Fighting For You (6 page)

“Yep! That’s Violet at her finest.”

Gabby’s head bobbed up and down a few times, as if she was thinking. “Scary.”

This time I couldn’t hold back the snort. “Now, tell me what the two of you talked about.” She threw an arm over my shoulder and led us both to the couch.  Where I spent the next twenty minutes spewing out everything that happened and digesting what every little thing meant.  This was due solely to Gabby’s prying mind. I was used to it of course.  Every time she talked to a new man we had to do this very thing - it had become a ritual I wasn’t about to deviate from. 

When we had finally exhausted the rehashing of the conversations, I knew I needed to change the subject, or else it would begin all over again.

“So, Baby is starving.  It’s time to get something to eat.” Gabby nodded and stood from the couch. 

“What’s good to eat around here?”

“Well, we could always eat at the Inn and then I can introduce you to Bailey. And you could see where I work!”  She nodded again, but the way her eyes shifted around the room told me she was up to something.  And if that hadn’t, the slight smirk slowly spreading over her lips would have.

“Or, we could go to the bar.”  I opened my mouth to protest without truly understanding where this was going.  That was when it hit me which bar she meant.

“Oh, hell no!” I even threw my arms in the air for a dramatic effect.

“Come on, Danielle!” Gabby pleaded, grabbing hold of my arms.

“Why in the world would you want to go there?”

“Because, then we can say a proper hello.  He can meet me as your best friend, and not the sleazy chick trying to sleep with him.  And you can apologize for being completely ridiculous. We can eat, feed Baby, and then you can see him and talk to him.”

My mind wandered to my sad, broken man.  He was my protector, best friend and the father of my child and I knew I had no choice.  No matter how awkward it may be—I needed to see him. 

“Fine. Corey’s bar it is.”

After changing my outfit so many times that I was irritating myself, I finally settled on jeans, a long sleeved shirt and a vest.  Gabby added a scarf and bangles for fun.  I’m also sure she did it because she could sense just how nervous I was.  This wasn’t just a drive-by, hoping to see him, wishing things were different kind of thing.  This was entering the lion’s den and hoping for the best.  At least Gabriella would be beside me, but that only eased my nerves so far. Thankfully, Gabby agreed to drive while my nerves caused my leg to bounce relentlessly and my teeth to chew away at my lip.

Her hand was suddenly on my leg, giving a comforting squeeze. “It will be okay, Danielle.  I wouldn’t have suggested this if I thought it was going to be a disaster.”

I nodded, desperately trying to believe her. “Okay,” I said, more for her reassurance than mine.

I tried to ease up the nervous ticks for the rest of the drive, but that only made it worse.  I even went as far as to wish Corey wouldn’t be working, but even then I knew he’d be just feet away.  There was no escaping him and honestly—I didn’t want to.  I’ve spent enough time running; it was time to start fighting.  Fighting for everything I longed to have back.

I needed to fight for the baby. I needed to fight for my family.

That, of course, didn’t settle me down as we pulled into the parking lot.  Gabby put my car in park and neither of us moved.

“Okay, Baby’s not hungry anymore.”  Honestly, it felt as if a group of butterflies were playing around with my little bean in my belly, and I was now completely nauseous.

“Nice try.” Gabby leaned down towards me and placed a free hand on my belly.  In a sarcastic whisper she said, “I know you’re hungry little one and I promise I won’t let your mommy’s craziness keep you from eating.” 

I burst out laughing before I could stop myself and suddenly I was in the middle of a fit of giggles—and I couldn’t stop.  Gabby’s eyes lit with amusement as she debated what to do with my inability to stop laughing.  Eventually she shrugged and unbuckled her seatbelt.

“Suppose this is better than you crying.  Now let’s go.”

Since everything was now suddenly hilarious, I did as she asked. I really couldn’t have argued if I wanted to.  We met at the back of my car as she linked our arms together and made our way inside.  The moment my foot hit the wood floor, I stopped.  My eyes wanted to go straight to the bar but I scanned the room first.  An elderly couple sat at a booth on the opposite side from where I usually sat.  There was one other guy at the bar, but I didn’t get a good look at him because the moment I got a look at those blue eyes—I
was trapped.  I was held hostage by that gaze and I was willing to comply with whatever they may do to my broken soul, just as long as I didn’t have to look away.

The guy at the bar was in the middle of saying something to Corey and had his full attention until I walked in.  The smirk on his face and amusement in his eyes faded as he stared in my direction.  His hands stopped drying the glass in them as my breath caught in my throat. The guy had yet to realize the new distraction, aka me, and continued talking.

“And Man, I am telling you, her tits were huge.” He looked up to Corey with a laugh and then stopped. “What the hell you starin’ at?”

Corey’s eyes flickered from me to the man and his head nodded to the doorway where Gabby and I foolishly stood.  That got his attention.  He spun around on the stool and nodded his head in what seemed to be approval.  That was the first time I took a look at him, his long hair in front styled up with the sides buzzed short.  A strong jaw covered in a trimmed beard, full lips and piercing green eyes stared back at us.  He wore jeans and a dark hoodie with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing colorful tattoos up and down his firm arms.  The man was gorgeous and from the way he smiled and winked at us, he knew it.

“Hello, ladies! Come join us.  We would love the company of a couple stunning women this fine afternoon.” Even when he spoke he was confident and sure of himself.  I didn’t even need to give Gabby my full attention to know she was swooning for this man—hard core.

Corey leaned into his friend’s ear and whispered something.  While I didn’t catch what he said, I also didn’t miss the sound of my name gracing those beautiful lips.  The way his friend’s eyes bugged out at that same moment confirmed that was exactly what was said.

“Holy shit! That’s Dani?!” He asked, more as a knee-jerk reaction than anything else.  Corey rolled his eyes at the outburst and confirmed.

“Yeah, and her best friend, Gabby.” Corey said, louder this time so we were included in the conversation.

“Well, you two are some of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen.  Please excuse my slow friend for not introducing me.  I’m Alexander Washington and I am known for rocking women’s worlds.  So don’t hesitate to ask,” he said with his most charming smile and a wink. 

Since neither Corey nor I seemed to be able to talk at the moment, Gabby spoke up. “Nice to meet you, Alex.  I’m Gabby and this is Dani.  Even though this is sufficiently awkward, we’re here for lunch.” 

“If that’s okay?” I finally squeaked out. 

That snapped Corey into gear.  He jostled the glass around in his hands before nearly dropping it on the bar in front of him.  Then he reached under the counter and grabbed out a couple menus.

“Of course.  Would you like to sit at the bar or a table?” As much as I wanted to sit at the bar, I didn’t know if I would be able to handle being that close - directly under his stare, inches from reaching out and pulling him to me. I needed to keep some distance.

“Table, please,” I answered, before Alex’s charming smile lured my best friend to the bar.

“Alright. How about this one?” Corey pointed to a booth directly across from the bar.  It was the best of both worlds. I would still close enough to watch him but far enough away to, hopefully, be able to think straight.

“Perfect,” I answered.  My eyes wouldn’t leave his as he stared back.  I couldn’t remember the last time I lost myself in those beautiful blues but here I was, unable to blink. 

“Okay.” I saw the way the word rolled off his lips.  The way a smile brushed over them as if he was trying to hold onto this moment of us, just as much as I was.  My heart fluttered and my lips formed a smile as I watched him.

“Okay,” I repeated.

“Christ! Snap outta it, man!  I’m sure that goofy ass grin on your face is enough to tell her that you’re happy to see her,” Alex chimed in.  Gabby laughed in response and took hold of my arm and walked us to the booth that Corey pointed to.

I slid into one side, her to the other as Corey moved in closer to hand us our menus.

“I don’t need one,” I said with a smile, as I handed back the menu.

He smiled, staring only at me.  But there was more to it.  He wasn’t just looking at me, he was seeing me.  Through me.  In me.  As ridiculous as I knew we looked, I just couldn’t avert my eyes.  I was, without a doubt, going to stay in our bubble for as long as I could. 

“I just didn’t know if you’d remember what was on it,” he replied, his ever-present smile warming my frigid heart and soul in a way I thought was no longer possible. 

“I remember,” I answered in a whisper.  The way his lips curled up at the corner told me he understood my meaning went much deeper than then menu alone. 

“Me too,” he whispered back.  My cheeks flushed and a lump formed in my throat as I wanted more than anything to throw my arms around him.  I wanted to feel his strength and protection surround me as his arms wrapped around me, refusing to let go.  That was what I wanted, what I needed. 

“Can I get you a beer?” Corey asked.  I prayed my shocked expression at the question was solely in my head.  My paranoid mind wondered if he knew.  I wasn’t sure how he would but maybe he could just tell and this was a test. 

I shook my head since my voice was currently M.I.A. 

“I’ll take a cider beer if you have one,” Gabby chimed in, taking the heat of Corey’s eyes off of me for at least a minute.

He raised an eyebrow at her and cocked his head slightly. “What—no shots of tequila?” Gabby rolled her eyes as I couldn’t resist letting out a laugh. 

Gabby’s glare switched from Corey over to me. “Hey!  That was so not my idea!” 

“I’m driving and it’s cold out, so do you have something warmer?” I quickly budded in before this conversation treaded into dangerous territory.

His eyes warmed as they turned my way again. “I can make you some hot chocolate, if you’d like?”

I nodded. “Yes, I would.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”  With that he walked off, disappearing into the kitchen. 

Gabby turned to me, a Cheshire grin on her face. “That was the cutest effing thing I’ve ever seen.”

I smiled, but didn’t respond.  My arms wrapped around my stomach under the table, hoping my little bean felt the moment between us.  Gabby thankfully didn’t press the issue further. Instead, she began reading through the menu I had memorized. 

“What’s good here?” She asked.

“Everything,” I answered on a sigh, before I could stop myself.  She shook her head with a smile on her face.

“You’ve got it bad, Babe.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Moments later, Corey was back with a steaming mug of hot chocolate, a scoop of cream on top and a Rolling Rock for Gabby.

“Know what you ladies want?”

“Well, I’ll go with your chicken Caesar salad, extra croutons.  Oh, and a water with lemon.” Corey smirked and nodded.

“Sure, what about you bab
… Dani.” He cleared his throat, as though that would erase the way he almost slipped out with calling me baby.

“Bacon cheeseburger and fries.”

“You got it,” he nodded. “Alex, you need anything before I go in the back?”

“Another beer.” I watched Corey as he moved around the bar, grabbed a beer and uncapped it for Alex.  Alex reached out to take it, but Corey kept a firm grip and leaned in.  He muttered something under his breath but the soft sound of his tense voice made me very curious about what was being said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Alex replied and waved him away.  Corey sighed; probably realizing whatever he said fell on Deaf ears before he headed off to the kitchen. The instant the door swung shut Alex was on his feet and headed our way.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked.

“Not at all,” Gabby answered, fluttering her eyelashes for good measure.  I kept my spot in the middle of the booth, forcing Gabby to be the one to slide over and give him room.  It wasn’t as if I wanted to be mean to the man, but Corey and I had enough issues to work through without me getting cozy with what I assumed to be his friend.

She moved over and Alex scooted in, throwing his arm around the back of the booth.

“So, you’re the woman that broke my man’s heart.” It wasn’t a question, so I chose to ignore it.

“How do you know Corey?  I’ve never seen you around or even heard of you before.” I snapped back.  I’m sure Alex wasn’t trying to be quite the douche I was feeling he was, but I also didn’t enjoy the way he spoke so openly about such personal stuff.

“Retract those claws, sweet thing.  I don’t mean to be insulting - let me rephrase.  Danielle, I’m Alex, Corey’s best friend of a long time.  It’s a pleasure to meet you.”  He held out his hand to me and I accepted.

“Nice to meet you.” From the corner of my eye I saw Gabby shoot me a look and I knew it was time to be her sidekick.

“This is my best friend, Gabriella.  I’ve known her for a long time too.”

“We’re practically family.” Gabby chimed in with a smile.  Without hesitation Alex cast his attention to her and flashed her with what I was sure was his panty dropping smile.

“That’s beautiful. I know how it goes.  I met my man, Corey, a long time ago when I was in town here at this bar.  The night was slow getting going and the two of us spent the evening bullshitting.  So, few hours later when shit was really packed and a bar brawl broke out between Corey and some drunk fucks, I jumped in.  Helped him fight the crowd down and got shit under control.  There’s solidarity between men if you have each other’s backs and from day one—we have.”

“Well, then where have you been?  I don’t remember seeing you the last time I was in town.”  Alex nodded his head, taking a long pull of his beer.  It took everything in me not to laugh when I saw Gabby lick her lips as she watched Alex’s bobbing Adam’s apple. 

He put the beer down and Gabby quickly turned her attention away.  Distracting herself, she took an even longer pull of her beer.

“I come and I go.”

“What do you do?” I pressed on, unable to stop the small interrogation on Corey’s “best friend”. 

Maybe it was because I was a protective person.  Or perhaps because my mother-to-be the defensive instincts were already kicking in.  Then again, it could be because I was feeling a little jealous that someone else had claimed the title as Corey’s best friend, especially since that’s what I considered myself.  This just proved I was wrong to think that and incredibly mistaken to believe he thought that was who I was to him.

“Little bit of this, little of that.” Alex was clearly a pro at making everyone feel a part of the conversation.  While his gaze was trained on mine, he kept his arm behind the bench and angled his body to include her.  Something immediately told me this guy was a complete and total player.  I wanted to warn Gabby about Alex’s ways, but I had no doubt she knew and more than likely didn’t care.