Redeem Me: Oakville Series:Book Four (7 page)

We walk into KC’s and I see Angel, Kyle, Paul, and Marcus sitting at the bar with a group of guys I’ve never met before. I look over to Kayleigh and a huge smile crosses her face when her eyes lock on the hunky guy talking to Angel. The guys must be her boyfriend and his band.

Angel’s eyes meet mine and I’m blessed with his unbelievably sexy smile that makes my knees feel weak. When he glances over at Kayleigh, his smile quickly fades and his face pales, as if he’s seen a ghost. The reaction is odd. Turning back toward the bar, he slides three shots over and slams them back one right after the other. A feeling of dread fills me as I watch him. Does he know Kayleigh? Was she one of his many conquests? She’s a little younger than his usual girls, but I’m not sure that would stop him. Could I work with her every day knowing she’s been with him? Kayleigh’s chipper voice interrupts my disturbing thoughts.

“Oh, look. There’s my boyfriend, Rylan,” she squeals with excitement before running up to him. He engulfs her in a hug and Angel turns to look at her. It’s almost as if he’s studying her face, like he’s seen her before but can’t remember where. Jealousy rages through me as I watch him watch her. This isn’t something I’m used to feeling and it’s not as if I have some claim over him.

After a few minutes of staring at her, Angel motions to the bartender to bring him another shot. When he notices me watching him, he gives me a sad smile and tosses it back. Kayleigh begins introducing me to Rylan and the rest of the band, who call themselves Fallen Angels, breaking me away from dwelling further. Rylan is the lead singer. With his chocolate brown hair and big brown eyes, I’m sure he has all the girls swooning and hanging on his every lyric. He has a look to him that’s a mixture of bad boy and the boy next door. Playing the drums is Lane. His long blond locks and baby blues remind me of the rockers from the eighties hair band era. On bass is Stefan, and lead guitar is Dallas. These two are obviously twins. They try to hide it with their different styles and hair color, but it’s plain to see. Stefan has shoulder-length jet-black hair with bright red streaks. His eyes are so brown, they almost look black. Dallas has light brown hair that curls at the bottom and around his ears, and his eyes are a crystal blue. I wonder if their music is as good as they look.

“Aren’t they a little young for you, sweet pea?” Angel slurs, sounding a little angry…or maybe that’s jealousy I’m hearing. His mouth is so close to my ear, I can feel his warm breath glide across it. My body breaks out in goose bumps. A strong whiskey odor invades my nose, breaking my lust-filled trance. If he keeps drinking like this, he’ll be passed out in no time. I glare at him, hoping my eyes convey the anger and embarrassment I’m feeling. He has no right to give me shit about anything. In fact, he was the one who went running for the hills when I told him I’m a virgin. How can one man cause me to go into heat one second and want to throat punch him the next? A sly smirk crosses his face and I know I’m not going to like whatever it is he’s about to say.

“Although, maybe they’re more your speed,” he says. Red, hot anger spreads throughout my body. Why the hell is he being so damn mean to me? If anyone should be mean and angry, it’s me for the way he just walked out on me. I’m so pissed off at his attitude and the way he’s making fun of me, I have a strong urge to kick him square in the junk.

“Not all of us strive to be whores like you,” I spit. Turning to Kayleigh, who is staring at me with her mouth open wide, I smile. “I’ll get us a table. Come over whenever you’re ready.” I smile at the boys. “It was nice meeting you guys.” I glare one more time at Angel, who’s looking at me like I’ve sprouted an extra head, and flip him off. Before turning away, I see a sexy grin grace his face. I just called him a whore and flipped him off and he thinks it’s funny. I don’t understand this man at all.

Angel

I’
ve never seen her so fired up and pissed off. I really like this side of her. She has no idea how much she turns me on, or how badly I want her. But I can’t have her. It’s not fair to her. To take something so sacred and important from her without being able to give her what she needs—what she deserves. The sad thing is I can picture having a relationship with her. I’m just not worthy of her. I don’t deserve love and happiness.

Seeing this Kayleigh girl who could pass as Katie’s twin just reminds me of what a screw up I really am and how being loved by me never turns out well. When I looked up and saw her standing there, I thought I was dreaming. She looks exactly like her…or, at least, what she’d look like now. She has the same caramel-colored brown hair that curls at the ends. It was her eyes, though, that really caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand. Those big, dark brown eyes; the ones that always held so much love and kindness in them. Eyes I never imagined I’d see again. I can’t get them out of my head. A person’s eyes don’t usually change with age. When she looked at me, I could swear it was Katie looking at me. In my head, I know she’s gone, but my heart still thinks there’s hope that she’ll show up one day with open arms.

No longer can I concentrate on the people around me. I just want to erase all thoughts of Katie from my head. What better way to do that than drinking until it all disappears? It’s been a long time since I drank like this, but right now, I have no other choice. The consequences of being shit-faced are nothing compared to what will happen if thoughts of Katie consume me. I call Lani over and order a bottle of Jack. Paul and Kyle give me worried looks. They haven’t seen me like this in a very long time and I’m sure they’re wondering why it’s happening again now. I just can’t bring myself to tell them the truth. That I was a selfish little bastard who was too busy playing and having fun to watch her like I should have. They would hate me—especially now that they are both fathers. Hell, I hate me for what I’ve done.

When Rylan introduces his girl to me, I can’t even look at her. The memories her face brings back are too much. I hate that I’m coming off as a prick, but it is what it is. Better people think of me that way than a monster who lost his baby sister. I give her a nod, a halfhearted, “Hey,” and resume my drinking. I consume shot after shot, waiting for the drunken haze to remove the sight of my sweet Katie. Every now and then, I hear the sound of Chelsie’s laughter and it makes my heart hurt. I feel like shit for walking out on her the way I did and my asshole side really showed through tonight. I could see the hurt in her eyes as soon as the words left my mouth. She’s better off hating me, too.

Half the bottle is gone and I still feel the unbearable pain in my chest that never seems to go away. Kyle and Paul have been sitting at the table with the girls and the guys from Fallen Angels, but they’re still keeping a close watch over me. I’m not stopping, not until I feel nothing. I reach over the bar and grab a regular glass. The small shot glass just isn’t getting the job done quickly enough.

With half a glass left in the bottle, I’m finally feeling pretty good…and fucked up. Everything around me is a blur, and the room is spinning. My chest no longer feels as if a car is resting on it, though. I have the urge to laugh. At what, I have no idea. I turn to glance at Chelsie. It takes a minute for her to come into focus, and when she does, she’s looking at me, too. Lifting my hand, I wave and blow her a kiss. For a split second, she smiles and I can see her blush, then she raises her hand and flips me off again. I can’t help but laugh. She’s so cute when she’s mad. I really owe her an apology. With my finger, I motion for her to come to me. She shakes her head no, so I put my hands together and mouth, “Please”. She abruptly gets up and stomps over to me.
Worked like a charm.

“What do you want, Angel?” she asks angrily, her hands on her hips. God, she’s beautiful. Maybe calling her over here wasn’t such a good idea. Annoyed, she crosses her arms over her chest and begins tapping her foot. Reaching over, I pull the barstool next to me out and motion for her to sit. I throw in a cute smile, hoping it dissipates her anger. She looks from me to the barstool, rolls her eyes, and then sits down on it. “What do you want? If you didn’t notice, I was having a good time with my friends. I have better things to do than watch you stare at me,” she huffs. My mind is hazy from all the alcohol. I grip the bar in an attempt to steady myself and keep the place from spinning. Once I’m only seeing one of her I can speak.

“Sweet pea, I’m sorry for being such an ass to you. I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you,” I say. She just stares at me, her face expressionless. I wish she’d speak or smile—something to tell me what she’s thinking.

“Why are you so intent on trying to make people think you’re a heartless dick? We all know differently,” she asks, her tone one of frustration. She looks at me so sweetly, it almost makes me feel like I can tell her my secret, but I’m afraid she’ll never look at me like that again if I do.

“I have a way of hurting the people I care about. It’s better to keep expectations low, that way I don’t disappoint the ones I love,” I explain. Her eyes widen and her expression softens a bit. That was too easy, what did I say? Replaying the words in my head, I try to figure out what softened her up so easily. When I remember the last word I spoke, my stomach knots. Do I love Chelsie? Maybe not yet, but I think I could. I do know I have strong feelings for her. I’m always thinking about her, and can’t seem to stay away no matter how hard I try. Me and my big fucking mouth. I stand up and quickly fall back on the stool, unable to balance myself. Either the room is spinning or I’m a little more fucked up than I realized. Chelsie reaches for me to keep me steady. The fact that she cares makes me smile.

“Why are you smiling like a fool?” she asks with a laugh.

“Don’t know. I do, however, know I’m really fucked up,” I slur. I try to stand again, and this time, I make it, though shakily. “I think I need to go home,” I tell her as I place a soft kiss on her cheek. Her skin sets my lips on fire, a slow burn of desire. I want so badly to taste her, to hold her, but I can’t.

“You’re in no condition to go anywhere. Wait here. I’m gonna grab my purse and take you home,” she orders. Before I can argue, she’s already at the table getting her things and saying her goodbyes. Everyone yells goodbye to me in between their laughter.

Chelsie

I
pull into my parking space and turn off the car. The entire way here, Angel has been babbling about absolutely nothing. Every now and then, he’d just break out into random fits of laughter. At least I know he’s a happy drunk. I get out of the car, but before I can reach his side, he’s already fumbling to get out. I wrap my arm around him and catch him just before he face-plants the pavement.

“Thank you, sweet pea. That would have hurt,” he says with a laugh. He’s kinda cute when he’s drunk and helpless. Why can’t I seem to stay away from this man? Every time I’m around him, I seem to fall for him more. Not even his asshole mode seems to deter me. I can’t help it; I’m drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

After what feels like forever, I get Angel inside the building. Thank God our apartments are on the first floor. I don’t think I could make it upstairs with his drunk, stumbling ass. He can’t find his keys, so I bring him to my apartment instead. I unlock my door while trying to keep him upright. When I open the door, we both stumble inside. I manage to get him over to the couch.

“Wait here. I’ll grab you a pillow and a blanket. You can sleep here for tonight.”

“Ah. I was hoping I could sleep cuddled up with you,” he says, laying his head back against the couch. His eyes are closed and there’s a sly smirk on his face. The fucker is teasing me. I should have just left the lush in the hallway.

“In your dreams buddy.” I laugh and head to the hall closet.