Taking Shots (Assassins) (45 page)

“
Go out?”

“
Yeah, let’s go karaoking!”

“
Karaoking? Is that even a word?”

“
It is in my dictionary! Come on! Let’s go get our drink on!”

Elli giggled as she shook her head, “Harper, I haven’t drank in months.”

“
More the reason to go, we’ll have a ball, we always do! Please!”

“
Maybe, depends on how the day goes,” she said with a grin while Harper’s shoulders slumped. She wasn’t saying no, she loved going out with Harper, but she needed to clean up a little at the condo before Shea got home, and she had a busy day tomorrow, so she wouldn’t be able to drink much if she did.

Her cell phone rang just as she was about to get up to get the receipt that she had printed off the printer. It was Shea.

“
Hey you, I thought you were working out,” she said as she got the piece of paper, folding it up and putting it in her check book.

“
Got done early, what are you doing?”

“
Hanging out with Harper in the office, my next appointment isn’t for another twenty minutes.”

“
Cool, I was thinking about you, thought I would call.”

“
Aw, I’m always thinking of you,” she smiled, catching Harper rolling her eyes. She picked up the squishy ball she had on her desk and beamed Harper in the head with it. Harper let out of a scream before flipping Elli the bird.

“
What was that?” he asked as Elli laughed.

“
Harper being Harper,” she said as Harper stormed out the office, “I’m glad you called though. I need to ask you a favor.”

“
Sure.”

“
Is it okay if I have my friends over for dinner and games on Sunday? I know you leave Monday morning, but Harper wants Jakob to come and he can’t ride in the car for a long time, so my house is out, and Jodi’s water heater busted,” she said as she drew little hearts on her calendar.

“
Sure, I don’t mind. I’ll like to meet your friends.” She smiled as Harper came back into her office a coffee in hand.

“
Who said you were invited?” she asked, teasing him a little.

“
Oh, am I not invited?” he laughed, she laughed along.

“
Oh, course you are, I think after two months it’s time for you to meet the besties. Thanks so much for letting me have it at the house. I’ll call everyone up and let them know, they’ll be excited to meet you,” she said picking up the coffee cup Harper had just laid down when she leaned over to see what Elli was writing.

Elli took a sip and Harpers yelled, “Hey!”

“
Oh hush!” Elli said back as Shea laughed.

“
You guys act like sisters.”

“
We do,” she agreed as her business phone started ringing, “I gotta go, I’ll call ya later?”

“
Sure, babe, I love you, and miss you a lot,” he said, and like always her stomach filled with butterflies.

“
I miss you, too, bye.”

When she hung up the phone, Harper had already answered the business line, so she leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. She wished she knew if she loved Shea or not, sometimes she thought she did, but then Justin would come into her head, causing her to question her feelings. Plus, she decided when she did know for sure she loved Shea, she didn’t want to tell him on the phone but in person.

As Elli watched Harper write some things down, she decided she did need a night out. Girls night with Harper were always a hoot, and she loved to do karaoke, so when Harper hung up and looked up at her, all Elli said was, “What time we going tonight?”

Shea knew he should have told Elli earlier that he was coming home after the game. It was what he gets for trying to surprise her, a taxi ride from the airport to the house. He had called her about ten times, but she never answered. So he got in the cab and went home, but when he got to the condo, Elli wasn’t there either, and it was well past midnight. He tried to call her again, but her phone just kept going to voicemail.

When Shea went upstairs and saw that Adler was still there, he guessed maybe she was at a wedding, but she never had turned her phone off before, and he could have sworn she had said she was coming home early tonight. He stood with his hands on his hips, confused, a little pissed, and even more worried. He reached for his phone again and dialed Jakob.

“
Hey, dude,” Jakob said when he answered.

“
Hey, is Harper there?”

“
Nope, she’s out with Elli.”

Out with Elli?

“
Huh? Where did they go?”

“
Well, apparently I’m driving Harper dog shit crazy, so she left to get her ‘drink on,’ whatever the hell that means,” he said, and Shea just shook his head.

“
You mean bat shit crazy, and drink on? Where?”

“
I think some karaoke bar,
Wanna Do Something
maybe?”

Again, Shea shook his head. Jakob had been living in Nashville almost as long as he had, didn’t he know anything about the damn town?

“
You mean
Wanna B’s
? You’re pitiful Jake,” he laughed as Jakob chuckled.

“
No I’m drugged up dude, anyways, yeah I think they’re there.”

“
Cool, I guess I roll over there. I was trying to surprise Elli,” he said, going to the bedroom to change out of his suit, “Wanna roll out with me?”

“
Um, I don’t know, Harper might get angry.”

“
She’ll be okay, I’ll be there in ten.” Shea hung up and threw his phone on the bed, before stripping off his suit to put on a pair of jeans and a button down long sleeve dress shirt. After doing his hair, and putting in his contacts, he was out the door and on his way to Harper’s apartment since that was where Jakob had been staying. Harper lived in a little condo building unlike his large one; it was red brick, and old looking. He remembered Elli saying it was huge inside, but it was a studio condo, something he could never live in. Shea needed a bedroom.

Shea called Jakob, letting him know he was there, and watched as Jakob limped to the truck. Shea cringed watching Jakob trying to get in the truck, he was obviously in pain, but Shea knew not to ask him if he needed help. Jakob was an ass when he was in pain, Shea learned that early on, and knew not to mess with him when he was hurting. After buckling his seat belt, Jakob looked over at Shea. His nose was completely healed; only a little yellow around the base of his nose.

“
It hurts like a bitch, man.”

“
I bet, only a couple more weeks, though,” Shea reassured as he backed out, heading towards Broadway, where the bar was located. When he saw Elli’s truck, his pulse picked up. It had been a long, agonizing two weeks. He had missed her so much and couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms, kiss those luscious lips on hers, lay her down in the bed that he had missed as much as he missed her.

Shea parked the truck beside hers and notice that the place was busy, like always. He waited at the front of the truck as Jakob hobbled his way towards him. They entered and made their way, slowly through the crowed bar. When they got to an opening in the crowd, Shea saw Harper sitting off to the side, waving her arms in the air, but he didn’t see Elli.

“
I didn’t know Elli could sing, she’s damn good, too,” Jakob said. Shea looked over at him, seeing that he was pointing up at the stage. Shea looked over at the stage and that’s when he noticed two things.

The first thing was that Elli’s pants were extremely tight.

The second was that she was extremely drunk.

“
Oh, my God,” he muttered as he watched her sing. It was the first time he had ever heard her beautiful voice, but he couldn’t enjoy it, because she wasn’t singing with a smile, no, she was glaring and pointing and basically cussing out some guy by the bar. The guy she was singing to kind of look like Jakob as he leaned against the bar, with a smug grin on his face and his arms crossed across his chest.

“
Who’s the guy?”

“
I don’t know, let’s go ask Harper,” Shea said through clenched teeth, heading towards Harper, because Shea felt that if he went over there, the smug grin that was on that asshole’s face would be on the floor. Harper was screaming ‘Get it, girl’ at Elli when they reached her.

“
Hey guys!” she gushed when she noticed them. She moved past Shea, wrapping herself up in Jakob’s arms, “I missed you,” she said up to Jakob. He smiled lovingly at her, kissing her nose, before pointing over to the guy.

“
Who’s that?” he asked.

Harper squashed up her face, like something didn’t smell good, and basically growled out, “That ass hat is, Justin.”

Shea whipped his head back to look at Harper, “Justin, as in Elli’s ex?”

“
The one and only, he actually had to the gall to tell her she looks good. Which, of course, she does, but she looked good when she was with him, too,” Harper slurred. Harper’s head fell to the side as she looked Elli over, “I’m actually surprised Elli’s still dressed.”

Shea looked over at her confused, “What? Why’s that?”

“
Because that girl can’t keep her clothes on when she’s drinking tequila and she’s had a lot!” Shea raised his eyebrows, looking back at Elli, who was only wearing a little tank with her extremely tight jeans. Harper almost fell off the stool she was sitting in, but Jakob caught her before she hit the floor. She was just as smashed as his girlfriend, the same girlfriend that had just threw her mic down after hitting the last note of the angry song perfectly, and throwing her middle finger in the air as she made it down the stairs, coming towards them.

For the love of God.

“
That was awesome, babe! Tell that asshole! Because he stole your happy, he made you cry-” and off they went singing the chorus again. People around them sang along, while some cheered them on.

Great, they had fans.

When they finished, Harper cheered for Elli again as she grinned widely at her, then Elli let out a squeal when she saw Shea.

“
Shea!” she almost fell twice as she made her way towards him, slamming her body into his and kissing him lavishly. He tasted beer as she swirled her tongue with his, sloppily and had to pull back. She was too drunk to be kissing.

“
Hey, baby,” he said kissing her nose, then the side of her mouth as she smiled up at him.

“
You’re home early!”

“
I am, surprise,” he said as she swayed back and forth, “Jesus, baby, how much have you had?”

She giggled, before saying, “A. Lot.”

“
I can see that.”

“
It started out just beer, but then these nice guys wanted to buy us shots of tequila and, of course, we said yes to free booze!” Harper let out a loud yee haw, and Elli joined in, slapping hands with her.

And he thought Grace was bad drunk. He couldn’t count how many times he has dealt with an extremely drunk Grace through his teen years and early twenties. Grace had gotten them in trouble so many times that Shea was surprised he was where he was and not in jail.

“
Did you see that ass hat I wasted years of my life to? I wanted to go smack him, but Harper said I couldn’t. She didn’t have any bail money on her, but I said we could always call you, or my papa, but she wouldn’t let me,” she slurred.

“
Thank God,” Shea and Jakob said at the same time. They grinned at each other and then looked back down at Elli. She was chugging a beer along with Harper. Shea shook his head, looking around the bar, noticing that men were watching as the girls drank and giggled.

Shea wondered how many of the guys had hit on Elli, since she had said guys had bought them drinks. He wondered if she flirted back, if she had given them the same smile she gives him, or if she touched them the way she always touched him. His mind filled with the thoughts of what could or what had happen as he assumed the worst, that she had cheated, that she had come out to replace him. She didn’t love him, what made him any better than any of the assholes in the bar.

Elli looked over at Shea, and the brightest, biggest, most beautiful smile crossed her face, before she came to him, wrapping her arms around him and looking up at him. He could see the lust filling in her eyes, “Did you know that the whole time I’ve been here I’ve been wishing that you were here, cause I just missed you soooooo much,” she slurred as she leaned on him for support, “We should go find a place to be
alone
,” she said drawing out the last word.

Shea smiled shaking his head, how could he think those things? His sweet Elli was crazy for him and only him. He could see it in her beautiful, sparkling with lust, green eyes.

He was jealous.

Something he had never been before.

His breath caught while she just grinned up at him totally oblivious to the fact that he was having an epiphany. He hadn’t even realized it had happen, he knew he loved her, but he didn’t realize that he was absolutely, completely, and entirely hers, and that she could break him.

She reached her finger up to his forehead, poking him hard between his eyes, “You’re thinking too hard,” she stated, “about what?” With every word her head nodded, and all he could do was laugh as she beamed up at him, drunkenly.

“
Nothing, baby, you ready to head out?” he asked as he gathered her in his arms, kissing her cheeks.