Page 54 of Wanting More
Frowning, he had gotten up and walked to his door, not bothering to put on pants. Opening the door just as Hayden opened his, also wearing just his boxers, they glanced at each other in groggy confusion before looking down the hall toward the kitchen to see the source. Standing at the counter, swinging her hips in time with the beat, both men watched in momentary fascination as they let their eyes travel over her figure. Still wearing her satin bonnet, Sapphire stood with her back to them, apparently cooking something fucking delicious judging by the smell, while wearing a pair of navy-blue tights and a small yellow cut-off t-shirt. Hayden was the first one to immediately turn around and shut the door. No doubt to put on some pants, Joel had thought, as he did the same.
Nearly every morning since, it was the same. Blaring eighties music, breakfast served with that signature mischievous smile, and then she was off to work in the café.
Now he was at the bar, standing in the corner behind the long counter, taking a moment of reprieve from the lull in drink requests to type on his phone.
There was a sudden deep laugh from right behind him.
"Why are you doing looking up:possible repressed trauma and eighties music?" The voice asked, reading the words off his screen.
Joel turned to see Vic glancing at him from over his shoulder as he placed the bottle of whiskey on the top shelf.
Clicking his phone off, Joel gave him a hard look.
Vic ignored the silent threat and pressed on, evidently intrigued. "Would this have anything to do with your new roommate?" he asked, unnecessarily stressing the last word.
Joel shrugged before turning to look back out over the bar. Today was Saturday, and thank God for it. He was looking forward to his weekend. Though he was half curious, half dreading if he was going to wake up to The Weather Girl'sIt’s Raining Menor Tina Turner. Hell, it may turn out to be another day of Queen like this morning. Goddamn, the eighties and their infinite list of music.
Coming to stand next to him, Vic leaned forward against the bar and looked ahead at the talking people. They were standing at the very end, luckily with three empty seats on the other side of the L-shaped counter, giving them a moment of privacy.
Vic leaned his hip on the counter and crossed his arms. His dark, almost black eyes fixed Joel with a hard stare. "Okay, let me ask a different question. Is there something up between you and Hayden?"
Joel frowned and stared at Vic in question. "No. Why?"
"Don't shit me." Vic's brows lowered. "There's an odd vibe between you two tonight."
Joel didn’t allow his face to show any tell and just stared back at his friend. "You're wrong," he lied. "We're fine." Even bigger lie.
"Yeah, sure," Vic gave him a condescending nod. "Both you and he are acting real fucked up right now. When I ask him if it has anything to do with the girl, he acts like I just threatened his kid or something. And you just say there is nothing when there is obviously something."
"What do you want me to say?" Joel held out his hands. "You asked if there was something up, and we both told you there's nothing."
Around them, the noise of the bar continued, but between them everything stopped. Joel could see Vic's dark eyes measuring every slight movement of his body, hunting for a tell. But he didn't need to they both knew he was lying through his teeth.
With a sharp intake of breath through his teeth, Vic turned on his heel. "Forget it."
Joel watched him walk away before letting out a small sigh.
Tonight wasn't that busy, and Joel was honestly surprised Vic was even there. Since having to go back to his old man's farm to take care of the mean old bastard since his injury, Vic had been so busy with taking care of the near failing farm and being nursemaid to his old bastard of a father he was only ever able to get to the bar on the weekends. Which really was fine. During the week, the crowd was manageable with just the two of them. It was on the weekends and nights they opened up the backroom for their more lucrative dealings that they needed the third man.
Walking past Vic, who was filling up a glass for a customer, Joel walked to the other end of the bar and passed Hayden, who was stacking glasses. Any other time Joel would slap him on the shoulder or say something funny as he passed by. This time he said nothing.
Like two magnets repelling each other, an invisible but palpable tension existed between them. It had been there in flashes when Sapphire first moved in, but since that night back from Stardust Cove, the unspoken tension between them had evolved into something with a name that neither one wanted to admit to.
Sleeping soundly nestled against Hayden, Sapphire couldn't have known the kind of rift the simple act created. Hell, Joel wasn't even prepared for the white-hot jealousy that flowed in his veins on that trip back or the gaping hollow feeling it left in him. He felt childish and ashamed of the quiet fury he had had for his brother, but it was there nevertheless.
For the most part, both he and Hayden had been able to ignore the poisonous feeling. With great effort, they forced themselves to act normally, just as they had always done. They still rode side by side together to and from the bar each early morning and evening. They still joked and laughed together and still went to the gym together. It was only sometimes, when the light of Sapphire's smile shined just a little too long at the other, did the man left in the dark let the cold fingers of jealousy wrap around their heart.
Walking into the back room, Joel cursed at himself under his breath. He was acting stupid, and he knew it.
Earlier that afternoon, he had come down the stairs to the café and nearly stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of Sapphire leaning over the counter and slipping something over Hayden's head. Frozen to the spot, Joel had breathed deeply through his nose. His nostrils flaring as he watched Sapphire's delicate fingers lift the thin, navy-blue elastic headband up and over Hayden's head until it settled partly at the top of his head. The mop of brown hair that usually hung in his brother's eyes, hiding the quiet giant from the world, was now pushed back, clearing his face from obstruction.
Her radiant smile in response was like a knife to Joel's gut. Her fingers passing over Hayden's beard, which the bastard now trimmed every fucking day, felt like a twist of that knife. With greater effort than normal, Joel had interrupted their moment with a halfhearted joke and a flirty smile and tried to bury the venom of jealousy spreading through his veins.
Joel shook his head and cleared his thoughts. He had to stop thinking like that. Grabbing the large silver canister of ale, Joel lifted it easily off the floor. His muscles hardly felt the strain of the hundred- and forty-pound keg as he walked back into the bar as he tried to focus his thoughts.
Setting the heavy keg down, Joel knelt and grabbed the hoses that hooked up to it. With a sideways glance, he looked at Hayden. The bastard was still wearing the headband, he noted sourly, but Joel could also see the tautness in the man's shoulders. Thistension, as he liked to call it, between them was stupid.
Joel glared at the keg in front of him as he tried to sort out his feelings. This had to stop. It wasn't even really jealousy, right? Not when they didn’t want her like that. Well,heat least didn’t want her like that, Joel thought with a growing scowl.
