Page 2 of It Just Feels Right

I barely resist rolling my eyes. “Oh really? You don’t know what I mean? That’s funny, because you’ve been looking at him all night too.”

She shakes her head, and it’s obvious she’s doing her best to not look that way. “I have not.”

“Whatever, Chloe. Look, it’s okay. You can talk to me. I’m here if you need someone to—”

She cuts me off. “Forget it. I think he works for Walker or something. He’s definitely military, and knowing how those guys are, he won’t be in town long…”

When her voice trails off, I scoot to the end of my seat. “But you like him. Admit it.”

She doesn’t deny it. “It doesn’t matter. All he does is stare at me. He never comes over and talks to me.”

I look over at the man, and he is in fact staring at Chloe again. “Uhhhh, you’re wrong. That dude is so hot for you, he can’t stand it.”

The waitress brings our drinks back and sets them down in front of us. After we tell her thanks and she walks away, I take a big sip of my soda as Chloe twirls the straw in her drink. “Trust me, he’s not. We’re just friends.”

“Bull—”

I’m cut off when two men stop next to our table. “Hey, ladies.”

They say it plural, but both men have their eyes on Chloe. I don’t begrudge it, though. Chloe is beautiful inside and out. She’s like a Barbie doll with her petite figure, long blond hair and big blue eyes. I take a drink of my soda and watch everything unfold in front of me.

Both of the men are vying for Chloe’s attention, and it’s obvious she’s not comfortable, so I cut in. “Hey boys, uh—”

I start to interrupt them, but in a split second, they’ve turned on each other. The first one slurs, “I told you, I got the blonde.”

I bite onto my lip and tug my fingers through my red hair as the other man replies in a matching slurred voice, “And I told you redheads don’t do it for me.”

Chloe is staring at me wide-eyed. She hates confrontation, and so do I, but I’ve had to deal with it my whole life, so there's no way I’m going to just sit here and take it. I stand up from my chair. “Hey, you two, can you take yourselves somewhere else?”

But neither one of them is listening. They’ve moved to where they’re standing almost against each other, talking in low tones, but I know it’s going to escalate quickly. When one pokes the other in the chest, I move to stand between them. It’s definitely not my smartest move, but here I am, all five foot four of me, pushing my way between the two of them.

I try to nudge the two apart, and I’m not sure exactly what happens first, but I hear Chloe scream my name, I feel myself being pushed, and I put my arms up, but I’m not quick enough.

The pain in my head is intense, but I don’t lose consciousness. At least I don’t think I do. I hear yelling, what sounds like a table being knocked over, and then I’m sitting in a chair with Chloe hovering over me, and the man that is always watching Chloe is now hovering over her.

I put my hand to my head and wince, but at least there’s no blood. “I’m okay.”

Chloe gasps. “You’re okay? You just tried to break up a bar fight. I think you’re far from okay.”

There’s a grunt from the man, and he’s staring at Chloe like he’s about to throw her over his shoulder and carry her out of here. Yeah, he’s definitely into her. I push Chloe’s hands off me. “I’m fine. I could go for some ice or something maybe. I really don’t want to have to explain a bruise on my forehead at school tomorrow.”

Chloe gives me a look. “Uh yeah, sure. I can get some ice.”

“Stay. I’ll get it,” the man says. He takes two steps and turns back toward Chloe. “Don’t move.” He gestures to his buddies, and if I read the look right, he’s telling them to watch her.

There’s still a little chaos around us. The two guys that started the fight have been dragged out the door, so now I’m just dealing with everyone looking at me. Yep, my boss is definitely going to hear about this.

When the man comes back, he hands the bag of ice to Chloe. She tries to hold it to my head, but I take itfrom her and push it gently on my bruise. “What happened anyway?”

The man gruffly explains, “The one asshole pushed the other asshole, and he grabbed on to you and took you down with him.”

“Uh, the police are here,” Chloe says.

Darn it. Of course the cops would come. I mean, why not? Can this night get any worse?

I follow her gaze, and sure enough, there’s a man in blue coming my way. I do a double-take as I look at the man walking straight toward me. His eyes are glued to me, and I’m sure he’s just here to check on things, but I’m feeling all kinds of personal about it. He’s tall and handsome. I know I shouldn’t, but I let my gaze travel down his body. He’s muscular, and he looks good in his uniform. When my eyes go back to his face, he’s openly smirking at me. It’s almost as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking.

My whole body gets at least ten degrees hotter when he stops in front of me, and all I can do is stare up at him, hoping I don’t make an even bigger fool of myself.

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