Guarded Heart (Dubicki's) (3 page)

Chapter 5

Jesse walked into Dubicki’s and deeply breathed in the smell
that was his second home. It might be a strange thing to say about a bar, but
he remembered being in that place even as a baby. His
dziadek
had run
the place then, and his father had been the bar manager.
Dziadek
was the
polish word for grandfather. His grandfather had emigrated there from Poland as
a young boy and spoke a mix of both the Polish and English languages. Jesse
loved his
dziadek
; he’d always had a smile on his face and some way of
delighting the little boy in him years ago.
Dziadek
used to tell the
best stories. He had such charisma and always made the locals laugh. It was
something Jesse admired about him to that day.

Jesse spotted his sister Kelsey behind the bar. She was six
months pregnant. He chuckled to himself as he watched her try to maneuver around
the busy bar with her belly so far out in front of her. He could tell she was
frustrated, and his heart felt a swell of love for her. Jesse and Kelsey were
barely two years apart and had always been close.

Kelsey noticed him and walked out from behind the bar to
embrace him.

“Jesse!” she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around him.

“Hi, sis. How’ve you been? It looks like you’re ready to
give birth any day now!”

She sighed and walked back behind the bar.

“You sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself,
don’t ya? I am seriously ready to have my figure back, but it’s a bit too soon
for the baby to come out.”

“I know, Kels. I was just teasing. It’s good to see you. Any
chance you can get some country music playing on the jukebox?” Kelsey knew he loved
country music, and Jon Pardi’s song “Up All Night” started playing before he
even got the words out. That was one of the many reasons he loved his sister.

They continued to chat and catch up for a couple of minutes
until Kelsey had to get back to work. The busy bar was packed because it was
Friday. She handed him his favorite beer and said, “Don’t worry, Jesse. We’ll
have your country tunes playing tonight. Most people love country music around
here, so you’re in good company.”

She pinched his cheek like she had always done since he was
a kid and got back to work.

Jesse noticed his friends and went to join them near the
jukebox. They’d just gotten an order of various fried foods, and Jesse was
starved. He grabbed an onion ring, and they all began catching up about their
night. Lee and Carson let him know what had happened at the other two bars
they’d been at and then asked if he wanted to do a shot. Jesse politely
declined. He might try a shot later on since he was off tomorrow, and, then
again, he might not. Jesse was not a big fan of the loss of control that came
with being drunk. Or the hangovers that came the next day.

He looked over toward the door and noticed a pretty girl
walk in that he’d never seen there before. She was definitely not a regular. She
was short and petite and had on some of the highest heels he’d seen on a woman
who could actually balance on them.
Impressive.

He continued to study her. She had beautiful, long, blonde
hair and expressive eyes that had such a blue to them that they almost seemed
purple. She had an air of confidence about her and a mystery to her that made
her seem exotic. He found himself unable to look away from her. As if she
sensed his stare, she looked across the bar at him. It felt as if there was an
electric current in the air as they held their gazes toward each other for a
few brief seconds.

He had not had any desire to approach a woman in a long
time, but he found himself wondering about her. He didn’t know if she’d even
give him the time of day. She almost seemed like she had a chip on her
shoulder, and he surprised himself thinking that he would enjoy trying to see
if she’d respond to him with favor. For now, he was content to watch her. She walked
over to a table full of people, both guys and girls. He silently hoped to
himself that one of those men was not her boyfriend.

She stood by the table with a couple of the guys, and they
were all holding shots. Jesse would have taken a shot with her if that meant he
could be near her. He suddenly felt something awaken in him that he hadn’t
allowed to surface in quite a long time, the loneliness he’d stuffed deep down,
which had been easy to do with his busy fighting schedule. He’d been so hurt in
the past that he found it easier not to let anyone in than to be hurt again.
Now he found himself looking at a woman that he was intrigued with--intrigued
enough to think about the possibility of her being around him for more than
just a night.

“Jesse, what’s up? You seem distracted,” Carson asked and
then, as if sensing why, followed Jesse’s stare over to the pretty woman across
the room. “Well, look at you. Here we were giving up hope that you could even
get it up anymore it’s been so long since we’ve seen you with a woman. We were
starting to think you might be gay.”

Jesse smacked Carson like he would a brother, and the whole
group of them began wrestling like a bunch of teenagers for a few minutes,
which got rather loud and awkward in the little booth. Some of the popcorn
they’d had on their table went flying, but none of them noticed in the fun and
chaos. As they came back to reality, Jesse’s eyes found the object of his
desire once again.

***

Carissa and Dana walked in the door to Dubicki’s. They both
silently took in the scene as they looked for Carrie and Melissa. If they
weren’t out to be social tonight, they would have both been quite content
people watching. It was something they both enjoyed, wondering what people were
like or why they did the things they did. Carissa couldn’t help feeling she was
being watched, and, as she surveyed the scene, her eyes locked for an electric
moment with a handsome, athletic man. She quickly turned her glance back to
looking for the other girls.

They both made their way over to the girls and noticed there
were more than just the two men Carrie and Melissa had walked over with. There
were a couple more guys with them, which made the scales seem more balanced.
Still, Carissa couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite
right about one of the guys.

The guys offered to buy them shots. Carissa didn’t want to,
but Dana chiding her that she needed to loosen up and have more fun. Carissa
was seriously starting to wonder why she’d come. The situation seemed like
trouble, but she agreed to go along with the crowd and have a shot.

As the shots came, they heard a thunderous noise in the
corner of the bar. Carissa looked over, and it looked like there were a bunch
of guys roughhousing with one another. She didn’t know if it was serious or not
but silently thought that it was how bar fights probably happened. As she was
about to turn her attention back to her party, her eyes caught with one of the
guys in the corner. It was the same guy whose glance had caught her as she walked
into the bar. He was built; maybe built wasn’t even the word for it. He was a
mammoth of a man. Watching his amazing physique made her breath quicken. He had
dark hair that looked just mussed enough to be sexy, and his skin seemed
golden. He was openly looking at her, and their eyes caught. She finally pulled
her gaze away to talk to the rest of her group.

“Are you ready, Carissa?” Dana asked her, awakening her from
the busy thoughts of her mind. She and all the other members of their group
were all holding their shots up, expectantly waiting for her to join them so
they could all take them at once.

The song “Bottoms Up” by Brantley Gilbert poignantly started
playing on the jukebox as they all quickly tipped back their shots. Carissa
smacked her lips together in distaste. It tasted like black licorice.
Yuck.

“What was that?” she asked the guy next to her.

“It was a Jagerbomb: Jagermeister and Red Bull. Don’t tell
me you have never had one?” he asked her in disbelief, laughing. “You must not
get out much.”

“Apparently not. It didn’t taste very good to me,” Carissa said.

She wished she had a mint right now or something to wash it
down with. As if reading her thoughts, the guy that had been paying so much
attention to her arrived with a longneck bottled beer. “Need a beer?”

“Thanks.”

Normally Carissa would not be accepting drinks from strange
men. Dana had urged her into the first one, and this one she needed to get the
taste of the shot out her mouth. He was going to start to think she liked him.
She was starting to think he was creepy; there was just something about him she
could not put her finger on. She had to get away from this guy. Maybe she’d go
find another guy to talk to so she could get rid of this one. She started to
wonder about the hottie by the jukebox.

She walked up towards the bar to ask for a glass of water.
While she stood there silently thankful that she was away from creep guy, the
hottie walked up.

“Hi, I’m Jesse,” he said as he extended his hand to her to
shake.

Carissa looked down and felt a blush creep up her neck. Some
days she could curse her fair skin that seemed to give her every thought away.

“Hi. Carissa,” she said, demurely extending her hand to him.

“I’ve never seen you in here before,” he said.

“Yeah, I haven’t been here in a long time. My best friend,
that girl back there,” she said as she turned and pointed to Dana who was
immersed in conversation at the moment, “she convinced me I needed to get out
more and have some fun.”

“She was right. Everyone needs a little fun.”

He smiled at her. His eyes seemed kind, which was contrary
to everything his body was silently saying. That he could be dangerous if he
wanted to. In her experience, guys were dangerous, so she told herself she must
be mistaken about those kind eyes.

“Can I get you anything?” he asked her.

“Uh, no, thanks. I was just getting a glass of water. I had
my first Jagerbomb. Yuck,” she said, sticking her tongue out.

“Yeah, I can’t say I really have a taste for shots, either,”
he chuckled.

“Carissa!” Dana howled at her from the corner.

“Well, that’s my friend calling me, so I better go. Nice to
meet you, Jesse.”

“Nice to meet you, Carissa,” he said as he extended his hand
to her and she took it.

They held their hands and their gazes at the same time a
beat longer than normal before Carissa turned her attention back towards Dana
and walked away to rejoin her party at the back of the bar. She enjoyed a few
laughs with them. Before long, Dana’s guitar player joined them. Dana smiled
from ear-to-ear and became lost in Kyle’s presence from the moment he entered.

Carissa chitchatted with the rest of the group at their
table, but suddenly she started to feel off. She didn’t think she had drunk
enough alcohol to be drunk, but she didn’t get out much and probably was just a
lightweight. She should have listened to Dana all those times she’d encouraged
her to get out more. Maybe she wouldn’t have this problem if she did.

“Hey, Carissa. Kyle asked me to split, and we’re going to
get out of here. Are you okay getting home by yourself?” Dana asked as she
walked up to her at the table.

“Yeah, sure, Dana. I can take a cab or just walk. I live
close,” Carissa said.

“Carissa, please promise me you will take a cab and not
walk. It’s late and there are crazies out there. You’re feeling okay, right?”

“Yeah, D, I’m fine. Just go and have a good time,” Carissa
assured her.

Dana was a good friend, but sometimes the momma bear in her
could feel a bit overwhelming.

“I worry about you,” Dana said as she looked Carissa up and
down, assessing whether or not she could trust she’d be okay. “I just talked to
Carrie and Melissa who assured me that they would make sure you got home safe,
either with them or with someone in the group. Are you okay with that?”

“Dana, stop it. God, I’m big girl and can handle myself. I will
take a cab. End of story.”

“Alright, I just wanted to make sure you’ll be okay,” Dana
acquiesced in a mildly defensive manner, a little of her New York accent coming
out while she said it. That only happened when she was mad or passionately
trying to make a point.

After Dana and Kyle left, Carissa sat there for a while
trying to regain her focus. More and more she felt sick, nauseous, and dizzy.
She got up with the intent of going to the ladies room and had to steady
herself on the table before she lost her balance.

“Are you okay?” one of the guys in the group said as he
placed his hand on her lower back to steady her. It was the guy that had bought
her that beer, earlier. She started to notice the room was swaying back and
forth.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said as she started toward the back of
the bar to the ladies room. If she could just splash a little water on her
face, she’d feel better.

Shit.
She hoped she’d be able to walk home like this.
She knew she had promised Dana she’d take a cab, but there was no way she was
getting in a cab with any chance that she might toss her cookies.

***

Jesse kept gazing over at Carissa, He could not seem to take
his eyes off her. They’d exchanged looks at each other a few times since he’d
met her earlier at the bar. It wasn’t long after that he’d felt an unexpected
surge of jealousy when he saw her standing over there drinking a beer with some
guy. It seemed they might be together and she was taken, and he didn’t like it.
His jaw clicked in annoyance. He tried to focus on another girl in the bar to
keep his mind off her. It didn’t prove effective though because he still kept
looking over his shoulder at her and hoping that the guy buying her drinks
would disappear.

Carson suggested they all go sit at the bar, which Jesse
didn’t mind because then at least he’d be closer to his sister. So what if the
one girl he’d had his eye on for the first time in a long while turned out to
be attached? At least he still had his family. He and his siblings had always
been close but were even closer since their father suddenly died the past year,
leaving the three of them orphans. Then they had faced an attempt from real
estate developers to acquire their family business. It taught them how much
more they meant to one another and just brought them all that much closer.
Besides, he didn’t need any distractions with the fight coming up with Damon
Velasquez in the near future.