500 Days (12 page)

Her jaw dropped, clearly insulted. “You
definitely are an ass, but the man part is still questionable.”

“
Alex,” Declan said in a
warning tone. Alex picked up her menu and whipped it open. I didn’t
have to read minds to know Colton was thinking if you ruin this for
me I will kill you. His face said it all.

I let out a sigh and leaned forward, trying
to play nice. The waitress came over to take our drink order. “I’ll
have a beer and a round of shots for the table.” I thought maybe I
could get Alex to loosen up with a few drinks.

“
No thank you. I don’t
drink. I’ll just have water.”

“
Don’t drink or not old
enough to?” When she didn’t say anything I knew she wasn’t old
enough. I leaned in close to her ear. She flinched slightly. “Don’t
worry. I won’t tell if you won’t.” I nodded at the waitress to go
ahead with the shots.

“
So what did you guys do
today?” Declan asked, trying to defuse some of the
tension.

“
Nothing really. Just hung
out, worked on some new songs.”

“
Oh, you write?” Declan
said interested. The conversation went off from there while Alex
sat there seething. The waitress came back with our drink orders
and I raised my shot glass. Declan and Colton did the same, but not
Alex. She was still being the difficult one. Declan shot her a look
of annoyance. Alex rolled her eyes and picked up the shot. She
slammed it back before anyone of us had a chance to clink
glasses.

“
What?” she asked. Declan
just shook her head.

“
Is everyone ready to
order?” the waitress asked. Alex scoured her menu again while the
waitress went around the table to take everyone’s order. When she
reached Alex, she asked if she would like some more
time.

“
No, um…”

I could sense she was feeling rushed and
didn’t know what to pick. “Go with the veggie burger. It’s the best
in town.”

She closed her menu and
handed it to the waitress. “I’ll have the steak, medium well, with
a side of fries and sampler to start,” she said, ignoring my
suggestion. The waitress gave her an odd look, but finished writing
down the order and left. I was surprised by Alex’s hearty appetite.
The few dates I went on
,
the girls always ordered a salad or something
vegetarian, which is why I suggested the veggie burger to
Alex.

“
How did you and Alex come
to know each other?” Colton asked, trying to include everyone in
the conversation.

“
Alex and I are actually
cousins,” Declan answered.

“
So I take it
you guys are close.”

“
Yes. Even after we
moved
,
Alex and I
stayed in contact with each other. I spent most of my summers with
her.”

Declan and Colton carried on with the
conversation. Alex just sat there, keeping with her standoff
attitude. I decided to try and make nice and talk to Alex. “So,
Alex, what do you like to do for fun? Besides make men’s balls
shrink up and hide.” I smiled sweetly.

Alex pressed her lips tightly together,
suppressing the smile that was twitching at the corners. She hid
behind her water glass as she took a sip. She seemed almost amused.
Once her glass was placed firmly back on the table, she turned her
dark green eyes on me. “As much as I enjoy ball busting egotistical
assholes, in my spare time I thoroughly enjoy scaring children and
crushing dreams. I’m sure it’s not as fun as stealing an innocent’s
spirit, but hey, we can’t be as charismatic as you.”

Declan and Colton stopped talking to gawk at
us. “It takes a lot of charisma to crush a soul,” I smiled, raising
my glass.

Alex took another sip of her water,
crunching loudly on a piece of ice. The waitress delivered Alex’s
sampler and our soups and salads, relieving us from what could
possibly turn into an ugly conversation. No one spoke while we ate.
I assumed it was because we were all grossed out by how Alex was
inhaling her food like she hadn’t eaten in a week. She didn’t even
stop to breathe in between bites. To top it off, when she was
finished, she let out the loudest, manliest burp. “Excuse me,” she
said innocently, while she gestured for the waitress to refill her
water. Declan’s jaw dropped while Colton’s fork stayed suspended in
the air, mid-bite. As repulsed as I was by this grotesque display
at the same time I was strangely turned on.

“
Alex,” Declan chastised,
like an embarrassed parent.

“
What? I said excuse
me.”

I threw my arm over the back of her chair
and wiggled my brows at her. She leaned away from me. I had a
feeling this was all an act she was putting on to repulse me. She
was in for a sore surprise. Two could play at this game. “That was
really hot. You wanna make out?” She pulled back even further,
almost falling off her chair. I smiled, satisfied.

Colton threw me a warning look while Declan
hid her face in her hands. “If you don’t remove your arm I will
show you my other favorite pastime, which is how I make grown men
cry.”

“
I’ve seen you in action.
I’ll take my chances.”

Before she could react Declan interrupted.
“Alex don’t!”

Alex narrowed her at eyes at Declan, but
remained in her seat, scooting further away from me.

“
Can I talk to you for a
minute?” Colton demanded more than asked. I pushed back my chair
and followed him to the bar. He paced angrily before he turned on
me. “One favor Cas, that’s all I asked.”

“
That’s before I knew you
were going to set me up with the she-devil.”

“
It’s not all
her.”

“
The way she inhaled that
food you would think she’s a descendent of Medusa. Did you see her
jaw unhinge?”

“
Cas, knock it
off.”

“
What do you want me to
do? It’s not like she makes it easy.”

“
I know,” he grunted,
pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just ignore it. Please, for
me.”

“
I’ll do what I can.” He
gave me a look of annoyance. “Okay, okay. I won’t say anything.” I
looked back over at the table. Declan was angrily pointing her
finger at Alex while she sat there with her arms crossed and rolled
her eyes. This might be harder than I thought, but I owed Colton. I
promised him I would try my best to keep my mouth shut.

We managed to make it through dinner without
any more drama. Colton and Declan kept the conversation going while
Alex and I were quiet spectators. When dinner was finally over, I
was practically jumping out of my skin to get out of there. Alex
was hot, but she had just a little more attitude than I liked and
I’d never worked this hard for a girl in my life and I wasn’t going
to start now. When the check came, I threw in my credit card, and
waited impatiently for the waitress to return with my receipt. I
signed the slip and stood up. Colton looked at me confused. “Well,
I would say it’s been fun but,” I looked at Alex. “that would be
like admitting you like getting a hot poker stuck up your ass.”
Alex barely blinked an eye, but she did give me a sarcastic smile.
Somehow she even made that look sexy. Not worth it, I reminded
myself. “You ready?” I asked Colton.

“
Um,” he began,
unsure.

“
Oh,” Declan chimed in. It
was obvious these two were hitting it off and not ready for the
date to end.

“
I was hoping we could
hang out for a bit. If that’s what you want?”

Pussy.

“
No, I’d love to. Unless
you have other plans?”

“
No, Casper doesn’t have
anywhere else he needs to be.” Colton shot me a warning
look.

“
I’ll be at the bar.” I
took off leaving the two lovebirds and the shrew at the table. I
took a seat at the end of the bar. Not a minute later Alex took a
seat at the opposite end. I watched her as she played with one of
the napkins. The bartender approached her to take her drink order.
Alex waved her off until the bartender pointed to a sign behind the
bar that read,
‘you must order a drink to
sit at the bar’.
She rolled her eyes.
“That’s stupid.” I had to agree with her on that one.

She took out her purse and pulled out three
ones, holding them up to the bartender. “What can I get for three
dollars?” The bartender, clearly irritated, took her three dollars
and handed her a soda. Alex sipped it slowly, while playing with
one of the little straws. She looked bored out of her mind, but
I’ll be damned if I was going to try and entertain her. I did my
job for the night.

I checked my watch. It was
only ten thirty. I could see the table from where I sat. Declan was
laughing at something Colton said. Colton wasn’t funny, so either
she really liked him or was trying to be nice. I looked back down
at the end of the bar where Alex was
.
And she was no longer alone. When
the hell did that happen and how did I miss it? I watched as this
guy really put on the charm. He ran his finger lightly over her
hand. This guy was going to regret that. I sat back and waited, but
nothing happened. Alex looked up at him with a…was that a smile? He
put an arm on the back of her chair and leaned into whisper
something.

Now he was definitely going to get it. I put
my hands behind my head, pushing my chair back until the front legs
were suspended, and smiled. Tonight might not be so bad after all.
When the guy finally pulled away Alex was blushing. She hit him
playfully in the chest. I let my chair drop back to all four legs.
What the hell? She was actually flirting back with this guy. What
did he have that I didn’t? He ordered a beer for him and Alex. Did
he know she was under age? He sat down in the seat next to her. The
bartender stood in front of me to take someone’s order behind me.
There was a whole fucking open bar. Why did they have to stand
behind me? I ducked my head under the bartenders arm so I could
still see Alex and this guy. He moved closer to her. He had some
nerve.

“
Can I help you with
something?” the bartender asked, giving me a strange
look.

“
Yeah, you can move out of
my way and get me another drink.” He didn’t seem pleased by my
request, but did it anyway. I rested my elbows on the bar and my
chin in my hands. I felt a hand run across my shoulders. I tilted
my head slightly to see that hand was attached to a very beautiful
redhead. She wore a short, tight black dress that framed her very
voluptuous curves. She smiled seductively at me and took a seat in
the chair next to mine. Her hand rested on the back of my chair as
she crossed her legs, letting her skirt hike dangerously close to
her upper thigh. She was practically screaming “Fuck me now!”, but
I wasn’t interested. Wait…what? Why wasn’t I interested? A blind
man would kick me for not acknowledging this girl.

I sucked down my shot and turned to face
her, giving her my best sexy smile. She turned so her legs were in
between mine. This girl was a pro. “So, what’s a gorgeous woman
like you doing here all by herself?” I knew it was lame, but I
usually didn’t have to come up with anything clever. My hair and
tattoos gave me an image of typical bad boy which all girls loved.
They all wanted to be the ‘one’ to tame me. Unfortunately for them,
I wasn’t looking to be tamed.

She smiled, exposing a
small spot of lipstick she had on her tooth. I inwardly
cringed.
Let it go Casper. It’s just one
tiny red dot on one very smokin’ body. You can get past
it
. “You’re sweet, but I’m actually
meeting some friends later. I was a little embarrassed about
sitting alone so I hope you don’t mind that I sat here?”

I leaned in closer. “Not at all.” She
blushed, putting her hands in her lap. This chick would be easy.
“Can I get you a drink?” I signaled for the bartender and noticed
Alex was looking at me. The guy was still with her, but her eyes
were on me and she looked…jealous? She quickly turned away and put
her hand on the guys forearm. I smiled wide and turned back to my
present company. I ordered us shots and even did the cheesy loop
your arms together. I stole a glance at Alex who was now glaring.
The guy pointed to something on his bicep and Alex touched it,
laughing. Was she trying to make me jealous? Alright, let the game
begin.

The guy went to order another drink for him
and Alex. I signaled over the girl bartender who was checking me
out all night. “Excuse me, but you might want to check that girl’s
ID at the end of the bar.” She crinkled her brow at me. “She’s
underage,” I whispered. Taking the hint, she marched right over and
asked Alex for her ID.

With the noisy crowd, I couldn’t hear what
they were saying, but I could somewhat read Alex’s lips. “Are you
serious?” she said, pretending to be offended. I understood why the
bartender didn’t card her in the first place, she did look old
enough. When Alex wouldn’t provide her with an ID the bartender
took away her drink and replaced it with a soda. I tried to hide my
laugh, but Alex caught me, and she didn’t look happy. The redhead
was saying something to me, but I was too busy living up my victory
to listen. Alex’s gaze zeroed in on mine. Her dragon green eyes
burned holes in my head. She excused herself from the guy who was
mauling her and marched straight to me.

Not caring about being rude, she put her arm
between me and the redhead. “Excuse me, but we were having a
conversation,” the redhead complained. Alex turned to her and with
just a look got the redhead to turn the other way.