Page 36 of Blood & Honey
“Hey Ashley, whose side are you on?”Guts yells at me.
I’m surprised at the question.I thought I was invisible in their childish, testosterone-fueled squabble.“Um.”I tap my chin.“I don’t really have a side.This has zero to do with me.”
“You’ve gotta pick,” Tequila chimes in, not looking away from Guts as they continue their duel.
“I don’t know.Guts, I guess,” I say, deciding to go with the underdog as his cue stick just broke in half.
Tequila stops mid-strike, turning to look at me with an incredulous expression.“What the fuck?Seriously?”
Guts whacks him on the head with what’s left of his stick.I shrug and fetch them both another beer.It isn’t like I have anything better to do to pass the time.At least they are entertaining.I’ll give them that.
“Movement,” Tequila says, pointing at one of the monitors.“Isn’t that your friend from the restaurant?”he looks my way.I hand him his beer as Guts moves toward the entrance.
“What’s Melissa doing here?”I mutter.
“It’s cool,” Guts says.“Prez said she was coming.”
Since when do Blood and Melissa talk?
Melissa walks in, and she lights up like the Fourth of July fireworks when she sees Tequila.
“Hey girl,” she calls out, giving me a wave, trying to play it cool, and failing miserably.
“Hey yourself?”I stare at her with pinched brows.
“I got your text,” she answers my unspoken question.
I pull my cell phone out of my back pocket and, sure enough, before I was even awake this morning, there’s a message inviting her to come hang out.My heart squeezes in my chest at the thought of my tough as nails biker doing something so sweet and thoughtful with so much already on his plate.I guess he wanted to make sure I had someone with me.Either to distract me or to comfort me if something bad should happen.
We chitchat a little about nothing special.I don’t tell her about Ash.I don’t think Blood would want me to share that information.At least not while the rescue mission is underway.Her attention breaks from me and settles on Tequila.She’s asking him questions about what kind of motorcycle he has and dancing around the topic of whether or not he has a woman.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”She finally asks, the slight flush in her cheeks giving away her interest in him.
Tequila, ever the charmer, leans back in his chair, a smug grin spreading across his face.“Nah, no ball and chain for me.Just me and my bike.”
“And these nuts,” Guts says, grabbing his crotch.
Tequila kicks his chair, and Guts falls backwards still laughing.
“I gotta pee,” I announce, and Melissa follows me.
“I see what’s going on here,” I tease her once we are out of earshot of the guys, not even trying to hide my smirk.
“What?”she shoots back.“You aren’t the only one who can nab a biker.”
“Out of the two of them, Tequila is the hotter one.”
“I know, right?”She smiles big, smoothing her hair and checking her makeup in the mirror.“Where is everyone, though?”
“Oh, um.I don’t know.Club business or whatever,” I answer, hoping she lets it go.
“Hmm, well that’s just more of their attention for me.”She giggles, and we make our way back to the bar area.
“So,” Guts starts.“Which one of us are you interested in?”
I sigh at his antics, but Melissa surprises all of us when she says, “Both.”
Tequila nearly spits out his beer.
