Ruining Me (3 page)

I can't stop thinking about yo
u.

He's smart.  The
notes
are
typed.  No way to trace it back, even if
I
wanted to do something about it
which I don’t
. 
Ripping it up and tossing it
to the ground
I get
in my car and drive away. 

Not feeling like going home I head downtown.  No one is at home anyway because b
ot
h of my parents
own and operate a small airfield outside of our town. 
My mother and father are both
licensed
pilots
for the rich and famous. 
Georgia
is the new
Hollywood
“It”
spot for making movies and my
parents are cashing in on th
at. 
Good for them and
even better
for me
,
because I
'm home alone
most of the time
.  It doesn’t
bother me
and i
t's probably for the best. 
When w
e
do spend time together lately we
just end up fighting
.

Traffic is light this time of day and
I decide to drive
to my favorite bar
.  We live in a small town that is right outside a big college town.  So within twenty minutes I can be at some of the best
college
bars around.  My cousin hooked me up with a fake
ID
a
year ago. 
O’Malley’s is
where the
young
college crowd hangs out
and it’s my favorite
.  Eighteen to ente
r and twenty-one to drink
and m
y ID says I’m both.
O’Malley’s
looks like an Irish pub during the day, but at night they have some great bands and it’
s a cool place to
p
lay pool and dance
.

As I walk in I hear
a
Mazzy Star
song playing
in the background. 
Not many people are here at four
o’clock
in the
afternoon.  I’ve gotten to be friends
with the day bartender Jill.  She
is about six foot tall and looks like she would be right at home on a volley ball court
with her
California
girl looks
. 
Jill
is in her late
twenties
and currently finishing up her
Master’s
degree in Education
.  She smiles when she sees me sit
down
at the bar.

“Hey
Jay
, h
ow
was the dreaded first day of school?”

“Please kill me now.  It was that awful.”  I cross my arms on the bar and lay my head on top.  I groan and raise my head up and ask, “Can I get a
S
prite?
”
  Jill laughs at me and fixes my drink.

“Sure
Baby Girl.
 
So,
I
haven’t seen you around these past couple
of
weeks. Have you met the new weekend bartender?”
 
I shake my head no
while gulping
down my
Sprite
so
she
continues
. 
“
Oh my God
he
is
hot
.  Seriously fuckable. 
He’s about six foot two with
buzzed
dark
hair
.  He’s got amazing cut arms and
don’t get me started on his stomach.  O
ne night he pulled his t-shirt up and he’s got a
serious
six pack. 
Oh, and his
butt?
  You could bounce a quarter off of it.”  I spit out my
drink
all over the bar
at his butt description.  Jill gr
abs a rag and starts to wipe it up as she
continues, “I didn’t know that people could actually have eyes that
green and
he’s got the coolest tats on both of his arms and
neck
.  The man is pulling in
some serious
tips from all the college girls.  If I wasn’t in a serious relationship right now,
I’d be right there with them,” she gushes.

Jill is constantly trying to hook me up and she scouts all the beaus from the buttholes. 
She knows I’m only looking for one night stands and pretty much she is my safety net. 
I
’ve learned that most bartender
s
know
who and
what is going down in their bars. 
Jill started talking to me again pulling me away from my thoughts. 

“I’ve worked with him a couple of times and he seems super n
ice.  He just moved t
o town
to work for his family.  It seems his
brother owns a construction company and he has a daytime job with him, but w
ith the economy being what it is, he supplements his income with bartending on the side.  He’s twenty-
three
and never been married and no kids. 
Seems he is f
rom somewhere in the
Midwest
originally and get this, he’s
currently
single
,
” she sings single.  I started to say how he just didn’t sound l
ike my type, considering his age
, when the door opened behind the bar.

When he walked through the doors he looked up and smiled at Jill and
just said
, “Hi.”  I knew instantly who he was.  Jill had described him perfectly. 
He glanced around and finally noticed me. 
We stare at
each other for a split second and then h
e grin
s
and nod
s
his head toward me and tu
rn
s
away asking Jill something about his work
shifts. 

Now I kn
ow most guys consider me
good looking
. 
I admit that
I never lacked for attention in schoo
l, but to be honest I never understood what guys saw in me
.  I didn’t have the beautiful hair
or curvy body
like Molly d
oes
.  My eyes ar
en’t
a vibrant
blue,
but more
of
a dull
gray.  I’m not
saying that I’m not cute.  I
just
don’t consider myself
gorgeous.  However,
in this moment
I wanted
him
to notice me
.  Lust almost doubled me over, but there was something else
too
. 
Something I would have sworn
that
also
passed through his eyes a moment ago
.

My eyes
t
ook him
all
in with his b
lack shaved
head and shiny emerald eyes
.  He has a strong nose and nice full
lips.
His tight black t-shirt hugs
his huge biceps
and
he has
black
swirls
that
go down his left arm
while on
his right
there
was a total tat
too
sleeve
.  He has
some black writing on
the side of
his neck that I
c
oul
dn’t
read
yet
.
Blue j
eans
mold
his behind and Jill totally got that part right. 
I can see
why
he was making good tips
now. 

I finally allowed m
y eyes
to travel
back up to his face and oh my goodness, he is
smiling
at me
and wouldn’
t you know he has
not one, but
two dimples. 
He turns
completely from Jill toward
s
me.

“
Like what you see, Sweetheart?”  His voice sounded hoarse and super sexy.

It t
akes
a moment for my brain to catch up and when it did for some reason what he said pissed me off.  What a conceited jackass
which is a total turn off for me
.  I should have known with his looks he couldn’
t
possibly have a good personality too
. 

“Not anymore, Sweetie,” I repl
y
snidely back.  I took a swig of my
drink
and look back toward Jill
.  He burst out laughing and ta
k
es
a step toward me
to lean
on the bar
directly
across
from me
. 

“Okay, that was fair.  Can I say that I like what I see?”  His voice pulled at something deep down in me.  I know his type and all they want is for girls to pet their
oversized
ego
s
and other things that were lower.  I so wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. 

“That de
pends.  What is it that you see?”
I gave him my evil smile.

“Now that could be the trickiest question a woman has ever asked me.  So I guess I will stick with the truth and say that I see a dark haired beauty with eyes the color of a stormy sea sitting in front of me.”  My heart melted for just a second until he continued to speak, “or I could be honest with us both and tell you how a minute ago I saw those same stormy eyes
devouring
me from head to toe
.”

I couldn’t control my next words that flew out of my mouth.  “What a conceited ass.  I like eye candy as much as the next girl, but you soon learn the
truth about candy.”  He laughs
louder that time.

“
What that it melts in y
our mouth and not in your hand
?
” 
Damn it, that sexy smile and voice is getting to me.

“You wish,” I reply
and laugh
. 
I
can’t believe he just said that and
shake my head no.

“
I have to fucking ask then just what is the truth about candy?”

I lean in closer to him like I am
going to whisper my answer and he leans in
. 
Our mouths are only inches away
from each other
and his gaze breaks from
mine
drifting
down to my mouth.
 
I intentionally lick
my lips and answer him. 
“Wouldn’t you like to know
?
” 

His eyes return to mine and w
e stare at each other
.  He finally blinks and grins at me. 

“That was so lame.  I mean really, that’s all you got?”

I shrug my shoulders and glance back to Jill.  Her eyes have been volleying back and forth between us
during our conversation. 
She finally laughs and nudges his shoulder. 
 

“I guess I’ll do the introductions.  Kane this is my friend Jay.  Jay this
is the new bartender Kane.  Both of you need to play nice while I go back and get the schedule worked out.
”

I look down at my Sprite
and realize it’
s gone.