Sassy's Studs (2 page)

“When did you get back to town?” Colbie asked, shooting a look I didn’t understand at the other man.

“Um, a few weeks ago. Do you both still live here?” I shifted the tray to my other hand and glanced around to make sure my boss wasn’t giving me a dirty look for fraternizing instead of hustling my booze.

“Yeah,” Ryan said, his tone normal again. He ran a hand through his blond locks and gave me a crooked smile. “It’s great to see you. What time does your shift end? Maybe, we could all grab a drink and catch up?”

“That…that would be great,” I stuttered. “I’m off in about two hours. Do you want me to meet you somewhere?”

“We’ll be right here,” Colbie said, his grin wide.

“Emptying my pit of chips, I would imagine.” Mike’s voice sounded behind me, and I jumped, again almost spilling all the drinks on my tray. “You boys had better not be counting tonight. I’ve warned you twice. Anyone else would have been out on their asses by now.”

“No, sir,” Ryan said politely. “We chose the three-deck table. Neither of us is here for trouble.”

“Sassy,” Mike said, his gaze still trained on the men who were sitting back down. “The women in slot pit three look thirsty.”

“Yes, sir,” I said with a nod. “I’m sorry.”

As I walked away, Mike followed me. I was terrified I was about to be fired. I knew better than to spend too long out of the slot rows, but I’d been so caught off guard by Ryan and Colbie I hadn’t realized how long I’d been standing there.

“Hey, Sassy.”

I took a deep breath and turned to face my boss, ready to be scolded. But there was a strange look on his face, certainly not anger. He appeared almost…concerned.

“I know it’s lonely for you here, you don’t have many friends and you live with Barb and me and it must get…uncomfortable for you. You’re an adult, but sometimes, I think your mom still treats you like a kid. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to parent you here, but I just…” He blew out a sigh. “Those two are bad news. Obviously, you know them, but things here are different than when you were in college. Be careful. Your mom and I both want the best for you, we want you to be happy, and we don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Thanks, Mike,” I said slowly. “I promise, we’re just going out for a drink. We’re friends in college, but you’re right, that was a long time ago. You’re also right that I’m an adult, and while I love everything you’ve done for me and for my mom, I’d appreciate it if you don’t try to tell me what to do.”

“I wasn’t—”

“I know you mean well. And you are so right. It
is
lonely as fuck out here. I just want to go let off some steam with a couple old friends. Thank you for your concern, but it’s a beer, not a marriage proposal.” I spun on my heel and headed back toward the bar for fresh drinks, since I’d been wandering around for so long the ice had melted in every glass.

I slammed my tray down on the bar, some of the watered-down booze sloshing over the sides of the glasses. I knew most of my anger was actually due to the frustration of my current situation. I probably shouldn’t have taken it out on Mike, but I didn’t appreciate him trying to step into a role that didn’t really belong to him.

“What was that about?” Mindy asked as she rotated my drinks out for me.

“Mike wants to be my dad,” I said with a shrug. “Neither of us should have let that happen on the floor. I hope no one else saw.”

As much as I wasn’t thrilled with being a waitress, I certainly needed this job and couldn’t afford to lose it over something so stupid.

“I think you’re safe,” Mindy said with a soft smile. “But you’d better get back out there before Daddy goes from concerned to pissed.”

I nodded as I hauled the tray to my shoulder and walked back out onto the floor. I carefully avoided the card pits the rest of the night, both to avoid Mike and to skip the distraction of Ryan Ducheine and Colbie Hammond.

Ryan and Colbie. Talk about a blast from the past. Part of the reason I’d left Nevada in the first place was to get away from them. They’d been my very best friends, but I’d known the longer I stayed around them, the harder it would be not to end up in one or both of their beds. I never wanted to risk our friendships like that. They had been too important to me…too important to each other. It had never seemed worth it to jeopardize all of that. So after graduation, I’d packed up and headed for California.

Now, I was back, and it seemed they had never left. Could we pick up our friendships where they had left off? Surely, we were all different people now. We’d grown up and moved on. Hell, they could be married with kids for all I knew. I hadn’t thought to check either of them for rings on their fingers.

Finally, my shift was over. After clocking out, I headed back toward the blackjack pits, not able to hide the smile that sprang to my lips at the sight of the two men sitting next to each other. I stood back and watched them for a few minutes, drinking in the view.

Ryan was tall, blond and had broad shoulders. A flush crept up my neck as I remembered sitting on those shoulders playing chicken in his parents’ pool what seemed like a hundred years ago. He’d lifted me as if I’d weighed nothing and dropped me over his head, his fingers gripping my thighs to keep me steady. I shook the memory away sadly as I turned to look at his partner in crime.

Colbie Hammond was a stark contrast to Ryan. He was dark haired, dark eyed, shorter and stockier, his body a solid mass of muscle from years of working at his father’s construction company. His fingers went to his mouth, and I sighed to realize he still bit his nails. It was a habit I’d tried to break him of for years. The sound of it used to drive me mad when we were trying to study together. The room would be silent but for the disgusting click, click, click of him biting his fingers to the quick.

“You know, you’re going to get an infection if you keep doing that,” I said as I finally walked up behind them. I reached around and knocked Colbie’s hand away from his mouth. “Plus, it’s gross.”

“I was afraid you were going to ditch us,” Ryan said. He pushed his chips toward the dealer to color up and Colbie followed suit.

As their hands slid across the table to get their tokens, I was oddly relieved to see neither of them sported bands on their ring fingers. I didn’t know why I cared. We were just going to grab a beer. What did it matter if they had wives at home waiting for them?

Both men stood, each holding out an elbow for me. I laughed as I hooked my arms through theirs and let them lead me out of the casino.

“Where should we go?” Colbie asked as we headed for the parking lot.

“I have to go home and change,” I said. “I am not going out looking like a circus performer. Plus, the last time I went out straight from work, people kept trying to order drinks from me.”

Ryan laughed as he steered us toward his car, his free hand pressing the lock button on his key fob. The lights flashed on a beautiful dark Mustang convertible.

“Come on,” he said as he opened the passenger door for me. “We’ll take you to Barbie’s so you can change then we’ll grab pizza and beer. Sound good?”

It sounded like heaven or maybe just like college. I nodded as I climbed into the backseat, letting Colbie take the front. Ryan slid behind the wheel and tore out of the parking lot, lowering the top on the convertible and letting the cool night air rush over us.

It reminded me of when we used to rent sports cars and race each other across the desert. Technically, you weren’t supposed to, and the rental people were always pissed when we brought back the cars covered in dust, but some of the best nights I’d spent with these men were the nights we sped across the sand, playfully flipping each other the middle finger and screaming obscenities into the night as we fought to cross an imaginary finish line first.

Fun was something my life had been missing for a very long time. As I looked between my two best friends sitting in the front seat, I hoped that by the end of the night that void would end and I would finally remember what it was like to have a life.

Chapter Three

“Colbie Hammond and Ryan Ducheine, you handsome devils!” My mom swept both men into tight hugs as they walked through the door. “I haven’t seen you boys in weeks. Though to be honest, I thought you’d have shown up for Sassy long before now.”

“We certainly would have if we’d known she was home,” Colbie said.

“Boys,” Mike said gruffly as they both nodded toward him in greeting.

“Well,” I said quickly. “I’ll just run upstairs and change.” I hoofed it for the stairs, wanting to throw on a pair of jeans and run back out the door before my mom or Mike could embarrass me.

I shucked off my dress, tossing it haphazardly into a chair before rifling through my closet for something suitable. Finally, I found my favorite pair of white cropped jeans and a green tank top. I pulled on the clothes and stopped in the bathroom to swipe on some more mascara and brush my teeth.

As I bounded back down the stairs, I stopped halfway. My mother’s voice carried through the house.

“The last time she left was because of you two, and I won’t have it again. You either figure your shit out or you leave her alone. The only time I’ve ever seen that girl happy was when she was with you. And if you can’t suck it up and act like grown men for once in your lives then just go now and don’t ever darken our doorstep again.”

“Barbie, please…” Colbie’s voice sounded pleading. “We never wanted her leave. There was just never a good time to ask her to stay. Neither of us wants to see her hurt. We all know she’s been through enough. I promise you—
we
promise you—Sassy is perfectly safe with us.”

“What’s going on?” I asked as I thundered the rest of the way down to the kitchen.

All four of them looked guilty as hell, and I fought not to smirk at catching them talking about me. I didn’t need them to know I’d heard them, and I couldn’t even really be mad. Nothing my mother had said was a lie, and it was bound to come up eventually that I’d left because of them. There was nothing I could say or do to take any of it back. And hopefully, her admission as to my true reason for leaving would keep
me
from having to say it when I was three beers deep and feeling maudlin at the current direction of my life. Having it all out on the table up front was probably for the best.

“Nothing,” Ryan said quickly. “Are you ready?”

“Yup.” I nodded and waved to my mom. “Don’t wait up.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, dear,” she answered then very uncharacteristically winked.

I tilted my head and gave her a confused look. Before I could ask what the hell that had meant, Colbie grabbed my elbow and steered me out the door.

I jumped into the backseat of the car, the top being down made it much easier than trying to cram myself behind Colbie’s seat. As the guys got in the car, I decided to address the elephant in the room and get it all over with up front so we could just enjoy our evening.

“So, what were you all talking about?” I asked, attempting to sound innocent.

“I think you already know,” Ryan said as he shifted in his seat to look at me.

“Humor me,” I replied with a shrug. “I’d like your perspective on it.”

“Right now?” Colbie asked, his tone lilting in surprise.

“Better now than a six pack from now when I’m buzzed and might cry.” Drinking always made me overly emotional, and they both knew it so they didn’t argue.

“Fine,” Ryan said, turning over the engine then backing out of the driveway. “Your mother told us that we were the reason you left Vegas and that if we hurt you again she’d castrate us.”

“I don’t think that’s what she said.” Though it made me laugh. “I believe she told you both to man up or take off.”

“Then why did you ask?” Colbie asked.

“I guess I wanted to know which option you’re taking. Are we going out tonight, having a good time, catching up and reminiscing then going back to our own separate lives?” I took a deep breath and steeled myself to say the next part without flinching and without fear. “Or are you both going to man up and be here with me?”

“We are here with you,” Ryan said slowly, as if testing my meaning.

“No, you are in the car with me, but you aren’t
here
with me.” I couldn’t imagine what had come over me in the last hour, but now that I had them back in my life again, my heart was screaming at my brain to never let them go again. If they wanted to break my heart now was the time to do it, before I allowed myself any glimmer of hope that I could have something real—with
both
of them.

Seeing them again had reminded me how very much I loved them both. It had never occurred to me in college that rather than choosing one of them, I could have chosen both of them. But that’s what I wanted. It was almost as if my mother’s words to them had given us all permission. Not that we needed it, but something clicked for me. I could love them both, and they could both love me…if they still did. Hell, if they ever had.

“Sassy, what exactly are you saying?” Colbie asked, turning in his seat to look at me.

“I’m saying, at the end of the street you can turn right and we can all go out and get pizza and beer and catch up, or you can turn left and drive like hell to the desert where no one can hear me scream your names.”

My heart pounded in my chest as we rolled to a stop at the light. Ryan was in the middle lane with no traffic for miles. He could turn either way. Had I made a huge mistake? Maybe, they’d never felt the same way about me that I felt about them. Maybe they had no desire to share me.

What the fuck had gotten into me? I wasn’t the kind of girl who offered her body up to two men at the same time. Though, if it were ever going to be two men, it would certainly be Ryan and Colbie. They were the reason I’d left Vegas, but they were also the reason I had never been able to actually start a life in California. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I’d lost my heart here, and it had stayed here, waiting for me to come back and get it. To get them.