Chasing Destiny (9 page)

She stuck her wrist up, revealing a band around it. “I’ll just put it up.”

“If that’s what you want, we sure can.”

I took her hand, led her across the room, grabbed the key from the counter, then walked out the door. “You’re sure?”

“Yes, I loved being on the back of it.”
I loved you being on the back of it, sweetheart.

“Okay.” When we reached my Harley, I grabbed a helmet, placed it on her head, then strapped it. I did the same with mine as I straddled the bike. She followed and got on, immediately wrapping her arms around me and scooting as far forward as she could. Grinning to myself, I turned the ignition and took off out of the lot.

As we drove through traffic, she tipped her head back and let the air hit her face. I loved how relaxed she was, just enjoying the moment.

We finally made it to the bar I’d planned to take her to. It was twenty-one to enter, but I knew the bartender and bouncer well since I’d filled in for a performer a couple times.

I parked and removed my helmet. “I hope this is okay.”

She looked at the sign on the side of the building: The Bar. “You’re taking me to a bar for Valentine’s Day?”

“Is that a problem?” I thought she’d know I wasn’t going to take her someplace romantic. I wasn’t that type of guy, and this was not a real date.

“Nope.” She grinned. “I think it’s perfect. Unexpected, but perfect.” She had no idea I thought the same thing about her.

“Good.”

She removed her helmet then got off, and I followed. “I hope they have cheese fries.”

I put the helmets away, then took her hand. “They do and they are really good.”

After saying hello to Jimmy, the bouncer, we made our way inside and found a booth. I let her slide in and sat down next to her.

“Oh fuck,” she muttered under her breath.

“What?” I had no idea what could’ve happened in the two minutes since we arrived.

“Adam’s here.” She turned her head toward me, trying to shield her face. 
“
I guess he got a fake ID or something, because he is definitely not twenty-one.
”

I glanced around, looking for the shithead I had seen only once before. My eyes finally found him and he was staring at us. Very deliberately, I draped my arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer as I locked eyes with the asshole. I smirked and his eyes narrowed. She might not have been mine, but I wanted him to know she sure as shit wasn’t his.

To prove my point, I let my lips find Kristin’s forehead. When I pulled away, I let my eyes travel back in his direction. He was seething and I couldn’t help but laugh under my breath. I fucking hated him. He’d treated Kristin like shit during their relationship. In fact, I really wanted to get up and kick his ass.

“What can I get y’all to drink? Oh, hey, Carson,” the waitress said as she came to a stop in front of us.

I couldn’t remember her name, so I checked her tag. “Hey, Missy. How are you?”

“I’m good. It’s kinda busy, which is great for tips.”

“I’m sure it is. I’ll have a Dr Pepper.” I couldn’t actually whip out my fake ID since they knew me.

“And I’ll have the same,” Kristin said, letting her eyes bounce between Missy and her ex.

“I’ll be right back.”

Once Missy left, Kristin turned to me. “So, how do you know all the workers here?”

I let my fingers stroke over her shoulder as I replied, “I’ve performed here a couple times when they needed someone.”

“Oh. Why haven’t you ever told me?”

I shrugged. “It’s not something I tell everyone about. It’s not like I want to have a music career or anything. It’s just a hobby. No big deal.”

“Will you sing for me?”

I grinned. “If you’re a good girl, maybe when we get home.”

That put a smile on her face. Missy came back with the drinks and we ordered some cheese fries. “Did you get my gifts this morning? I forgot to check.”

“I did. That was very thoughtful.” She took a sip of her drink. “I can’t believe you remembered my favorite flowers.”

“I remember a lot of things.”

She looked down at the table and let her finger trail over the wood grain. “I, uh…I didn’t get you anything.”

“You can give me a BJ when we get home.” My voice was even.

Her head snapped up to meet mine. “What?”

“I’m kidding,” I said, laughing. “Although, if you really want to, I won’t stop you.”

“I can’t believe you!”

“Yes you can.” Missy delivered the cheese fries and we both dug in.

“Oh my gosh! These are so good.”

“Mmmhmm,” I replied, stuffing my face.

We stayed for a few hours, listening to the band playing and making fun of our friends and the asshole sitting in the booth across the room. A couple times, I kissed her hair or interlocked our hands just to piss him off. It finally worked and he left, staring at us the entire way out the door.

Yeah, fuck off, stupid ass.

Kristin

After Adam left, Carson and I sat and ate our cheese fries while listening to the band play for hours. It was nice to sit there with him, relax, and have fun. Well, it always was, but there was something wonderful about our “date”. It was…perfect.

Once we arrived home, instead of distance like the last time he took me out on his bike, he came into my room with his guitar. After sitting down on my bed and scooting up to the headboard, he said, “I promised you a song. What do you want to hear?”

He strummed the guitar while I thought it over. “Warrant’s
Cherry Pie
.”

“Okay.” He smirked and started to play, coming in with vocals at the right time. And he looked so fucking good doing it. A tingle raced up my spine as I watched him sing with rapt attention—beautifully, I might add—and work the guitar with his fingers.

After a few minutes, the song came to a close and he gave me a knowing look. He knew he looked sexy while playing. I bet he ate it up when he played at the bar. “Next,” he said.

I thought it over and smiled. “
Outlaw Women
.”

“Hank Williams Jr. Good choice.”

“You know it?” I asked, shocked. I honestly didn’t take him for an older country music fan and figured I would stump him.

“Sweetheart, not a lot I don’t know.” He strummed the guitar. “The song suits you. Very fitting.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Then sing it.”

He laughed, then began to play, singing, “…
make love to her kind of man
.” He winked and began singing the chorus. I continued to watch and couldn’t help the feeling of wanting to jump him right then and there. I was in trouble when it came to my feelings for Carson and I wasn’t positive I could stop them from growing at this point.

He finished the song and set the guitar against the wall, running his fingers through his hair at the same time. Thankfully, I caught myself from hissing out a “fuck” at the sight. I had no idea why that innocent act had affected me, but it had.

I glanced over at my desk and the gift bag I had left there caught my eye. “I almost forgot.” I got up from the bed and walked to my desk. “I got you something.”

“You got me something?” he asked, puzzled. “Why? Wait, I thought you said you didn't.”

“It's not for Valentine's.” I had actually found it a couple days ago and had no idea when I planned to give it to him, but since he had given me something, it seemed fitting to give it to him now. I tossed him the bag, then returned to the bed. “Open it.”

He gave me a dubious glance and dug into the bag. When he pulled out the DVD, he laughed. “
Forrest Gump
?”

I lifted a shoulder. “You once told me it was your favorite.”

“It is,” he said, standing and gesturing to the door. “Come on, let’s go watch it.”

I followed closely behind him into the living room. “I’m going to make some popcorn. Do you want some?”

“No, I’m good.” He popped the movie into the DVD player and turned the TV on. Then he plopped down on the couch and grabbed the blanket.

Popcorn in hand, I returned to the living room and Carson scooted over. “Here,” he said, gesturing to the space beside him. I sat down as the movie began to play and Carson slung his arm over me. I snuggled in closer, getting comfortable, and we both watched the movie in silence. When the credits began to play, Carson said, “This has been one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time.”

“Me, too. Thank you.”

“Anything for you, flower girl.” And then we both went to our separate rooms, where I laid in bed for over an hour, smiling to myself as I thought about my night.

***

It had almost been a week since our Valentine’s date and things were great. We talked every night and had eaten dinner together a few times. A couple nights after Carson got off work, he’d also come into my room and watched TV with me while he ate his dinner.

Now it was Friday and I was trying to decide if I wanted to go to some college party with Holly. She had been begging, but I wasn’t sure. I mean, I loved to party, but I just wasn’t feeling it. It may have had something to do with wanting to spend time with my roommate. Although, the possibility of Carson not staying home and going to a party was high.

“Fine, if you’ll quit calling me, I’ll meet you for dinner,” Carson said into his phone as he walked down the hallway. It was only nine in the morning and he was already pissed.

I finished off my coffee before rinsing the mug and placing it in the dishwasher. I hated that I was listening to his conversation, but I really didn’t have a choice.

Silence filled the air and I assumed he had finished his conversation. “Holy shit! I didn’t know you were up,” Carson said a second later as he came into view.

“You didn’t hear me turn on the faucet or open and close the dishwasher?” I cocked a brow.

“No,” he replied, shaking his head and then sighing. “Why are you up so early?”

“I wanted to run by the library before class.” I gave him a tight smile. “I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t interrupt your conversation or anything.”

“You didn’t.” He grabbed his bag from the chair. “It was just Sam.”

He said her name so nonchalantly, my heart slammed into my chest then stopped beating altogether. He was having dinner with Sam and I hated how jealous I felt in that moment. She was the reason he couldn’t commit. She was the reason I would never be anything more than a friend to him. “Okay,” I finally said, regaining my breath.

“Yeah.” He walked toward the door. “I’ll see ya around.”

I hated how defeated I felt. I knew it was crazy. Carson had never led me on, but I still felt that way. With a huff, I went back to my room and gathered the stuff I would need for the day.

After arriving on campus, I strolled to the library, deciding not to think about Carson or the bitch he was meeting for dinner. What if he decided to take her back? She had gotten her way each time before. The thought made my stomach roll and my anger boil.

Pulling out a chair, I sat down at a table and dug my laptop out of my bag. I had just turned it on when I heard, “Hey!” whisper-shouted at me.

I turned to see Holly approaching. “Hi,” I said, faking a smile. I just couldn’t muster one up.

“So,” she said, sliding into the chair next to me, “are you coming with me or not?”

As soon as she asked, I knew my answer. “Yes. I need to get drunk. Drunk out of my fucking mind.”

“Yay! But can I ask why you need to get that drunk?”

“Because I just want to have fun,” I said, staring at my laptop. And I needed to forget Carson was having dinner with his ex.

“Good! I feel the same way!” She quietly clapped her hands together. “Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you about my last date!”

Holly didn’t care that we were in the library where we were supposed to be considerate of other students studying around us. She was loud and shrieking a little, and at that moment, I didn’t care either. “Tell me.”

“It was so good. I think I might be in love.”

“Really?”

“Yes!” Her face lit up in a way I hadn’t seen in a long time. “He took me to a cemetery and we had a picnic. I am telling you, it was just so peaceful. He and I all alone…well, if you don’t count all the dead people.”

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Even though I asked, I knew she was.

“Yes! I’m telling you, it was magical. You should totally try it.”

“Um,” I said, “no thanks. Who is this guy?”

“His name is Darkness. Obviously that isn’t his real name, but I don’t know it.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up and out of my mouth. It was loud and came with a snort, but come on. He calls himself Darkness. I finally quieted down and lowered my voice. “I’m sorry, Holl. I’m sure he’s a really great guy. I…I’ve just never heard someone call themselves something like that.” This was exactly what I needed to get me out of my bad mood.

“He is. And if he gets done with his client early enough, he is going to go to the party.”

“Client?” I asked. “What exactly does he do?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s classified.”

“O-kay,” I drew out the word and looked at the time on my laptop. “Well, I can’t wait to meet Darkness. But I really have to get to class.”

“I’ll walk with you,” she said, getting to her feet.

Gathering my things, I stuffed them into my bag and we both walked toward the elevator. We didn’t say much. Holly was texting with a huge smile on her face. I didn’t ask, but I suspected it was
Darkness
. I chuckled to myself as I thought about his name again.

Once we made it out the doors, I almost ran straight into Miranda and her friend Mackenzie, who was married to Carson’s best friend, Hayes. “Oh, hey, Kristin.”

“Hey,” I said back. “How have you been?” I asked. It had been a while since I’d seen her last. Actually, it was the last time she was at the apartment with Carson.

“Good. We were just discussing your roommate.”

I pulled my mouth down into a dramatic half frown. “That can’t be good.”

“One would think,” Mackenzie stated. “We were actually talking about how he offered to watch Harley next Wednesday so Hayes and I can go on a date.”

“Wow.”

“I know, right?” Miranda asked. “I was shocked when I heard it too. I really want to peek in the windows and watch.”