in love with.”

“You fucker,” I mutter.

“I’m gonna ask her to come over,” Alexei says.

I slide my chair back and stand up. “You better not fucking follow me,” I tell him. “I’ll kick in your one remaining ball and you’ll just have an empty sac between your legs.”

“You only have one ball?” Kit asks Alexei.

Alexei scowls. “No, I have two enormous ones, but Easy’s always telling people I’ve only got one.”

“Uniball,” I say, grinning. “Nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Speaking of balls,” Alexei arches his brows. “Go talk to her, will you?”

I pick up my beer and take a few swallows of liquid courage.

“Just tell her she looks beautiful,” Kit offers.

“And tell her you want to show her your pork sword,” Alexei says.

I glare at him as I leave the table, my heart racing. This is my chance. I’ll never be as brave as I feel right now. Thank you alcohol. This time, I won’t just make polite conversation with her. I’ll say something real, even if she rejects me. Again.

I approach her from behind, and she doesn’t notice me until I’m a few feet away.

“Hey,” she says, smiling. “Thanks for the drinks.”

“Hey. You’re welcome.”

With her eyes made up and her fitted jeans outlining her curves, she looks so sexy I can’t keep my eyes off her. From the way she’s biting her lip, I think the expression on my face says it all.

She clears her throat. “Erik, this is my friend Kelly.”