Finding Solace (36 page)

 
"Shut
up! You have it this bad already? Sadie girl, rein it in. Make him work for you,
honey."

 
"Oh, I
did. I told him that. And he said he’s going to work harder than I can imagine.
You have to see the text he sent me at the end of the night after he walked out
the door."

 
I showed
Tony and then he said, "Like I said, my kind of guy. You heard from him
yet today?"

 
"Which one?"

 
"That
isn't even funny. You haven't heard from Colt?"

 
"No and
it’s weird. When he left, we were better than good. He will be home in two more
days. Maybe he is just consuming his time with Maddie, which is how it should
be."

 
"Is it
that hard to call and see how you are doing?"

 
"I’m
feeling the same way."

 
We sat
around for a while talking and watching TV. I was making lunch for us when my
phone started to ring. I had left it on the table so when I looked back at
it,
Tony was watching me with a huge smile on his face.

 
"You
don't know it's him. Stop smiling like that."

 
I walked
over, picked it up and sure enough it was the same number from last night's
text. Then it was me smiling from ear to ear.

 
"Well
answer it already, before he goes to voicemail."

 
I pushed the
answer button and just said, "Hello."

 
"Did
you dream about me?" I blushed something fierce and Tony laughed quietly
at me.

 
"Not
once.
You?"

 
"Nope.
I guess we need to work on that." We both
laughed.

 
"So,
are you busy tonight? I was going to go look for a certain girl at this bar,
but I decided she isn't worth my time. I found another one I want. And I would
love to take her out tonight."

 
"I
think you’re confused. The girl at the bar probably would love for you to show
her a good time. This one isn't looking for a boyfriend." Tony’s jaw hit
the floor.

 
"Oh
make no mistake, Sadie. I just got home. I thought we might be able to hang out
and have a little fun, but I'm not looking to find a wife today. Don't flatter
yourself too much. You might get a big head. So can I see you tonight, or
what?"

 
"Maybe
you should go to the bar after all and find the original girl. She just might
be waiting for you."

 
"I
might just do that. Talk to you later, hot stuff." And then he hung up. I
looked at Tony and his face was beaming.

 
"Oh my God!
Tony, that was crazy awkward."

 
"And
you did crazy good. Well, at least from the one side of the conversation I
could hear. Are you going to go?"

 
"Should
I?"

 
"Hell
yes! Just don't give it up yet. Let him wait."

 
"I need
to get going. If I'm going to do this, I need to shower and shave. I have to do
a ton of stuff."

 
"Go if
you feel the need, but don't worry too much about how you look. You’re already
beautiful." I leaned over and kissed him.

 
"Thanks.
You’re the best. I will call you tomorrow and let you know how it went."

 
"See
ya
, Sadie."

 
I walked
into’ 51’ and the place
was
packed. Bryan and Geoff
were working the front bar so I went and sat down there. Bryan came over and
handed me a beer without even asking what I wanted. It tasted good. He knows me
too well. Geoff popped over and handed me a red bull and vodka. Now I'm double
fisted.

 
"Really, guys?
Am I an alcoholic?"

 
"Not at
all, we just argued over your first drink of choice." Bryan said this as he
was looking at me to prove he was right. I picked up the glass and took a
drink. Geoff threw his hands in the air and said, "Who’s the man?"

 
"Bryan,
don't think you didn't win either. I took a drink when you first handed it to
me, remember?" Now his hands were in the air, "
Boooyaaa
!"
Geoff walked away sulking.

 
"Truth
is boys, I change it up. If I'm tired and need the pick me up, I go with the
Red Bull. If I'm good, I stick with beer. You’re both right."

 
"So you
come here that much?" I heard from behind me. I looked over my shoulder
and there was Ash. I patted the seat next to me in an effort to get him to sit.
He grabbed it and pulled it out to make room for himself.

 
"It
doesn't hurt that these are some of my best friends."

 
"You
made your best friends from coming to a bar? You might have a problem that we
need to work on, Sadie."

 
"Leave
me alone. I am not an alcoholic. I like to spend time with my friends and have
a good time while doing it."

 
"Sounds good to me.
So, I'm glad you came."

 
"Really?
What were you expecting?
Me,
to not be here?"

 
"I
wasn't sure. But I'm glad all the same."

 
Dave walked
over and butted right in between Ash and me. He gave me a hug and kiss on the
cheek.

 
"Good to see
ya
, girl.
Anybody else coming up?"

 
"Hi Dave.
Nope, I came up here to meet Ash. You met him
at my birthday. He just got back from San Diego. He was in the Navy
there."

 
That changed
everything. Bye
bye
went over protective Dave and in
came, I'm the dude from Huntington Beach.

 
They started
talking about California and Tijuana, Mexico. Bryan over heard them and then he
was in the mix as well. I just sat back and listened to them laugh and joke
about what’s really in the tacos they ate and the beaches. Dave had to go back
to work and Bryan needed to help Geoff, who was getting swamped, which brought
it back to just Ash and me.

 
"Your
friends seem really nice."

 
"That's
because they are. Why do you think I'm here so much, and don't even think about
saying the alcohol again, smart ass."

 
"Speaking
of asses, I have to be honest, yours was all over my dreams last night."

 
"Nice
to know, you never did make an appearance in mine. Well, unless your face
somehow morphed into Adam Levine's." He laughed and then called Bryan over
for a shot and a beer.

 
"Wait,
what shot are you getting?"

 
"Why,
is there a bad one or something?"

 
"No. I
will have whatever you have. As long as it’s not that stuff that tastes like
black licorice. It’s nasty."

 
"Well
then, I will have the black licorice whatever it is
.."

 
"No, he
won't. Bryan can you please bring us two shots each of Alabama slammers."

 
"What
are you trying to do, Sadie? Get me drunk and take advantage of me? Cause I
might just let
ya
."

 
"Not a
chance. I'm not that kind of girl."

 
We took both
shots and continued to talk and drink. Dancing came after a while, and just
like I remembered, this man can move. Our hands were all over every spot we
could touch on each other, without being deemed inappropriate. At one point he
went to dip me to be silly and dropped me, that’s when we called it quits on
the dance floor. We both were walking back to get another drink when Ash
surprised me by saying, "I totally forgot to tell you. I'm going to the
school tomorrow to talk about getting signed up for the fire academy."

 
I jumped in
his arms. "That's fantastic! Good for you."

 
"Thanks.
I'm pretty pumped about it. That's why it’s crazy I forgot to tell you."

 
"Not so
crazy. You walked in, saw me, your mind went blank due to my beauty and then
nothing was there to remember. It happens a lot with men, don't worry. There's
nothing wrong with you."

 
"Your
head is going to pop you know. Like explode."

 
"Not a
chance. There's plenty of room for more compliments if you want to give them
away."

 
Ash grabbed
me and spun me so my head was at his chest. My hands once again settled on his
sexy abs. This time he put his thumbs under my armpits and picked me up, over
his head. I felt so high. I trusted him not to drop me so I wasn’t wiggling as
much as I’m sure he thought I would be. As he lowered me back down, he did it
slowly while saying, "I thought I could bring you back down to
reality." By this point our eyes were level and he was still holding me
off the ground, not shaking at all. "But I think you might be right after
all. You are that beautiful." He pulled me close enough for his mouth to
reach mine. His lips felt smooth, the kiss was so soft and then he pulled back
and it was over. He set me back down and grabbed my hand to pull me back to our
seats at the bar.

 
I was having
an amazing time. We talked and laughed for hours until the bar called out last
call. I looked up at Ash in shock. We closed the bar. How did we do that?

 
"You
ready to get out of here?" He asked.

 
"Yeah,
let me grab my stuff." I grabbed my phone and put it in my purse. I threw
a couple $20s on the bar for a tip but Ash immediately grabbed it and shoved it
in my purse.

 
"You
will never pay around me. Don't argue. I can see it in your eyes."

 
I closed my
mouth. He threw a $100 bill down and took my hand to leave. I thought about
telling him I drank for free. But then I would have to tell him how and why.
Those were things I didn’t want to share yet. So I continued to walk with him
outside the bar. When we reached the parking lot, he lightly pushed me until my
back was against the wall. Ash put one arm on the wall behind me and the other
one around my neck. He used his thumb to tilt my chin up enough for him to kiss
me. And oh, did he kiss me. Pretty soon our hands were digging into each other
and moans were escaping our mouths between breaths. At one point he picked me
up so my legs could wrap around his middle.

 
My arms went
around his neck and my pelvis started to grind into him. I wanted him. I wanted
him badly. We continued to attack each other until he grabbed me and pulled me
off of him.

 
He was
panting when he said, "I am not a fifteen year old boy who is going to
shoot a wad in his pants.
Although two seconds longer, and I
might have been.
You are so incredibly sexy, Sadie. It’s going to take work
to stay away from you."

 
"It
will be worth it though."

 
"I have
zero doubt about that, princess. I had a lot of fun tonight. Thanks for meeting
me."

 
"Me too."
I was still light headed from the kiss.

 
"Do you
think you can drive or should I call a cab?"

 
"No,
I'm good. I chilled out hours ago. Talking to you made me forget to drink. Who
would’ve thought?"

 
"Same here.
Well then, good night, Sadie. Maybe we
could do this again sometime?"

 
"Absolutely."

 
"Then I
will call you and we can work something out. Be safe on your way home."

 
"You too!"

 
I got in my
car and then he got in his superhot, fucking sexy Camaro. I pulled out of the
parking lot and then he pulled out after me. I thought maybe we lived in the
same area and that was why he was behind me the whole time. Until I parked my
car, got out and he was right there behind me. I walked over to his car
expecting him to roll down his window. He instead got out and said, "I
just needed those lips one more time before I was willing to call it a
night."

 
He grabbed
my ass and lifted me on to the hood of his car. I spread my legs to give him
room to get closer to me. When he started to kiss me, it was like ‘holy shit’
was all that was in my head and it was on repeat. He pressed my back down to the
hood, so I was laying spread out for him and he was right there, taking full
advantage. His hips began to grind and I went ape shit. My legs trapped him and
my kiss became desperate. He moaned once and then pulled back screaming
“Shit!"