“And?”
“Just give her a chance to get accustomed to it. You know, try being… nice,” he said. He turned and walked away before I had a chance to say anything in response. One of those slow, depressing country songs blared from the jukebox as I grabbed my beer and finished it off. I was sitting the empty bottle down on the counter, when Cassidy walked in with Henley. Cassidy’s lips moved a mile a minute as she rambled on and on in Henley’s ear, but I could tell from the expression on Henley’s face that she wasn’t really listening to a word Cass said. I’d seen Henley a couple of times when she came around the club with Cass, but never really made an effort to talk to her. Never really felt the need. She wasn’t my type, if I even had a type. But, now I was stuck with her until this mess gets settled. Henley looked over in my direction and seemed to be caught off-guard when she noticed me looking at her. She held my gaze for a moment, captivating me with a soul-searching stare. I was almost disappointed when she turned away.
I watched as she nervously ran her fingers through her long bangs as she unsuccessfully tried to tuck them behind her ear. Cassidy continued to talk as Henley’s dark eyes anxiously skirted around the room. Unlike her sister, she wasn’t wearing much make-up, but then again, with her olive skin, she really didn’t need it. She was a natural beauty. When Cassidy pointed across the room to Boozer, Henley’s full lips curved into a smile as she held up her hand and gave him a bashful wave. Her cheeks turned crimson as she quickly dropped her hand to her side and began to fiddle with the hem of her vintage t-shirt. It was obvious that she wasn’t exactly comfortable being here, but she would have to realize that we were here to keep her safe. Nothing else really mattered.
My attention was still focused on Henley when Cooter, one of our prospects, sat down beside me. He let out a deep sigh when his phone chimed with a text message. He grabbed it out of his back pocket and read it, cursing under his breath.
“Damn it. I can’t catch a break with her. I mean,” he whined. “I love her and all, but fuck.”
When I looked over to him, he took it as an invitation to continue with whatever was on his mind.
“I’ve done everything she’s asked me to do, and she’s still bitching at me. I’ve just about decided that you can’t make a woman happy,” he started as he motioned over to Cassidy for a beer. “She’s always on my case about something. It doesn’t matter what I do, it’s never enough.” He stopped long enough to take a drink from his beer before he continued. “I just can’t get away from it. You know? Every time I turn around she’s calling to ask me… Are you okay? When are you going to be home? It never ends. You’d think she’d finally just give it a rest, but nooo! She just keeps at it. And it’s even worse when I’m home. When are you going to do this? When are you going to do that? Man, it just goes on and on.”
I looked down at my empty beer and wondered how the hell I got stuck listening to him ramble on like this. I raised my empty beer bottle and waved it in the air letting Cassidy know that I needed another one. When she placed my cold beer on the counter, I noticed Henley walking over to the back of the bar. As I watched her, I realized that she was taller than I’d remembered, and I found myself wondering what she was hiding under that old t-shirt. I imagined her having one of those athletic builds that some girls have without even really trying. She didn’t seem like the kind of girl that was into sports as she walked over towards our old Pac Man Arcade game. We’d pulled the damn thing out of some rundown bar downtown, and I hadn’t seen anyone even play it since we installed the thing.
“I’ve done everything she’s asked. Hell, I painted her damn bathroom three fucking times before she was happy with it,” he carried on, completely oblivious to the fact that I could care less what he was talking about. He took another tug of his beer before he continued, “At least she can cook. Man, she makes the best lasagna you ever put in your mouth. Never found anyone that could make it like hers.”
I tried to tune him out as I watched Henley start up the game. When she took the knob in her hand and leaned closer to the screen, her faded blue jean shorts rose slightly, showing off her sexy, long, tan legs. My eyes were zeroed in on her hips swaying from side to side when Cooter’s voice pulled me back into his rant.