500 Days (18 page)

“
I didn’t…Alex never told
me.”

“
Who’s the jerk
now?”

She glared at me, taking a step closer and
got in my face. “I never got hammered, told someone they were
beautiful, and then asked them to spend the night with me just
before I punched them in the eye when they said no.”

“
I didn’t punch her, I
elbowed her, and it wasn’t because she said no it was because she
was trying to get away.” Declan pulled back, her expression oozing
anger. “No, that didn’t come out right. It was an accident. Clean
and simple.”

“
It’s not as simple as you
think it is.” She was right. I told Alex she was beautiful, and I
meant it. In that moment when I looked into her eyes, she was the
most beautiful thing I had ever seen. But with that beauty came a
lot of anger and issues, a lot more than I wanted to deal with.
Still, I needed to make it right between us. I enjoyed our
encounters and to think I screwed it up because of one night of me
being an ass. I didn’t want to lose our truce. Not just for Declan
and Colton’s sake, but for Alex too. There was just something about
being around her that made me feel different. She had a way of
making me feel calmer, which is ironic considering the
source.

“
How do I fix
it?”

She sighed. “It’s not
going to be easy. She was pretty pissed off and rightfully
so
,
after what
you did. The best thing you can do is give her time to cool
off.”

I agreed and finished my drink so I could
help the boys set up the equipment.

I ran into Alex after our first set. Her eye
looked worse than before. She didn’t even try to hide it with
makeup. Instead she doubled up on the other eye to make it blend
and not stand out as much. It looked painful. How could I have
damaged those exquisitely striking green eyes? I knew Declan had
told me to give her time to cool off but every time I looked at her
eye, it was a painful reminder of what I did. The guilt ate away at
me making my stomach hurt. “Alex,” I called out to her. She ignored
me and kept walking. I jogged to catch up to her. I gently placed a
hand on her shoulder. She spun around swinging. I ducked just in
time. She glared at me with warning.

Okay, definitely needs more time to cool
off.

***********************************************************************

“
Why don’t we have someone
to do this for us?” Greyson complained while we packed up our
equipment.

“
And miss the joy of doing
it ourselves?” I joked, throwing a pic at him. “You hate it so
much? Hire someone.” To be honest I didn’t know why we hadn’t
before. Greyson was ecstatic. He looked like someone just handed
him an invite to the Bunny ranch.

“
I’ll put an ad in the
paper tomorrow,” he smiled, packing up the last of the gear before
he set off to the bar.

“
You sure that’s a good
idea?” Colton asked.

“
It would be nice not to
have to do this every gig.”

“
Not that, giving Greyson
free reign to hire someone.” I tilted my head in Greyson’s
direction at the bar. He was already chatting up a few girls. My
luck he would hire all chicks and require them all to wear bikinis.
Not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely wouldn’t work to our
benefit.

“
I’ll make sure I oversee
his interviews.” I loaded my guitar into the van and joined Greyson
at the bar. Alex was on the floor collecting orders for last call.
I waited until she was alone before I approached her. “Can I talk
to you for a second?” I asked.

She put down her tray and turned to give me
her attention. “Alex, I really am sorry. You know it was an
accident, right?” She crossed her arms over her chest, not buying
it. “We had a good thing going with the truce and I’d hate to
destroy that because of me being a jackass.” She shifted from one
leg to another, weighing her options. “What else do you want me to
say?” I’ll be damned if I was going to beg for her forgiveness. “Am
I supposed to let you hit me? Will that make you feel better?”

Alex smiled, dropping her arms to her side.
Before I had the chance to react she slugged me in the jaw. I
stumbled back into a stool, knocking it over and falling to the
floor. She bent over me. “You know what, you’re right. I do feel
better, thanks.” She walked away, smiling.

“
Crazy bitch,” I mumbled
to myself as I tried to pick my dignity off the floor.

“
What was that?” Alex
glared, turning.

“
Nothing,” I replied
quickly.

Colton came over to help me up. He had a
smug smile on his face. “You totally deserved that, you know.”

I rubbed my jaw, clicking it back and forth.
“She’s got one hell of a swing.” Colton laughed. “It’s not funny,”
I growled. I walked back over to the bar ready to give Alex a piece
of my mind.

She put a beer down in front of me, followed
with a pack of ice. “Beer’s on me.” I opened my mouth to comment
but then she smiled, satisfied with herself. Something inside me
burned, a yearning, a need to see that smile more often. To know I
was the one to bring forth that painstakingly beautiful smile made
my sore jaw almost worth it.

Alex snapped her fingers in front of my
face. “You okay there? I didn’t think I hit you hard enough to do
brain damage.”

“
Huh?”

She laughed. “You were staring at my lips
like they were made of gold.”

I shifted in my seat. “No I wasn’t,” I
snapped. Was I?

Colton sat down next to me and shook his
head. “What?” I growled.

“
Nothing,” he smiled
knowingly, taking a sip of his beer. I disregarded him and went
back to trying to enjoy my beer.

“
I’m outta here. See ya
Gus!” Alex shouted. “I’ll see ya at home?” Alex questioned
Declan.

“
I’ll drop her off in a
little bit,” Colton told Alex. She rolled her eyes and ducked under
the bar.

“
Make sure Larry walks out
with you,” Gus called.

“
He’s already gone. I’ll
be fine,” she said, waving her hand over her head without turning
around.

“
Cas, will you please walk
out with her?” Declan asked.

“
You heard her, she’ll be
fine. Trust me,” I pointed to my jaw.

“
Casper, please. Just go
make sure she gets to her car safely or I’ll make sure you have a
matching bruise on your other side.”

I laughed, taking a sip of my beer. “You’re
going to hit me? I could use a good tickle.”

She pulled a bat from underneath the bar and
tapped it on top of the wooden ledge, threatening me. “Go,” she
pointed.

“
Okay, Christ. Are all you
bitches crazy?” Declan’s eyes widened and she raised the bat. “I
was kidding,” I said defensively. It must just run in their family.
“Don’t throw out my beer. I’ll be back.”

I followed Alex out to her car. “Really Cas,
I’ll be fine. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“
What are you doing this
weekend?”

She looked back at me eyebrows raised. “Not
sure yet, why?”

“
My fraternity is having
an end of summer party. Declan and Colton are going and I thought
maybe you’d want to go.” I had no idea why I asked her. It just
kind of came out. Now that I did I was really hoping she’d say
yes.

“
This wouldn’t be like, a
date, would it?” She looked almost repulsed.

“
No, of course not. C’mon
Katherine
,
I do
have a reputation to uphold,” I said, trying to play off my semi
hurt feelings. “I just thought maybe you should try something new
for a change and just think, the place will be filled with plenty
of men’s souls who you can steal for your annual satanic
ritual.”

“
Casper, that is so
thoughtful, but that was last weekend. I just need the heart of a
virgin, oh but wait, I’m sure you have a few of those lying around
somewhere.” And we were back.

“
Pick you up at
nine?”

“
No, I’ll go with
Declan.”

I smiled, satisfied. Alex gave me a small
smile and closed the door. I waited until she was safely inside and
then I took off, feeling good for the first time in a while.

******************************************************************************

I had already downed a few by the time
Colton arrived with the girls. I was in the kitchen setting up for
the first round of body shots when they appeared. “Damn, since when
did Colton become player of the month?” my brother, Pete,
asked.

“
What the hell are you
talking about?”

“
He just walked in to the
party with two extremely hot chicks on his arms. The tiny redhead
looks like a pin-up model and the chick on his right has this sassy
fierceness in her eyes, legs for days and lips I want to sink my
teeth into.” From his description I knew exactly who he was talking
about. I narrowed my eyes at him. I wanted to punch him in the
mouth for the last comment about Alex. I contained my anger by
shoving him instead. “Dude, what the hell?”

“
That redhead is Colt’s
girlfriend and the other girl is a friend of mine.” Wait, since
when did I consider Alex a friend? That didn’t matter. What
mattered was I didn’t like Pete’s commentary and I was going to
make it known how much I didn’t appreciate him talking about Alex
like that.

“
Sorry man,” he said,
holding up his hands defensively. “And when did you become such a
sensitive bitch?”

“
I’m not, asshole,” I
said, giving him another shove.

He laughed. “Is she single?”

I opened my mouth to say no, before I
suddenly realized what I was doing. I didn’t have any claim on
Alex. “Yeah, last I checked.”

“
You think you could
introduce me?” He ran his hands through his short cropped hair,
straightening out his shirt.

I smiled to myself. I didn’t think I would
get to see some entertainment this early in the night, but I knew
Pete’s attempt to win over Alex would definitely provide me with
some laughs. Pete had no game and Alex, well, we all knew Alex
wasn’t an easy one to please. “Yeah man. I’ll introduce you.”

“
Got any advice for
me?”

“
Just be yourself,” I
said, my grin widening. I turned around, ready to greet them as
they approached. The wind was knocked right out of me and I
stumbled back, gripping onto the sink. Alex walked in to the
kitchen and I froze. She looked absolutely stunning. She was
wearing short, black, puffy shorts with a tight fitting, red tube
top. Her hair fell into loose waves around her shoulders and her
lips shined with a cherry red gloss. I swallowed the lump in my
throat as she approached.

“
What the hell is wrong
with you?” Alex said, looking at me funny. “One of your flings tell
you they’re pregnant?” she laughed and if that wasn’t the most
beautiful sound I have ever heard. “Seriously, Cas. I never had a
guy stare at my mouth and not my tits. You’re kind of creeping me
out.”

I snapped out of it. “Katherine, always a
pleasure,” I smiled and bowed. Pete cleared his throat behind me.
“Right. Pete, this is Alex. Alex this is one of my brothers,
Pete.”

Pete extended his hand to Alex and she took
it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, bringing her hand to
his lips. I wanted to break his fingers but the look on Alex’s face
said she would beat me to it.

“
Well, thank you Pete, I
thoroughly enjoy it when a guy slobbers all over my hand like a big
dumb dog.” Pete’s face fell. I had to stifle my laugh.

“
Alex,” Declan chastised.
Not knowing what else to say, Pete walked away, stunned. “Why do
you have to be so rude?”

“
Me? He was practically
panting all over me.” Alex turned to the sink to wash off her
hand.

“
You just made my night,”
I told Alex. She wrinkled her nose, confused.

“
Pete’s a douchebag
anyways. No harm no foul,” I told Declan.

“
Takes one to know one,”
Alex said.

“
Wow, I think you’re
losing your touch. That was kind of weak for the queen of mean.”
Alex pouted. What I wouldn’t give to be sucking on that bottom lip
right now.

“
Why are you looking at me
like that?” Alex asked.

I shook my head. Either I drank too much or
not enough. I went with the latter and helped myself to another
while I offered a drink to the girls. “No thanks, I’ll pass,” Alex
said.

“
What’s the matter, afraid
you’ll actually have some fun?”

She narrowed her eyes at me and took the cup
from my hands. She held it at her lips, giving me a challenge with
her eyes. “It’s not poisoned, is it?” she asked, her lips giving a
teasing smile.

“
Nah, not my style. I
prefer my girls conscious.” Her lips touched the brim of the cup. I
could see the dangerous glint of a smile in her eyes. She took a
cautious sip before she tilted the cup back and finished off the
drink in a few big gulps.

“
That was good,” she said,
handing the cup back for a refill. “What was it?”

“
Just you’re basic blood
of a virgin with a little essence of some lost souls.”

She licked her lips. “Mmm, my favorite.”
That humming sound she made vibrated through my body. I shoved my
hand in my pocket to pinch my thigh before I handed her another
drink. This girl was going to be my undoing.