Emma Chase (17 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Holly, Olivia, and I decided it was time for margaritas and fajitas.  Oh boy. 

We
are sitting in El Chili Rojo all gussied up on a Wednesday night.  I am sporting an emerald green halter top with dark jeans, my silver heels, lots of silver around my neck to match, and my hair flowing down my back.

Olivia is wearing a simple, sexy black dress that shows off a generous amount of cleavage and dips low in the back, and if she bends over, she’ll be giving away all her cash and prizes.  Her light brown hair with magenta highlights is styled in a pixie look.  She is working that bright red lipstick and black eyeliner.  Unlike her brothers, she has softer features and a lighter skin tone.  Now that I think about it, she resembles them but she’s not a dead ringer.  The brothers could never deny the fact that they are in fact brothers.  They look a lot like Jim.  Olivia shares Jim’s eyes and cheekbone structure, but that is it. 

She must look more like her mother.  Her mother, Alexis Holt, died years ago when they were all younger.  Braden told me the story a while back.  She was coming home one night from the grocery store and was hit head-on by a drunk driver.  Tristan was in the car with her.  They were all close to her, and she adored all of her children.  Learning of the stories they all shared while sitting around the dinner table made me wish that I had gotten a chance to meet this woman.

Jim described her as the most loving, kind, and caring woman who had ever walked the earth.  Apparently she was the type of woman to spend Thanksgiving at soup kitchens, give her
last dollar to someone in need, and take in stray dogs.  According to Jim, Braden, Tristan, Jake, and Olivia, she damn near hung the moon.

I never had a mother I could remember, but I know if I
had had one, I’d want her to be someone like Alexis Holt.

It is just us girls for a night out on the town.  Even for a Tuesday night, the place is jumping.  It is packed full, nearly wall to wall with people.  The music was loud and they were serving margaritas by the pitcher.

I am drunk.  Hammered is a better word for what I am right about now. I finish sucking back my second ‘Golden Margarita’ when the third pitcher arrives at our table.

Tonight we are all a hot, giggling mess.  My whole body aches from all of the giggling.  In fact, I’m pretty sure considering all of the pain in my stomach muscles, I won’t have to do crunches for a while.   That’s how these nights always end up with us.  Especially margaritas and fajitas night.

Holly went with a little red dress—and when I say little, I mean just that.  She paired her little red dress with some light silver strapped heels.  She did her hair up in a cute little twist and curled the pesky strands that always escape when she puts her hair up. She also went with the smoky-eye look and neutral lipstick.

The girl is tall.  She is five foot nine, and in this dress with her never-ending legs, she is hot.

At the moment, she is doubled over the table, laughing hysterically at a story she is trying to tell us, of which I got absolutely none.  Not because there is so much noise or
because
there are so many people, but because she is laughing so hard it has forced me and Olivia into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. 

She dabs the corners of her eyes with the back of her finger.  “So you and Braden…” Holly
initiates.

“Lululululululu!” Olivia covers her ears with her hands, lowers her head, and closes her eyes tight. “Please don’t go any further.  He’s my brother, and I may like to talk guys and sex and orgasms with you, but I CANNOT do it where one of my brothers is involved.  Gross!”

“We’re not sleeping together.  We are screwing.  Okay, well sleeping is involved too, but only after orgasms.”

“Lululululululululu!”

“Well that sucks,” Holly mumbles.

“What sucks?” I ask, studying her face, which is now looking a little disappointed.

“I wanted to talk guys and sex and orgasms.” She is pouting.

“Holly, we need to find a guy to give you lots of sex and orgasms,” Olivia states
, nodding her head.

“I found one to give me lots of sex and orgasms.”

“What?” Olivia and I collectively shriek.

“I found one to give me lots of sex and orgasms,” she repeats, eyes looking everywhere but at us.

I
reach across the table and cover her hand with my own. “Sweetheart, that’s great!  It’s been a long time since you’ve found a man to give you lots of sex and orgasms.”

Olivia claps her hands together and bounces in her chair.  “Who is it?  Is he hot?  Do we know him? How good is the lots of sex and orgasms?  Multiples?  No, no… Of course multiples or you wouldn’t have mentioned it.  Tell us!”

Holly’s head goes back and she looks up at the ceiling.  She inhales deeply.  Her eyes find mine.  Then they move to Olivia.

“It’s Tristan,” she whispers.  “Tristan gives me lots of sex and orgasms.  Multiple, explosive, amazing orgasms.  So many orgasms that I lose count every time.  He’s fantastic in bed, a freakin’ animal.  Yet he’s so attentive and sweet. He’s—“

“Lululululululululu!”

We all start laughing.  I watch as my two girls laugh and wipe their eyes, dabbing their tears away, careful not to smear their makeup.

“He’s funny.  He makes me feel beautiful.  He makes me forget all of the shit in my life.  Ever since he started giving me all of the sex and orgasms, I have felt so alive.”

There are two collective female gasps, and they came from me and Olivia.

“Holy shit, sweetheart. Are you in love with him?” I ask.
“No!” Holly shrieks.  An ear-piercing shriek at that.  So loud I thought the owners were going to have to call someone to replace every window in the place tomorrow morning.  Maybe all the liquor bottles behind the bar too.

She
slaps her hands over her face to cover it.

Olivia and I glance
at each other.  Looking back at her, I ask, “How long has all the sex and orgasms been going on?”

Holly’s fingers spread and she peeks through at me sideways before whispering, “Since the night after we went to the gym for our self-defense class.”

I slam back into my chair, floored.  Olivia smacks her hands on the table, her mouth wide.

“Why were you keeping this a secret from us?” I inquire.

  Her hands slide down her face, landing in her lap along with her eyes. “I wasn’t keeping it from you two exactly.  There’s been so much going on, and of course I can’t talk about it with Olivia because she doesn’t like stories about her brothers having all the sex and orgasms and –“
“Christ!” Olivia mutters, smacking her head on the table.  “I’m going to need more margaritas.”

I make a mental note to revisit this subject at a later date when we are alone at home.  Or maybe I’ll bring her lunch to the office and I can get the scoop then.  Either way, even in my drunken fog, I am so proud that my girl is finally getting orgasms.  I am even happier that it is with Tristan.  He is a good guy, and she needs one of those in her life.  He had a little trouble with drugs back in the day when he was coping with the death of his mother, but he got help
and turned his life around.  The only thing that does worry me is that he is a ladies’ man by nature.  Then again, all of the Holt boys are.

We drop the subject of Holly and her orgasms and carry on with chick speak and giggles.

I am having a hard time trying to pull myself together, but I am reeling it in when my phone rings.

I put my finger up in the air and swipe my phone across the screen.  “Hello?”

I can’t hear anything that the man is saying so I put my finger to my other ear to see if that helps.  Nope.

I stand and tilt my head at the girls before I walk back to the hallway of the bathroom.

“Okay, that’s better.  Sorry.  I couldn’t hear you.  There are a lot of people here and—“

“Ms. Chase.  This is Pierce Stewart from the D.A.’s office. I’m on the case against Mr. Delgado. We met a few months ago.”

My back goes straight, my head tips back, and my eyes go to the ceiling.

Oh God.

“Ms. Chase, Mr. Delgado posted bond.  He has been released until his trial.”

I close my eyes and my throat close
s.

My
body starts to tremble.  My body reacts the same way every time someone mentions that monster’s name. 

“Ms. Chase?  Are you still there?”

My eyes do a slow blink and I nod. Then I remember that he can’t see me nod my head.

“Yes,” I breathe
, my eyes searching the crowd.  I immediately start to panic and wonder if Jose is here.  What if he knows where I am?

“How could this happen?” I inquire.

“His bond was posted and he was released to his brother Luis Delgado until the trial.” 

“Is this something that normally happens?  I didn’t even know someone could be released when there was clear evidence that someone was fucking guilty!” I find myself screaming at this point,
and I try to collect myself. 

“I’m sorry, Ms. Chase.  I know that this is difficult for you, but it is our responsibility to make sure that you are aware—“

“Yeah, thanks.”  I remove the phone from my ear and press end.

Shit!

I head to the bar, order a shot of
Jäger
, smack a ten on the bar, and pound it back. The smooth heat rolls down the back of my throat.  I wince and shake my head.  It may be smooth but it has a punch.

I
look back to the table where Holly and Olivia are seated.  They are laughing and carrying on about their lives as they should be.

I throw down another ten and suck back another shot of
Jäger
.

“Darlin’, you keep taking them back like that and you’ll have to be carried out.”

I look down and squint at my shot glass. I look to the man sitting at the bar next to where I am standing. He tilts his glass at me and winks.  He is an older gentleman, wearing an old Stetson hat, a white collar button-down shirt, light faded blue jeans, and brown cowboy boots.  He also has the coolest white mustache that curls up at the sides. 

“Fantastic,” I mutter back.  I turn, leaning on the bar and watching my girls. 

“So are you all shitfaced or just you, darlin’?”

I smirk at him, smack the bar, tell him to have a good night, and hit the dance floor.  I am not going to curl up in a ball and cry this away.  I am going to keep living my life.  I don’t know if it’s actually my own strength or the false strength of tequila mixing with
Jäger
. What I do know is that it is margaritas and fajitas night and I’m not going to let anything piss on my good time.

I make it back to our table a sweaty mess.  I grab the pitcher of water, which hasn’t been touched all night, tilt it back, and start guzzling.  I slam the pitcher on the table, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, and look to Holly and Olivia.

They are both studying me.

“What?” I ask.

“Honey, who was on the phone?” Holly inquires.

“Yeah, girl.  You walked off on your phone and next thing we know you’re droppin’ it like it
’s hot on the dance floor.  Sup, buttercup?” Olivia pipes in.

“I was in the mood to dance.”

They both look at me, blinking slowly like they are trying to decipher the code I am speaking.

“We should call a cab,” I interject.

“No need,” Olivia says. “I called Jake. “ Her eyes slide over my shoulder. “And there he is.”

I look over my shoulder to the door, and there he is indeed. 

I haven’t seen him in a while.  Poor guy works so hard.  He is a Polk County Fireman.  Our schedules never seem to sync in our favor, so getting the guy out for a beer is nearly impossible.

Jake looks much like his brothers.  Dark hair shaved close on the sides and back but a little longer on the top and front.  Beautiful dark eyes that always look like they are smiling at you. A perfect strong, square jaw, lickable lips, and a perfectly symmetrical nose.  He has less facial hair than his brothers—just a hint of a goatee.  He is the younger brother.  He is also as big as his brothers.  Muscular and strong.  In other words, he is hot.

“Ladies,” his deep voice says. “How drunk are you tonight?”

My head tips back and my mouth drops.  This is because he shot a sinfully sweet smile, which took over his entire face, all the way to his eyes.

“Jake!” I squeal, jumping out of the booth and into his arms.

“Hey, Em.”

“How the hell are ya, babe?”

“Well, considering I have to be back at work in an hour and got a call from my drunk-ass little sis telling me that you all needed a ride home, I’m doin’ all right.”

I pull back, hands still on his shoulders, and look up at him.  He is gorgeous.  He is sweet and gorgeous and I can’t peel my eyes off of him.  This is probably also the tequila and
Jäger
.