Page 53 of Fight For Us
“Playing the long game, good call,” he said. “Yes, he’s a man.” I nodded and he snuck a look around the room. “Is your person old?”
“How am I supposed to answer that? Old is relative. You’re old compared to me.”
“I’m older than you, but I’m not old, Tiger. You know what I mean but I’ll rephrase—”
“No, no. No rephrasing. You already used your question.”
“Such a stickler for rules.” He laughed and sipped his Coke. “Go ahead and answer the question then.”
“No.” I smirked and raised a brow. That would throw him off. Yeah, he was old compared to us, but compared to say… the president, my pick was a spring chicken.
“You’re up to no good again,” he said. “I swear you made the same face during Spades.”
I shrugged, sipping my beer. “Okay, my turn.” I glanced around the room and zeroed in on a guy in a camo trucker style hat. From what I could see there were only two other guys in hats, so that would narrow it down. “Is your person wearing a hat?”
“There’s no way you’re not cheating.” He leaned back in his stool, stretching his legs.
“How could I be cheating? I’m not a mind reader.” I followed his gaze toward one of the younger guys at the pool table. He wore a baseball cap and Miami Dolphins shirt.Bingo.“So is that a yes?”
“Yeah, he has a hat.” He grumbled while the waitress dropped off the plates. All of a sudden my stomach rumbled. Food poisoning be damned, I was going for those wings. Wes turned the plate so most of the food was on my side. “Eat up, Tiger.”
We took a few minutes to polish off some food. For a dive bar, the wings weren’t bad. I finished my first beer and orderedanother, feeling that comfortable warmth spread throughout my limbs.
“I think it was my turn,” Wes said. “Let’s see…” He looked around, paying extra attention to the group of guys at the pool table. I couldn’t blame him, since they were getting rowdy. He nodded his head toward a guy with black hair and tattoos. “How about that guy?”
“That’s not a yes or no question. Who’s cheating now?”
“You got me there,” he said.
“He’s not my guy, to answer your question. And I think I know yours.”
“Oh, really? Let’s see then.”
I made a show of tapping my nose and looking around the room, until I inched closer and said, “Baseball cap and Dolphins shirt.”
“Witchcraft.” He chuckled. “That’s the only explanation.”
“Or how about the fact that you were staring the guy down. Your poker face sucks, Reed.”
“Reed? So now we’re calling each other last names? I could call you Reed too, you know.Mrs. Reed.” Blood rushed to the tips of my ears. “You’re blushing,Mrs. Reed.”
“Okay, point taken,” I said, looking away from his heated gaze. “Let me think of a good question.”
He picked up a fry and dipped it in ketchup. “Go ahead. You and your cheating earned it.”
There were so many things I wanted to ask him. His past was a mystery to me and I knew he kept certain parts of himselfguarded. I could relate. I took another sip of my liquid courage, licking a drop from my bottom lip. Wes’s stormy eyes followed the movement of my tongue and lingered on my lips until I felt myself squirm from the attention.
“Tell me about your first girlfriend.”
He told me about his secret fling with his best friend’s older cousin during the summer between junior and senior year of high school. How he followed her around like a puppy for a month until his friend found out and kicked his ass.
“Dylan was pissed. Not at her of course, just me. So anyway, I started my senior year friendless and single. Wasn’t the highest point of my teen years. Thankfully Dylan realized he was being a dick and apologized. We made a pact that family members were off-limits, and if I fucked up again he’d hit on my mom.” He shook his head and let out a dry laugh.
“You know what they say…” He quirked a brow. “Bros before—actually, I kind of hate that phrase.” I expected him to laugh but he stared absently at a spot on the wall. “So are you and Dylan still friends? I’d love to meet him.”
“I—uh…” Wes pushed up from the stool and gave the bar top a tap. “I’m going to use the bathroom and check on Sunshine real quick. You going to be okay?” He tilted his chin toward a hall in the back, which I only assumed led to the bathrooms.
“Oh, yeah. Of course. I’ll be here.” He got up and walked over without another word.
