What's Done in Darkness (11 page)

This place was more mature. It had a casual yet refined aura. There was a large palm tree near a stage area, which was lit up with a string of lights threaded around the base. A few people were setting up a microphone, keyboard and guitar onstage, which confirmed my feeling. Family dinner time was finishing up, and the party would soon begin.

A hostess hurried over to us. “Good evening,” she said brightly. “It's going to be about a ten-minute wait for a table. But if you want to go to the bar—”

“We'll head to the bar,” Brian said quickly.

And then he put his hand on the small of my back, and I had to suck in a breath. His hand felt good on my body. Really good.

There were a few open bar stools, and Brian stood until I was seated before settling on the stool to my right.

The bartender, an attractive and tanned blond, made eye contact with me as I sat. Then he smiled, which transformed him from attractive to gorgeous.

Damn, there were some seriously fine men in Key West.

The smile still gracing his lips, he came over to us. “How're you-all doing this evening?”

“Good,” Brian and I said at the same time.

“What'll you have?” the bartender asked.

“A beer,” I responded. “Whatever's on tap.”

“I'll have the same,” Brian said.

“You have some ID, beautiful?”

I should have been expecting that. I was only twenty-two, and I knew that I could pass for a lot younger. “Of course.”

I retrieved my driver's license from my purse. The bartender nodded, satisfied, then began to pour the first beer. As he did, I shifted my body on the bar stool so that I was facing Brian and the stage. A woman in a long white dress and wedge heels was standing in front of the microphone. She was beautiful, with dark hair that flowed down her back. I assumed she would be singing.

“Test one-two,” the woman said.

As I continued to check out the place, a man and woman who had been sitting near the door rose from the table. The woman lifted a toddler into her arms, while the older child, a boy around eight years old, picked up his coloring sheet and crayons. They started for the door.

“You want to head to that table?” Brian asked.

“I'm okay here. If you are.”

“Right here's good for me,” Brian said.

“Two draft beers,” the bartender said. “You guys want to open a tab?”

“Naw,” Brian said, placing a twenty on the bar. Then he turned to me. “You hungry?”

“I could eat something, sure,” I said.

“You have a menu?” Brian asked.

The bartender glided to the far end of the bar, and I shamelessly checked out his beautiful body. But it was more so to avoid looking at the man beside me, who I was certain would be expecting me to go home with him at the end of the night.

I lifted my beer and took a sip. And I must have winced or made some kind of face, because Brian said, “You don't like beer?”

“It's not really my favorite drink, but I got used to it in college. It's cheap.”

“Why not get something else?” Brian suggested. “I'm buying.”

“I don't want to waste this.”

“I'll drink it. Just get what you like.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

So I summoned the bartender over. “Actually, I'd like something other than beer. Maybe something popular in Key West. What do you suggest?”

“How about a key lime martini?”

“Ooh, that sounds good. I'll have one.”

As the bartender began to prepare the drink, I perused the menu.

“I've seen you before,” Brian suddenly said.

I met his eyes. “What?”

“You work at that coffee shop, A Book and a Cup.”

“You've been in there?” I asked. If he had, how could I have forgotten someone like him?

“No. I was walking by earlier today. I saw you on the patio serving drinks.”

“And you remembered me?” I was flattered.

“A woman like you … you're easy to remember.”

My face flamed. He was most definitely flirting with me.

“One key lime martini,” the bartender announced, and placed the drink in front of me.

“Thank you.” I was grateful for the reprieve from Brian's intense gaze. He was attractive, absolutely. And I had butterflies in my stomach, something I hadn't felt since meeting Wesley. But I wasn't sure I was ready to jump into bed with Brian.

I sipped the drink. “Oooh, this is good.”

“That's better.” Brian's lips spread in a seriously sexy grin. “You should enjoy what you're consuming, not just suffer through it.”

The band onstage was beginning its set, and I turned my attention to them. The guitarist and the keyboardist began playing a lively song, and the singer stood in front of the microphone, tapping her hand on her thigh in beat to the music.

I listened to her start to sing and was impressed with the unexpected soulful sound that came from her lips.

“So, Jade,” Brian began. “What brings you to Key West?”

“I wanted to spend a summer somewhere other than upstate New York. I ended my year at UB—University at Buffalo—and wanted a change of scenery.”

“Buffalo.”

“Have you been there?” I asked.

“Rochester, yes. Buffalo, no. How did you end up working at a coffee shop in Key West?”

As the singer's voice filled the bar, I held up a finger to let Brian know I'd answer in a moment.

We listened to the woman sing, and when her song was finished I spoke again. “Why am I in Key West? My sister went to school with the woman who owns the café. They were in the same sorority, actually. She needed help, I needed a break … that's why I'm here.”

Brian's eyes narrowed. “What's the name of this guy you need a break from?”

My pulse picked up speed. “What makes you think it's a guy?”

“Just a sense I get.”

As I sipped my martini, the woman onstage began to sing again. So I leaned forward and spoke loudly, saying, “His name is Wesley. And I'd rather not talk about him.”

“His loss is my gain,” Brian said into my ear.

A shiver of desire trailed down my spine. Glancing down, I blushed. Then I looked up and asked, “What about you? Why are you in Key West?”

“A friend of mine is getting married,” he answered. “He's having dinner with his fiancée's family tonight, so I headed out on my own.”

“And you like it here?” I asked.

He eased back and looked at me, his eyes holding mine. “What's not to like?”

I giggled, then reached for my drink. Oh, he was good. Saying all the right things.

Just how far did I want things to go with Brian? Lord, he was sexy. Just sitting beside him, my body was in a state of constant sexual awareness. What would it be like having those muscular arms wrapped around me, his lips on mine?

I brought my glass to my lips and finished it off. Perhaps a little liquid courage would help me seal the deal with Brian.

“Want another one?” Brian gestured to my empty glass.

“Sure,” I told him. Saying yes meant spending more time with him, and I was fine with that. “And how about an order of nachos? We can split it.”

“Sure thing.”

Brian summoned the bartender and ordered another drink for me, plus an order of nachos.

“Where are you from?” I asked.

“Ohio. Akron.”

“And what do you do in Akron?”

“I'm a fitness trainer,” he answered.

“Ahh,” I said. With that muscular physique, it made sense. And with his easy charm … “I'll bet most of your clients are women.”

“Mostly men, actually. Yes,” he added, seeing my look of skepticism. “I'm serious.”

The bartender slid my drink onto the bar, and Brian passed him some money. “I'll pay for the nachos now as well.”

I lifted the martini and took a liberal sip. Then I asked, “Are you single?”

“I wouldn't be hitting on you if I weren't.”

I guffawed. “Yeah, sure.”

“Why the cynicism? Did Wesley cheat on you?”

I swallowed at the mention of Wesley's name. “We had our issues,” I said, not wanting to get into it.

“And you're still in love with him.” A statement, not a question.

I didn't speak right away. “I'm here. Seeing where life's going to take me.”

Brian nodded, then sipped his beer. “You said your sister was in a sorority. You too?”

“Me?” I laughed. “No. Sorority life wasn't for me.”

“No conforming to house rules and being exactly like everyone else?”

“Definitely not.”

“Sounds like you like to buck the status quo.”

“Maybe a little.”

“And maybe even authority,” he surmised.

His eyes held mine, as though he were reading my secret in their depths. The secret of just how far I had gone to please my boyfriend.

I glanced away.

“By the way,” Brian began, “you said you ended your college year. Did you graduate? Or do you have another year or two to go?”

Another sore topic. But maybe he was simply trying to gauge how old I was. “I have one more semester to go,” I told him. And I left it at that. I didn't want to go into why. Remembering how Katrina had accused me of going on about losing my father, I figured Brian didn't need to hear my sob story.

“But enough about me.” I looked him in the eye. “Tell me more about you.”

“What do you want to know?”

I was enjoying our conversation. And I was especially pleased that we were actually talking, not just flirting. “Any crazy stories as a fitness trainer?”

“Crazy stories. Wow. Def—”

Whatever Brian had been about to say, he stopped abruptly as his gaze ventured beyond me, in the direction of the front door. His eyes widened slightly, something else obviously having just gotten his attention.

Another woman?

“Brian?”

He said nothing, apparently not hearing me. I all but smirked and reached for my drink. I was certain that another woman had entered the place and caught his fancy.

My ego imploded. God, were all men so completely unable to keep their eyes off of another attractive woman when in your company?

I sipped my martini, but it now tasted sour to me.

“Excuse me for a second,” Brian said.

I shrugged, not meeting his eyes. And when he walked off, I wasn't surprised. But I was surprised that he didn't head in the direction of where he'd been looking. Instead, he turned and went toward the back of the restaurant, where the restrooms were.

Maybe his girlfriend had entered the place and he was worried about being seen with me. Sure, he said he didn't have a girlfriend. But someone as hot as him … was I supposed to believe that?

Or maybe he just needed to use the bathroom. Maybe I was being overly cynical without a real cause.

“And one order of nachos.”

I glanced at the bartender and smiled as he pushed the plate of nachos toward me. “Thank you.”

I set about trying to relax as I watched the show. Of course Brian would return. Not only had he not finished his beer, but we also had the order of nachos to eat.

But a few minutes passed and still no Brian. I knew women often took an extra long time in the bathroom, but men were typically faster than this.

More time passed. I got my phone out of my purse, about to check the time, when I felt two hands grip my shoulders. I jerked upright, startled. And as I looked over my shoulder, Katrina began to laugh.

“What?” she said. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“You scared the crap out of me.”

My eyes ventured to Christian. He was dressed in jeans, sandals, and a blue T-shirt. Katrina was wearing a formfitting white dress and glittery gold flip-flops.

“I told you we'd come and join you,” Katrina said.

“Yeah, but you said you'd call.” My heartbeat was slowly returning to its normal pace.

“I did. You didn't answer the phone.”

I looked at my cell phone. Indeed, there were two missed calls. “Oh. I can't believe I didn't hear the phone.”

“No worries, we decided to just come find you,” Katrina said. “We went to a couple of other places first, then came here. We didn't even see you at first, and almost left. The place is pretty crowded.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. The bar had filled up since I'd arrived. “I like it.”

Katrina's eyes wandered toward the partially consumed beer. “Are you with someone?” Her eyebrows rose, and she gave me a curious look.

I shook my head. “No. I mean, someone was here. We were chatting. He went to the bathroom and said he'd be back, but he hasn't returned yet.”

Katrina pouted. “You think he took off?”

“Who knows?”

“Ah, don't worry about it,” Katrina said, and patted my arm. “There are other guys.”

“I wasn't interested anyway,” I lied. “I was just passing the time talking to him.”

“Are these your nachos?” Katrina asked.

“Uh-huh. Dig in.”

Katrina scooped up a large tortilla chip, smothered with cheese and sour cream, then popped it into her mouth.

Christian, who had slipped between my seat and Brian's to get close to the bar, turned and asked Katrina what she wanted to drink. Katrina hurriedly munched on her mouthful of food, then answered, “I'll have a margarita.”

“What about you?” Christian asked me.

“I'm good,” I told him. “I haven't finished my martini yet.” And now that it was looking less likely that I was going to get laid, I no longer needed more booze for liquid courage.

And then, through my peripheral vision, I caught sight of Brian on the far side of the restaurant. He was winding his way through the crowd en route to the front door.

Which only confirmed what I'd just thought. Nope. I didn't need any liquid courage tonight.