Page 46 of A Cowboy in the Streets

It was time to bring out the big guns. And by guns, I mean my tits.

In general, it wasn’t my favorite weapon to deploy. Men were pigs and my breasts had a tendency to turn them into little boys. They gaped, they groped, they goggled. Basically, they treated me as a novelty instead of an actual person. I was just a pair of boobs to them.

Worse, they forgot about my clit.

But tonight I wanted attention, and if there was one thing my boobs were great at, it was getting attention.

Unfortunately, the only person I wanted attention from was the one person who refused to look directly at me.

Maybe I was being too subtle. I had kept it casual with a cutoff denim skirt that showed a little skin without risking accidental thong flashing. I paired that with a simple scoop-neck white tee shirt, because when it came to my tits, less was more. My turquoise pendant pointed straight to my cleavage. And, of course, my pink boots.

I leaned against the bar, fiddling with the pendant as I ordered a vodka soda with lime. I angled my body to give Adam the perfect view, but his gaze stayed riveted to the beer taps. The bartender, on the other hand, about swallowed his damn tongue.

“On the house,” he told my breasts as he placed my drink in front of me.

Before I could thank him, Adam’s hand slammed a twenty on the bar. “For her drink,” he said. There was a warning note in his voice that turned the simple words into a threat. “And her next one, too.”

“Gotcha.” The bartender slid the cash into his palm and headed for the other end of the bar where customers were signaling for his attention.

I side-eyed Adam, but he still refused to look at me. I sighed.

“So, James.” Essie sounded like she was struggling not to laugh. “Tell me about your name. How did that happen?”

“You mean, how did a nice girl like me end up with a boy’s name?” I laughed. “It’s not all that interesting, really. There’s an actor my mom likes, and he named his daughter James. She was pregnant and hormonal, and she thought it was the prettiest name she’d ever heard.”

“What would they have named you if you were a boy?” Zack asked.

“Marcus.”

Zack and Essie laughed. Adam took a swallow of beer. I had never felt so invisible in my life. I dipped my head, pretending to sip my drink while I sneaked a peek at my chest to make sure I hadn’t suddenly sprouted hair or deflated or something. Nope. Still hairless. Still perky double d’s.

“What about you?” I asked. “Adam is the oldest and his name starts with A.” He didn’t look up from his beer as I said his name and I checked my sigh. “Then there’s Brax. B. And finally, all the way to the end of the alphabet with Z. Is that a coincidence?”

“Nope.” Zack grinned. He had taken a few glances at my chest, quick and subtle, with no gross gawking. I appreciated that. “There’s a story. See, Mom had the idea she wanted five kids. Didn’t care if they were boys or girls, but she figured it would be nice to have some of each. Dad was on board because Dad was always on board with whatever Mom wanted.”

I felt Adam shift next to me, so at least I knew he was listening.

“Mom thought it would be cute to go down the alphabet, A through E. The first was Adam—would have been Abigail if he were a girl—and she had hopes that the fifth baby would be a girl so she could name her Eve.”

“Aww,” Essie said. “That is cute.”

“As you know, Brax was next. Another boy. But Mom still clung to hope that her brood would be mixed. She was so sure the next one would be a girl that she refused to let the doctor tell her the gender. She just went right on ahead and bought girl clothes.”

“All Zack’s baby pictures are of him in pink onesies,” Adam said, finally joining the conversation. “With butterflies and flowers and shit.”

Zack wasn’t at all perturbed. “That’s true. I was fucking adorable, too.”

“I bet you were,” I said, leaning into my laughter, pushing out my chest a bit, but all it earned me was another scowl from Adam.

“Well, it crushed my mom. She saw the writing on the wall and had no intention of being a mom of five rowdy boys. She put a stop to it right then and there. Skipped C and went straight to Z.”

“I’m sure she loved you just as much once she got over her disappointment.” I patted his arm comfortingly.

Now I had Adam’s attention. He glared at my hand like he could incinerate it with eye lasers. Slowly, I dragged my hand away from Zack’s arm, re-evaluating my strategy. Maybe Adam wasn’t a boob man, but sibling rivalry definitely got a response.

I wasn’t sure that was a game I wanted to play, though. I liked Zack. I didn’t want to cause problems between him and Adam. All three of us had a stake in Lodestar Ranch, but I was the only outsider. They were family. No matter who won, I would be the loser.

Anyway, flirting with one man to make another jealous? That wasn’t me.

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