Page 49 of New Rules
He chuckled and shook his head. “Alright then pay the man his five bucks.”
“I’ll let you come kiss the foam off my mouth instead,” I told her.
It was two-fold. One, it kept up the appearance that we were dating, but it also got me another kiss from her—one that I found I desperately wanted. Mostly to wipe that smirk off her face.
“Maybe later.” She smiled back at me. She saw my ploy for what it was and wasn’t going to play into it.
“I like winning bets,” I told her. “We should bet on something else so I can win again.”
She rolled her eyes and then furrowed her brows and put her hand on her hip as she cocked it to the side. “Your cockiness is not appealing, just so you know.”
I leaned over the counter and crooked my finger so she’d come close enough that I could whisper into her ear. “You seemed to like my cock plenty two nights ago.”
I pulled back and noticed her face hadn’t changed—ever the good soldier masking those emotions—but her eyes were sparkling and full of heat.
Oh yeah, she remembered alright.
Two hours later, Frank and Chase were gone, and Tammy was ending her shift for the night. The Watering Hole didn’t close for another two hours, but the crowd had dwindled enough that Sam could handle the rest of the bar on his own and close up with Wade who was first up to assist.
We were walking out to her car, and she waved to a few people she recognized in the parking lot while I stared at her in amazement.
Tammy was a mix of dry humor, a beautiful, kind soul, and vulnerability covered in armor.
“What are you staring at?” she asked as we walked up to her car.
I moved to her side of the car to wait for her to unlock it so I could open her door.
“I just find you appealing and interesting, that’s all,” I responded truthfully.
“What makes me so interesting?” she questioned, clearly assuming I had some ulterior motive behind my comment.
“Could be your beautiful smile,” I said, taking a step closer to her, bringing us mere inches apart. “Perhaps your quick wit. Maybe it’s your sassy attitude, or the way your dark-brown eyes get even darker when you’re irritated with people.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Well then, I guess my eyes resemble rich coffee a lot, because most days at least several people irritate me.”
“You ready to go home, darlin’?” I asked.
She paused, tilting her head and putting her hand on her hip. “Look,darlin’,” she said, throwing that word back at me with enough attitude to strip paint off the walls. “It’s notyourhome. It’smine. I’m letting you stay out of the goodness of my heart, but let’s get one thing straight—you are the guest, and if I don’t think you’re being a suitable guest, I’ll kick your ass out faster than you can bat those handsome eyelashes.”
“You think I have handsome eyes?” I teased.
She rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. “Men.”
Yeah. This woman was a special kind of intoxicating. The kind I was finding I enjoyed and wanted to be around. A little bit volatile and a whole lot tempting.
FIFTEEN
TAMMY
It was my first night working with Delia, and she was a hoot.
A while after her shift started, Stella and Anna had come in for girls’ night.
“Anna, I believe you know Delia, but Stella, I’m not sure if you’ve met. This is Delia, my newest bartender.”
“Anna filled me in on the drive here,” Stella explained, letting me know she knew the full backstory.
“She’s the one who only drinks margaritas?” Delia asked me, trying to remember which of the women liked what.
