Page 23 of Sinister Hearts
Her eyes went wide, trying to shrug it off. “Why are you really here, Jax. Just to bother me at work? I have money to make and I really don’t need the distractions.” She snapped at me, sending crossbows with her eye’s, that aimed right at me.
“Is that right?” I pestered, entertained.Did she just call me a distraction?“Okay, how’s about this then. Let’s make a bet, Faye Robles.”
She stopped in her tracks and turned to me, ears already listening.There’s my girl.
“You get on that bar and line dance, and I’ll give you five-hundred dollars right here, right now. You see, I don’t think you’ll do it. You just don’t got that grit anymore.” I side-eyed her as I took a swig of my cold Dos Equis. I could see the fury building up like a catastrophic bomb.That’s right, little light, you just need to spark.“The Faye I used to know would have done it for shits and giggles.” I shrugged my shoulders at her. She hesitated for a minute, her wheels spinning, the mere thought of a challenge resuscitating her back to life.
“Give me ten,” she said, leaving the bar and striding towards Avi.
Both of them headed to the back lockers for a couple of minutes, and walked back out giggling and smiling. Avi headed to the DJ booth, whispering in his ear, and his smile went wide. Faye came out to the bar and said, “You’re on, cowboy.”Holy shit, she’s gonna do it. Yup, there goes my dick again. Stubborn, she was. I knew my girl still had a fight in her somewhere. I chuckled. There was the Faye I knew. All my girl needed was a push.
The instant I noticed Jax at the bar, I knew he would be trouble. With the awkward encounter we had a week ago, the last thing I wanted to see was his stupid handsome face, yet here he was. The second he mentioned a bet, I knew what he was doing. That was our thing. We took bets seriously, and it was a game we always played back in the day. I decided I didn’t have time for his games or shenanigans today, but then he had the nerve to call me, Faye Robles, a scaredy cat, in so manyother words. That got my blood boiling. I had a feeling he would be here. Hence the booty shorts and my cleavage being out. He wanted a reaction out of me, but I’d be the one to surely get it.
Not to mention the five-hundred dollars that caught my attention. I couldn’t afford a lawyer like Vadon. I got Penny’s legal fees through the mail a week ago and sadly that was with the family hook up. I didn’t have enough, and I instantly went into a panic. I needed a thousand dollars, which I only had half of. I’d been at the saloon for only a couple of months and this divorce was costing me half of my savings that I’ve busted my neck for, pulling doubles. I was trying my hardest to save up for a place for us, so I could get out of Ma’s hair. Even though I know she didn’t care, I did. It was becoming nearly impossible to save up for a place with Vadon’s constant filing fees. Penny told me it was a tactic. He was trying to drain me emotionally and financially. But I was no quitter and I sure as hell was no scaredy cat.
This five-hundred dollars would put my lawyer fees to rest and I could get caught up again in my savings, well, until Vadon got another wild hair up his ass, that is.
After I told Jax to give me ten minutes, I walked over to Avi. “How do you feel about dancing with your gal’ for old time’s sake?” I gave her a mischievous smile.
“You better not be playing with me, Faye.” Avi’s eyes lit up like fireworks.
“Nope. Dead serious, like a heart attack.” I responded.
Avi jumped up and down in her chaps and boots. “Hell yeah! Meet me in the locker room.” She gave me a quick nod, and I headed to the locker room, staring at my reflection in the mirror. I could do this. I could dance in my sleep. I was nervous, but I needed this. Just, maybe my hips won't break. Avi walked in the locker room, her boots clacking against the floor.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked, crossing her tan arms.
“I have a bet to win, chica,” I responded, putting on my white tee and black cowgirl hat, flicking the tip.
“Yes! That’s my gal! I knowjustthe song!” We both walked out of the locker room on a mission.
One: Pay off fees.
Two: Make that Grimwood motherfucker drown in regret.
I walked behind the bar to Jax and said three words, “You’re on, cowboy.” Jax grinned wide and big. Smug bastard. He knew what he was doing, but guess what? So did I. He wanted a show, I’d give it to him and have him regret ever asking me. I mean why not, especially after the way he treated me? I would show him what he was missing. I wanted him to choke on the very thought of not having me or touching me. I wanted him begging, yearning for me. I would make him pay. I slammed the locker room door shut, ready to bruise a cowboy’s ego.
Avi walked to the DJ, who’d been here since even before I started here.
“Sam, Faye is getting on the bar.”
The DJ looked ecstatic. “Say less. It’s about damn time!” he shouted over the blaring music. Sam put onHoedownby Taela and Lou Ridley. He shouted in the mic, “Gentlemen, do we have a surprise for you! Our very own veteran Wild Minx, Faye Robles, will be on the bar line dancing tonight with none other than her best dancing partner, Avianna!” The mic’s echo bounced off the walls, and the crowd was going wild. I could feel my heart in my throat, but a bigger part of me was feeling the buzz of adrenaline coursing through me. Something in me was igniting, sparking, coming to life. The song blared against the brick walls as my body buzzed. The saloon was full of whistling and cheers. I hopped up on the bar and bent over with my knee-high black boots, right in front of Jax, as if to give him a bigfuck you. Jaxon smiled devilishly. I bent down to his eye level, grabbing his shirt, and pulled him into me as I shook my breastsseductively in his face. The crowd in the bar buzzed with live cheer.
All eyes were on us. Jax continued to gaze at me with a wide grin from his bar stool. The song played and Avi and I line danced in sync, losing ourselves in the music. Tips were thrown and the world went blurry. It was me, Avi, and the music. The moves were coming back to me like a flawless routine. My heart thundered in my chest with each maneuver and twirl. Avi grabbed the hose from the tap and began splashing me. At that moment I was back in my old skin. I didn’t care what anyone thought, I was untamed and vivacious again. Ripping my old skin and shedding it like a reptile. The neon lights bounced off the saloon walls and the bar was in a frenzy and full of tips, just like I had hoped.
Avi and I looked at each other, soaked in our white tees, laughing as the song ended. Avi graced me with a big hug. “It’s good to have you back, chica.” She had an uncanny expression on her pretty face. It felt damn good to be back. We hopped off the bar and split our tips. I gathered myself, pulling my hair up in a ponytail. I felt good, empowered. Like maybe that girl was still in there and she had come out for the first time in five years.My hips didn’t break, after all. Instead of breaking, it felt like something was being rebuilt. Was it my will, my hope? Hope that maybe after all this time, it would be okay, that I could do this. I was surviving every day. Little by little, I was coming home to myself with open arms. A relief and a deliverance of hope placed upon my heavy burdens. A crack in my broken foundation making space for the new.
“A bet is a bet,” Jax exclaimed, creeping up from nowhere. Jaxhanded me the hundred dollar bills from across the bar.I almost forgot about this fucker. I glanced at the cash he placed on the bar.
“Jax, the bet was five hundred,” I replied back with haste, placing my hands on my hips.
“Now, Faye, what did I tell you about me and rules?” he said, coy and smug. He is such a pain in my ass. “I’ll give you the rest after your shift, if you take a ride with me on my Harley.” Jax taunted me, waving the other bills in my face.
“Listen, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I don’t have time for your games,” I stated, annoyed.
“No games, just me, you, and a bike ride. I promise I’ll drive you right back here to your car safe and sound,” he murmured. “You have my word.” The look in his eyes almost mimicked aplease. Jax placed his palms together in a prayer.This damn cowboy.
“Fine, okay. My shift ends in five,” I retorted, shutting down the bar.
