That’s all it takes for her to go back to her silence. The second I mention just the two of us doing something, she turns cold. It’s been almost a month, and she hasn’t made it possible to be alone in the same room with her. It’s as if Izzy’s attack turned some switch in her brain that has her afraid of her own shadow.
When the light turns green, I throw my phone into the cup holder. Coop is rambling on about this new bartender at Heavy’s, something about how he just knows she is the one. Yeah, the same douchebag that was talking about not being tied down earlier is now convinced there is one woman that he would spend some extra time with.
Sure, maybe he would devote an extra day to her.
“You know, you could actually make an effort with one? Test the waters. It isn’t a hardship to enjoy the company of the same woman. I don’t know, maybe grow a real relationship?” He snorts, rolls his eyes, and then continues on.
“You know, I’ve tried every trick in the book, and she won’t budge. Not an inch. I’m going to enjoy breaking this one.”
“How are we friends?” Shaking my head, I laugh when I think just how different Coop and I are. Don’t get me wrong. I love the little shit like a brother, but we couldn’t be more different.
“Because I’m the king of the fucking world?”
“You’re delusional.”
I turn the radio on to distract myself and to try to calm the anticipation fueling my nerves. It’s time to make my woman understand she wants me.
****
Heavy’s is packed when we arrive. When we walk in the door, Izzy waves us over, and we begin picking our way through the crowd. Ever since the girls brought us here the first time, this has become the place of choice when we all want to get together for a little ‘family dinner’. Of course, that always turns into pitchers and pitchers of beer, and before we know it, someone is being carried out.
The classic rock is already turned up, and since Coop and I are late to arrive, it looks like the alcohol is already flowing freely.
“We ordered a bunch of wings for you two.” Emmy smiles up at me and moves in so I can squeeze past her. Dee has effectively blocked my chance at getting close to her by holing herself between Izzy and Maddox. I try to make eye contact with her, but she’s looking everywhere but at me.
“Have you been here long, Em?”
She shakes her head, and the light blush that we all find so adorable covers her face.
“No, not too long.” She peeks up again and looks over at Maddox. I laugh softly, which earns me her wide-eyed shock. It’s no secret that she has a major crush on our resident Mr. Untouchable. He’s either clueless, which I have a feeling isn’t the case, not with Maddox, or he just doesn’t want to see sweet Emmy change. He’s not an easy man to deal with, and even I worry that her little crush could end up going sour. One of these days, she’s finally going to come out of her shell though and give that man a run for his money.
“That’s good, Sugar.”
“Yo! Who’s ready to get this party started?” Coop screams when he finally detaches himself from the blonde that grabbed him before he had two feet in the door.
Leave it to Coop to break the ice and have us all eating, drinking, and laughing in no time. I look over at Dee again to see her smiling and joining in, but like always, I see right through her. She’s laughing, but not like she used to. She’s smiling, but it doesn’t come close to making her eyes dance. She’s eating, if you call picking up a fry every few minutes and nibbling, eating. How is it that everyone else is blind to the fact that she needs someone to lean on?
I take another long swallow of my beer, wipe my hands against my jeans, and settle in. I’m just biding my time before I take a risk and try to shake some sense into her.
Let’s just hope I’m not making a huge mistake here.
Thirty more minutes, and I’m getting out of here. Normally, I have no issues being around Beck, but after last weekend, seeing the devastation wash over his face when I told him Stewart was coming over, almost had me giving in.
It’s been so hard to stay away, to keep my distance, and try to squash this thing between us. I feel like my mind and heart are in a constant battle, each wanting something different. But deep down, I know I’m doing the right thing. There is just too much at stake if we give in and attempt a relationship.
For the last hour, Izzy’s been sitting on Axel’s lap, and I’m pretty sure if they could, he would be bending her over the table. It feels so good to know she is finally happy, but watching them is almost nauseating.
I reach out to take another drink when I remember the pitcher went dry a little while ago, sending Coop and Beck to the bar for refills. I lean back in my seat and pick up another French fry that I know I won’t eat.
“Want mine?”
I jump when Maddox’s question tickles my ear.
“Jesus, Maddox… Scare much?”
His lips tip up slightly, and he shrugs.