Hooked (A New Adult Romance) (4 page)

Ruby

Thankfully, I was able to get a
hold of both my mom and Julie last night; I think I would have gone off the
deep end if I weren’t able to talk to anyone. They each calmed me down and
talked some sense into me in their own unique way.

Julie, upon hearing the bad news,
straightaway rushed over and spent the night to comfort me. She’s such a
sweetheart.

My mom, cool as a cucumber and
ever the rationalist, suggested I firebomb Dan’s house and then visit her at my
earliest convenience. I love my mom. She can always make me laugh.

At the moment, Julie and I are
sitting at one of her favorite bars downtown. She practically had to drag me
out, but she insisted I get back into the world and get my life moving forward
again immediately.

“Thanks for getting me out,
Julie. I’m sorry I’m not much fun right now,” I sniffed, twirling a straw in my
glass of ice water.

I had way too much wine last
night. And after seeing the sorry, drunken state I had brought myself to, we
both agreed that I refrain from drinking.
Probably forever.

“Hey, babe, it’s no problem.
Trust me.”

“I, I keep going back and forth,”
I stammered. “I keep thinking that maybe I shouldn’t call the wedding off. Then
maybe I should. Then maybe I shouldn’t. I
ju
—“

Julie interrupted me midsentence.
“Ruby, look: I know you’re having a rough time. I know you feel bad about
calling off the wedding and disappointing everybody. But you have to get over
this perception that you are to blame, that you are at
fault,
that
you are letting everybody down. You’re not. Dan is. It’s your duty
to call off the wedding.”

“Oh I know, but what are people
going to say about us?” I fretted pathetically. “I have no idea how to even
bring this up with Dan.”

“Sweetie, look. Forget what
people are going to say. The wedding is off. Period. Send them the photo you
took of Dan banging the redhead. That’ll say enough. As for Dan, you walk into
his
office,
give him is ring back, show him the
picture, and tell him it’s off. Real simple.”

“Screw that! So he can turn
around and give it to the redhead?” I retorted snappily. “I’ll pawn it, I’ll sell
it, I’ll get some amount of money for it, but I sure as hell won’t give his
ring back! It’s mine.”

“Ha
ha
!
Okay fine,” Julie laughed, almost knocking over her glass. “Always thinking,
always calculating, aren’t you, Ruby? Say, do you want a refill on your water?
I’m going to get myself another drink.”

I nodded and slid my glass over
to her.

I watched as she approached the
bar and waited for the bartender to serve her. All the guys in the room turned
to look at her, as guys often do.

Except for the two men seated at
the bar. Julie was standing next to them, and they didn’t notice her, they were
too caught up in conversation. Strangely, from behind, one of the guys looked
exactly like Jake Bishop.

‘Get it together, Ruby!’
I reprimanded myself.

Not wanting to draw too much
attention, I stood up stealthily and moved slightly ahead and to the side of
the table in front of ours to get a better look.

OMG.

It was Jake!
 

I couldn’t believe it.

Just then the guy sitting next to
Jake turned to look at Julie. It was a casual glance, not a full on stare, but
I quickly hurried back to my seat to make sure he didn’t see me.

Julie came back a moment later.

She must have noticed the change
in my demeanor, because instantly upon returning she asked me what was up.

“Oh, nothing,” I replied, playing
it cool.

She brushed it off and continued
our conversation where we left off.

But my eyes continued to dart
from time to time to Jake and his companion.

“What are you looking at?” Julie asked
again after a couple of minutes, puzzled by my lack of attention.

She turned to look in the
direction of where my eyes kept flitting to, and slowly it dawned on her that I
was checking out Jake and his friend.

“Aw, so that’s what you’re looking
at,” she smiled wryly. “You’re getting over Dan pretty easily.”

“Oh hush,” I scolded. “It’s just
that I know that guy up there. We went to high school together. The one in the
grey t-shirt.”

She turned to get a better look.
“Oh, hey, I know him. He’s my boss’s cousin. I think his name is Jake. He’s
super hot, and rich. I’ll introduce you, right now.”

She got up rather quickly, and I
panicked.

“Sit down,” I hissed, clutching
her forearm and pulling her back to the table.

Apparently I was a little too
loud, because several patrons turned to look our way.

Fortunately Jake and his friend
were too absorbed in their conversation to notice.
 

Chapter 7

Jake

“What do you mean, ‘That’s the
girl’?” Zach asked after I quickly spun him back around and forced him into his
seat before Ruby and her friend could spot us.

“That’s Ruby,” I whispered, still
reeling from the fact that she was sitting only ten feet from us. “Don’t look, they
might notice us.”

Very casually I turned around to
take one more peek.

Yup
, it was Ruby all right. And,
oddly enough, her friend looked familiar, too. I took one more glance back;
they were hunched over and talking in a way that made them look suspicious, like
they were conspiring together in an act of terrorism, or maybe plotting to
overthrow the government.

“You can look, but be casual and
quick about it,” I explained. “Ruby’s the one on the right, in the blue shirt.”

Zach twisted to his side slightly
as if he were looking at the people playing darts. “I can’t see ‘
em
real well; they’re turned a little too much away from
us.”

“Yeah, I know, but I’m telling
you, it’s her.”

“Who’s her friend?”

“It’s funny, but I’m trying to
figure that out myself. She looks familiar, but I can’t place her for the life
of me.”

I turned around one more time.
Nice! No wedding ring!

“Shit, dude. You know what?
They’ve spotted you already. They sitting funny, like they don’t want you to
see them.”

“Huh. Really?”

“Without a doubt. They on to you,
bro.”

I wanted to turn around but I
didn’t.

Part of the wall behind the bar
was a mirror, and if I moved my head ever so slightly to the left I could peer
between the liquor bottles on the shelving and the beer taps to get a good look
at her.

Just then she got up and walked
over to the bathroom.

My dick unexpectedly jumped for
joy at the sight of her.

Sweet Jesus she was fine!

Who would ever think a
loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirt and pair of sweatpants could ever look so
good? Normally, I like girls dressed to the nines, but in Ruby’s case, she was
so sexy she could have worn a used garbage bag and still look devastatingly attractive.
Actually, it was a good thing she wasn’t dressed up: she would have probably
stopped my heart right then and there, or at the very least given me a stroke.
 

From the mirror I could see the
other men in the bar turn to stare at her. In my already frustrated state it
was hard to watch. A couple of guys in particular really ogled her hard, all the
way to the bathroom; I thought about going over there and bashing their faces
in.

Guys can be such tools.

She returned a couple of minutes
later, walking past the same two horny dinks. My blood positively boiled as
they drank her in with lecherous eyes.
  

“So man, you
gonna
go talk to her?”

“Yeah, I should at least say ‘hi’
or something.”

Of course I was going to say
‘hi’. I just wasn’t ready yet.

Ruby

“Really? You know Jake? Tell me
about him.”

“I don’t know much, other than
he’s the cousin of my boss. He comes into
The
69er
frequently. I’d say once a month maybe.”

“The 69er? How long have you been
working there? You never told me that.”

“Like, since, a year ago.”

“Oh. Geez, we don’t get out much
anymore, do we?”

“Yeah girl, you’ve all but
disappeared on me since you started nursing and dating Dan. How do you know
Jake?”

“Well, like I said, we went to
high school together. Our social circles never really overlapped, so I don’t
know him that well. But he liked me.”

“Oh really?” Julie arched her
eyebrow. “Do tell.”

“It didn’t amount to anything. I
blew him off. He was popular, and a
total
player, with a capital ‘P’.
 
He
was always getting into fights and trouble, and I wanted nothing to do with his
promiscuous, dangerous lifestyle.”

I paused for a second, reflecting
on how he used to be. Then I continued, “How is he now? He
still
hooking
up with every girl who catches his eye?”

“Umm, I don’t know. I don’t think
so. At least he doesn’t have that reputation at
The
69er. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen him go home with girls before, here and there,
but he’s not known as a player, that’s for sure. And when I think about it,
just because he left with a girl doesn’t mean anything happened. There are
plenty of douche bags at
The
69er, but Jake isn’t one
of them.”

“What does he do there, then?”

“Like I said, his cousin owns the
joint. Jake has made quite a name for himself MMA fighting, and after he wins a
fight he parties at
The
69er with pals. The guy is
sooo
fucking hot! I have to
admit,
I have a little crush on him.
Ooo
, and
he’s
rich! Loaded with money from what he earns fighting. At
least that’s what I’ve been told. I guess his older brother is hot, too. But he
doesn’t live here; he’s in the military or something.”

My interest was definitely piqued.

I wondered if that was a bad
thing.

Jake’s a bad guy.

Or at least he used to be.

In any event, he’s not at all my
type.

I glanced over at him again.
Every muscle rippled underneath his tight t-shirt, and tattoos covered his
arms.

He screamed ‘trouble’.

At that moment Julie sat up,
grinned enthusiastically, and leaned her face in close to mine. “You know what
you need, Ruby,” she began with a sparkle in her eye. “You need a rebound! I
should get you a date with Jake!”

“Oh my god no! Stop!”

I smiled for the first time that
day.

I didn’t mean to. I wanted to
stay angry. But I couldn’t.

“Oh yes! And what better way to
move on than to have a rebound sex session with the handsome and wealthy Jake
Bishop?”

“Julie, really. Stop this
nonsense!”

“I’m serious. Shit girlfriend,
you’ve still got your V-card! I mean, really, what are saving it for?
Your dreamy Prince Charming?
Sorry, honey, but he’s already
screwing someone else. As much as I wish life were a fairy tale Hollywood
romance, it isn’t. You’re still sexy as hell! He’ll love you, I’m sure. I’m
going to introduce you to him right now.”

“You absolutely are not,” I
exclaimed through clenched teeth and with terror in my eyes. “You will do no
such thing, Julie. Please.”

Chapter 8

Jake

Just as I was about to get up and
introduce myself to Ruby and her friend, a gruff voice called out from behind
me.

“Hey, ladies. How you doin’
tonight?”

Without turning around I knew the
voice belonged to one of the jerks
who
watched Ruby go
to the restroom.

Not a peep was heard from the
women.

“What? Cat got your tongue? Hey,
I’m talking to you,” the guy sneered crudely.

“Fuck off, creep,” Ruby’s friend growled.
“Go crawl back into the sewer from where you came.”

Zach and I looked at each other
and chuckled quietly.

“Ouch. Ya hear that, Cal? She
says we ought a go back to the sewer, ha
ha
. Hey, we
ain’t
gonna
harm ya.”

“I said fuck off.”

“Now wait a minute, we just
wanted to get to know you ladies a little better, you know, in the touchy-feely
sort a way.”

Both men laughed twistedly.

I sighed and gulped down the last
of my beer.

Time to put a stop to this.

I hoped these worthless pieces of
shit had good Obamacare plans, because they were going to need it.

I got up and said, “Hey, man.
They’re not interested. Leave them alone.”

The douche bags turned in my
direction. They looked like your stereotypical overall-clad hillbillies who
would rape a man in the middle of the woods if they got the chance. How they
ended up in a large, cosmopolitan city was a mystery to me.

The bigger of the two stood up
and got right in my face. He was a good three inches taller than me, but was so
inebriated I knew he wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight.

“What’d you say, boy?” His breath
smelled disgusting, like bourbon and cigarettes.

I matched his gaze and looked him
squarely in the eyes. “I said leave the women alone.”

“Boy, you’re making a
real
big mistake,” he threatened, his
bloodshot eyes burning deeply into mine. I could tell he was a moment away from
springing, but I was ready for him. “I suggest you mind your own business and
sit your pretty ass back down before I shred that pretty face of yours.”

“I don’t think so, fag. You’re
the one making the mistake. And if you and your buddy don’t leave my girl alone
I’m going to ram the few remaining teeth you have down your fucking throat and
out your ass.”

Did I just say ‘
my
girl’?!

Jesus Christ I did!

I do need professional help.

No time for that, though, because
instantly the man’s jaw clenched tightly, his eyes grew wide, and his face
turned bright red.

I guess he didn’t like being
called a ‘fag’.

A second later he released a right
hook with all his might, which sadly wasn’t much.
  

Without flinching I caught his
fist with my left hand. Then I began to squeeze and twist.
 

Two small crackling, crunching
sounds came from what was probably his scaphoid and third or fourth metacarpal.

“
Ow
!
Aww
! Shit, motherfucker! Let go of my hand!” he screamed.

Stillness settled over the entire
establishment; all eyes fell on us.
 

Suddenly his partner got to his
feet and rushed towards me. With my right fist I landed a sharp blow to his
face. The women jumped and gave a frightened little shriek as he crashed loudly
onto a table.
 

I continued to apply pressure to the
other man’s hand and arm, bringing him to his knees. He whimpered and begged like
a little girl to be released.
 

“Okay, shit-for-brains,” I said
threateningly, bowing over him. “I’m going to give you some options. First
option: I release you, you apologize to these women, then you get you and your
friend’s sorry ass out of here. Second option: I jack your arm until every
bone, tendon, ligament, and nerve is severed, stretched and or broken,
rendering your hand permanently useless.
Your choice.
What’s it going to be?”

“Ah, ah, okay, okay, jus’ lemme
go,” he begged. “Please lemme go, I’ll do anything you want, just don’t break
my arm!”

I released him.

Immediately he cradled his broken
hand.

“Sorry, ma’am,” he mumbled
pitifully without looking at either of them. Then he helped his buddy to his
feet and out they went.

I straightened up and walked over
to where Ruby and her friend were sitting.

“Hey, sorry about that. You
ladies okay?”

They both looked up at me with
big doe eyes and nodded.

“Hi, Ruby. I’m Jake Bishop,” I
said, extending a hand. “I went to high school with you.” Up close Ruby
appeared slightly tired and disheveled, as if she was going through a rough
patch.

“Yeah,” she squeaked, taking my
hand with frightened eyes. “Uh, how have you been?”

Her hand was soft like a flower
petal; her voice still rang divine after all this time.

What is wrong with you, Jake?

“I’ve been good. Keeping busy. Uh,
anyway, I’ll let you get back to your conversation. It was good running into
you. Have a good night.”

“Yeah. Good seeing you, too,” she
smiled weakly. “Thanks again. Bye.”