Kristen Ashley - The Gamble

But I didn’t miss it. Neither did Max.

My eyes went to his, I smiled at him and he smiled back. His smile and his eyes in that proximity weren’t phenomenal, they were sensational.

The loud thump of a bottle hitting the table made me jump and I turned.

“Ale,” Trudy announced, a smile firm on her face, her eyes on me. She dipped her head to the new beer on the table then she looked at Harry. “Table’s ready, Harry.” And without sparing Shauna a glance, she turned and walked away again, without leaving menus.

“We’ll leave you alone,” Harry said and I noticed he didn’t look happy-go-lucky anymore. He looked pale and maybe a little frightened.

Because of that, I probably shouldn’t have said what I said next. But for some reason I couldn’t help myself.

No, I knew the reason. Because Shauna was far more of a bitch than Harry was a good guy and she deserved it, not only for saying what she said and for obviously, and in an ugly way, pining for Max, but for being with Harry at all. I didn’t know him but I knew he deserved better.

Therefore I snuggled my head into Max’s shoulder, wrapped my arm around his belly and invited, “Why don’t you two eat with us? It’d be great, getting to know some people from town.”

Harry grew paler, Max grunted in a way that made me think he was struggling with laughter and Shauna’s eyes narrowed.

“We’re good with our table,” Harry muttered. “You two look like you’d like some private time.”

“You sure?” I asked graciously.

“Yeah,” Harry answered.

“Well, maybe we can get together some other time,” I offered and looked at Shauna. “Does Max have your number? I’ll call you.”

Before Shauna could say anything, Max’s voice rumbled from behind me but he sounded funny, like he was now choking back laughter. “I’ve got her number.”

I lurched up a bit and doing my best imitation of Becca I cheerfully cried, “Great!”

“See you around,” Harry said as he and Shauna slid out of the booth.

Shauna didn’t say anything.

Harry gave us a half-wave as he walked away, I waved back and Shauna didn’t even glance in our direction.

They were five feet away when Max got my attention by curling me into his body front to front, so close I was almost in his lap.

“Enjoyed the show, Duchess,” he muttered, his other arm sliding around me and he still looked amused.

I pushed against his chest and muttered back, “Show’s over, Max.”

He ignored me and held firm. “Though, it was unnecessary.”

I quit pushing against his chest and looked in his eyes. “I’m sorry, I know your computer password is her name but she’s just… not very nice.”

“She’s a bitch,” Max declared bluntly.

“Well…” I drew the word out and then let it hang, allowing the way I said it to speak for itself.

“And her name is my computer password because she set up the computer and the password.”

I tipped my head to the side. “So, she and you –?”

Max cut me off by informing me, “Yeah, I used to fuck her,” my body jolted at his frankness but he kept talking, “but it’s been over awhile.”

“You should change your password.”

“Not exactly a priority so I haven’t got ‘round to it.”

“I’ll do it for you,” I offered.

His arms gave me a squeeze and he grinned. “What’ll you chose?”

Before I could stop my mouth from forming the words, I said, “Shebitchfromhell666.”

He burst out laughing, giving me another squeeze while he did it.

When he controlled his laughter, he looked back at me. “That’s kinda long, honey.”

“Maybe so, but you won’t forget it.”

His face got closer when he murmured, “Don’t figure I will.”

I realized where I was and what I was about and I pressed against his chest again.

“Let go,” I whispered.

“Like you here,” he whispered back, something tingled someplace private, it felt altogether too good and I pulled in breath.

“I have to use the restroom,” I kind of lied. I didn’t have to use the facilities. I needed to blow my nose.

“Run away and remind yourself to be uptight?” he asked, again bluntly, and I felt my brows draw together.

“No. I need to blow my nose.”

He looked at me a second, seeming at a loss then said, “Do it here.”

I wasn’t going to blow my nose at the table in front of him.

“I forgot tissues,” I lied outright this time.

He grinned again and declared, “You’re so full of shit.”

What? Did he have x-ray eyes and could see in my purse?

“I’m not full of shit,” I returned and his face dipped close again.

His arms got tight before he whispered, “You like where you are just as much as I like you here.”

Before I could say a word, his hold loosened and he slid out of the booth, taking me with him and setting me on my feet.

“Hurry up, the food’ll be here in a minute,” he said when he let me go.

I looked at the table then at him. “We haven’t ordered yet.”

“Yeah we have.”

“I haven’t even seen a menu!” I said, my voice raised.

“You’re gettin’ a buffalo burger with jack cheese and onion rings, just like me.”

I shook my head, those short, jerky shakes and I wasn’t certain I’d ever really done that before but I seemed to do it a lot around Max.

“But –”

“Go blow your nose, Duchess.”

“But –”

“You a vegetarian?”

“No.”

“Then trust me.”

I leaned toward him and stated on a hiss, “You’re impossible.”

He leaned toward me, grinning, and returned, “And you’re cuter than hell.”

“Don’t call me cute when I’m angry!” I exclaimed, now totally loud.

His eyes went over my shoulder before coming back to me then he asked, “You want the whole restaurant in on our conversation?”

I looked in the direction his eyes pointed and saw a lot of people, including Trudy, Sarah, Harry and Shauna as well as others were watching.

Then I turned back to Max, gave him a glare which would have melted paint off the walls but didn’t appear to affect him in the slightest and I flounced (yes, flounced but I decided I could forgive myself for flouncing as it was definitely a flouncing moment) in the direction where I hoped there would be restrooms.

Luckily, I was correct.

Once there, I blew my nose, washed my hands and looked in the mirror wishing I’d brought my purse so I could fix my lipstick.

Then I pulled in breath through my nose, rested my hands against the sink and whispered to my reflection, “What on earth am I doing?”

You’re living your life, Neenee Bean, Charlie said into my head, he sounded pleased and I watched my eyes go wide in the mirror.

Then I looked behind me. Then I looked under the two stalls behind me. The room was empty, except for me.

“I’m going insane,” I muttered. “Going insane in the snowy mountains like Jack Nicholson in The Shining except without the spooky hotel.”

No one replied because no one was there.

I decided being alone wasn’t good. I was hearing voices when I was alone. Charlie’s voice and as much as I wanted to hear Charlie’s voice, would have paid every penny I had, sold everything I owned, made a deal with the devil to hear Charlie’s voice, I didn’t want to hear it in my head.

I walked back into the restaurant smiling at Sarah and Trudy along the way, noticing Harry avoid my eyes and Shauna stare daggers at me and then I looked at Max.

He was eating an onion ring while he slid out of the booth.

“I see you didn’t wait for me,” I noted, my eyes on his chewing mouth then I slid into the booth.

“I ate a ring, Duchess, relax,” he returned as he sat in the booth beside me.

“Whatever,” I muttered and looked at my food of which there was a lot. The burger itself could feed four people. All of it was in a red, oval, plastic basket protected by a sheet of thin, white, wax paper.

It looked utterly delicious.

I reached for the ketchup.

“Got burgers in England?” Max asked.

“Yes,” I answered, squirting ketchup in a pile by the onion rings and not sharing with him that English burgers were not much to write home about.

“Buffalo burgers?”

“At gourmet burger places, yes,” I answered, dipping in a ring.

“Babe?” Max called and I looked at him, onion ring halfway to my mouth. “Prepare to be dazzled,” he finished on a grin then turned to his food.

I turned to mine.

He wasn’t wrong, the food was so good, I was definitely dazzled.

***

“Sleep,” I muttered, wandering drowsily into the A-Frame and sliding my coat down my arms as Max flipped on a light.

“Honey, I told you, you shouldn’t have had the hot fudge sundae,” Max said from behind me and I heard the door close.

He was right and he was wrong. The burger and onion rings more than filled me up but I saw the hot fudge sundae slide by on Trudy’s tray going to someone else’s table and I couldn’t help myself. They didn’t have hot fudge in England not like they had at home.

And anyway, I was on vacation.

Even so, the hot fudge sundae was definitely overkill.

But it wasn’t the hot fudge sundae making me drowsy. It was the fact that we spent the last two hours sitting in a bar called Drake’s a block down from the restaurant, listening to Max’s friend Josh play guitar and sing while Max drank Budweiser and I drank Fat Tire. Josh was good, really good but even so I ended up slouched into Max’s side, his arm around me, my head on his shoulder. I knew I shouldn’t be slouching with my body resting against his and my head on his shoulder but I couldn’t help it. It was comfortable, the beer tasted great but was mellowing me out, the music was nice, my belly was super full and I was tired.

I hooked my coat and purse in the closet, closed the door and turned to Max.

“Who gets the bed tonight?” I asked and he walked up to me and stopped, toe to toe, and I was too tired to back away.

His hand wrapped around the back of my head and he pulled me toward him and I was too tired to fight that too.

Then he kissed my forehead.

I blinked at his throat as his sweet kiss hit me like a freight train. It felt good, better than any kiss I’d ever had and it wasn’t even on my lips.

“You go on up,” he muttered against my forehead, dropped his hand, turned and walked away, shrugging off his coat.

I stared at his back and decided tomorrow I was definitely out of there. I might not even go to Denver. I might drive straight to Kansas City.

I was not, however, going to pass up sleeping in his bed that was how tired I was.

Therefore, not giving him the chance to change his mind, I called, “Goodnight.”

“’Night, Duchess,” he called back, draping his coat on a dining room chair and not looking at me.

I turned and hurried as fast as my tired feet would take me up the stairs.

I rooted my stuff out of my suitcase, washed and moisturized my face in the bathroom, brushed my teeth and changed into my nightgown. I left my stuff in the bathroom, deciding I’d pack it in the morning.

I opened the door, checked if the coast was clear, and then hurried to the bed.

Even as tired as I was, the lights were on downstairs; Amazing Looking Max was in the house; he’d bought me dinner, a hot fudge sundae and at least four beers during what seemed a lot like a date even though we came home together, and it was a date I enjoyed, even when we were clashing or, maybe, especially when we were clashing, so I didn’t expect sleep to come quickly.

I was asleep within minutes. Out like a light.

That was why I didn’t feel Max sliding into bed beside me fifteen minutes later.

I woke up, my eyes opening and I registered immediately firstly, that it was the dead of night, dark with a hint of moonlight and secondly, that I was awake like I was ready to take on the day. This was likely because if I was at home I would already be up, taking on the day.

Then I registered that I didn’t have my head on a pillow. Against my cheek I could feel sleek skin and hard muscle. It hit me that I had my head on Max’s shoulder, my torso was part on him, part pressed to his side, my arm was resting across his belly and my knee was cocked, my thigh thrown over his. His arm was under me and up my back, his hand resting at my waist.