Page 8 of Nostalgia
Her yellow contacts met mine. “Excuse me?”
“You took me home.”
Her cheeks went pink at my insinuation. I had expected her to deny it and tell them that it wasn’t sexual but all she did was lick her bottom lip and nod her head. “Yes, I did. It feels like a lifetime ago.”
Ian and Eric looked at each other with shock on their faces. “No frickin way.”
Aiyanna popped the tops on the beers. “He’s not really a morning person.”
I’ll be damned. She had gone along with it and I had no idea why. She turned on her heel and went right back to the bar. Mikey handed Alex the whiskey and she made her way back to me. But now, it didn’t matter at all about the girl. All I could think about was Aiyanna and her weird self. Who was she?
Chapter Twelve
Aiyanna
Stupid military man.
I didn’t know why I had played along with his game. It did nothing for me besides give the man a surprise. His eyes had sparked as I went along with his rouse. The mischief replaced the pain and as a fellow sufferer, I would have done anything to keep that going. The one Derek had called Ian watched me with contempt and disbelief. He pushed his barstool back and followed me to the bar.
“You ain’t fallin’ in love with my buddy there, are you?” Ian leaned up against the bar and watched me with cold eyes. I leaned against the other side and raised my eyebrows at him.
“If I was, it wouldn’t be your damn business, now would it?” I smiled to add fuel to the fire. I didn’t like men that felt they could boss me around. I didn’t like men that thought they could intimidate me.
Ian smiled and the ice in his stare melted away. “You have fire in you, I like that.”
I slid a beer to him and shook my head. “I don’t date. I don’t do one nights and I don’t like small talk.”
The grin slid off of his face and he scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Damn, you really are perfect for him. Ya know that?”
I looked back at his table. There was something in Derek’s eyes as he watched me talk with Ian. But the pixie cut blonde wasn’t going to let his attention get away from her. She leaned against him. Rubbed his covered arms and then finally leaned over to whisper something in his ear. His tongue flicked out and ran along his bottom lip. Her eyes met mine and she smirked. My eyebrows pulled together and my eyes narrowed. I didn’t like catty women. She felt some sort of competition in the air between us but I wasn’t going to participate in that. There was no room for more drama in my life. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her hip. Dangerously low too. My eyes fled the scene unfolding in front of me.
Ian was grinning like he had won something. I shut him down. “I’m not perfect for anyone, all I am is damaged goods. Good talking to you though. Nice to know the people that support my little establishment.”
“I could always use a wing woman, or well, any woman that is.” My eyes found Derek again as Ian spoke. He was getting up to leave with the drama train.
“Excuse me?” My eyes snapped back to his.
“Ya know, someone to scope out the ladies and I’ll scope out the guys for her. See which ones are interested, ya know, stuff like that.” He waggled his eyebrows at me.
“Why not?” What did I have to lose? I was bored half of the time and didn’t have much of a social life.
“Elise used to do it with me but then she started breastfeeding and that is a buzz kill.” A laugh bubbled up from my throat. “You need to meet the gang, I guess. Also, do you always wear a different colored wig?”
Ian’s eyes were big and innocent now. They reminded me of a child’s. I tucked my wet rag behind the counter and Mikey gave me a thumbs up. He had told me a few days prior that I needed new friends. Vince watched me with a hopeful look and I knew that my two guys approved. They only wanted what was best for me and probably for me to stop breathing down their necks. I was fine with getting away from this place for a bit.
* * *
It was two weeks before Ian called me with a night out. I insisted that it wasn’t a date and he assured me that he never thought of it that way. My hands shook as I looked myself over in the mirror. We were going downtown tonight and that meant bar hopping, depending on what the crowds were like. Ian assured me that if he got picked up, there would be entertainment for me. I didn’t know if I liked the sound of it, but I couldn’t complain. This was my first time downtown and I wasn’t going to throw it away because Ian liked women. No, I was going to enjoy every second of it.
That meant that I couldn’t look like me. The wigs and contacts were left in their cases, while my naturally dark hair hung loosely around my shoulders. My big brown eyes stared back at me in fear. It had been years since I had gone out without my disguises. I looked good but I didn’t recognize myself. Thick makeup painted my face and a black strappy dress hung from my lithe body. I buckled my flat sandals and closed my eyes. I could do this.
The doorbell rang and I knew there was no turning back. I checked my phone for any notifications before I tucked it into my purse. I had changed my number weeks ago and the peace that came with that was huge. I could breathe easier. I didn’t need the sound of the tv blasting as I fell asleep at night. I certainly didn’t have to look over my shoulder as I walked to and from my car.
I looked through the little peephole. Ian had his hands shoved in his pockets. He wore dark wash jeans and a blue button down. His hair was spiked and his eyes were bright. I wondered if he had started to pregame. A grin split his face as I opened the door. I couldn’t smell alcohol, which was a relief.
“Ya know, all this time I thought you hid behind the wigs and the contacts because you were ugly or something.” Ian’s face turned pink. “How wrong I was. You look incredible. You sure you don’t want to turn this into a date?”
I rolled my eyes, grabbed the crook of his arm, and hauled him down the hall. “No dating. I’m here to help you find someone, not the other way around.”
