CHAPTER 5
Work became easier as time passed. The girls and I were comfortable with our routines and even made time to shop some. We were loving our freedom and taking full advantage of it. None of us had ever lived on our own, and we couldn't have been happier. With our schedules, we'd found that it was easier for Steph and Nic to do most of the cooking, while I pulled my weight by cleaning. It wasn't evident by looking at my bedroom, but the rest of the house was presentable.
Turning around to hand a young lady her drink, I saw him. Dammit. The last thing I wanted to deal with was some jackass I'd already had a run-in with. He didn't look near as cute to me as he had our first night out in Dallas. My stomach turned, knowing I would have to wait on him.
"What can I get ya?" I asked, pretending I didn't know him.
"Your number?" He smiled.
"I don't think so."
His friends laughed, and someone yelled, "Burn!" I really didn't give a crap what they thought of me, nor did I have time to deal with his come-ons.
"Playing harder to get this time, I see." He winked at me.
"Jackson, is it?"
"You do remember."
"Yeah, I'm sort of working here, so if you don't need a drink, I'll see ya 'round." I wasn't trying to be a bitch, but I didn't like him, and I certainly didn't want to waste my time talking to him.
"I'll take a beer." I turned around to get his beer, and I heard him groan. Damn, my tattoos. See? Douche-bag attractor. "Here you go," I said, taking his money.
"What time do you get off?"
"Late."
"I can wait."
"Listen, I'm seeing someone, okay?"
"I can't get those sexy lips out of my mind," he whispered. And I can't get you grabbing me out of mine.
The best thing for me to do would be ignore him. So, I did. I walked away and left him standing there with his friends laughing. Cole didn't seem to notice, and I was thankful for that. I didn't need any trouble. I liked this job, and I wanted to keep it.
I hadn't seen Moye in two weeks. He and Corey hadn't been back to the pub since the first night I met him. I didn't really know how I felt about that. He hadn't seemed like a player, but then again, people came in all sorts of shapes these days. It was harder to pick them out of the crowd. Messing around with nothing serious was my MO, so I wasn't opposed to it. But it bothered me that he had me thinking differently after just one meeting.
"How's he gonna ask you to dinner, then not come around for two weeks?" Steph asked while waiting on me to make two drinks for her tables.
"Who?" Cole asked from behind me.
"That Moye guy," she huffed.
"He's been busy at the ranch. I called him last week, and he said they had an accident out there with a couple of ranch hands. Corey got hurt too; broke his hand."
"Was Moye hurt?" I didn't really care. I mean, I cared, but it wasn't like I knew him or anything.
"You can ask him yourself. Here he comes," Cole said, looking over my shoulder.
He walked up to the bar with Corey and sat down on one of the stools. "Hey, Piper. How are you?"
"I'm good. What can I get for you?" I decided to keep it casual. I didn't want him to know how disappointed I was that I hadn't seen him.
"We'll just take a couple of beers, please."
"Sure. Coming right up," I said, turning around to get the beers. I turned back around, and set the beers down in front of them.
"This is Corey. Corey, Piper," Moye said, introducing us.
"Hey, Corey. How is your hand?" I asked, shaking his good hand.
"Hurts like a bitch," he said.
I chuckled at him. He looked so badass, and that black cast on his hand only added to it. I made my way down to the end of the bar, taking orders the whole way. Thirty minutes later, I was back in front of them again.
"Can I get you guys anything else?"
"When do you go on break?" Moye asked.
Everything he said served a purpose and I liked it. I looked back at Cole, and he winked at me, giving me the go ahead.
"I could take fifteen now."
"Good, I'd like to talk to you for a minute."
"Lead the way," I said.
"We'll step outside, if that's okay?" he asked, putting his hand on my back, so I moved in front of him. When we approached the door, he stepped forward so he could open it for me. He was so proper.
"Thanks."
There were quite a few people standing out front, so he led me to the side of the building. "I wanted to apologize for asking you out and then not coming back to persuade you to change your mind and say yes."
Apologize for what? It wasn't like we had been together for four years and he cheated on me. I wasn't really sure how to respond to him. His apology seemed really heartfelt.
"Wow, um that's really sweet, Moye, but totally unnecessary."
He crinkled his brow. "Either way, I'm sorry. I'd like to know if you would consider still going to dinner with me."
"Yeah, sure. When would you like to go?"
"Do you work on Friday?"
"Actually, I'm off Friday. I switched with someone so I've gotta work on Saturday." Apparently I was giving my entire schedule now. Maybe I'd give him my social security number while I was at it.
"What's your address?"
"I can just meet you wherever," I said, trying to reel it back in and keep it casual.
"I'd like to take you on a proper date and pick you up."
This dude was so intense, always asking for whatever he wanted. Problem was, I always liked to meet at the destination, that way I could duck out when I wanted to. I watched him, weighing my options. His candor was encouraging me. I liked change. Something different sounded like fun. Plus, Nic and Steph would be proud of me for giving up my easy out. They hated that rule of mine.
"All right, cool. We just live a couple of blocks from here," I said, giving him my address.
He smirked like he knew he had won me over, and I smiled back, feeling a little bit of adrenaline from the fact I had relinquished some of the power. Maybe I would consider conceding more often, if it got me more of his sexy smirks.
We walked back inside, and he grabbed my hand. My hand looked really small in his. I felt small next to him, which usually wasn't the case. He was super tall though, so I could still wear a pair of killer heels. Bonus!
"Yeah, I love living close to work," I said, blabbering. "It's a short walk and I don't have to worry about sitting in traffic." The butterflies in my stomach were doing somersaults at a rapid pace, only from his touch.
"You walk to work by yourself?"
"Nah, usually my roommates and I work the same shift, so at least two of us are together." He held the door open for me, and I walked in and over to the bar.
"You shouldn't walk by yourselves. It's dangerous late at night."
"Yes, daddy, we are all well aware of stranger danger," I said in my usual smartass tone.
"Damn, Piper—fifteen minutes, and you're already calling him daddy?" Cole joked.
The people around us laughed, well everyone but Moye. He didn't say anything, but I could tell he didn't think it was funny.
"Relax, Moye. I was joking, man," Cole said.
Moye just took another sip of his beer, shaking his head. He wasn't the quiet type, but he seemed very stern. Apparently, he didn't do well with crude jokes. I wasn't one to spit them out every day, but I definitely had a sense of humor. I had never known a guy like him. If I was being honest, I usually messed around with guys like Corey or Cole. It was weird that I was even interested in him, but I couldn't shake the feeling he was going to be an experience I didn't want to miss out on.
But, I didn't want to have too many coals in the fire. I had already made a hookup date with Sean, the cook from the back of the pub, for tomorrow night. I normally didn't juggle two guys at once, but they were so different I thought it would be okay.
Sean was definitely going to just be a hookup. He was the typical player, and anyone worth her salt could see that from a mile away. Just the way he approached me gave me the upper hand with him. I knew the ball was in my court, and I would be able to keep him an arm's length away. I had already mentioned him to the girls. Nic didn't really understand what I was suggesting, and I had to school her on the meaning of 'hooking up'. Sean told me we would do whatever I wanted, and I intended to.
Moye was a little different. He wanted to actually date. This was way out of my comfort zone. I mean, I knew how to date; I just didn't really want to. All guys ended up cheating or lying. I felt like if I didn't put my heart out there, there was no chance of getting it broken. I wasn't sure I was ready for that serious of a relationship. I tended to be negative from the get go because it was hard for me to get my pre-conceived notions out of my head. I'd yet to be proven wrong, hence, my reluctance.