Page 29 of The Cowboy and the Bombshell
And I snapped.
I headed off across the bar, Silas hot on my heels. As I pushed my way through the crowd, I could see the guys stepping away from Penelope and Daphne, but I didn’t let them get far.
“Hey, asshole,” I shouted, drawing the attention of just about everyone, including Penelope. Her mouth dropped open as she stared at me storming through the crowd. The guy with the phone turned back, looking around like a dope as he considered who I could possibly be talking to. “Yeah, you, dipshit.” He raised his eyebrows as I stopped in front of him. Silas was behind me, his hand on my arm to call me back, but I shook him off. “You always go around putting your mouth on women who don’t belong to you?”
“I, um, dude, we were just-” he stammered, looking to his buddies for help, but neither of them wanted to step in. I couldn’t blame them; I was raging.
“You were just looking to get a punch in the mouth, that’s what you were doin’.”
“Stone,” Penelope hissed from my side. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Hey, I didn’t know she had a boyfriend, man,” the goofball said, like that made what he did any better.
“Stone!” Penelope tried again, tugging on my arm. I continued to glare daggers at the kid, his friends backing away slowly. I rolled my eyes.Nice crew.
I took a step toward them and they all backed up three steps. Penelope moved in front of me, positioning herself between me and the losers I was trying to accost. “Seriously! What do you think you are doing?”
“That moron touched you when he had no right to do so. I am about to teach him how to treat a lady.”
She snorted, crossing her arms over her chest, her eyes throwing fire at me. “Right, because that’s your specialty, is it?” she asked sarcastically. “You wouldn’t know what to do with a lady if you had an instruction manual.”
The trio behind her all gave a round of low “Ohhhhhhs” which just served to piss me off more.
I sent them another glare, which shut them up. Looking back at Penelope, I tried a different approach. “I just think it’s poor manners to touch someone with out askin’ their permission.”
“He did ask,” she said, shocking me. “I said yes.”
“What the hell would you do that for?” I demanded before I could think better of it.
“I don’t see why it’s any of your business,”she replied coolly.
Seeing I wasn’t going to get any answers from her, I turned my attention back to the offending moron. “What do you have to say for yourself?” I barked. He held his hands up, trying to placate me.
“Honestly, dude, it was totally innocent.”
“Really?” I snarled.
“Yes!” He reached in his back pocket and withdrew a folded piece of paper. “Here, look.”
Taking the sheet, I scanned it with a frown. Shit.
“A scavenger hunt?”
His shoulders drooped in relief. “Yes. A scavenger hunt. See, Benny here.” The guy reached for one of his friends, dragging him back in front of me. “Benny is getting married next month. This is his bachelor party. And to commemorate the occasion, I was tasked with item number fourteen: a kiss with a beautiful lady. And I mean, dude. Like, look at her.” He gestured to Penelope, his eyes roaming up and down her body salaciously.
This was ridiculous. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Just get the hell out of here, alright?”
All three of them bolted like their asses were on fire. I turned around and caught the glare from Daphne.
“Stone, I love you,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “But you really are an asshole.”
“Daphne, I-”
“Just save it, Stone.” The disappointment in her eyes killed me. Both her and Penelope were looking at me like I was the worst person they knew.
I might have to agree with them.
“Come on, Penelope. Let’s get out of here. I have a friend who can get us VIP at a place I know.” With that my sister turned and headed for the door. Penelope gave me one last agitated look, then turned and followed my sister.
