Relentless Liberation (3 page)

For her, reading was a much-needed escape. It took her away
from her almost unbearably mundane existence and most importantly, diverted her
from the painful memories of her past that liked to creep up on her when she
let her guard down.

Instead she liked to exist in a word where the fantastic
could happen, the lines between good and evil were clear and happy endings
prevailed. She watched him through her lowered lashes as she took a sip of her
mocha, wondering what it was that he was escaping from.

“Did you go to college?” This question was out of left field
and it had her wincing as those aforementioned painful memories tried to resurface.

Taking a minute to regulate her breathing, she took another
sip of coffee before she answered. “Yes, for a while.” She hoped he didn’t want
her to elaborate. They really should have hammered out the rules of this
inquisition before she allowed it to continue. There should have been a firm
out clause for touchy subjects.

It must have been obvious that she didn’t want to talk about
it because he changed the subject yet again. She was grateful. “What kind of
music do you like?”

And so it went for the next fifteen minutes. He fired off
questions that had no obvious correlation to each other in a seemingly genuine
effort to get to know her. Or to at least to get the small things out of the
way first. Out of the way for what she didn’t know but she got the distinct
impression that he was building up to something.

A quick glance at the clock on the wall above the register
told her that she only had a few minutes left of her break. She didn’t want to
leave this odd conversation with no further knowledge as to who Tyler Serano
really was. It would be such a shame to have their acquaintance based on the
dull facts of her life. It was his turn.

So she cut off his questioning. “Okay, it’s time for me to
get to know a little about you.”

“Damn. I thought I could keep you talking your whole break.”

“You almost did. I only have five minutes left.” She laughed.

“So close.” He groaned, then flashed that lopsided smile.
“What do you wanna know?”

She picked at the cardboard sleeve around her now-empty
coffee cup. She didn’t know when she’d get to talk to him like this again, so
she wanted to make this a good question. There were so many things about him
she wanted to know. She hoarded any information she could find on him, so she
supposed that her question didn’t have to be deep or soul-searching. She had to
start somewhere. “You said that reading was your third-favorite thing to do.
What are the top two?”

He quirked a brow then considered her for a moment. “You
really wanna know?”

She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t have asked you otherwise.”

Once again he assessed her for a few moments before finally
coming to some sort of conclusion. “All right. The first two are fighting and
fucking. Not necessarily in that order.”

For the second time in an hour, his bluntness had her sputtering
and she knew that her eyes were the size of the moon.

He leaned forward with a concerned frown. “Breathe, Mina,
and please remember that you asked.”

Finally she snapped her mouth shut and cleared her throat.
“You’re right, I did ask. I guess I just didn’t expect you to be so forthright.”

Spreading his hands wide he grinned. “Despite your inability
to comprehend my so-called duality, I’m a pretty straightforward guy. What you
see is what you get. So I guess I should warn you if you really don’t wanna know
the answer to something, you probably just shouldn’t ask.”

“Good to know for future reference.” She was almost certain,
though, that there was no future involving the two of them. “And on that
jarring note, I have to go back to work.”

They stood together and he held the door to the coffee shop
open for her as they exited. A ghost of a smile hovered over her lips as she
shook her head and politely said thank you. He smirked down at her, seemingly knowing
what she was thinking but didn’t comment.

“Thanks for the coffee,” she said as they stood in front of
the bookstore.

“Anytime.”

This conversation felt like déjà vu but she had to savor any
and all time spent with him. Again she found herself lingering, unwilling to
leave his presence.

Again he pushed at her to go. “You better get in there
before you get fired,” he said. “I’ll see you around, Mina.”

And with that he walked away, leaving her to reenter the
store in bemusement. What had been the point of that odd encounter? She didn’t
care what he claimed—the man was a conundrum. Well, she thought with a sigh,
she more than likely satisfied his random curiosity and whatever interest he
had in her to begin with had no doubt faded into the back of his mind.

It didn’t stop her from fantasizing about him all through
the remainder of her shift. Work had never flown by so fast.

The following day, Mina awoke to discover that she had
virtually no food in her apartment. She groaned, knowing that a trip to the
grocery store was imminent. Especially when she discovered she was out of
coffee, and that shit just wasn’t going to fly this morning. She haphazardly
threw on some clothes and to the store she went.

Steadily marking off all of the usual suspects on her
grocery list, she was about halfway through it when she spotted a familiar dark
head directly ahead of her in aisle five. For the third time that week, her
heart was suddenly in her throat. Although admittedly each time it seemed to
get a little easier.

As Tyler strode toward her like he was on a mission, she
knew that he’d been aware of her presence long before she of his. Damn him and
his keen observational skills. Just once, she’d like to be prepared before he
was. And just once, she’d like to look halfway decent when these chance
meetings occurred, she thought dismally. Sweatpants, a ratty old t-shirt, hair
in a bun and no makeup did not put her in any condition to woo a man. Not that
she was proficient at it anyway but her attire certainly didn’t help.

Then again, he was wearing a pair of dark sweatpants and a
gray t-shirt but somehow on him it was appealing. In fact, anything he wore
looked good on him. But there was something about the casual comfort, the way
his pants rested low on his hips, how his shirt stretched across the broad expanse
of his chest, the confidence of his swagger. In a word, he looked edible.

And he was almost next to her so she forced herself to stop
her mental ramblings and greet him before she made a fool of herself. “Okay, it’s
official. You’re stalking me, aren’t you?”

His dark eyes glittered as his gaze dropped to her mouth. He
licked his lips and the sight of his pink tongue was like a direct caress to
her clit. Involuntarily she shivered. “What if I was?”

At what must have been her stunned expression, he laughed.
The warm, low sound just did something to her. Turned her insides into mush and
had her nipples peaking.

“Honest to God, I was just walking past on the way to my
car. I saw you in the window and thought I’d come say hi. What do you have in
here?” He tugged the basket she was carrying.

She tugged back before he pulled her into him. “Nothing
exciting. Just the essentials.”

“You know, you seriously need to start doing something about
this platitudinous existence of yours, Mina.”

“There he goes again with the big words.” Even though she
had been the one to belabor the point, she wasn’t so sure she wanted him
dwelling on how boring her life was. Knowing him, he’d probably try to find
some way to fix that for her, and she’d built her life like this by design.

He smirked. “Yeah, you know me and the thesaurus are good
buddies. But I’m glad I ran into you. I was gonna have Chloe call you anyway.
Are you doing anything tonight?”

Suddenly a lump lodged in her throat right next to her
barely beating heart. She didn’t know if her voice could make it through all
those roadblocks, so she shook her head.

“I’m gonna be at Able’s tonight around eight and I think you
should come. Chloe and Brian will be there too.”

Able’s was a fairly popular bar in town. She had never gone
there, as it was even less her scene than the fights. But she’d heard Chloe
speak of it often enough that she knew where it was. Could she go, though?
Should
she go?

After their impromptu coffee break she’d been sure that he’d
gotten his fill of her, that his goal in spending time with her had been
accomplished. Why then was he asking her out now? And from his comment about
Chloe, this invitation had been premeditated. What more could he possibly want
with her? One thing she did know was that her presence in a bar would be all
kinds of awkward.

He must have seen the warring indecision on her face because
when he next spoke his tone was cajoling, deliberately low and persuasive. “As
far as I can tell, you just need to loosen up and tonight will be the perfect opportunity
for you to do that. Some part of you must want to branch out and try new things,
otherwise you wouldn’t have started coming to the fights.”

Her eyes narrowed on him. “Between you and Chloe you’re on
some sort of mission, aren’t you? To see how far out of my comfort zone I can
be pushed.” She immediately regretted her words as she saw that now familiar
spark of curiosity light up his eyes. Inwardly she groaned. She really didn’t
want to elaborate on just what Chloe’s mission statement was when it came to
her. He’d most definitely take that and run with it.

“Chloe will be there so it’s not too far out of your comfort
zone.” When she said nothing, just bit her lip and eyed him warily, he used
that killer smile on her, upping the ante. “Come on, Mina. You’ll have fun, I
promise.”

How was it possible that she found herself in this
situation? The sexiest man she’d ever seen had not only noticed her but was now
standing in the middle of a grocery store all but begging her to have a drink
with him. It was beyond surreal.

In spite of her aversion to social gatherings, she knew
she’d be mad as hell if she missed this new opportunity to spend time with him.
And maybe she might even find out what it was he hoped to gain from this
acquaintance, for she was sure they wanted very different things from each
other.

Sighing, she acquiesced. “Okay, I’ll be there.” The slow,
sexy grin she got in response was almost enough to make her change her mind.

“Relax, Mina. If you held yourself any stiffer you’d
probably shatter into a million pieces,” Chloe said, sliding a beer to Brian
across the table at which they were seated. “And quit staring at the door while
you’re at it. He’ll be here.”

Not wanting to enter the unknown abyss that was the
mysterious inside Able’s by herself, Mina had asked Chloe and Brian for a ride.
She wasn’t at all confident enough in herself to walk into a bar on her own.
Just the thought of having to stand there and wait by herself in a crowd full
of strangers was enough to give her hives.

Chloe was more than happy to give her a lift and was elated
that she had agreed to come, which meant she’d been privy to Tyler’s plan to
ask her. The need to grill Chloe about that particular conversation was
overwhelming but she didn’t want to get into it front of Brian.

They’d gotten there around seven-thirty and quickly scouted
out a table. Mina had been distractedly staring at the door ever since, too
preoccupied with Tyler’s imminent arrival to notice much else about the place.

Her nerves felt like they were on fire, sending that pins-and-needles
sensation coursing through her limbs and causing her to shake. She wasn’t even
really sure where all this anxiety was coming from. It wasn’t like she’d never
seen or spoken to Tyler before. More than likely it was the buildup. She’d had
hours since her encounter with him in the grocery store that morning to
anticipate the coming evening.

And true to her nature she’d agonized over it the whole
time.

But it wasn’t just seeing Tyler again that was getting to
her. It was the whole experience in general. The prospect of spending time in
another bar was bringing back memories she would sooner forget.

She’d only been to a bar one other time and hadn’t set foot
in any such establishment again for four years. Since
that
night.

She shook her head to expel those unwanted thoughts. Things
were much different now. For starters, she was with people who actually gave a
shit about her and weren’t using her for their own ends. The thought made her
smile at Chloe.

Chloe winked then asked, “Are you sure you don’t want
something to drink?”

Mina had declined all offers of alcohol, even though Lord
knew she could use the liquid courage right about now. But she was determined
to do this clearheaded. Tyler had been right earlier when he said that she
needed to loosen up and expand her horizons. No matter how hard it was, she
wouldn’t let old wounds control her.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’m just antsy. Distract me. Let’s talk
about something else.”

Brian chuckled. “I really wish I knew what it was about him
that got women all tied up in knots like this. I sure as fuck can’t see it.”

“That’s because you’ve been friends since you were twelve
years old, baby.” Chloe linked her fingers with his. “And you’re a man.”

His eyebrows shot up. “And you’re complaining?”

“Not at all.” Her gaze dropped to his mouth and she licked
her lips flirtatiously. He needed no further provocation and a second later his
mouth was on hers.

While this was certainly a welcome change from their
bickering over skanky women, their making out in front of her was making Mina a
little uncomfortable. She already felt like the third wheel around the two of
them most of the time but this just made it worse.

“Jesus Christ, Brian, get a goddamn room.” Tyler laughed as
he pulled out a chair and sat down next to Mina. Her body instantly went back
on high alert. At least her friends’ grope session had done the trick. She’d
been sufficiently distracted and hadn’t seen Tyler enter the bar.

“That was an awful lot of blaspheming for one sentence, man.”
Brian smirked when he came up for air.

“Yeah well, I think the Big Man will forgive me, given the
circumstances.” Tyler turned all of his considerable attention on Mina. “You’re
here,” he said in a much softer tone than the one he’d been using with Brian.
And was she mistaken or was the smile he threw her one born of satisfaction?

Sitting up straighter, she nodded. “Here I am.” The smile
broadened.

“I’m glad. I’m gonna go get a beer. You want anything?”

Was he buying again?
How odd
. “I’m good, but thank
you.”

He narrowed his eyes but said nothing as he left the table
and approached the bar. She ate up his gait as he went, smiling and saying
hello to various people along the way. It seemed as if he frequented this
place. Either that or this was the same crowd that showed up to the fights
every week.

Now that she knew where he was—safely on the other side of
the room—she gave herself the opportunity to survey her surroundings. There
were a lot of the same faces she’d seen surrounding the ring. Scantily clad
amazons included. Grumbling to herself, Mina shrank down into her chair.

Able’s was bigger on the inside than it appeared to be from
the parking lot. The massive bar was the central focus of the room, dividing it
into two sections. To the left were the tables at which she and her friends
were currently seated. To the right was a large dance floor and a DJ booth. The
music was loud but not so much so that they had to scream across the table to
be heard.

Just as she thought it, a popular song with a pounding
rhythm started to play, drawing people onto the dance floor. Chloe gave Brian a
meaningful look and with a sigh, he set his beer down and let her pull him out
onto the dance floor, leaving Mina alone at the table.

She wasn’t sitting there for long. Tyler came back, sat down
beside her and with no preamble at all said, “I wanna know why you’re such a
tight-ass.”

Affronted, she lifted her eyebrows to her hairline. “I’m not
a tight-ass.”

Laughing, he flashed her that impish smile of his. “Shit,
girl, it was like pulling teeth to get you to come have a drink with me. And on
my birthday no less.”

Shock raced through her, leaving her momentarily speechless.
It was his birthday? Why in the world had he been so hell-bent on spending it
with her, of all people? She could feel her forehead crinkle as she thought it
out but it just didn’t compute. The more time she spent with him, the more of a
conundrum he became.

“First off, I had no way of knowing it was your birthday, so
don’t try to put that particular guilt trip on me, buddy. That said, happy
birthday.” His lips quirked upward and she didn’t know where she got the gall,
but she continued. “And second, I am not a tight-ass. I’m just not very good
with people, so it tends to make me come across as a bit of an introvert.”

For a few moments he said nothing, just gazed at her with
some foreign expression she couldn’t read. Then he scooted closer to her and
spoke. “First off, it’s good to see you do have some bite to you.” He winked at
her as he brought his beer to his lips. “And second, how do you know you aren’t
good with people if you’re never around any? Why do you lock yourself away from
the world?”

She groaned. “I should have known I’d be in for another
inquisition. Why are you so curious about me all of a sudden?”

He shrugged. “I dunno, I just am. Besides, didn’t we agree
that we were gonna get to know each other?”

“We did but you have yet to tell me anything pertinent about
yourself. Quid pro quo, Mr. Serano.”

Sitting back in his chair he folded his arms across his
chest. “Fine. You wanna know something about me? I own this bar and named it
after my father. Now it’s your turn. Answer my question. Why do you shut
everyone out?”

She could only gape at him as she processed yet another
shotgun blast of new information. But she could tell by his body language that
he wasn’t going to elaborate and then his question registered. “I don’t seem to
be very proficient at shutting
you
out.”

“That’s because I’m a persistent motherfucker.” He grinned.

“That’s true, very true.” She laughed, then when she noticed
his stubborn expression, she sighed.

“All right. I don’t shut everyone out. I’ve just had a few
bad experiences as far as relationships go, so I’m cautious.”

“What kinds of relationships? Romantic or friendships?”

Why would he ask that? What difference did it make?

“Both.” Oh she
so
didn’t want to get into this with
him. She barely knew him and he was starting to poke into some very raw
territory. Chloe didn’t even know the full story as to why she was so backward.

It was his turn to sigh. “You need to expound. What sorts of
bad experiences?”

“Listen, usually when people get to know each other, don’t
they start out small? Sharing things like where they’re from, what their family
is like? What they do for a living?”

“I told you what I do for a living.”

“No, you dropped the ‘I own this bar’ bomb on me and then
promptly asked me another very personal question. Every time we’ve spoken so
far it’s been all about me.
You
need to expound. How long have you owned
this bar? Your father must be proud to have it named after him. And while we’re
at it, how old are you? Since today’s your birthday and all.”
There. Put him
under the microscope and see how he likes it.

Cocking his head to the side, he exhaled roughly from his
nose, the sound more suited to coming from a pissed-off bull. It was
intimidating and she might have backed down if he hadn’t then said, “All right,
fuck it, you’re right. I’ve had the bar for about five years now. Well, my
brothers and I own it. My dad passed away while the building was under
construction, so when it was finally finished we thought it fitting to name it
after him.” He took a slow look around him and a wistful smile graced his lips.
“You know, seeing how things turned out I bet the old man probably would be
proud.”

Once his eyes landed back on hers, his smile turned
inviting. “And I’m thirty-two as of today.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your dad. It sounds like you were
close. You have brothers?”

“Thank you and yeah, three older brothers, actually. What
about you? Siblings?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s just me. It would have been
nice to have a sibling, I think.”

Reaching for his beer, he laughed. “Yeah, maybe for you it
would have been nice. Not so much for me. My brothers made it a hobby of theirs
to beat the shit out of me every chance they got. Tough love.”

“Your relationship with them obviously turned out okay,
though.” She laughed. “And maybe that’s the reason you fight every other week?
Whaling on someone else the way you couldn’t on your brothers relieves some of
those repression issues of yours?”

Nodding, he chuckled. “Yeah, I guess that’s a part of it
anyway. But really, why were you so afraid to come out with me tonight?”

Running her tongue over her teeth, she squinted at him. “You
mean besides the fact that you’re a gargantuan, tougher-than-nails fighter who
could crush me without a second thought?”

There went that killer smile of his again. “You know I won’t
hurt you, so yeah, aside from that.”

Really? He wouldn’t hurt her? She knew that? As much as she
wanted to believe that, she had her doubts, though she kept them to herself.
“Like I said, I’ve just had some bad experiences. The last few people I let get
close to me really did a number on me, you could say. I thought they had my
best interests at heart but it turned out that not one of them even had a heart
to speak of. One of the people in question was a childhood friend I’d had up
until we went to college. I had assumed, incorrectly, that I could trust her
and that she cared about me as much as I did her. That somehow we were equals.”
At that, she couldn’t contain her sneer of disdain. Daisy had been many things
over the years but a true friend was not among them.

Throughout their lives, Daisy had done nothing but string
her along. She’d lured her in with the promise of true friendship and the
sister-like love she’d never had. What a lie that had been.

“In hindsight, I guess all the signs were there. Daisy,
that’s my former friend,” she added for his clarification, “was nothing but a
cold, manipulative bitch who moved me around to suit her purposes. Actually, I
think she might have been a kind of sociopath. She had no feelings whatsoever,
except for maybe selfishness.”

Risking a glance up at Tyler, she found him watching her
intently, with a frown marring his handsome face. “I don’t exactly want to get
into the gritty details but all of her misdeeds eventually came to a head a few
years ago in an extremely unpleasant way. Ever since then, I’ve found it hard
to trust people or let them in.”

The frown got deeper. “So you lock out the rest of the world
out because of some bitch who took advantage of you while you were growing up?”

Immediately her hackles began to rise. She’d taken a chance
and semi-opened up to him and he was going to trivialize an experience that had
been traumatic for her. And he didn’t even know the full extent of what had happened.

“Of course, it was more complicated than that. And she
wasn’t the only person involved. In fact, she was more or less the catalyst.” She
exhaled heavily as she looked over at him. “I really don’t even know why I’m
telling you this. And you also have to understand that I’ve never been what you
call outgoing to begin with. I’ve always felt out of place, so mix my low
self-esteem into my natural aversion to social situations and you can
understand why it is that I’m so confused someone like you even noticed me. Let
alone wants to know all the gory details of my life.”

Raising his eyebrows, he lifted his hands in a placating
gesture. “Hey, no judgments, remember? I know exactly how you feel, so I can
understand why you reacted the way you did. I know how tempting it can be to
just say ‘fuck the world’ and then crawl into a hole inside yourself.”