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I hop off the stage and walk by him, going to get a bottle of water before the club opens. I’m not trying to be a dick, but I have to start getting ready. “What is it?”
“So, a friend of mine is looking at trying to find a good time in the city.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “Something a little off the beaten track. Something not necessarily…above board. You know what I’m saying? Maybe some raunchy and dirty fun?”
I stop abruptly and whip my head to him. “Are you coming on to me, man?”
“W-What?” he sputters, eyes widening in horror. He lifts his left hand and fingers his wedding ring. “Happily married, jackass.”
“Then why are you talking about ‘raunchy and dirty fun’?”
When he levels me with a look, I shrug, and he continues. “You know somewhere a guy could maybe release some excess tension? Maybe work out a little aggression?”
I take a cautious step forward toward the bar and wave Rhys over. “Um, no?”
When we reach the bar, Knox leans against it and dramatically pinches the bridge of his nose. “Why is everyone such a fucking idiot?”
“Is this prick giving you a hard time?” Rhys asks, already handing me a water bottle.
Knox scoffs. “Why don’t you fuck off where you’re not needed?”
Rhys scowls at him, looking as if he’s ready to leap over the bar top and deck him. Man, they have got to cut this shit out. Enemies or not, I don’t know how much longer any of us can deal with the constant hostility. It’s not my place, though, so I don’t say anything.
Rhys glares at Knox before turning to me. “You don’t need whatever shit he’s trying to sell you.”
“I’m not selling shit,” Knox growls and flips him off. “Jesus fucking Christ, this is why I don’t talk to people.”
Knox walks off in a huff, heading toward the stairs, and I watch him go. I try to figure out what the fuck he could have been talking about, but decide to shrug it off. When I turn back to Rhys, he has a questioning eyebrow in the air. “All good?”
I nod. “Yeah, man. I’m good.”
He reaches over to pat my shoulder. “Well, if Knox bothers you again, just let me know.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes as I thank him and walk away. This little found family Skylar and I have discovered is always a bit weird, but they all mean well. I go back to the stage to continue to set up, but I can’t focus for long as Skylar walks back in. My eyes find his and his beautiful smile sets my heart alight. I know he won’t come over because he needs to help Rhys open the bar, but just the air kiss he tosses my way is enough to satisfy me.
Even when it’s not, he’ll always be enough.
CHAPTER FOUR
Skylar
Butch doesn’t look impressed.
Granted, he never does, but he looks about ready to call this entire interview off.Butit’s our last one of the day, and even though I want to take a quick nap before my shift officially starts, we’ve made this guy wait long enough.
He kinda looks a lot like Elton, if Elton was bulkier and more…fratty. Truthfully, the guy seems clueless, but he’s kind of cute, in a himbo sort of way.
“So, Max, tell us about yourself,” I say.
Max smiles brightly, nodding so fast, it looks like his head is about to fall off. I can tell he’s nervous, his green eyes doing this weird twitchy thing, and his voice comes out a bit high pitched when he speaks. “So, I’ve kind of bounced around a bit. I went to school in Louisiana?—”
Butch snorts. “That explains the accent.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s thick.” Max laughs, scratching the back of his pinkened neck. “But I left my senior year of college and moved to Denver, where I finished up school.”
I raise an eyebrow. “And what did you major in?”
“Um…” Okay, that’s a weird hesitation. “Sports Administration.”
Butch narrows his eyes. “Doesn’t sound like you’re sure.”
