Ruined by You (19 page)

I blew out a sigh, but didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to tell her about what had happened after the meeting with Scottie. There were too many things I needed to work out, still.
 

Unconsciously, I rubbed at the phone in my pocket. Soon I could call him. Maybe, then, things would start to get sorted out.

Later that afternoon, I pulled out my phone and stared at it. I still didn’t know what I was going to say. All I knew was I wanted to be near him. I wanted to share everything with him. But, I had never let anyone in before, and I didn’t know how he would react.

The phone rang twice before he answered.

“Haden,” he said, his voice surprisingly professional.

“It’s Maggie,” I said, hesitantly.

“I’m so glad you called,” he said, his voice lifting. I could almost feel him smiling.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” I said. “I can call back later.”

“There are no bad times for you to call,” he said.

There was an awkward pause, but my smile spread from ear to ear.

“Did you get everything figured out with your friend?” I asked.

Another awkward pause.

“I guess,” he said. “I’m sorry about how everything happened. I was… caught off guard.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” I said.

I desperately wanted to see his face - I wanted to see what he was thinking. I wanted to be near him. This was the first time we’d ever talked on the phone, and I quickly realized that the distance was driving me crazy.

“Maggie,” he said, slowly. “I want to see you.” My heart pounded in my chest. “I want to know what happened at the river.”

“I want to tell you,” I said. My fears about scaring him off vanished. I had to take that risk to be with him.

With him.

The thought crept into my mind for the first time. I’d never considered giving myself to someone before. But, with Haden, I could see it happening. Was he going to be the first?

Once step at a time
, I reminded myself.

“Can you meet me at the Saloon tomorrow night?” he asked. “We can talk about everything.”

“Of course,” I said, even though the thought of spending time at the Saloon was getting old.

“Great,” he said. “See you then.”

The phone line cut off before I could say anything else. I sat staring at it for a minute, replaying the conversation in my head. There was going to be a lot to talk about. I had only known him for a week, but he already meant so much to me.
 

* * * * *

The Saloon was already packed when I arrived. The sound of loud music echoed throughout, and the bar was crowded. The bartender and Scottie were both making drinks. Somehow, Scottie spotted me immediately and tilted his head my way. The smile on his face was as genuine as ever, and it made me feel awful.

A familiar twisting feeling wrenched my stomach. I took a deep breath and tried to keep myself calm. Scottie was an adult, and I had made an adult decision. It’s not like he was going to hold a grudge. He’s a nice guy. I eased up to the same table that Sarah, Huck, and I had used together. It was familiar and secluded.

A few minutes passed while I watched people flowing between the bar and their tables. Others danced and spun around the floor in the same magical way they had on that first night. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, someone sat on the stool across from me. I hadn’t even seen him approaching.

Kyle, voluminous blond hair and all, had the cockiest sideways grin I’d ever seen. His eyes leered at me, and I immediately felt uneasy.

“Pretty girl like you shouldn’t be left alone for too long,” he said.

He had two drinks in his hand, a large mug of beer and a colorful martini. He set the martini in front of me, and it took every ounce of my willpower to not slap the thing off of the table. My hand tightened around my arm.

“I’m waiting on someone,” I said. I refused to make eye contact with him.

Haden better get here soon
.

I could feel his grin widening.

“I don’t think he’s here yet,” he said.

My eyes jerked to the wiry man. “Where is he?” I said, too quickly.

He grinned, triumphantly, and then made a show of making himself comfortable on the stool.

“I’m sure he’ll come around, eventually,” he said. “No reason we can’t get to know one another till then, right?”

His tone sent chills through my spine. I didn’t want to talk to Kyle, not for a single second longer. But I had to play nice. For Haden’s sake, at least.

“I guess,” I said.

He eyed me for a time, and then he looked at the drink in front of me.

“Where I come from, the girl’s appreciate it when a guy buys them a drink.”

My nostrils flared and I felt nauseous.

“I don’t drink,” I said, simply.

Kyle held an open hand in front of his gaping mouth.
 

“Plot twist…” he said, his voice shrill. “The bar wench
doesn’t
drink. I’ll tell you, I didn’t see that coming.”

My eyes flashed, and my vision went red.

“Bar wench?” I said, disbelieving.

He waved his arm in a circle, his hand dangling as though it weighed too much for his wrist to support. “You
do
work for this fine establishment, don’t you?”

I scowled. “Not really,” I said. “And, that doesn’t make me a wench.” I wasn’t even sure what a wench was, but it certainly didn’t sound good. “You’re a real ass, you know that?” I said.

He waved his hand at me, and rolled his eyes. “Don’t get your panties bunched up, Cinderella, your prince will be around with the glass slipper soon enough,” he said.

“My prince?” I said.

Kyle gave me a disbelieving look. “Oh, please,” he said. “The clueless schoolgirl bit might work on Haden, but it’s not going to work on me.”

I stared at him, slack-jawed. It felt like we weren’t even speaking the same language, or talking about the same person.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m sure he’ll set you up real nice. He’s a softy like that.” He glanced over his shoulder, just as Haden appeared at his side. “Speaking of…”

Haden’s brow was damp, and he looked more pissed off than I’d ever seen him.

“I thought we agreed that I’d get her drunk, and
then
you’d come get her,” Kyle said to him, sneering. “You remember? Just like old times.”

Haden clamp a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. The muscles in his forearm rippled.

“Time to go,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Party pooper,” Kyle said to him. He took a step away, before spinning back around. “You know, you should really watch the mouth on this one,” he said, pointing at me. He held his open palm up to the side of his mouth, pretending to tell Haden a secret, but he raised his voice, making sure I could still hear. “She may
look
like she an eighth grader, but she’s curses at a sophomore level.” He gave me one more wide-eyed, condescending look, then turned to Haden, again. “You’ve been
warned
.”

My teeth clenched, together, and everything turned blood red. I reacted without thinking, without knowing what I was doing.

I grabbed the martini glass he’d put in front of me, and launched myself forward.

“ASSHOLE,” I screamed, as I flung the entire cocktail into his face.

The alcohol splashed everywhere, and Haden bounced back to avoid it. Kyle’s face went wide with shock. My pulse raced, and I felt a nervous energy running through me.

A nearby table of girls whooped and clapped for me. They started yelling insults at him in my support. I couldn’t help but laugh at the way he looked. His look of indignation was priceless.

“Sorry,” I said. “I must only have table manners at a second grade level.”

His eyes widened, and flashed dangerously.

“You’ll regret that,” he said. He picked a napkin off the table and dabbed it at his face. He eyed Haden, hard. “Don’t wait up for me, honey. I might be out late.”

He turned to walk away, but Haden clamped a hand on his shoulder, spinning him around. Haden held his other palm out, and he wriggled his fingers. Kyle didn’t look as pissed as I thought he would. He fished in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys that he slapped in Haden’s hand.

Haden gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder.

“If you get lost… call a cab,” Haden said, Kyle’s eyes narrowed at him, but he sulked away without saying anything more. Haden watched until the wiry man was lost in the crowd, and then he turned and looked at me in wide-eyed, wonder. I flashed him my biggest, victorious, smile.

His mouth moved, but it was a while before he figured out what to say.
 

“I didn’t know you had it in you,” he said.

“I didn’t either,” I said, straightening myself. “If you hadn’t realized, your friend is a real asshole.”

Haden closed his eyes, and nodded his agreement.

“He’s an acquired taste,” Haden said.

“Has anyone actually acquired the taste?” I asked, genuinely curious.

Haden sniffed. “Not many,” he said.

His brow was still glistening with sweat, and the t-shirt he was wearing had dark spots on it.

I frowned at him. “You look like you just got done running a race,” I said. “Are you OK?”

He blew out heavy breath, and slumped onto the stool. “The asshole decided to leave me at the hotel,” he said. “I ran down here as fast as I could so you wouldn’t be stuck with him.”

I grinned. “You ran all the way from your hotel so protect me?” I said.

A satisfactory smile spread across his face, and he nodded.

“Well, I hope it wasn’t far,” I said. “I don’t my big, bad savior all worn out.”

“I’m at the Elk Horn Lodge,” Haden said. “It’s just down the street near the interstate.” He gave me a smug smile. “Don’t worry, I’m in good shape, I can handle it.”

I recognized the Lodge. We passed it on our way to San Antonio every time.

“Well, next time,” I began. “You could always just call, and I’ll just come pick you up.” I gave him a wink, as his smile slackened, and his face went blank.

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind, smarty pants,” he said.

We laughed together for a moment, and then things got quiet. I eyed him for a long time, knowing what was coming next. It was time that we have a talk.

Haden gave me a long, knowing look. He was thinking the same thing.

“You hungry?” he said, giving me a half smile. “I could really go for a burger right now.”

“That sounds nice,” I said. The tension knotted in me loosened.

“Good, I know a place,” he said. He held his hand out to me. “Let’s get out of here.”

Outside, Haden held the car door open for me.

“So chivalrous,” I grinned, climbing in.

“What can I say? You make me want to do things for you,” he said.

My smile widened. As he walked around the car to the driver’s side, I leaned over and popped the door open for him. I gave it as hard a push as I could, though it didn’t move much. His hand caught it, and he climbed in.

“Speaking of chivalrous,” he said, flashing me another smile.

I shrugged and looked away for a second. “What can I say? You make me want to do things for
you
.”

The engine purred to life and he pulled out of the parking lot. He twisted through the dark streets of Green Falls. The sleepy little town was coming to life as people tried to make something of their Friday night.

Teens, and adults alike, hung out near the theater. We drove past the park in the center of town and saw lovers, young and old, walking hand in hand. The town was magical right then, and I wanted to soak it all in.

Haden pulled us into a little burger shack that reminded me of the drive-in type places in the older parts of Jersey. The shack was built from an old train car, and everyone ordered from a huge window cut into the side of it. Tables were lined under a small porch overlooking the street and a park.

A young girl with roller skates glided between the tables, serving food. She carried a tray with an impossible number of plates raised high above her head. I whistled, impressed.

We each ordered a burger, and Haden insisted on paying. Then we found a tiny table at the back of the porch, near the street.

“It’s a beautiful night,” I said. “Everything’s so perfect out here.”

Haden looked at me for a long second.

“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” he said.

I blushed.

The waitress circled around with our food a few minutes later. She set down the burgers, and vanished before Haden could hand her a tip. I groaned as I watched her skate off.

“That might be me, soon,” I said.

His brow pinched together. “What do you mean?”

“If this thing doesn’t work out, I’ll need to find a new summer job,” I said.

He put his hand over mine. It was comforting, and sent tingles through my arm.

“You have nothing to worry about,” he said. “We’re going to make this happen.”

“How can you be so sure?” I asked. “You didn’t see how badly I pissed them off last time. You didn’t see the way they looked at me - like they wanted nothing to do with me.”

“Stacey wanted something to do with you,” he said.

I groaned. “She didn’t try very hard while I was there,” I said.

Haden smiled. “It’s her job to make sure that her clients are happy,” he said. “That’s why she had to wait. I talked to her - she knows what she’s doing, and she wants to talk to us.”

He sounded so confident that he almost fooled me into believing him. “We’ll see,” I said, softly.

We sat quietly and picked at our food. The burger was good, but my thoughts were too preoccupied to really enjoy it.

“How do you know so much?” I asked. “You always seem so sure of yourself, so certain.”

“I saw a lot of this stuff in LA,” he said. “You get used to it.”

“I hope that, someday, I’m that confident about something,” I said.

We ate in silence for a while longer. Then, he leaned back and gave me a look. My brow rose, wondering what he was thinking, and he gave me a soft smile.

“I’m dying to know…” he began.

“I know,” I said, cutting him off. We’d come here to talk about me. To talk about what had gone on at the river. I could only imagine the torture Haden was going through, not knowing. I couldn’t keep making him wait like that.