Page 45 of Any Means Necessary

“Shut your fucking mouth, you fat, ugly bitch.”

“Even if I did want you, with your low IQ and receding hairline, I’m obviously too much woman for you. So take your short, balding ass, and cherub chub and go find less.” I deliver the final blow with a sticky sweet smile.

He stands, mouth gaping open like a floundering fish. And I leave him there, walking away before he has a chance to stammer some bullshit response of unoriginal insults and weak threats.

Leaving behind the jerk, completely forgotten, I join Ronnie and Maya for the first round of shots and chasers. It takes less than two full drinks before I’m adding my name to the karaoke list, choosing the best song in the history of music, let alone karaoke.

“That really hot guy over there is staring at you,” Ronnie says over the music. “I can’t tell if he's obsessed with you or planning to kill you,” she laughs a little too loudly in my ear. My hips don’t stop swaying as I sip my drink, following her gaze to the other side of the bar. Towering over the crowd by at least several inches, the broad figure is impossible to miss—the beard and piercing hazel stare unmistakable.

Meeting Callum’s eyes, I’m tempted to inform Ronnie that both of her theories are right. You gotta be kidding me. As soon as I lay eyes on him, he’s moving closer. The crowds part for him, like they can sense the danger that resides just below his stoic stare.

“Do you know him?” Maya asks, her brows knitting in confusion. She’s steady in her heels and ready to down another shot. Her ability to handle her alcohol is something to be admired.

“That’s Callum,” I say simply.

“Callum, as in your boss, Callum?” Ronnie pipes up. I nod with a shrug, tossing my hair to the side. A man over at the bar makes eye contact, but I pretend not to notice. “He looks pissed,” Ronnie says, her eyes on Callum as he approaches. My focus lands on him again and I shake my head with a carefree grin.

“He always looks like that.”

As always, Callum looks so serious. But I can’t find it in me to care. I’m having way too much fun, my inhibitions having flown out the window with my second drink. He stops right in front of me, standing so close I can smell the musk of his cologne.

Mmm, he smells good.

I don’t bother tilting my head up, opting instead to peer up at him through my false lashes. Even in my heels, the top of my head only reaches the top button on his dress shirt.

Damn, he’s so tall and his shoulders are so broad. He’s a man who could ruin me and I’m sure I’d enjoy every second of it.

I wanna climb that tree.

“I’ve been trying to call you.” He pulls his eyes away from me to look around, throwing a deadly glare at someone behind me. Probably the man at the bar who was just making eyes at me.

“I’m sure you have. I put it on silent.” I take a sip of my fruity drink, dancing along to the music. His eyes roam over me as I move, fixating on how my breasts bounce in this top. My drink warms me from the inside out, the music buzzing over my skin.

“It’s time to go home,” he says, but I simply laugh and shake my head. His eyes narrow.

“You can go home, I’m having fun with my friends.” The music lowers as the song ends. The emcee of the karaoke night hops on stage to address the crowd.

“Alright, alright people! It’s karaoke night, and you know what that means. Next up we’ve got Lexie West working her best blonde bombshell with the queen Dolly.” I perk up at my name, raring to go. Defiance flares inside me when Callum steps into my path.

“I’m not leaving here without you, Lexie,” he states, but I’m already moving. Putting my drink in his hand as I pass, I lean in.

“Then here.” A grin spreads across my face. “Have a drink and enjoy the show.”

Whoops of excitement erupt as I take the stage, accepting the bedazzled microphone from the emcee with a playful wink. The cheers of the crowd wash over me, hyping me up as Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 starts blaring through the speakers. My body moves in time with the music, feeling it flow through me and back down into the stage, the bass thumping with my moving hips. This crowd is the best audience, eating up everything I give them. And if there’s one thing I know, it’s how to put on a good show.

The first verse comes to an end and the chorus approaches, I take a deep breath and put my whole chest into it, the rest of the bar dancing and singing along with me. I channel Dolly with my entire being, feeling the power of her lyrics. My focus lands on Callum, singing to him with all I have when the chorus plays.

Chapter Fourteen: Callum

The crowd pulses around me, following Lexie’s lead as she enjoys the music. I stand rigidly, not moving a single muscle. I’m frozen in place, unable to take my eyes off the woman on stage for even a second. She might not win any of those talent reality shows she loves so much, but she’s got a good singing voice—never straining to hit the right note with a tone thats as bright and alluring as she is.

Her stage presence matches the rest of her personality, pulling focus and shining brightly on everyone who lays eyes on her without even trying. Magnetic. Every pair of eyes in this entire bar are glued to her, as helpless as I am against her charisma.

The way her body moves, not missing a single beat in the pulsing music is hypnotic, her generous curves accentuated with every sway of her hips or shake of her shoulders. I know every man in this bar is staring straight at how her full breasts bounce and sway in that fucking scrap of a top, each movement erotically charged. She pays them no mind, but I do.

Her confidence is so damn sexy, the way she’s comfortable in her own skin makes me want to get comfortable in her skin along with her. Jealousy surges through me at the thought of any other man looking at her the way I am right now, wanting what they can’t have.

Her attention returns to me every time she sings the chorus, her serenading switches between teasing and flirting, to powerful and heartfelt. When the song ends, she draws out the last note dramatically, the crowded bar cheering wildly. My eyes track her movements as she hands the mic back to the man acting as host, narrowing slightly at the way he grins at her.

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