Page 20 of Beat around the Bush
Brandy and Bailey stood by cracking corny jokes as Lettie went up against Callan in a new round. Beside me, Oakley sucked on her straw again, the contents of the drink now gone, so it made a loud slurping noise. She set the glass on the table, pouting out her lower lip.
I turned to face her. “Do you want another?”
Her eyes shot up to me as if she’d forgotten I was standing there. “No. I should probably stop or I’ll end up saying things I’ll regret.”
“Like what?” I asked, reaching up to pull off my hat and comb my fingers through my hair. I set it on backwards and her eyes widened. I didn’t need the bill over my eyes in the bar. It was hard enough to see her in the neon lights.
“What?” I asked.
“Put it back.”
My eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Put what back?”
She stood as still as a statue. “The hat.”
“My hat?”
“Yes, your damn hat. You can’t wear it like that.”
“Why can’t I wear it like this?”
She maneuvered around the chair, her hip bumping the back as she reached up to grab my hat, taking it off and setting it back on with the bill facing forward. “Much better.”
I stared down at her as I asked, “Do I look bad with it backwards or something?”
“Quite the opposite.” She must’ve realized what she said because she froze, her eyes widening.
“Did you just compliment me?”
She covered her mouth, letting out a muffled, “No.”
“It sounds like you did.”
Her hands dropped, her green eyes glowing in the lights. “Only with the hat.”
“With it like this?” I gestured to the hat, then grabbed it, flipping it backwards. “Or like this?”
She shrieked, standing on her tiptoes to reach up and pull it off again. “No more hat. This is dangerous.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Dangerous, huh? How so?”
She shoved the hat on her head, her red hair billowing out in waves around her shoulders. “It just is. So I’ll be keeping this.”
“I don’t get it back?”
She shook her head, the bill casting a shadow over the top half of her face. “Not until you can control yourself with it.”
I chuckled. “I think it’s you who needs to be controlled.”
Her mouth opened and closed, searching for words that she couldn’t grasp. I didn’t mean for what I said to come off as insinuating anything, but that’s how she must’ve taken it.
Reed appeared next to me, leaning in. “I think we should get the girls home.”
Satan saves the day.I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand this close to Oakley and keep myself contained. Contrary to her belief, I was controlling myself as best I could right now.
I turned to find Lettie and Brandy making a spectacle of themselves dancing with the pool cues, suggesting they were stripper poles. They never ceased to find fun in the smallest of things.
“Oakley came with me, so I’ll take her home. You good with them?” I asked him.
