Spending Valentine's Day at a burlesque bar, hadn't been Liliana's ideal way of spending a Friday night. She'd much rather be back at campus, doing homework... until she meets Ryan. Tall, athletic, and gorgeous, Lili can't keep her eyes off him, and despite his gruff manners and drunken disposition she's intrigued.
Ryan's got demons, and they're deep, dark, and eating him alive. Regardless of his attraction to the petite brunette he's tired of fighting, of pretending the last fifteen years haven't been a daily struggle just to get out of bed every morning. That night he decides to end his pain, to leave it all behind and float away into the blessed darkness of oblivion. But fate has other plans for him, Lily finds and rescues Ryan, determined she'll not only save his body, but his soul too.
This is their moment...
Stepping out of the shower I wrap the bath towel
around my waist. Alex has the door slightly cracked, not peeking inside but
talking to me.
“And I, uh, hope you don’t mind but I invited
this chick I know.”
Sighing, I run my hand across the mirror.
“Whatever floats your rocks, man.”
“It’s not a date. Not like that.” Alex is quick
to correct me.
Which is funny because I wasn’t really viewing
this as anything. Alex likes woman and they generally like them. He’s a good
guy with a good head on his shoulders. We don’t care if the other one brings
home a woman, not like we need to ask permission. “So you telling me she’s
available?” I smirk as I brush the knots from my wet hair.
“Look man,” Alex breaths hard, “I like this
girl. Don’t screw with her head. You got that?”
Stopping, I pull the brush away and lean back to
look at him. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Alex is already dressed in jeans and a burnt
orange longhorn’s shirt and hat, looking every inch the proud U.T. fan. His jaw
is clenched as he shakes his head. “Just that I like her.”
I shrug. Still not understanding what the hell
he’s getting at. “So ask her out.”
“It’s not like that,” he slashes his hand
through the air, “she’s a friend, okay. But a good one. So just play nice and
don’t act like such a dick around her. That’s all.” Muttering under his breath
he turns away.
Rolling my eyes, I finish getting ready, trying
hard not to let the demons knocking on my door crash through. Not yet. Tonight
I just want to forget. Sink deep into an eighty proof fog and pretend that for
once I’m normal. Just a normal man who doesn’t need to do this to feel alive.
My hands shake when I pat my shirt down.
Traffic headed toward Sixth Street is crazy.
Like always. But somehow we finally make it there. The street is one big party.
Anyone and everyone who lives in Austin knows the only place to party is Sixth.
The city closes down the entire section of street after nine. Already college
kids are gathered outside the neon glare of the bar lights. Music thumps hot
and hard through the door, sounding like liquid sex.
Girls smile at me as I shove my hands into my
jeans. I’m not looking to get laid tonight, so I ignore them.
It’s obvious when we draw close to the Pink
Lady. The techno music is replaced by the smoky strains of jazz and bassy
blues. A neon woman in pink silhouette decorates the window. The blinds are all
drawn.
I’ve been here a couple times, but have never
stayed long. This isn’t really my scene. If I want to watch a woman dance I
prefer to see her take everything off. Still, when I flash my card, a shot of
adrenaline speeds my pulse.
Alex is scanning the crowd, a second later a
huge grin splits his face. I frown, he seems really excited. I don’t actually
recall ever seeing him act like that about a woman.
He isn’t exactly a player, but he isn’t the
domestic type either.
So I look around, following his gaze and it’s
like someone just pulled the floor out from under me. A petite Hispanic woman
is walking toward him with an equally large smile on her face.
Her hair is dark and silky, glinting under the
dim red lights of the bar. It spills down her back in a graceful wave. Her body
is toned and trim, legs a mile long and encased in a tight pair of red pants. A
white top accentuates the bronze of her arms.
But her face is the most gorgeous thing I’ve
ever seen. Heart shaped, with a tiny cleft in the jaw, full lipped and a short
button nose. She stops in front of us carrying the scent of flowers with her.
Which is amazing I can even smell that because
the bar reeks of scotch and smoke and food.
Turning green eyes toward me, she smiles. “Hi,
I’m Liliana.”
On top of that she’s a confirmed foodie, she nearly went to culinary school and then figured out she could save a ton of money if she just watched food shows religiously! She’s a self-proclaimed master chef, certified deep sea dolphin trainer, finder of leprechaun’s gold at the end of the rainbow, and rumor has it she keeps the Troll King locked away in her basement. All of which is untrue, however, she does have an incredibly active imagination and loves to share her crazy thoughts with the world!
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