Page 43 of Beneath the Midnight Sky
“Yup. I’m going to go now. Thanks, Damien,” I said.
“Uh, no problem. See y’all later.” He hung up, and we just stared at each other.
“This man has it bad for you,” Ivy said, a smile across her face.
I laid back on the couch, staring at the ceiling again. I needed to get dressed for work and maybe hit a cowboy right in the face.
Work was absolutely slammed,which was normal for a Friday, and normally I loved it. I loved the hustle and bustle of the restaurant. I loved staying busy and running around like a crazy person, keeping my mind off of whatever was happening in my life.
But tonight? Tonight, there was a giant hunky cowboy sitting at the bar with his brother. A cowboy that was rocking tight Levi blue jeans, a backwards baseball cap, and a flannel that rolled up his forearms, showing off his tattoos andstupidforearm muscles. But did I get to enjoy the view? No. Because tonight it was actually an arrogant, controlling asshole who casually strolled around with a direct line to my pussy in his back pocket, sitting at the bar in his place.
He knew what he was doing. I knew what he was doing. It was just time for everyone else to catch up because what Rowan didn’t know was that I checked with my neighbor before work, and she didn’t get any phone call from Damien. Which meant it was all bullshit, and he could bite my big ass if he thought I was going home with him.
Work was finally slowing down, and Ivy gave me a wink from across the bar. She knew what I was going to do because she encouraged it once we talked to my neighbor. I wasn’t going to back down. I brought drink refills to one of my tables and then walked over toward the bar. Lucas saw me and immediately set a fresh glass of water on the bar top for me. Sitting down next to the asshole in question, I took a sip of water before looking at him.
“I had the strangest call from mylandlordthis afternoon. Have you heard anything about that?” I asked him, hostility clear in my voice.
He arched a brow, staring right back at me straight-faced. “No? What did he say?”
“I feel like you already know. Apparently, I can’t stay in my apartment for a few weeks.”
“I thought you were already staying with me, little angel. Isn’t that what we agreed upon?” he asked me, his tone calm and collected. The opposite of how I was feeling at that moment.
I could feel the anger rising in my chest, and I knew I needed to get away from this man before I actually hit him. So instead, I rolled my eyes and stomped away like a toddler. I even slammed my glass down on the bar top. I’d never had someone make me so…insane before. Even when Sam made me angry, I never lashed out. I just swallowed down my anger and moved past it.
It seemed to make Rowan almost happy when I lashed out, and I couldn’t make any sense of it whatsoever.
I walked back into the break room and paced, my hands on my hips, fingers digging into the waist of my black ripped-up jeans. I let out an audible groan just as Ivy walked in, her server tray in her hand, the other hand on her hip, staring at me expectantly.
“So, that went well,” she said with a small comforting smile.
“I just want to…to…I don’t even know! Where does he get off?!” I yelled.
Ivy brought her tray up in front of her and covered the bottom half of her face.
“What?” I asked, now feeling extremely exasperated. That was when I heard her laughing behind the tray. “You’ve got to be kidding me, what is so damn funny? You’re supposed to be my best friend! Onmyside!”
She stopped laughing abruptly and dropped the tray back to her side. “Don’t be crazy right now, Aspen. I am on your side, always. That’swhyI’m laughing right now.”
“Explain. Please,” I half pleaded.
“From what I’ve gathered, both from watching you myself and what you’ve told me before, isn’t it obvious?” I guessed from the look on my face that it was indeed not obvious to me. “You’re comfortable with him, Aspen. That’s why you’re so worked up and angry. Because you feel safe enough to actually express your emotions. Did he cross a line? Absolutely. Make him grovel and plead on his knees for you, girl. Make it good. But acknowledge to yourself at least, that what you’re feeling? It’s good.” Ivy was smiling by the end of her little speech, and I sat down in a chair nearby, thinking over everything she said. She walked over and pulled a chair in front of me, grabbed my hands, and sat across from me.
“When you were with Sam and he did something to upset you, what did you do?” she asked calmly.
I released a breath. “Nothing, Ivy. I did nothing. I just sucked it up because fighting with him…wasn’t an option.”
“Now, Rowan made you angry, and what did you do?”
“Ugh! I confronted him and called him out. I understand what you’re saying, okay?”
She gently squeezed my hands. “Good, now go make him wish he didn’t try to be a controlling alpha male.”
I let out a breathy half-laugh and nodded. Ivy squeezed my shoulder lovingly and walked out of the break room, leaving me to sit at the table and have a moment to compose myself. The sound of a door closing had me jumping up from the table and turning toward the noise. There, standing where an open door should have been, was my arrogant cowboy—the one I was starting to believe I was falling in love with.
He leaned against the door, one foot crossed over the other, those damn forearms crossed across his broad chest, making the flannel he was wearing stretch in a way that had my brain going to much less appropriate places.
Ffffuck me, he was hot.
