Closing The Gap (Dangerous Pasts, #1) (9 page)

Josh looked so relaxed and at home, in spite of his height.  The large booth provided space and comfort but Lake still wondered what it would feel like to be that tall in the world, with nowhere to hide.  Lake had made such a habit of shrinking her body as small as it would go to keep herself safe, she couldn’t imagine being constantly exposed to scrutiny.

“Are you okay with this place?”  He leaned forward and rested his hands on the table.  She wished he wouldn’t.  His male presence was too close for comfort after their intoxicating kiss.  The vibrations ripped through her body causing that damn tingling and wetness again in her panties.  She pushed back against the soft leather of the booth for relief.

“Absolutely, it’s one of my favorites.  Lance and I make this one of our go to restaurants to wine and dine clients that are in town to look at sale horses.”

“It’s one of my favorites too.  There’s one in Chicago and it’s great for dinner or late night drinks.”

Antoine strode forward to take their cocktail orders, greeting Lake with affection and a brief hug.  He studied at Arizona State pursuing his graduate degree in Finance.  Whenever Lake called for a reservation, she requested him.  Antoine’s personality sparkled with a quick wit and warm nature so he always provided a special dining experience.  In her business, customer service reigned supreme.

Antoine gave her a wink along with his huge grin.  “Lake, can I get you another one of those Effen martinis again tonight?  They’re sure to warm your blood.  I heard through the grapevine you were ice skating.”

“Excuse me?”  Josh pitched forward like he wanted to stand up but instead, shifted in his seat.  Seriously?  If Antoine offended The Trashman with his tongue in cheek antics, that could be one for the record books.  Time to keep this comic relief going and bring it up a notch.

“Effen is my favorite.  Bring it on, as fast as you can!”

“And for you Mr. Adams?”  Antoine turned to Josh with his most charming smile. 

“I’ll have a Springbank, neat.”

“Very good.  I’ll have those drinks right out.”

Josh looked her straight in the face while firing the question.

“Out with it.  What’s the story behind the F-ing martini?”

“Actually, it’s Effen.  E-F-F-E-N.  It’s a Dutch brand of vodka and it’s my personal favorite.  We bring clients here all the time when they’re in town and it’s not something they normally have on hand.  They started stocking it in the bar so I always feel special when I come here for dinner.  After that, others started drinking it because of the name and then the inside jokes started coming out in spades.”

“Like drink this and you’ll have an Effen good time?”  He grinned and found the story amusing.  She appreciated his interest, thankful she didn’t bore this well-traveled man to tears. 

“Yes, the company uses many of them in their commercials too.  Like, start your Effen night off right.  Make your night Effen unbelievable.  Party the Effen night away.  Then there’s my personal favorite.  Get Effed Up!”  She smiled as she relayed the lines in her best dramatic voice.

“Love it!  I’m surprised I haven’t heard of it yet.  I’ll try that next time I drink vodka.  I have it once in a while but I’m more of a Scotch man.”

“Is that what Springbank is?  I’m not well versed on the top scotch brands but that is one I’ve never even heard mentioned.”

“I took a vacation trip to Scotland a couple of summers ago with my brother, Jason, and my best friend, Ryan Roberts.  Roberts ended up on the bachelor auction last night too.  My dad apparently called in the troops.  I hope you’ll get to meet him sometime.  He’s quite the charmer.  We played together almost ten years, until I retired.  Then, he suffered a knee injury last season and had to give up the game as well.  When he played center, I was often charged with protecting him and it wasn’t easy.  He’s so laid back he can be all over the board but he’s super talented.  You’d love him.  I’ve never known a woman young or old who hasn’t.  Just as long as he doesn’t get offensive.  He has language worse than mine and a warped sense of humor but he usually knows when to keep it in check.”

Lake vaguely remembered seeing Ryan at the auction last night from a distance.  He was more Summer’s type with his longer hair and whip tight build.  Lance had declared him ‘yummy’ after he came on stage but Lake had been bemused as she tried to escape the table so she hadn’t noticed.  As she imagined Josh and Ryan together, she’d bet money they were two tons of trouble when out on the town.  She wondered who played the wing man and opened her mouth to ask when Josh went on with his story.

“We were in Campbeltown and decided to tour the Springbank distillery.  It was fascinating to find out how much effort and craftsmanship goes in to making Scotch.  It’s really a form of artistry.  After that, I developed a taste for it, as an ode to how much I appreciate what they do there.  I enjoyed that trip more than any other I’ve ever taken.  The best parts were touring castles and golfing.  I remember most of it except for the couple of times we were all really ‘Effed’ up!”

Antoine brought their drinks and took their dinner orders.  Of course, Josh wanted steak.  Lake had a hard time imagining him eating chicken or fish.  She opted for a small Filet Mignon as well and they decided to share mashed potatoes and beet salad as sides came al a carte.  The conversation continued to flow even after their food arrived as though they had known each other for years.  They talked about Chuck and their shared Midwestern upbringing.  Josh asked thoughtful questions and had a true interest in listening to what she said.  Lake laughed often over his stories about his NHL career and the crazy things he and Ryan and done while on the road.  Like the time Josh had introduced cow tipping to Ryan and then had to prove it was real and not an urban myth to save face.  He left out any allusions to his many conquests allowing more of Lake’s ice to melt away.  Without that confirmation, she almost entertained the idea of Josh as capable of being satisfied with one woman.

Antoine brought another round and Lake knew that after this second one, she’d have to cool it.  Becoming impaired by alcohol worried her as she didn’t like feeling out of control in social situations.  She should amp up her defenses again instead of allowing them to dwindle with Summer’s words about first date sex ringing in her ears.  She wondered if he’d try to pick up where they had left off when they were brutally interrupted by that furry, green, pain in the behind, Oscar the Grouch.  Was it wrong to experience such blatant hatred for a children’s character?

She kind of hoped that he would kiss her again.  One more little kiss
outside
her front door couldn’t hurt anything and then they’d say goodbye.  If nothing else, she had made a great new friend and contact.  There had been delicious food and wonderful conversation.  The evening that she had originally been so afraid of had turned out to be a smashing success.  Summer and Lance would be so proud of her.  Giddy with excitement, she couldn’t wait to relay how great she had done. 

Josh excused himself to go to the restroom and left Lake sitting in the booth sipping her dirty martini.  They were both so stuffed they had opted to forgo dessert.

Lake’s body jolted.  A hard, warm and great smelling man slid into the booth right beside her and leaned towards her as he grazed her hip. 
What on earth ...  how rude!
  Her torso tightened up in white hot panic.  She couldn’t stand it when men snuck up on her.

“Well I’ll be damned.  If it isn’t the most gorgeous woman in the restaurant sitting with the homeliest son of a bitch I’ve ever seen in my life!  Didn’t you notice that guy’s so ugly the tide wouldn’t even bring him in?  Sweetheart, where have you been all my life?”  He delivered the corny lines as if he were on stage for a Comedy Central special.

Is he drunk
?  She looked around for help and avoided his face.  Her eyes were more comfortable anywhere but on this inebriated douche bag and she prayed he didn’t make a scene before Josh returned.  What kind of jerk accosts a man’s date and insults him while he’s away from the table?  What if a fight broke out in the Capital Grille?  She’d never live that one down with her group of local friends.  Gossip traveled fast in Scottsdale, especially throughout the horse community.  Where was Josh?  She trusted him to step forward to protect her if this guy stepped out of line.  How long did it take a man to urinate for God’s sake?

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”, he whispered.  His minty breath tickled her ear.

Truly, the understatement of the decade!  Who was this obnoxious jackass and why was he bothering her?  She wasn’t some young, raving beauty to be singled out.  Her booth sat in the back of the restaurant so it wasn’t as if she sat at a dive bar with her cleavage hanging out, enticing losers to approach.  She was completely covered, none of her skin exposed.  This type of thing didn’t happen to her because she made a conscious effort not to put herself in these types of awkward positions.  Her eyes searched the room again, at a loss of how to handle him.  Should she slap him, push him away, scream for help?  She had never wished more for Summer’s presence who had an uncanny knack for handling anything and everything of the male persuasion with aplomb.

Just when she had opted to shove him off the bench seat, onto the floor and wait for Josh or Antoine to rescue her, he leaned in even closer and kissed her on the cheek as he grabbed her right hand with his.

“Lake Harrison, I presume?  I’m Ryan Roberts, BMF of the jackass you’re lowering yourself to date.  Have I mentioned, he’s so ugly he makes blind kids cry?  Could it be that you have self-esteem issues?  Why, I can’t imagine, because you are all that and a bag of chips.  I can’t believe you paid for him.  In my opinion, he should be paying five thousand dollars to be able to be seen with
you
in public!”

With relief so great she felt it in her bone marrow, Lake turned to her right and took his large hand in her own.  She laughed at his wicked sense of humor and confidence once she knew her safety was preserved.  It got old to always be so nervous and edgy.  Holy smokes, up close this man was a looker.  Possibly the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen.  He reminded her of Jake Owen, the country singer, but much taller with a muscular build.  Not an ounce of extra flesh appeared anywhere on his chiseled body.  If Summer were here, she’d say she wanted to lick him like a lollipop.  Probably with no shame and right to his face.

“Nice to meet you Ryan,” she shook his warm hand while gracing him with her best smile.  “I’ve heard so much about you.  In fact, we were just discussing your trip to Scotland a few minutes ago.  It seems like you had a lot of fun touring distilleries and castles.”

“I won’t tell you about the other things we ‘toured’ as I can see you’re a classy lady in spite of your absurd choice of dinner companion.  As the elderly always do, Trash makes a great wing man.  Who’d want his moldy ass when I’m here?  Have you been told the real reason he earned the name, The Trashman?  It’s because he has the putrid stink of a dump all over him.  This is why, you should kick him to the curb in favor of me!”

He gave her a wink and gestured to his rock hard abdomen.  In spite of her earlier discomfort, the mystery had been solved about who played the wing man.  She bet he had an eight pack.  Something Lake had never seen up close and personal.  Would it be inappropriate to ask the man to strip his shirt off in the middle of the restaurant and satisfy her curiosity just for biology’s sake?  It didn’t seem possible such defined perfection existed in the real world.  Even though he looked like something that had materialized out of the pages of GQ, his manly beauty didn’t make her skin tingle like someone else she knew but wouldn’t admit to yet even under the threat of torture.  She found herself wishing for Josh’s return in spite of her lively conversation with Ryan.  It couldn’t be that she missed his company, could it?

****

J
osh had just exited the men’s room and turned the corner towards the dining room when he saw the man with Lake.  Anxiety rose up, rearing its ugly head.  Who had told him where they were and what had that sarcastic pain in the ass disclosed to Lake about him while he used the restroom?  There goes his possible good night kiss up in a burst of flames because Roberts lacked control over his diarrhea of the mouth.  Normally, he loved having a great partner in crime like him but in this moment, it sucked that he knew his deepest, darkest secrets.  The clandestine information that is inappropriate and just plain wrong to disclose to a woman on the first date, or probably ever for that matter.  His life flashed before his eyes like they say it does right before you die.  Mentally cataloging his many antics over the past fifteen years back to college, nothing came to mind that he had done with or without Roberts present that was acceptable for a lady’s ears.  Especially, Lake’s. 
Lord help us all.
 

Josh strode towards them as fast as his long legs would carry him as he watched her head fly back in a burst of laughter.  Lake’s face looked more than beautiful in that moment and his lust hit him again,
hard
.  It was promising she hadn’t felt compelled to slap Roberts in his pretty face yet.  Maybe he’d get there in time for serious damage control.

“What are you doing here, Tree Rat?”  Josh resorted to the old nickname the team had given Roberts after he’d been traded to Chicago and had seen his first grey squirrel.  He’d exhibited the same reaction as Julia Loius-Dreyfus had in Christmas Vacation when she took one to the neck.  It was difficult to explain to people from The Keys that squirrels were common and harmless in the Midwest, even though they were classified as a rodent.  Roberts had called an exterminator to get them out of his yard and trees causing the entire team to ride his ass like a rodeo cowboy for years.

“Trash!”  Roberts pulled Lake closer and squeezed her shoulders.  “I was just telling the beautiful and charming Lake here, about that time that we went to the Pink Monkey and that chick with the huge ...”

“Shut the hell up!”  Josh had been trying to watch his language in front of Lake all night but Roberts sometimes tried his patience.  If he said one more disgusting word about their strip club antics from ten years ago, he’d pop him in the jaw, best friend or not.  Damn, he hadn’t been close to sober and didn’t remember most nights they’d spent at the Pink Monkey.  That crap hole sported a bring your own bottle policy.  When professional athletes with unlimited supplies of money got that drunk with strippers there’s no telling what might have happened.  All hell could break loose and had, many times.