Page 14 of All For You
Kasey must have noticed my wavering attention. Her nails sank into my skin, and my fist flexed out of reflex. Jerking my face in her direction, away from the mirror, I narrowed my gaze.
“Don’t,” I snapped harshly. It was my first reaction to the pain. Triggering a memory of someone gripping my arm, inflicting their strength over mine. I could only mask the fear with irritation.
Thankfully, Kasey was either too buzzed from the alcohol or too unobservant to notice. She perched her chin on my shoulder and whispered in my ear. I couldn’t make out a lot of what she was saying, but I picked up on a phrase or two, like “have fun in the bathroom.”
I was well past the college days of hooking up in a public bathroom.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Aspen’s friend stand up from the table and move down a hallway.
“Excuse me,” I mumbled to Kasey. “I see my friend. Enjoy your drink.”
I left her gaping like a catfish as I pushed away from the bar, and her hooks, making my way to my favorite personwho hated me with a vengeance. I left her on a bad note earlier, lashing out when I’d been angry at myself and my mother.
Should I go over and apologize?
Yes.
Will I?
Absolutely not.
Chapter Five – Aspen
I felt like an anomaly, sitting in here. Not only was I severely underdressed compared to the other women in the bar, but I’d only been here once before to socialize.
My sister, Alex, used to manage the bar, so there were many nights when I would come to keep her company when it was slow, or I’d hide here when I wanted to get away from my parents. But for a night out with friends? This made twice.
Because this was not my natural habitat, and I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. I felt the eyes of both men and women as I walked into the space. Instantly, I felt like tugging down the hem of my shorts. I was a gazelle waltzing through a pride of lions. It was terrifying.
Thankfully, Jenna found a table right away, far in the corner, where I could observe but not be seen. Though, I still felt the wondering gazes and stares from the people close by.
Jenna ordered herself a Dirty Shirley. I knew nothing about cocktails, but I ordered a local beer on tap. She sneered but didn’t say a word about my selection.
“I’m glad you finally joined me,” she said the minute the server stepped away.
“You didn’t leave me much choice.” I promised her a few times over the summer I would make it out, but I failed every attempt. Not only did my anxiety skyrocket at the thought of being out in public, but I did not know how to act around people. Engaging in conversation with others was not my forte. I’d take hanging out with cattle or goats instead any day.
But today, when she messaged me to go out with her, like she did every weekend, I actually accepted. The interaction with Owen this afternoon left me frazzled. A stark reminder of why Istayed away from social settings, aside from the market when it was my turn to sell.
“Yes, but it didn’t take much convincing. Tryston is over by the pool tables.”
My eyes immediately darted in that direction over her shoulder. He was there, towering over his friends. He was still dressed in a suit, which I didn’t understand, but Jenna tried explaining to me before that lawyers didn’t take days off. I thought maybe he was just trying to appeal to the women in town.
For whatever reason, he was gorgeous to me, when not many men registered that way in my mind. He was taller than his two friends, but no more than six feet at best.
He moved to town a year ago, and I bumped into him at Chuck’s Grocery. We reached for the Boston Crème Pie at the same time, and I’d been infatuated ever since. His New England accent pulled me in. I was so used to a Southern drawl that his seemed exotic.
I knew through the grapevine—aka Jenna—that he worked at the law office in town and was single. It was perfect for someone like me, who grew up with most of the eligible men in town. Most were either married already, or they were on the prowl for Susie Homemaker.
I was the complete opposite of that. I had my own farm to manage—or at least I would soon.
Sipping my beer, I let Jenna chatter on while I watched Tryston with rapt attention. He tossed his head back in laughter at something his friend said, and my own grin emerged.
Lost in my own thoughts, I almost missed her asking, “Is that Owen Ramsey at the bar?”
I glanced up to look at the crowd formed around the man seated at the bar. Owen was wearing his same shirt from earlier. But even without those clothes, I’d recognize him anywhere.Years of witnessing his retreating back as I glared at him and his clique cemented his body shape in my mind.
“Appears to be,” I said nonchalantly as I took a drink. “Kasey already claimed him, it seems,” I added.
