Still Water (17 page)

I laughed.

Me:
I meant the studio. Get your mind out of the gutter

Lily:
Duh, that's what I meant, perv… Don't call me, Red. See you tonight, boss. xoxo

I shook my head with a small grin on my face. I'll call her whatever the hell I wanted, and she'd like it.

Me:
You haven't seen perverted yet, baby. See you soon.

All I could think was how I couldn't wait to taste her again. How I hoped I could have some one-on-one time with her at work. Shit, I was so screwed. Groaning, I shoved the truck door open and ran to the porch. Once inside, I shook the rainwater from my hair like a wet dog.

"You're moping that shit up." Seth's even tone drew my attention to the couch. He was eating a bowl of cereal, most likely Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Puffs. That guy was such a kid sometimes.

"Snack time?"

"Fuck yes, this man's gotta eat." Seth's mouth turned into a crooked shit-eating grin right before he shoveled in a bite from his bowl. I laughed out loud.

"You're so damn weird," I said through heavy laughter that had my stomach muscles aching. I kicked my shoes off onto the tile entryway. "I need to hurry and get ready for work. You coming down tonight?" I asked as I walked to my bedroom door.

"Possibly…" Seth's eyes didn't meet mine. Blue was his go to spot to pick up chicks, but lately he'd been mixing up his stomping grounds. He never brought chicks home though, never dated, never showed more interest than one night, really. I thought I had trust issues with women; he's issues were deeper than I could probably comprehend. As good at the game as we both were, I was so tired of it.

I already knew the answer, but I wanted to ask. I wanted to hope for his sake, that maybe just once, he'd say yes. "You think you'll actually pick up a chick and want to keep her around?"

"I'm going to go ahead and say not likely." His dark blue eyes narrowed before he stood brusquely. "I'll see you though, probably round eleven. You better get ready; you don't want to be late." He wouldn't look at me. He just stared at the quiet television. I took that as my dismissal.

"See you then, man." I opened the door to my room.

"Hey, Todd?" Seth's voice was tight like he was trying to hold back some sort of emotion. For a split second, I worried that I'd pissed him off. Seth was like a brother to me. He was there for me in my darkest hour even though he himself fought demons. Raised by just his father, abandoned by his mother, dirt poor for most his life — yeah, he had issues.

"Yeah?"

"That Lily chick… she seems… cool. You going to be all right? You think you got this one handled?" Seth's eyes met mine, and I nodded.

"I hope so. She's pretty amazing so far." I held his stare and smiled.

"I'm not gonna lie. You look really stupid when you smile like that." His lips twitched with suppressed laughter.

"You're an asshole, bro." I almost wanted to pop him in the jaw, but I didn't want to be late for work.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Lily

T
HE BAR WAS DEAD, LIKE POST-APOCALYPTIC
dead. There were maybe six people all together, and Jace was lingering at a table with four platinum blondes. Jace poured on his natural charm thickly. The girls giggled and ate up every word he was spewing.
Barf.
At this point, I almost wished a pack of zombies would break through the front window. At least then this horror show I was watching unfold would end.

"I hate that guy sometimes," Tiffany spoke quietly next to me. Even though Band of Horses played overhead, the room felt pretty quiet.

"Sometimes?" I lifted my left eyebrow in question.

"Hey, I'm not the one who went on a date with him." Tiff poked me in the arm with her tiny index finger.

"Ow, that hurt!" I chuckled. "You're strong for being so tiny, and, for the record, I didn't know better at the time."

"Right?" It was her turn to giggle. "Oh my God, I wonder if Todd will let me go home early. It's so dead?" She pushed off the back of the bar.

"I bet he'd let you."

"I bet he would if
you
asked." She placed her hand on her hip and looked at me with a skeptical smirk.

"What does that mean?" I asked with just enough incredulity in my tone I almost laughed.

"It means that if we're going to be best friends, which I thought we were…" She put her hand to her heart as if injured. "…I wouldn't be the last to know that my
best friend
was the daughter of Frank's ex-wife
and
was screwing the hot boss man. I need to know these things, Lil. I
need
to know." Her big hazel eyes opened wide when I gasped at her words. "You are! You little slut, I'm right. I love this. I must have every juicy detail. Please, I haven't had a date in months. I need to live vicariously through you."

She gave me such a serious look I couldn't stay mad at her for her
'little slut'
comment. I wasn't ready to talk about Todd though. It was all so new, and I wasn't even sure what
we
were yet. Honestly, this morning was the best morning of my life — this day was everything. Todd hadn't fixed the broken pieces I handed him today. No, he pulverized them, turned them to dust as if those pieces had never needed to be part of me any longer. I could tell that once Todd let someone in — gave all of who he was — it would be game over. I just hoped I could find the way there with him. He was a rollercoaster, and my feelings for him were building like a storm on a hot day on the Florida coast. The heavy passion we carried would be hard to bear alone. I wanted to be part of his life, living it with him, seeing where this crazy ride could take us.

A slow smile broke across my lips.

"Okay, what? Why are you smiling like that, Lil?" Tiffany's eyes were full of amusement, the laugh lines next to her eyes creased.

"I think I really like him." My gaze dropped, talking about my feelings out loud made me feel silly.

"Yeah?" Tiffany giggled.

"Yeah. Today was amazing. We went to the studio and sang together. It was there, sharing that experience with him… It sort of made me fall in crush with him."

"In crush with him?" Tiff's laughter was full bodied now. The tiny frame of her shoulders shook with humor. "Awe, that's so cute."

"What's cute?" Jace's voice penetrated the air and ruined my good mood.

I didn't want to be out here any longer. "Hey, I'm going to take a break for a minute. Want me to ask Todd if you can go home early?"

"That would be great." Tiffany beamed up at me.

"Asking the boss for favors already? Things must have gone well for you today." Jace's tone was accusatory.

"Excuse me?" I didn't miss what he was implying.

"I'm just saying… you must be pretty talented. Todd's never been one to dole out record deals to just anyone. Your mouth must be gifted. I'm bummed I missed out, but I didn't have record deals to give, did I?" His tone was mocking.

Before I could even process the insult, a deep voice boomed from across the bar top.

"Please tell me you didn't just fucking say what I think you did?"

I turned and saw Seth standing taller than I'd ever seen him stand; his jaw pulsed and his hands began to close into fists.

"Don't come in here trying to talk shit, Seth. This girl comes into this bar, blows through two guys already, and just happens to know Frank
personally
too. Come on…?"

"I didn't blow through anything, you asshole. I went on one date with you and that was it! Don't try and make it sound like I'm some sort of slut." My head pounded with a furious heartbeat.

"Hey, I'm not the one who went out on a date and just a few days later is getting fucked by the boss."

Tiffany gasped and shoved Jace as livid tears started to fill my eyes.

"What the hell, Tiffany! Don't freaking touch me." Jace grabbed Tiff's small arm with force and shoved her to the side to get closer to me, causing her tiny frame to slam into the wood of the counter. She cried out in pain.

Seth's lithe frame came across the bar and grabbed Jace's shirt with one hand and the back of his head with the other bringing Jace's head down in one swift powerful motion onto the surface of the bar. The sound Jace's skull made when it met the wood counter top made my heart stop. His body fell to the floor into the fetal position. One of the girls from the table shrieked in fear, and the other said she was going to call the cops.

Jace cursed loudly, and I took a deep breath. At least he wasn't unconscious. He looked at me with such disgust, as blood trickled from his forehead, and his eyes seemed unfocused.

"Go get Todd, Lily! Tiff go with her. This motherfucker's gonna—"

"Seth, don't. Just leave it." Tiffany looked at Seth imploringly.

"Babe, he touched you. He said that shit to Todd's girl. I can't let… just go." The muscles in his arms flexed.

Tiffany and I ran to the back to get Todd.

What the hell had just happened?

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Todd

L
ILY AND
T
IFF PUSHED THROUGH MY
office door and started rattling off about what was going on out front.

"Wait, he said what to you?" I cursed under my breath as I stood and my shoulders tensed. If Seth didn't kill him for touching Tiff — he had a soft spot for that little sprite — I'd definitely mess him up for saying that shit to Lily.

"Todd, just go help. Someone called 911." Tiffany looked as if her whole world was falling apart. Jace must have really scared her.

"You guys stay back here. I got this handled. Stay," I ordered again when they both looked as if they were about to argue. Lily nodded and wrapped her arm around Tiff. The last thing I heard before all hell broke loose was Lily consoling Tiffany. The sound of breaking glass had me running to the front of the bar.

The bar was empty; the customers must have hightailed it out of here. I wouldn't blame them; the place was trashed, and glass was everywhere. Jace and Seth looked like they were in a cage match; both were shirtless and covered in blood. Jace was obviously worse for wear. He swayed as if he were about to fall.

"Seth, that's enough. The cops are coming." The sound of police sirens started to build.

Seth dropped his defensive stance and wiped sweat from his forehead. "You're lucky, motherfucker."

Jace's smile turned wicked. "You win, boss. I was hoping to get a piece of that hot little body…" I was on the edge of losing it; my fists ached to connect to his jaw. "…but you got there first, didn't you. That mouth… Well damn, I almost had it wrapped around my—"

Seth's fist smacked violently into Jace's skull, knocking the asshole out cold just as the cops busted through the front door.

Shit!

T
HIS NIGHT COULDN'T GET
any worse. Seth was arrested for assault and battery; Jace was in the hospital with a concussion; I had to close the bar early, and I would have to keep it closed tomorrow as well to repair the damage those two idiots had caused. Frank flipped his lid at first when I called and told him what had originally happened. I explained to him what Jace had done. He officially fired him and said Seth was allowed free drinks for a month. I sent Tiffany with money from my savings to bail Seth out, and now Lily and I were sitting on my couch awaiting their arrival. She was pretty messed up over the whole ordeal.

"I feel responsible," she spoke, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Don't. He shouldn't have said that to you. He shouldn't have hurt Tiffany. He deserved what he got." I cringed remembering how I had once slapped Liz out of anger. I was so drunk that night; it was the first time I had seen her with Sawyer. I couldn't see past the betrayal I'd felt, all I saw was his body embraced around what I thought was mine. My fucking heart was broken that night — smashed into fragments. I'd put everything into her, into that one hope, and to see it fall away from me… It fucking broke me. When she told me she was with him, I lost all my sensibility and acted impulsively. Nothing I could do or say justified my actions. I was a piece of shit for hitting her. I would regret that day till the day I died. I'd never ever thought I'd be a guy that could hit a woman, but I had. My chest started to ache with the memory.
Who the hell was I to judge Jace?

"What's the matter?" Lily's worry made my guilt turn in my stomach. Elizabeth and Sawyer had forgiven me, but I'd never forgive myself for that lapse in control.

"Nothing." I stood from the couch and Lily's concerned gaze. I grabbed my phone to check the time.

"Don't lie to me, Todd. What's up?" Lily asked in a soft voice.

I didn't want to get into tonight. "Listen, I made a big mistake once, okay? Nothing you need to worry about. This night, it's just messing with my head, baby." I sat back down on the couch, leaned in, and kissed her gently on the lips.