She wanted to go home. Ever since she and Alex had to split, she wasn't the same. She just wanted to sit at home and be by herself. Allie wanted to avoid running the chance of meeting someone. She didn't want to become attached to anyone again.
Bruss was right. She needed to go out. She was lonely. No offense to Malibu, but she needed some human interaction, and Malibu kept his promise to Bruss and proceeded to pester her from the second she was off till the second she ordered the Lyft.
She walked into Muldoon's and took a seat at the bar. "Hey, Charlie. Line them up."
"Hey there, beautiful. The usual?"
"You know me so well," she said, smiling.
"I haven't seen you here in a while. I guess you are busy at work with everything going on."
"I would love to use that as an excuse. The truth is- you see, the thing is... Honestly, I don't want to go out. I only want to get in my car and go home."
And watch YouTube videos with your dead boyfriend. You forgot that part.
"I forgot you were here—the best three minutes of my life."
I thought that honor belonged to your high school boyfriend.
"I thought you would leave me alone so I could talk to living people."
Bruss said that the bartender doesn't count.
"Well, Bruss isn't here, and if you want to tell him, by all means, give it a try."
Fine. I'm gone. Talk to someone. Or I will sing the song that never ends when you try to sleep tonight.
Charlie set down three shot glasses and filled them to the brim. Then, he removed the cap from the bottle of Bud Light Platinum.
"That sounds kind of lonely, Detective," he said. "I don't mean to sound sexist, but you need to find yourself a nice guy."
"I had a nice guy, but he was taken from me. Then I got lucky enough to get another nice guy, but he was taken from me, too. Apparently, I don't deserve a nice guy or to be happy—just not in the cards I've been dealt."
She picked up her shots. She would take one and drink a third of her beer, doing this until they were gone. Charlie refilled them and got another beer.
"I think you're wrong, Detective. Everyone deserves to be happy. The world could use a little more happiness."
He started drying off glasses. "I know a really nice guy. He comes in here often. He's a great tipper. He's good-looking, funny, and very considerate. I would date him myself, but I have a feeling Todd wouldn't like that very much. Maybe next time he comes in, if you're here, I'll introduce you. Trust me, you won't be disappointed."
She did her shots and drank beer. "Charlie, I appreciate your concern for my social life, but I don't need a matchmaker, a nice guy, or more tequila and beer," she said.
"Just think about it. You are too beautiful to deprive men of your company. Or women, for that matter." He gave her a wink and a smile.
She smiled and blushed a little. "Set them up again, Charlie. Three shots, one beer, and no blind dates."
He held his hands up and backed up from the bar. "Alright. I'm just putting it out there."
She had been there for about forty-five minutes when she saw him sit down. She put her head down on the bar and gently bumped her forehead a couple of times. "Oh, fuck my life," she said.
She ordered two more shots and was ready to drink them and go home. She went to pay her tab. "Charlie, how much do I owe you?" she asked.
"It's already been paid. In fact, you still have two shots and a beer coming."
"Who paid my tab?" she asked.
He tilted his head, using it to point at Dean. "Never turn down a free drink, Detective. Or the good-looking, funny, considerate guy paying off your tab."
He put the shots and beer down in front of her.
"I guess I don't need to introduce you. You seem to already know him."
"This is who you were talking about? Dean? That guy right there."
She caught Dean's gaze and lifted the beer to thank him. He nodded back, picked up his beer, and made his way over to her. Nowhere did I signal for him to come over here.
Well, suck it up, buttercup, because he's coming over here.
She jumped. Malibu had startled her. "I thought we agreed that you were leaving."
Ordering drinks from Charlie is not interacting with people. Now he's going to come over here, and you will not be a bitch. Remember what you told hot coroner? You want to hit that. It's easier to hit someone when they are close to you.
"I'll make a deal with you. If I talk to him, will you finally leave for the night?"
Yes, I will leave you alone under one condition.
"What would that be?"
You get bitchy, I am coming back. So, play nice.
"Alright, now go. He's about five feet away."
She felt a tap on her shoulder. "Hey there… you," she said.
"Did you forget my name already?" he asked.
"Of course not… Dan, right?" She Laughed.
He smiled. She must remember and is just messing with me.
"Thanks for the drinks. You didn't have to, but I appreciate that you did."
"Is this seat taken?" he asked.
"You just bought me sixty dollars worth of alcohol. You can sit anywhere you want."
"Technically, it was seventy-five with the two shots and the beer I got you. But who's counting."
She took both of her shots and finished the beer. "Umm, you," she said with a laugh.
"Can I get you another round?"
"I should be going. I tend to become someone else when I drink too much."
No shit, he thought. What do you think I am buying you drinks for? I want to talk to the Allie I met at Ava's who stole my heart. "Come on. One more round, and then I will leave you alone," Dean said.
"Promise?" She had already started to feel the ten shots and four beers kick in.
"Promise," he said.
"If you'll leave me alone, then sure, why not."
He ordered another round and joined her.
She picked up the first one. "Cheers!" she said.
They clinked their glasses together, and she drank her beer. She giggled a little.
"What's so funny?" he asked, picking up his beer.
"Have you ever done a body shot?"
He froze with the bottle pressed against his lips. He slowly turned to face her.
"Why do you ask?" he asked. His emerald green eyes were shining back at her.
"I was just thinking, with your size," she ran her hands up his chest, "there would be a lot of choices of where to put the salt," Allie said.
She took the shot and drained the beer. She was at the point where her inhibitions were gone. "I'm sorry that was extremely inappropriate of me. Like I said, when I drink, I become someone else. The stick up my ass slides out easier."
"No. You don't have to apologize. I have participated in doing body shots. It was enjoyable. And even more erotic."
His face turned three different shades of red. He couldn't believe he just said that out loud.
"Erotic? Did you ever notice that even the word erotic is erotic?"
"I guess I never thought about it, but yes, you are correct," he said.
She looked into his eyes. "Makayla was right. You do have amazing eyes."
"I have a question."
"And what would that be?" she asked. She propped her head against her hand.
"The other day. You didn't mean that whole thing about the glow stick, did you?"
"Well, Cowboy, since I have never seen or had your glow stick under my covers. You just wanted to be part of the gang, so I treated you as such."
She put her hand on his knee. He flinched a little from the surprise of feeling it there. She immediately pulled it back. "I'm sorry. Again, inappropriate. I get all handsy." And you have a lot of areas I want to put them.
"No. No, it's OK. I don't mind at all."
She put her hands back on his legs. "I like your suit. The material is soft." She ran her hands up and down the top of his thigh. "Is this a blend of some sort?"
She picked up the suit coat from the back of the stool and gently rubbed it on her cheek. Then she looked at the label sewn inside the jacket's silk liner.
"Bergdorf Goodman? I've never heard of them before."
"Bergdorf Goodman. They are a high-end ---" Dean cut Charlie off with a look before he could finish his sentence. It took a moment, but he understood. He walked off to get them their refills.
"Is that your name on the label?" she asked.
"I'm a big guy. I have specially made suits. Almost all my suits are custom-made," he said.
She stood up and put the coat on. I was enormous on her. Dean imagined her wearing nothing but the coat.
"OK, but your name is wrong. It says Dean Edward- Holy shit. Does that say 100% cashmere?" She looked at him. "How much did this fucking cost?"
He was relieved she let the name thing go. Thank God for short attention spans. "Not sure. My parents got it for me for Christmas last year."
She picked up her phone. "Let's Google the designer and find out."
A look of panic came over his face. He put his hand on her phone and lowered it onto the bar. "How about a couple more shots? Do you want to do a couple more shots? I asked Charlie to get a couple more shots," he said.
"I'm always up for shots." She picked her phone back up. "Let's take a selfie."
"Umm. Okay. If you want to."
"I want to. Come on, let me see those pearly whites."
They put their heads next to each other and looked at the screen.
"Oh, come on, Carron. You have a better smile than that!"
She turned her head, kissed him on the cheek, and took the picture.
He had been taken off guard. He closed his eyes, smiled a genuine smile and his cheeks were flooded with a pink glow.
"Oh, I like that one. Don't you?" she asked, showing him the picture.
"Like it? I think it's perfect." It shows my true feelings for you, Allie. Can't you see that?
"I love your smile," she said, touching the screen.
From across the room, he saw her. Damn, she was beautiful. She was perfect. Her eyes, nose, lips, and body, not one thing on her, needed improvement. He watched her as she laughed and drank. He loved watching her bring the beer bottle to her lips. No matter how often he tried to make eye contact, she didn't notice him. She seemed friendly with the bartender; she must come here frequently.
He wondered who the big guy was. They appeared to know each other. At first, she seemed slightly annoyed with him, but the more she drank, the closer she moved toward him, the bigger her smile became. She had started rubbing his leg.
He didn't like that very much. He wants her, and he takes what he wants. He wanted to know what she smelled like and wondered what she looked like under those clothes and what her skin felt like. He wanted to hear what her voice sounded like. He needed to know her name. He saw the big guy get up and head over to the bathroom. Now was his chance. He smoothed out his hair and started over towards her. He took one step forward for every step Dean took away.
"I need to go to the restroom," Dean said.
"Got to move it to the right or the left?"
There's the Allie he met that night. He knew she was in there somewhere.
"I am going to guess it's to the right."
"And how did you come to that conclusion?" he asked. I hope it's because she's remembering our night together.
"Because Cowboy, I can see it through your pants when you are sitting down. I also could see you didn't mind me feeling the fabric of your pants."
She bit her bottom lip and raised her left eyebrow.
"So, Agent Carron, that is how I came to that conclusion. Unless, of course, you want to go ahead and show me."
She put her hand on his leg again. "So?"
He stood up like a bolt of lightning had struck him. He was visibly flustered. "I'm just going to be going over there, bathroom," he stumbled over his words. Would you mind watching my coat for me?" he asked.
"Sure, I don't mind. I'm going to watch your ass when you walk away if you don't mind."
"Do I have a choice?"
"Oh, Cowboy, you always have a choice," she said.
As soon as the big guy walked away far enough, he made his way over. He came up to the bar and stood next to her. He ordered rum and coke. He looked at her. She smelled so good. The faint scent of coconut filled his nose.
"So, the big guy is your boyfriend? The guy you took the picture with."
"Not that it's any of your business, but no. We work together."
"That means you're single?"
"Again, not that it's any of your business, but I am always single. I don't do relationships," she said.
I couldn't have asked for better news. "How about I buy you a drink?"
"Sure. Two shots of Cuervo would be good."
She ordered the shots, and he put them on his tab.
"So why don't we have a few drinks and maybe get out of here?"
She saw Dean coming back over. "I would rather not. Now, thank you for the drinks. But I think you need to go."
"Come on. I know how to please a woman," he said.
"Then please leave me alone."
"You're feisty. I like that in a woman."
"You have no idea what happened to the last guy who called her feisty," Dean said.
Dean was standing behind him.
The man turned around and looked at Dean. He was half a foot taller than him and twice as wide.
"Look, big guy, I am not looking for trouble. She said she was single, and you weren't her boyfriend."
She took the shots in succession. "You know what, I changed my mind."
The man looked pleased with himself right up until Allie stood up on the footrest of the bar stool, pulled Dean over by the front of his dress shirt, and kissed him hard on the mouth. After a couple of seconds, when the shock of the situation wore off, he loosened his body and kissed her back. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him. The kiss lasted about fifteen seconds.
"Would you look at that? I do have a boyfriend—a huge, very protective boyfriend. So, if you would like to fight him for me, go right ahead. Winner takes... well, me," she told him.
Dean folded his massive arms across his chest again his biceps were straining the soft cotton of his dress shirt.
"I'm game," he said.
The man looked at her and Dean, shook his head, and walked away with his tail between his legs. He was angry, furious.
"Thanks again for the drinks," she called after him.
Dean sat down. "Should I even ask?"
"He's just a typical arrogant ass. I get it all the time. Thanks for letting me use you as my backup. Not that I couldn't have taken him down, but I like this place and don't want to be banned," Allie asked.
"It was my pleasure."
"I have no doubt," she said with a smile.
"Anytime you want to kiss me and volunteer me to kick someone's ass for you, like I said, I'm game." He took a drink of his beer.
"What did you mean about what happened to the last guy who called me feisty?"
"Bruss told me you almost killed someone who called you feisty."
"Oh, yeah. That was a different situation, but from what I was told, I almost killed someone the last time I went out."
"I guess you are feisty," he said.
She got down off the stool and stood in front of him.
"I guess I am. Would you like to find out exactly how feisty I am? I would love to show you," she said.
She put her hands on his shoulders and gently pulled him forward. "Come here," she said, kissing him again.
His heart was thumping like a drum line. Not again. I can't do this again. She's drunk, and chances are she will forget me again.
She ran her hands up his inner thighs. He flinched, jerked back, and lifted her hands off him by the wrists.
"Now that I think about it, I don't believe this is a good idea," he said.
"I don't think a little kissing would be a problem," she said.
He looked into her eyes.
She put her lips to his ear and started to nibble on his lobe. "Please," she said as he exhaled.
Why? You'll forget about it in the morning, but I will remember just like before. But this may be the last opportunity I have. I yearn every day to have her in my arms. But then I will have to endure another day after sex rejection. Let's face it: neither of us will want to only kiss. Ah, fuck it.
He put a hundred on the bar. "Charlie, thanks for the service."
Charlie picked it up. "Thanks, Dean. I always appreciate seeing you."
"Damn, you are quite the tipper," she said.
He took her hand. "Follow me.
He was angry. Who did she think she was treating him like that? She humiliated him. He didn't like that at all. He had watched them leave together. He held her hand and led her out of the bar. He downed the rest of his drink and followed them as they turned the corner. He was hoping that she was going home. He needed to know where she lived. She needed to know everything about her. He was willing to take as much time as he needed. For her, it will be worth it.
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