Shocked and angry, I throw up my hands and back off. “Fine. I’ll leave you alone.”
“Thank you!”
I storm off, irritation under my skin so bad that I have to flip around and stroll back.
Wren glances up from stacking the fresh drinks Mike is making for her. He pauses at my return. But I ignore him and lean in a little so the conversation stays between us. Well, the three of us, because he’s too close not to hear.
“Your boyfriend better know how lucky he is.”
Her lips part and I hold her gaze, knock on the bar and leave her with that.
CHAPTER 7
WREN
House keys jingle to the coffee table as I collapse on the couch in my studio apartment and exhale a relieved sigh. I thought that shift would never end. Working a double on a Sunday after two closing bartender-shifts Friday and Saturday night, was brutal.
My feet hate me.
And my legs agree that I suck.
“Sorry ladies,” I mumble, kicking off my sneakers and snuggling them closer so I can rub the arches. “Oh, you are pissed, aren’t you?” Wincing I massage deeper to release the knots. “Let it all go. It’s over, I promise.”
Retrieving the folded up napkins from my pockets I count three half-completed songs. Reading my nearly illegible hand-writing I smile and whisper, “These aren’t half bad.”
My phone vibrates with a text message—Eleanor’s name on the screen.
Got a sec 2 talk?
“Huh, I was sure you’d be Peter,” I mutter, dialing her back without hesitation. “Hey El, you guys have fun?”
Happy and exhausted she informs me, “Normally I have to trick or beg them to sleep. Tonight they put themselves to bed!”
“So you did stay until the end.”
“We were the last ones in the park. Us and about fifty other die-hards waited until we were kicked out! My ex had them home before dinner. Probably had some cooz waiting for him. Or maybe he just got bored. Who knows. But not me! We opened and closed Six Flags and I win!”
Throwing my feet atop the back of the couch I wiggle my toes in hopes the blood will return to where it belongs. “That’s awesome.”
“You sound tired! How was today?”
“Long but profitable.”
Her voice softens, “Thank you so much, Wren, really.”
“Anytime. You know that.”
“The Falcons were there today, right?”
I mutter, “Yeah, they came in. The girls today were a disaster. Practically begging to go home with a player. So bummed when they left alone. It was pathetic.”
She laughs, “It’s pretty bad, but who can blame them. Those guys are so meaty and strong and you just want to climb them! Did I tell you I went home with a Tight End.”
My legs fly off the back of the couch as I sit up. “You what?!”
“And let me tell you, the money I had to pay extra for the babysitter was worth every shiny dime.”
Shooting up to standing I tug my hair free of the hair tie, rubbing my head on the way to the kitchen. “I can’t believe you held this valuable information from me. Who was it?”
“Dion Lewis, number—”
“81,” I recite with her. “Yeah, I know who he is. He’s a talented blocker.”
“Who cares about that? I love his fingers. And his other larger appendage.”
Laughing I open a pine cupboard and dig out my coveted box of Fig Newtons. “Are you going to see him again?”
Her trademark snort prefaces a casual, “Yeah right. Pretty sure it was a one-off. Which is fine. I knew that going in.”
“You’re okay with it?” Stuffing the cookie in my addicted mouth I wait for an explanation, hoping she’s being honest with herself. I don’t want my friend getting hurt.
“Wren,” she begins, already sounding like she’s full of shit. “Some men are made for fucking. He reminded me that I’m a woman. I have a body that needs to be loved on. Felt up. Sucked. Fucked. All of it. No, don’t roll your eyes.”
With my mouth full I object, “I’m not!”
“I don’t have to see you to know that you are rolling your damn eyes! So did any of the players try to hit on you?”
“Eric.”
“What?!! And you’re alone right now?”
“I would never touch that guy, El. Ever. Not with your hands, not with mine.”
“A little primitive maybe…”
“Unevolved is a better description.”
“Tomato, Tomahto. Why, what’d he do?”
My mind travels back to his stripper dance in the bathroom, and how much I laughed. But that doesn’t matter because, “He told me he’s slept with cheaters.”
“Wait, he told you he cheated?”
“He slept with girls he knew were with someone.”
Silence then a cautious, “Wren.”
“No, don’t give me that voice.”
“Look honey, I know how you feel about this—”
“If you know someone’s taken you should leave them alone!” I toss the empty box in the recycling.
“Are you saying that because you were tempted today?”
Leaning against the counter with the moonlight peeking into my blinds I steady my voice, “Of course he’s tempting but you know I’d never cheat!”
“Because you’re not a cheater.”
“Right.”
“But those girls are.”
I stretch one of my sore feet, struggling to understand her meaning. “So?”
“If you were tempted but said no then that’s on you. If they were and said yes, then that’s on them. It’s the cheater you blame.”
“This is a slippery slope, El, and I don’t agree with you, I’m sorry.”
She sighs, “I love your morals but they don’t leave room for human failings.”
“What?!”
“Eric Cocker is as sexy as they come. He’s famous. He makes you feel like you’re the most beautiful woman in the room if he pays even the tiniest bit of attention to you. Those women might need that. And with him, he’s no threat to their relationship because he won’t settle down or even remember who they are afterward! So they can taste the fountain,
