Page 11 of Small Town Swoo
She laughed. “I wonder if he’ll go into Buckley’s Pub tonight. Are you working?”
“Yes.” Thinking about Dash walking into the bar tonight kicked my heart rate right back up again.
“Hopefully, he’ll have clothes on if he does.”
“He better,” I said, still trying not to think about the dangle. “He darn well better.”
THREE
ari
He cameinto the bar just after eight, and I knew the minute he entered. The air took on an electrical charge that tickled the back of my neck and made my hair stand on end.
When I glanced toward the front door, I saw him throw his arms around Xander and give him several thumps on the back. They were both tall, fit, and handsome, but they didn’t look much alike. Xander was dark-haired and bearded, with deep brown eyes. Dash had been light blond when he was a kid, but his hair color had deepened as he grew older. Tonight, it was mostly covered by a baseball cap, probably to decrease his chances of being recognized. His jaw, always clean-shaven onMalibu Splash, now had light brown scruff. It gave his good looks more of a rugged feel that punched me right in the lady bits.
Thankfully, he wore clothes—jeans that showed off his round, muscular ass and a fitted hunter green Henley that hugged his chest and arms. I tried not to stare as Xander showed him around the place. When the tour ended by the bar, I busied myself slicing a few more limes.
“Have a seat,” Xander said, gesturing toward an empty bar stool. “Ari will take care of you. I’ll be back in a few.”
Steadying myself with a breath, I placed the napkin down in front of Dash and forced myself to look him in the eye. My heart rattled worse than my car engine. “Hey, Dash.”
“Good to see you, Sugar.” The corners of his mouth twitched as he called me by my childhood nickname in the Buckley family—bestowed when I was eight years old, and Mabel and I had attempted chocolate chip cookies from scratch in their kitchen. Despite all the boasting I’d done about my baking skills, I accidentally mistook salt for sugar and never lived it down.
“You too.”
“Of course, I’m not seeing as much ofyouas you saw ofmeearlier today.”
I would be calm. I would be cool. I would ignore what his eyes were doing to me. “What can I get for you?”
“Do you always enter a house without knocking?”
“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t know anyone was home, and your dad asked me to look after Fritz for the weekend. He gave me a key.”
“I didn’t realize he’d be gone. I wanted to surprise him.” He gave me an easy grin and lifted one shoulder. “Sorry if I offended you.”
“I wasn’toffended,” I said, wiping an invisible spill from the bar.
“No? I couldn’t tell, the way you ran off.”
“Well, you werenaked!” I looked around to make sure no one could hear me. “Why were younakedin the kitchen?”
“I was doing an acting exercise.”
“An acting exercise?” I repeated dubiously.
“Yes. Where I strip down to my purest self. It helps you to shed the layers of emotional protection.” His eyes twinkled. “Sometimes our clothing is just a metaphor, Ari.”
I refused to be flirty with him. “So can I get you a drink or not?”
“Sure. Xander says there’s a local whiskey he likes. Brown-Eyed Girl?”
I nodded. “Rocks?”
“Please.”
Turning my back on him, I tried to ignore the way my heart was merrily skipping over beats like a carefree child through a field of wildflowers. Did it not recall the way Dash had stomped on it? I wondered what he was thinking as he watched me pour his whiskey over ice. Was he remembering that night in his bedroom? Maybe he never gave it a second thought. Probably tons of girls had thrown themselves at him like that.
Maybe I needed to get over myself.
