Entangled (A Tryst Novel) (3 page)

The question throws me as I grab for the bottle and take the last large gulp, feeling incredibly proud of us for finishing it off. “Um, should I?”

She snorts adorably. “Yeah. You wanna be some big-time movie star and you don’t even know what the Oriental comes from? It’s from the movie
Tombstone
. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday frequented the bar. I’ve heard about this place. I’ve always wanted to go inside but haven’t had a reason to check it out until now.”

I offer her a shrug, thinking her fancy black dress is obviously too nice for the darkness the doorway exudes.

She nods, as if dismissing my thought. “C’mon. You’ll see.”

As she pulls me into the dingy bar, the bumping music I can hear coming from its depths contradicts its immediate antique feel. Sure enough, the place looks straight out of a western with its round tables with wooden peg chairs, and a long bar by the back wall lined with different types of whiskey backlit by the same neon red of the sign outside. The bartender even sports a handlebar mustache. However, his Sex Pistols T-shirt gives an odd twist to his appearance.

Actually, upon closer inspection, the whole bar is a mishmash of nonsense. The wood-paneled walls clash with the patrons. It may look like I just stepped into the town of
 
Tombstone
,
but the odd looks coming our way make me feel like I just entered a biker bar. Burley, shaggy-haired men drinking bottles of beer, contrast oddly with the occasional hipster and vintage-wearing woman that decorate the chairs and booths. The alternative grunge band that plays on the small stage in the back complements the patrons, and I find the longer I stare the more I begin to realize it all suits the bar itself. Go figure.

I’m yanked back to reality as Skyler tugs me to a tall table in the back, placing her purse on it and swiveling back to me.

“What do you think?”

I grin. “It’s perfect. Who knew we’d end up here?”

Assuming she’s more brazen after the wine, she smiles sweetly. “Are you gonna buy me a drink before the night’s over, then?”

I dramatically place the empty bottle of wine on the table, grab for her petite waist, and pull her flush against me, which sends a thrill through my body. “The night has just begun. Who says I don’t already have a plan for at least the end of the night?”

Her eyes go wide. “You do!”

“Of course.” A smug flutter blooms in my gut as I watch her blue eyes spark with excitement. Hopefully the plan will go off without a hitch.

A scantily clad waitress scurries by, and I keep my eyes on her face rather than her plunging cleavage, which I know is a tactic to distract. “Excuse me, ma’am?”

The tall brunette whips around, her brows twisted in annoyance, but her eyes soften as soon as she locks them with mine, and if I’m not mistaken Skyler might have just huffed.

“Hi, can we get two shots of tequila and a whiskey on the rocks for myself?”

“Yeah, of course. House whiskey okay?” Her voice comes off gruff like she might smoke a pack of cigarettes a day.

I nod my agreement, and she departs.

“Blake, what do have planned later?”

“Uh, you, of course.”

She rolls her eyes and guffaws, pulling out of my grasp, but halts herself, nearly running into the waitress who has our drinks already.

“Here you go, sir.”

The waitress slips me a sly smile as she places the shots on the table, and I’m quick to look away. I have one main focus; there’s only one person who will always have my undivided attention. I turn to Skyler, who’s already tentatively drumming her fingernails on the edge of the table while chewing her plump bottom lip.

“Might as well keep up with this epic theme, right?” I grab for both shots, and extend one to her.

“Yeah, after finishing an outrageously expensive bottle of wine, I love to slum it with the house tequila.”

I let the effortless laughter emerge from my lips as she watches, amused, with a tight, admiring smile, and I don’t need to see it in this dim light to know that that wonderful rose color has risen to her cheeks.

I raise my glass in a toast. “To us!”

Her mouth widens in glee at the remark as she grabs for the tiny glass and brings it up to clink with mine. “To us!”

When my eyes sync with hers I know that there’s no other place I’d rather be, and we swing back the shots. I welcome the satisfying burn down my throat.

I watch as Skyler shakes off the aftermath of the cheap tequila, and she definitely enters the adorable zone as she shakes out her hands in waves. I’m about to make a smart-ass remark, but the live band in the back begins a new song, and the familiar bass beat of the Jane’s Addiction song
 
“Jane Says
”
 
reverberates through the bar.

Her blue eyes widen as she screeches, “I love this song!”

Apparently she isn’t the only one who loves it because as she begins her somewhat out-of-character strides to the dance floor, she seems to lead the way for a few bar patrons who join her in front of the band.

I sip on my whiskey as I admire my girl in this dingy LA bar, fueled by $150 wine and a shot of tequila. I bask in the fact she’s watching me just as intently as her hips gyrate hypnotically. Her bright blue gaze is beckoning me along with every sway of her hips to the beat of the bass drum.

I lick my lips as I peel the restricting vest from my chest, feeling the brimming warmth from my gut that’s due to two things: alcohol, and my strange, fanatical love and obsession with that silly girl who never lets me have the last word.

I start my strides toward her, noting with a shallow breath that with every swing of her hips her tight black dress rides up her thigh.

I’d never question Skyler’s fidelity, but that being said, I know damn well when I have a hot girlfriend. I take a look around the room to confirm that most of the men can’t stop staring either, and I feel pretty damn smug about it.

She’s mine, and I get to take her home with me
.

That would make any man happy.

SKYLER

I know the alcohol has made me bolder, but it doesn’t change the fact that the vision of Blake stalking toward me makes my mouth water and my knees go weak, not to mention the irrational need to run in the opposite direction from this distractingly handsome specimen. His debonair attitude is overwhelming, to say the least, and in a way, thank goodness for wine and tequila or I wouldn’t be able to keep up.

I halt my hips as he approaches, and adoringly he lifts his hand to brush a curl out of my face. “Don’t stop on my account.”

I purse my lips into a tight smile as I grab for his shirt, tugging him even closer. “Then dance with me.”

His laughter rumbles through his body, and its smooth sound causes the warmth in my gut to grow. He places his hands firmly on my hips, moving them to the erratic beats of Jane’s Addiction, and his own laughter becomes infectious. I notice that as soon as the sound leaves my lips, he becomes silent, replacing it with that secret smile that I’m all too fond of.

“What are you smiling at?” I ask as I lean closer to his face, wrapping my arms securely around his neck, basking in the heat radiating off his body.

“I wasn’t lying when I said you have me questioning everything.”

His sweet tone has my heart fluttering, making me feel this mixture of anxious excitement and fear of the unknown, but I still can’t fight my smile.

“What do you mean, Blake?”

He wrinkles his nose. “I mean, about having a life worth living well. One with purpose, and one with direction.”

Another body-racking thump of my heart hits my body, like a gong that I can feel vibrate all the way to my fingertips. “I’m afraid to ask what you mean by that.”

He winks, stifling a chuckle as he grabs for one of my hands around his neck, and lifts it to his lips, kissing my fingers delicately while his wicked smile reveals itself. “You should be.”

“I wish I could think straight around you,” I retort while letting out a long, drawn-out breath to gain back my focus.

“Back ’atcha, babe. What makes you think I know up or down when I’m around you?”

His words delight me. I press my lips gently to his mouth, pulling away before he can claim more. “I love you.”

He lets out his own long breath in a hum of what I assume is happiness. “Life couldn’t get more perfect right now.”

“What do you mean?” I raise a brow.

“Here we are, not hiding. We aren’t lying about our feelings. Everything is out in the open, and you’re all mine.”

I playfully jab him in his chest. “Hey now, I’m not some possession.” I pout as I lock eyes with his green depths, noting that it’s all I’ve ever wanted: for me to belong to him, and for him to be mine. “But I’m happy, too. I almost don’t know what to do with myself now that I don’t have to hide you.”

I heave in my own desperate pull of oxygen. It really is nice to be done with fighting my feelings for him, and keeping them a secret from my brother. Those months before of being unsure how to feel had been torture, and now describing it as relief would be an understatement.

His lips crook upward, and I go in for another kiss. I willingly accept his arms wrapping around my waist, pulling me flush against him. His tongue expertly explores my mouth, and his taste is sinfully sweet when you mix it with tequila.

He pulls away, his lips still twisted wryly as he drags the tip of his perfectly sloped nose down mine. “I think we should call a cab and get out of here.”

I hum my approval while taking a secretive breath, devouring Blake’s clean, musky scent. “A cab where? Home?”

My skin tingles as the word
 
home
 
emerges from my mouth. The idea of having a home with Blake is a wonderfully fantastical one, and the idea of merging my haphazard loft bedroom that my brother Josh lets me live in with Blake’s bedroom downstairs causes another moment of elated nerves to spark. Though, I don’t know how Josh will feel about that since he’s allowing me live rent-free and isn’t necessarily happy his best friend is sleeping with his little sister after being specifically told not to all those months ago when I moved in.

Baby steps . . .

“Home?” he scoffs. “Where your brother is dutifully waiting for us like an overprotective father? I don’t think so.”

I giggle, smoothing out the shoulders of Blake’s dress shirt, loving the feeling of his taut body under my fingertips. “My brother can be a bit insane.”

“I thought he accepted that we’re together now.”

“Just give it time. You have a bit to prove, don’t you think?”

Blake’s shoulders slump, but his wicked grin of nonchalance remains. “You’re right, but it doesn’t mean he’s going to stop me from having you.”

I tilt my head adoringly to look at him. “What does that even mean?”

“It means I’ve got a room someplace where I don’t have to worry about your brother listening in beyond the wall.”

I roll my eyes this time, even though I’m grinning like an idiot. “You got a hotel room?”

He shrugs. “Would you prefer I didn’t?” His tone is retaliatory, and I have to admit to myself it’s familiar, and I love it.

“Leave it to you to already have plans for my body.”

He licks his lips. “Oh, so you’re saying you didn’t already have plans for mine?”

I blush crimson, but can’t restrain my outburst of laughter. “Okay, you’re right. Hotel where?”

“The Four Seasons.”

My abrupt gasp chokes off by my laughter. “Four Seasons? In Beverly Hills? Blake, you really didn’t have to do that. We could have stayed in any hotel. The Four Seasons is too much!”

“Skyler, please let me spoil you.” He grabs for my face, and his hands feel wonderfully cool against my flushed skin. “I know you hate that I’m bringing it up, but soon I won’t be home often, and there will be times I’ll have to be out of town. What are we going to do then? I just want this moment. Hell, I want this night for us to enjoy
 
us.
 
It’ll be the first of a handful of nights we might have before I start filming.”

My gut plummets at the thought. I’ve only had him for such a short period of time. I’m just getting used to this.

He brushes his thumb over my bottom lip. “As much as I love your pout, I’ll have none of that. I don’t want to dwell on it. The point of this is, let me do whatever the hell I want when it comes to spoiling you, got it?”

I wrinkle my brows and he lets out a chortle. “I think you’re the first girl in the city of Los Angeles to argue with being spoiled.”

“I can’t imagine not having you around while you’re doing who-knows-what when I only just barely got to have you.”

Blake’s face turns endearingly stern. “Babe, stop it. Let’s live in the moment. For now, I can’t wait to have you all to myself tonight. Oh, and I was wondering one other thing . . .”

Leaning into his touch, I try not to think about Blake’s growing career. I lift my head up to signal him to continue.

“Come with me tomorrow.”

“What do you mean? Where?”

“I have my last photo shoot tomorrow, and I think it’d be cool if you came with me to see what work is like for me. I want you to see what it’s like on a photo shoot. Why not, right? And when filming starts, I want you on set.”

I don’t know why, but my throat goes dry. Will there be pretty women there? Will I have to watch them drape themselves all over my boyfriend? I’m just getting used to dating him, and the idea of having to share him with others is disconcerting, but the moment my brow furrows I watch his face fall in disappointment, and a new feeling I have yet to feel blooms in my gut. The idea of disappointing Blake is a feeling I never want to experience and decide to avoid it at all costs. I want him to know I support him; though I may dread the things it may entail, I can’t have him thinking otherwise.

I grin as honestly as I can. “Of course. I’d love to.”

“Are you sure?” he asks,. “It was just an idea. You may be smarter than me, but I know you and
 
that 
look.”

A wry smile peeks through my lips. “I’m not smarter than you!”