Her Kind of Man (11 page)

K
ent watched Allina as she chatted with Syd and Cali. He'd hurt her feelings and he hated himself for it. He couldn't even bring himself to run after her when she jumped out of the car earlier. When he finally entered the bar, she was already sitting in a booth, her head down, scribbling something in her sketch pad.

He scanned the crowd. The Ice Box was busy and he couldn't help but feel proud that he was one of the owners. Opening a bar wasn't his dream, but Syd's. She had talked about it since they were in college. When the previous owner of their hangout, the Mic Mac, retired, he offered to sell them the building. It had taken months to get it up and running, but it had been worth it.

Spending time there was the highlight of his week. It broke up the monotony of his day job. Being a computer engineer was what he thought he wanted, and it came easy to him. His father had told him to make sure he worked in a field that would pay, and that's exactly what he'd done. It was high stress and he hated it, but he made a good living.

Over the past hour, Allina had consciously avoided eye contact with him, but he couldn't keep his eyes off her. He never let his gaze linger long, but every few minutes, he'd glance over at her. Kent had just finished unloading on Red and Morgan about the little scene in his kitchen and the later conversation in his car, but it was a complete waste of time to talk to them because they didn't really say anything. Not that he needed advice. He was a man, after all. He should be able to handle himself.

Red clapped him on his back. “I think it's high time we plan a vacation. You look like you need it.”

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever, man. I'm good.”

“You're good and stressed.”

Morgan laughed. “He's right, bruh. You just made a margarita with water,” he said, pointing at the glass in front of Kent.

Kent dropped his head to look at the drink he was making. He muttered a curse. “That's why I don't bartend. I drink liquor straight, no chaser. None of this mix shit.”

“Nobody told you to volunteer while Peter went on break,” Red said. “That's what we have employees for. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” Kent said. “I'm just…”

“Distracted?” Red suggested.

“I'd say frustrated,” Morgan replied.

Red leaned back in the chair. “Or just plain stupid.”

“Maybe it would have been a good idea to just follow through and kiss her. That way you wouldn't have to wonder.” Morgan tapped his beer bottle on the counter. “Because you're acting like a punk.”

“Shut up,” Kent grumbled. “I told you why I didn't kiss her.”

All valid reasons, Kent thought. The biggest and main reason was because of their friendship. Next on the long list he'd made—and he hated to even think about it—Allina
was
going to marry Isaac. Sure, he knew how she felt about him, but she must have felt something for Isaac to say yes to his marriage proposal. What if she'd kissed him because she needed to hold on to something constant? Where would that leave him? Hurt, if he decided to invest and things didn't work out. And that brought him right back around to the first reason—she was one of the most important people in his life, one of his closest friends. He was sorry, but not sorry.

Shrugging, Morgan took a swig of his beer. “Yeah, but it didn't make any goddamn sense.”

It was just like his brother to be right. Like him, Morgan wasn't someone who beat around the bush. He was honest to the point of not even caring about hurt feelings. And Red was worse than Morgan was, so Kent wasn't sure what he expected. That's why his brother and Red had been friends since they played basketball together in high school.

“You were in the moment,” Morgan continued. “Standing that close to her. She made the first move and you—”

“Fell on his sword,” Red interrupted, snickering.

“Asshole,” Kent mumbled. But his brother and his friend hadn't said anything that was untrue. He
was
officially a punk. “What the hell was I supposed to do? It's not like she wasn't someone's fiancée yesterday. She
is
on the rebound. I can't take advantage of her like that. She's probably just feeling attached to me because I'm there for her. ”

“Man, that's a grown-ass woman,” Red said, swatting the air. “You're acting like she woke up this morning and decided she wanted you. Allina has been nursing that crush for years. You know that shit.”

Morgan finished his beer. “Okay, I'll give you the rebound thing because she was about to get married, but Red is right, too,” he said. “Yeah, the timing is crazy, considering she was about to marry that sociopath minister, but it's not like her feelings for you came out of the blue. I'm pretty sure the reason she agreed to marry Isaac anyway was because she gave up, got tired of wanting to be with someone who seemingly doesn't feel the same way she does. It didn't work out, and she came to you because she trusts you. She needs you. And maybe that kind of stirred up something in her that she's wanted all along.”

That made sense to Kent. Allina probably didn't come to him with plans to take
their
relationship further.

“Either way, this whole saving-the-friendship thing you got going on is a cop-out,” Morgan added. “I understand it, but it's stupid. I mean, I just had a baby with my friend, my brother's ex. If any relationship is doomed to fail, mine is.”

“True,” Red agreed with a nod of his head. “Look at me and Cali. I feel like our relationship is better
because
we were friends first.”

“At the end of the day,” Morgan said, “I can't imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't tried to make it work with Syd. At least I know how it feels to be with her, to love her, to have Brynn. If it doesn't work out, I know that I put forth the effort. You can't even say that, because you're so damn rigid. You don't want to do anything that will take you out of the box you put yourself in. It's the same thing with your job. You could be doing so much more, designing all kinds of shit. But you're content to…punch a clock.”

As much as Kent hated to admit it, what it boiled down to was that he was a scared motherfucker. His relationships never lasted for one reason or another. He'd yet to maintain any semblance of a friendship with any of his exes. Taking a chance on Allina was appealing, but if he hurt her…He could barely stand to see Allina get a splinter, let alone cry because of something he'd done to her.

Allina was different, too. She didn't fall for just anything or anyone. What made her want him? She was a good girl, almost too good.

“Look at them,” Red pointed at the girls. “You've driven sweet, churchy Allina to the bottle. She's over there drinking tequila. Pretty soon she's going to start cursing and shit.”

“Shut the fuck up, man,” Kent said. The thought hadn't escaped him, though. He wasn't a churchgoer, hadn't been since his mother had forced him to go to Sunday School as a child. He would corrupt her, no doubt. Yes, he believed in God, but he didn't belong to a church. Allina went to church faithfully, every single Sunday. It was just too much pressure. He considered himself a good guy, but he was a heathen compared to her.

Crossing his arms, he observed Allina. He'd noticed her take a shot earlier. Red was joking, but he was essentially telling the truth. She jumped right in with the Patrón and he'd never even seen her drink a glass of wine at dinner. All because of him, probably. And
that damn Cali
.

“Why don't you go get your woman?” Kent told Red. “She's the one who took the tequila over there. Blame her.”

“Hey, it's not Cali's fault that Allina actually drank it,” Red argued. “It's not the first time she's offered her a drink. Allina never took one—until now.”

Kent rubbed his head. “I'm going to need both of you to go get your women, and take their asses home. Let me deal with Allina.”

Tossing a towel on the counter, he stalked over to the table. As he approached them, he heard the giggles and wondered what they were talking about. But once he got to the table, the laughter died and he was faced with two sets of glares.

Syd folded her arms across her chest. “Is there a problem?” she snapped.

“What the hell do you want?” Cali hissed.

“Why are you drinking?” Kent asked Allina, ignoring the two bad influences. “You're actually sitting there knocking back shots with them? You don't even drink.”

Allina burped and covered her mouth. “I drink tonight.”

Mean mugs forgotten, the women burst into a fit of giggles. Kent grumbled and snatched the bottle of Patrón. “You're all done.”

Morgan and Red approached the table. Cali scooted over and Red slid in next to her. Morgan stood next to Syd.

Allina looked up at Morgan. “You're tall,” she said, her eyes wide. “I forgot you were so handsome.”

Kent gave Morgan a side eye when his brother winked at Allina. “He's not that tall,” he retorted with a bitter snort. So what; Morgan had four inches on him in height.
I can still kick his ass if I want to
.

“Someone's jealous,” Syd grumbled. When Kent scowled at her, she turned her head quickly.

Red leaned back against Cali. “I never thought I'd see the day when Allina was drunk.”

“It's Kent's fault.” Cali wrapped her arms around Red's shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.

The more they talked, the more irritated Kent became. He could take a joke, had even been the joker on more than one occasion. But this wasn't funny.
That's because I'm guilty
. The idea that he could be the reason Allina decided to say fuck it and get her drink on didn't sit right with him.

He eyed her, sitting in the booth. She was leaning with her head against the wall and her eyes halfway closed. “Allina,” he called. “What are you doing? You're drunk. This isn't you.”

“How would you know?” Allina said. “You think you know me. I'm sick of you.” She pounded her hand against the table. “All of you! You put me in this box, you cate…cat…catheglorize me as this good girl.” She clumsily held up air quotes. “That's not who I am. It's who
you
want me to be.”

“Right!” Cali shouted. “You tell him, girlfriend.”

“You're no better,” Allina said, pointing at Cali. “You're a brass bitch.”

Syd giggled when Cali's mouth fell open. It wasn't often Cali was rendered speechless. So not only had he driven Allina to Patrón, he'd driven her to cuss.

“And you, Syd-nee?” Allina was on a roll. Sydney placed a hand over her mouth to hide her grin. “Dramatic, much? You're such a drama queen.”

“Hey,” Syd said with a frown.

“And Red?”

“Don't bring me into this shit,” Red said, an amused smile on his face.

“You're a jerk.”

Red laughed loudly. “Thank you.”

“No!” Allina shook her hands in the air. “The point is, who cares. I love your bitchy ways, Cali. And what would I do without the drama, Syd? Red? You're still a jerk. But I love you all anyway, flaws and all. Why can't you all love me the same way? Stop putting baby in a corner!” Her head fell forward to the table.

Allina grumbled under her breath—something about boxes, expectations, and being “set free to be me.” It was time to go. He needed to get his…friend home to sleep off that Patrón. He rolled his eyes hard at Cali, who shrugged.

Morgan must have sensed his mood because he motioned to Syd to get up. “Let's get back home,” his brother said. “I have some work to do.”

Once Syd rose out of her seat, Kent leaned in close to Allina, nudged her with his hand. “You have to get up.”

Allina smacked his hand away. “Move.”

“Come, on,” he said, pushing her hair out of her face. “Let me take you back to my place.”

She peered up him with hooded eyes. “Don't tell me what to do,” she slurred.

“You're drunk, baby.”

She pushed at him again. “Go away. I'm talking to my friends.”

“If they were really your friends, they wouldn't have let you in that bottle of tequila,” he said, glaring at Cali and Syd.

“Hey, I'm her friend,” Syd said with a pout.

“I'm her friend, too!” Cali shouted. Red covered her mouth with his hand.

“Damn, you're loud, babe,” Red grumbled. He stood up and helped Cali to her feet. “It's time for us to go.”

Kent shook his head. There was no way he'd be able to get Allina home without touching her. And he was trying to avoid that kind of contact with her. He needed her to at least walk to the car. If he had to carry her out of here, she'd be mortified in the morning. Muttering a curse, he slid his hands around her and pulled her toward him.

“You have to walk to the car, Allina,” he grunted, pulling her to her feet. She swayed a little and he gripped her hips to keep her steady. “Let's go.”

“Wait!” she shouted. “I'm not done with you. You didn't kiss me.”

He pinched her lips together, glancing around the bar to make sure no one was paying them any attention. Morgan and Red had done a pretty good job of blocking the booth from the other patrons, but that wouldn't last long because he had to pass everyone on his way out.

“Uh oh,” Syd said.

“I made a move and you re-rebirthed, re-buffed me,” Allina slurred.

Kent hung his head.
How did I get myself into this?
“I told you why I did it.”

“You suck.” She almost fell back into the booth, but he grabbed her shirt and pulled her to him. Her body crashed against his.
Shit
.

He held a breath as she traced her fingers down his cheek. “Allina,” he managed to say. “I'm sorry.”