Page 3 of I Did Before I Do

Just one drink. One drink, and a little small talk, and I could get out. And my coworkers wouldn’t have anything to gossip about.

I could make this work.

Chapter Two

Sydney

I had never wanted to come back here.

Driving through the streets of Richland felt like a slap in the face. I’d gotten out. I was going to do something other than stay in this town. It looked more or less the same as it had when I graduated high school, and now I was back.

And probably stuck here forever.

I frowned as I followed the directions my GPS was giving me. I knew exactly where I was going. They’d called the bar Eddie’s when I was in high school, and it was a total dive.

They had never checked IDs. My friends and I had spent a lot of time there, using our allowance money to get wasted on cheap beer.

And now I was showing up as a young professional, right after a long day at work. Hopefully, nobody from before was there; I couldn’t handle that tonight.

I turned into the parking lot of what had once been Eddie’s, now rebranded as The Republic. It looked fairly quiet, which I didn’t mind. If it was quiet, the chances of somebody I knew being here were lower. I sat in the parking lot for a moment, taking a deep breath and looking around.

I didn’t want to be here.

I was already keyed up, and what I really wanted to do was go home and find BOB—my battery-operated boyfriend—in my nightstand and get myself off until I passed out.

I wanted to drink a whole bottle of wine and cry on the couch.

I wanted to go in just long enough to find some guy willing to fuck me and head home with him.

I wanted to call Mark and scream at him for ruining my life.

Fucking Mark.

But there were people waiting for me, and I reminded myself that I didn’t want to be labeled the office bitch. I just had to do this once, and then I was probably good for another month or so.

But I still didn’t want to be here.

I sighed and got out of my car.

For a moment, I stood looking at the front of the building. It looked the same, except for the sign bearing the new name. But the building next door hadn’t been a bar last time I saw it.

The Depot. That looked interesting.

And there were alotof motorcycles in the parking lot.

Was that where the King’s Devils hung out?

For a moment, I considered going there instead. Hiking my skirt up a little, sitting on tables and doing shots with bikers. One of them would take me home. Or into the bathroom.

I shook my head. I had to quit thinking like this.

Sighing, I turned and went into The Republic.

“Sydney! Hey!” Kyle called out across the bar.

The whole office was in a corner booth, sitting close together. There were a few chairs pulled up to fill in the empty side of the table, including an empty one clearly meant for me.

I dropped into it, smiling.

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