Page 123 of The Other Guy

SIERRA

I take a deep breath and pick up my water glass, just in case he’s a royal dick and I need to toss something on him. I’m not about to waste a perfectly good cocktail on him.

One step, two, three, I look over my shoulder to see Jack has turned his chair so he can watch. I roll my eyes at how protective he is but can’t deny that it feels good to have him in my corner. I wasn’t lying earlier when I said he makes me feel stronger.

“Jeff,” I say as soon as I’m standing next to his table. His head whips up from where it was bent over staring at his phone. He doesn’t belong here, looking pretentious in his black dress pants and shiny shoes, a button down under his sport coat.

“You.”

“Me? What the hell do you mean? You’re the one sitting here in my uncle’s bar and don’t try to say you didn’t know it was his. You’ve been here before. You knew good and damn well what you were doing when you walked in here today. So now inform me of what you already know.”

He doesn’t hesitate in answering me, which I’m grateful for. The sooner I can get him out of here, the better we’ll all be. “I want Toby back.”

“No.”

He leans back in his seat, an air of cockiness surrounding him like a cloud. After assessing me, looking me up and down, he lifts his Manhattan and takes a drink, wincing at it. “Fucking place doesn’t even know how to make a decent Old Fashioned,” he grumbles.

“Maybe they would if you knew what kind of cocktail you were ordering.”

He does more grumbling into his drink before he slides it away. It’s not even the type of drink he doesn’t like about it. It’s whiskey and bourbon in general. He’s not a hard liquor guy, and for some reason that makes him feel weak. So he won’t admit that he can’t stand the taste of it.

“Get on with it, Jeff. What are you really doing here?”

“I said it already. I want Toby back. He’s my dog. I adopted him.”

“And I’ve had him with me for over five weeks and you haven’t tried until now to get him back.”

“I was busy. We had finals at school and I needed to be there a lot.”

“Wrong answer. Finals aren’t for weeks because it’s only the middle of April. And I seem to remember what you ‘needing to be there a lot’ was actually about.” I raise an eyebrow at him and take a seat. He narrows his eyes.

“Please have a seat and join me.”

“Thanks.”

“That was sarcasm, Sierra. Just give me my damn dog.”

I cross my arms over my chest and give him a look. “Damn dog, huh? Sounds like you really care about him.”

He looks so annoyed with me which makes me happy. “I do.”

“So much that you didn’t care about getting him back until now. Why?”

I’m poking the bear and quite honestly, it’s kind of fun. He’s a sheep in wolf’s clothing, only he doesn’t even appear like a wolf. The man is harmless. Has weak hands. Hasn’t done a hard day’s work in his life. Thinks going to the gym a few times a week makes him all that. It doesn’t. I just didn’t realize it until I met a real man.

“I just do.” He looks around and swallows down the last of his Manhattan, chasing it with water. I chuckle at how ridiculous he is. I can’t believe I wasted over a year of my life with him. I must have been out of my mind.

“Admit it, Jeff. You saw the picture I posted and now you’re butt hurt that I’m with someone else.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You liked the picture, you idiot! I know you saw it.”

His eyes narrow to slits and he growls. “I don’t give a fuck who you’re fucking. Just give me my dog before I call the cops.”

“And tell them what? That I lived with you for over a year and took care of our dog and I left you for being a serial cheater and took the dog with me because he looked like he’d sooner cut off his own tail than stay in the house with you?”

“You don’t know that.”

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