Page 11 of Good at Being Bad (Rock Canyon, Idaho 8)

Why am I following him? I could just wait by the bar until he’s done.

But Mike kept going, shooting the Coulter brothers a warning look as he passed. He didn’t like the redneck bastards. Walt wasn’t bad on his own, but when he played Wayne’s shadow, they caused nothing but trouble.

“The fuck is your problem, Stevens?” Wayne sneered. He was short, maybe five-six or -seven, but he had the attitude of a small dog. The puffed-up chest and dark scowl told Mike he was spoiling for a fight, but then, Wayne usually was. Which is why he’d been banned from Buck’s for almost six months. Eric had just let them back in a few weeks ago.

Mike didn’t bother to answer as he pushed through the crowd after Drew. If Wayne wanted to follow him and start shit, he was more than welcome. Mike had handled his share of bullies. It was the reason his mom and dad had put him in martial arts in middle school. He had been slight and average until high school when he’d experienced a growth spurt, but he’d graduated high school with a black belt in Karate and was taking down guys nearly twice his size. He was quick, agile, and could think fast on his feet. Even with the added muscle he had put on, he continued to practice. He didn’t like to fight, but he wouldn’t back down from one.

He stepped around Drew and Ellie looked away from his friend. Her gaze met his. By the slight narrowing of her eyes, he figured she wasn’t exactly thrilled by his presence.

Drew turned to look at Mike over his shoulder. “Mike! I was just telling Ellie about your endearing nickname for her.”

Son of a bitch. Mike reached out and squeezed Drew’s shoulder, hard.

“Oh, yeah,” Ellie said, smirking. “You know, Pain in the Ass is really not that bad. Calling me a dumb kid—now, that is insulting.”

Mike shifted his feet, wishing he could take Drew outside and give him an ass kicking for opening his big fat mouth. By the looks of his friend, he knew how uncomfortable he was making Mike. He was obviously just enjoying himself too much to care.

“Oh, wait, you’ve done that already.” Ellie looked down her nose at him like he was beneath her. As if his opinion didn’t matter.

But if what I said didn’t matter, she wouldn’t bring it up constantly.

Maybe they could finally bury the hatchet if he just apologized.

Opening his mouth, he started. “Look, Ellie—”

But she turned away from Mike, obviously less than interested in whatever he had to say. Who could blame her. Even if she was hard to get along with, he should just learn to keep his mouth shut.

Ellie held out her hand to Drew. “It was very nice to see you again.”

“You too, Ellie.”

Ellie shot Mike one last sour expression and took off through the dancers toward the back of Buck’s.

Suddenly, Drew smacked Mike upside his head.

“Ouch, what was that for? I should be the one hitting you for having a big fucking mouth.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? You called her a dumb kid?”

“She was being a dumb kid!” Mike punched Drew’s shoulder.

Drew stepped back and bumped into dancers behind him. While he was apologizing, Mike went back to the bar to order another beer, fuming. Damn Drew. He had probably done it because he thought there was something going on between him and Ellie, and this was his juvenile way to draw them out. That was never gonna happen, though.

Ever.

Chapter Four

Ellie swayed in the arms of Walt Coulter, grimacing as he tried to pull her into his skinny body. He smelled like sweat and he kept rubbing against her grossly. She would have walked away from him already, but it was just easier to suffer through the song than to rile up him or his brother.

This was why she hated going out alone, but she had been too antsy to stay home tonight. Since all of her other friends had ditched her, Ellie was having trouble meeting people who were willing to give her a chance. Her roommate, Jenny Andrews, would have come out with her, but she’d had to study for finals.

Ellie had gotten her bachelor’s in business back in December, so she was all set to head out into the world and do something great.

Too bad she had no idea what that was.

Of course, she didn’t have to work if she didn’t want to. Her trust fund would kick in when she turned twenty-five in October and would be more than enough to live on. But she wanted to find something she loved more than anything.

Which she hadn’t found yet.

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