Starting Fires (5 page)

I nodded. He told Charles goodbye then went back to serving drinks. Bear squeezed my shoulders and placed a gentle kiss against my temple. “Be careful,” he whispered then walked off.

Jeez… big brother much? What did he think I was going to do? Drop my panties as soon as we made it to the car? I’ll admit I liked the way Lucas made me feel. Every time he looked at me, I felt special, as if he didn’t see anything around him but me. Just me. My cynical side told me it was intentional, but it was still nice to feel that way.

Lucas told the other bartender that he would handle my side of the bar while she took the other. This kept him close to me and we were able to make eyes at each other as he served the drinks. Unfortunately, they were busy and I didn’t get to flirt with him as much as I would have liked. Fontenot also spotted me sitting by myself and saw that as an opportunity to come talk with me again. “Where’d your friends run off to?” he asked as he sat next to me.

“They left earlier.”

He smiled and blew out a cloud of cigarette smoke. “Well, I’m about to get out of here. You look like you could use a ride.” The way he’d said
ride
made my stomach convulse, and I fought to keep my face from looking completely disgusted.

“She’s got a ride.”

I jumped as Lucas leaned across the bar, placing an arm on either side of me. His fingers ran down my forearm before curling around my elbow.

“Sorry,” I shrugged at Fontenot.

“Alright, Lo. See you around,” he whispered with a cocky grin.

Lucas watched him walk off. “I hate that guy,” he said once he was out of earshot. I felt his fingers caress the sensitive skin above my elbow and I sighed. Still watching Fontenot, it didn’t seem like he was even aware that he was touching me. Once he was certain his apparent arch-nemesis was gone, he turned towards me. “I’ll be done in about twenty minutes. Tammy can close tonight. You good?”

I nodded and thought about putting my hand against his face to bring his mouth to mine. He totally just went all possessive over me. Of course, I didn’t, but Lucas’s eyes drifted down to my mouth and, for a moment, I think he wanted to do the same thing. Instead, he pushed off the bar, putting the space back between us. “You want another beer?” he asked.

“Uh, I better not. Water would be good though.” After he put the ice cold drink in front of me, he was about to say something, but a feminine voice called his name. She wasn’t standing close to me, but I could still hear their conversation.

“What’s up, Cindy?” he asked her.

I noticed that it was the same pretty blonde I’d encountered in the bathroom and wondered if that gorgeous man was taking her home.

“I don’t know if I should have anything else. I’m
sooo
drunk.” Cindy flipped her hair over her shoulder and leaned across the bar, giggling even though nothing she’d said had been funny.

“Want me to close out your tab?”

“My tab? I thought…” she cocked her head to the side in confusion but recovered. “Yeah. I need to close my tab.”

Lucas walked off and I stared at Cindy, wondering what that was about. She looked upset, but trying hard to look unaffected. Did she seriously not expect to pay for her drinks? I guess I wasn’t paying for mine, but Lucas had insisted that I didn’t. He returned to her and she was all smiles. “Listen,” she began, “my friend left with some dude and she was supposed to drive me home tonight.” Her pout was well practiced. “Do you think you could give me a lift?”

I frowned, realizing that Lucas was the guy she’d made out with for hours in her driveway. This bothered me. Way more than it should. Is that why she wasn’t expecting to pay for her drinks? I rolled my eyes and tried to mentally wave the whole thing off. Who gave a shit what he did with his time? Not me. He was just a hot dude that I enjoyed looking at. Besides, I might’ve not even known him when he did that—and if I did, it didn’t matter.

“Yeah, I could do that,” Lucas told her. I jerked my eyes back to them and saw Cindy run her hand up his forearm, giving him a sultry smile. She whispered something to him and I turned away, not liking the jealous twinge in my gut. I wished that I had left with Charles now. What was he going to do? Take me home and then drop her off? Or just invite her into his house? I suddenly felt like a burden, and took out my phone to text Charles to come get me. This whole thing felt too uncomfortable and weird. Just as I was typing out the message, Lucas came back over. “I’m just about finished here,” he said.

“Actually, I think I’m gonna see if Charles can come pick me up. I’m really tired,” I lied.

His entire face fell and I swear he looked disappointed. “What? No! Five minutes. Tops. Then I can get you home.” If Charles came back, I would have to explain to him why I wasn’t leaving with Lucas. And I felt like he would give me some lecture about not giving my heart to him, and “
he doesn’t date Marlowe, just forget about him
.” I didn’t want to date him! If I stayed and he hooked up with Cindy, I could brush it off like it didn’t matter and maybe that would prove to Charles that I wasn’t some lovesick puppy.

“Alright,” I agreed, putting my phone back in my purse.

“Go wait in my office. I’ll be back there in a bit.”

He gestured towards the employee’s only door. I got off my stool and went through it. I think I was standing in some sort of stock room. There was an exit and boxes of liquor, beer, and other random supplies lining the walls. To the right was a big metal door that I assumed was the cooler. To the left was a short hallway. A doorway was open with light pouring out of it. It was an office. A very messy office. It wasn’t small, but it wasn’t large either. In one corner was an L-shaped desk. I walked over to it, and glanced at a few of the papers littered across the top. Stacks of invoices that were months old, bar receipts, to do lists, they were all jumbled into a mess. How did he ever accomplish anything in here?

Lucas rounded the corner and saw me eyeing it. “I know what you’re thinking,” he said, smiling as he walked in. “But let me assure you, there is a method to my madness.”

“Really?” I arched my eyebrows, not seeing how there could be any method amidst this chaos.

“No. Actually there isn’t.” He dropped a big stack of receipts on his desk then reached around me to open one of his drawers. Inside were even more receipts and I felt an uneasy feeling wash over me. I wasn’t obsessive compulsive, but when it came to keeping books, and balancing spreadsheets, an overwhelming desire to be perfect and organized tingled in my veins.

“Sheesh,” I mumbled. Lucas chuckled as he fished his keys out of the drawer. “I’m sorry,” I added—in a way, I was insulting him. “I’m an accounting major.” I said, hoping that would help clarify my shock.

“I know. It’s a mess.” He dangled his keys and I followed him back into the stockroom. Cindy was already waiting for us and when she saw him, her face lit up—that is, until she saw me. The smile immediately vanished, but she recovered well. “Alright, let’s get going,” Lucas said and started for the door. Cindy latched onto his arm to support her “drunkenness.” I had a feeling she was putting us on, but whatever.

Since I didn’t know what Lucas drove, I followed behind them. As we approached his vehicle, my mouth fell open. “She’s a beauty isn’t she?” Lucas grinned with pride. “1969 Buick Skylark 4 Door Hardtop.” He ran his hand across the hood with a heartfelt sigh. In the darkness, I couldn’t be sure what color it was, but it looked dark blue.

Owning a vintage car only made Lucas seem more appealing. I crossed my arms over my chest and walked towards the back door. “I like it,” I told him not wanting him to know that I thought it made him more attractive, but also not wanting to be rude.

“It’s gorgeous,” Cindy smiled over the top as she started to get in.

“You mind riding in the back?” Lucas asked her. “I’m dropping you off first. No sense making Marzy crawl up front afterwards.”

Her face fell, and she looked a little heartbroken. “It’s okay,” I said, hoping to make her feel better. “I don’t mind riding back here.”

“No,” she turned to me with a forced smile. “He’s right. It makes more sense.”

This is why I’d wanted to call Charles to come get me. I was so uncomfortable. If I hadn’t been there, Lucas and Cindy might be getting it on in about 20 minutes. I admit a part of me was jealous about that, but I also knew that I had no right to be. Whatever mutual attraction Lucas and I felt was just that—an attraction. I barely knew him. I knew he was charming, but he also might be a womanizing asshole.

As we pulled out of the parking lot, I felt the tension in the air increase. Cindy’s audible sighs and grunts of frustration were hard to miss. Lucas turned the radio on, the volume low. After a few moments of silence, I couldn’t take it. “Your show was good,” I told him.

“Thanks,” he replied not taking his eyes off the road. “Glad you could come.” Then
back
to the awkward silence. I leaned against the door and counted streetlamps as we drove. Not soon enough, we pulled into the driveway of a townhouse. Before the car even stopped, Cindy was opening the door. She slammed it shut and took off inside. “You’re welcome,” Lucas muttered as he reversed back into the street.

“I think you embarrassed her,” I said.

He snorted. “How?”

“Well…” I trailed off, unsure if I wanted to tell him what I overheard.

He flashed his handsome grin at me. “How did I embarrass her
?
”

“When I went to the bathroom earlier, I overheard her talking about some guy she made out with in her driveway. She said that she was going to have him over again tonight and implied that there would be some… uh… stuff happening between them. I assume that guy is you, and I totally ruined it for her, so she’s pissed. And I don’t blame her, if I thought I was going to get lucky and some random girl ruined it, I’d be pissed, too.”

“Hmm,” was all he offered. A silence stretched between us until he started singing along with the radio. He really did have a lovely voice. Hearing it so low and soothing made me feel like I could fall asleep listening to him.

“You didn’t ruin anything, you know,” he said as we pulled onto our street. I didn’t respond, certain that Cindy thought differently.

At my driveway, he didn’t pull in, but stayed in the street. As I was getting out, he wrapped his hand around my forearm. “Cindy and I had a date a while back, but it didn’t work out. I would have brought her home regardless of whether or not you were with me, but either way I wouldn’t have been going in that house. So, you didn’t ruin anything.”

“Okay,” I nodded. He didn’t owe me any type of explanation.

“She’s nice, but a little clingy.”

Whatever.
Clingy
was just another word guys used when a girl rightfully got the wrong idea about a relationship because the douche bag wasn’t straightforward from the beginning.

“Right,” I said and opened the door. “Thanks for the ride,” I smiled as I closed it.

He gave me a wave then drove over to his house. As I was pulling out my keys, I heard him call my name. Looking over my shoulder, I could see him walking into the middle of the street. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to help me out tomorrow. With the books. At the bar. I’m behind and could use the extra help. I’ll pay you. Uh, maybe take you to lunch before or something.”

The end of this night rubbed me the wrong way. I wasn’t sure what to think or feel about Lucas. I knew that I liked being around him, and that I was attracted to him, but I also knew that he had heartache and trouble written all over him. The last thing I needed was more of that. Maybe I was a masochist because I also couldn’t help myself from wanting to be around him. “Sounds good,” I answered.

Even in the darkness of the night, I could see his face light up with enthusiasm. “Noon okay?”

I told him that worked for me and walked into my house.

The next day, a little after twelve, Lucas and I were driving in his Buick, which by the way
was
navy. He pulled up to a tiny café. On the sidewalk were tables set up underneath an awning. Since the weather was nice, he asked if I wanted to sit outside.

“Definitely,” I smiled and pulled my hair into a ponytail—even though the breeze was light, it was whipping it all over the place.

“I’ll get some menus.”

I chose a table at the far end of the empty patio. It was gorgeous out, so I had no clue why more people weren’t taking advantage of the break in hot weather. Lucas returned with two menus and a young server who looked like she was still in high school. She took our drink orders before leaving.

“What do you recommend?” I asked, scanning the menu.

“No question, the club sandwich and sweet potato fries. Trust me on this,” he smiled, pushing his menu out of the way.

“Okay. It better be as good as you say.” In a nervous habit, I grabbed my ponytail and draped it over my left shoulder running my fingers through the ends.

Lucas was leaning his elbows on the table, turning slightly towards me. “So you’re an Accounting Major,” he asked.

“Yep. Graduate next May.”

“And you’re the same age as Charles?”