Chapter Two

Karmen Jones

At some point the booze hits me. Hard enough

that I signal the bartender for a glass of water. Usually, I’m not

a sloppy drunk but after hearing what Wesley said, I really don’t

give a shit anymore. We are drinking, dancing, and laughing and I’m

happy. I am living my best life right now even if I know I am doing

it in the wrong way.

Tommy would probably kick my ass if he could

see me now, but I don’t care about that either.

Lenor is on the dance floor with Adam,

smiling as he swings her before dipping her low. Jacob watches them

constantly with a look of longing on his face, but I don’t say

anything. He fucked up and he needs to man up and make amends.

The music is pumping and the people around

us seem to be enjoying their evening as well. I choose to focus on

the good and push everything else to the back burner.

Jacob leans into my personal space, his hand

resting on my hip. Usually, I wouldn’t allow something like this,

but the booze has me functioning a little slower at the moment.

“He’s glaring again,” he whispers in my ear

with a chuckle.

That’s the thing with Jacob. For all his

faults he is still my friend. Yes, he hurt Lenor but that is

between the two of them, not us. He knows me just as well as she

does, all my secrets and the things I wish I could hide. Hell, he

carried me for three blocks when we were nine years old and I broke

my arm. He’s always been part of my life and I love him like a

brother. Turning my head, I smile. He is standing so close we are

basically nose to nose now.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he says before licking his lips. “He

does not like when I touch you and his head looks like the top

might pop right the fuck off.”

“He called me disgusting,” I say softly. My

voice is barely a whisper, and I don’t even think he heard me.

It’s not something I want to discuss but the

words have been on repeat in my mind since he said them. I can’t

put into words just how much hearing him say that hurt.

Jacob’s lips touch mine in a gentle kiss

that catches me off guard. I don’t have time to make the decision

to push him away or kiss him back before he is gone. It takes a

moment for my drunken brain to process that he isn’t kissing me

anymore and for me to open my eyes. Looking around, I see Jacob on

the floor, his hand covering his nose that is bleeding

profusely.

Behind me, I hear a scuffle and turn to see

what is happening. Adam has Wesley in his grasp, his arms pulled

behind his back as he tries to get at Jacob once more.

“Get the fuck out of my bar!” he roars.

I know the crazed look in his eyes. His

temper has always been short and now he has lost it. I’m not sure

what pushed him over the edge, but it has my own anger flaring.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I yell.

“You’re batting two for two in the asshole awards tonight.”

Bending down, I help Jacob up before leading

him around the bar and out the front door. I hear yelling inside,

but I ignore whatever is happening to stare at my crazy friend.

“Why are you laughing?” I ask, shoving his

shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he says through his laughter.

“But that shit is funny as fuck.”

“I must be drunker than I thought because

you aren’t making a lick of sense.”

“You said he called you disgusting but the

moment I kissed you he exploded.”

“You kissed me to see what he would do?” I

ask, feeling confused and a little pissed off.

I’ve never been attracted to Jacob even

though he is a good-looking man and we’ve never been more than

friends, but I had just assumed it was the alcohol and the moment.

That makes twice I have been rejected by a man tonight.

“Karmen, that man is lying to himself and to

you,” Jacob explains. “If he wasn’t into you, it wouldn’t have

mattered whether we kissed or not.”

“You know you’re nuts, right?”

“But I’m a good friend. And now you owe me a

favor.”

I shake my head. “Go home and get some ice

on your face. I also suggest avoiding Wesley for the foreseeable

future. He tends to hold a grudge.”

Jacob smiles before hopping in his midnight

blue truck and driving off. I stand outside in the parking lot

trying to get my drunken brain to put everything that just happened

into some kind of order. Is Jacob right? Did Wesley lose it because

he kissed me or is he simply still clinging to the promise he made

Tommy?

I guess there is only one way to find

out.

Walking back into the bar, I make eye

contact with Adam. He nods his head in the direction of the back

office, and I know that is where Wesley will be.

Making my way down the short hall where the

bathrooms and storeroom are, I stand outside the closed door of his

office and listen to him rage inside.

****

Wesley Blake

“Fuck!” I roar throwing my office chair

across the room and watching the wooden structure break apart.

Everything else except my desk has already been destroyed or

upended.

I knew that little shit, Jacob, was up to

something but the moment his lips met hers I saw red. She is a

stunning woman so I’m sure he isn’t the first guy to kiss her but

it’s the first time I’ve had to see it.

Are they more than friends? Friends with

benefits? The thought alone is enough to send me into another fit

of rage and I put my fist through the drywall. Even the pain in my

knuckles isn’t enough to calm me down.

I hear the hinges of my office door squeal

as someone pushes their way inside without knocking.

“Go the fuck away!” I roar, my hands pulling

at my hair.

I honestly don’t have the mental acumen to

deal with Adam right now. And I’m liable to hit my own brother just

to get rid of this feeling inside me. It feels like everything is a

tangled fucking mess inside me right now.

“Don’t yell at me.”

Her voice wraps around me and I swear I feel

everything inside me relax. The moment she walked out of my bar

with Jacob I wanted to burn the world to the fucking ground. The

idea of her going home with him — or any

other man for that matter — had every dark

thought I’ve ever had rushing to the forefront.

Turning, I find her sitting on the edge of

my desk, the only piece of furniture I haven’t demolished or

flipped over in the past five minutes. I glare at her, warring

between the need to kiss her and strangle her with my bare hands.

She drives me insane and I both love and hate her for it.

“What do you want, Karmen?” I ask, my voice

low and gravelly.

She stares at me in silence before taking in

the decimation that I’ve wrought to my office. My chest is heaving

as I work to catch my breath and keep my anger under control. The

longer she remains silent the faster my heart beats, fear and

anticipation thrumming through me.

“I love you,” she says, looking me straight

in the eye. “I’ve loved you since I can remember, and I’ve never

even tried to love anyone else. But I can’t do this shit anymore.”

She hops off my desk and takes a few steps until she is standing

against me, staring up.

He words repeat in my mind and I feel like I

have slipped into an alternate universe. One where I finally get

the girl I have always wanted.

She grabs me behind the head and uses me for

leverage to pull herself up as she stands on her toes and fuses her

lips to mine. The moment she kisses me I’m lost. She tastes like

tequila and smells like sunshine, and I can’t help but kiss her

back. I thread my left hand through her long sun-kissed blonde

tresses and plunder her mouth.

Karmen moans when my other hand kneads the

globe of her ass cheek and I swear my knees almost buckle. Just as

quickly as it started it ends and she steps away from me, taking

her lips and her taste with her and leaving me bereft.

“You need to decide,” she says softly, a

tinge of sadness in her voice. “Either you keep your promise to

Tommy and let me go, or you step up.”

It feels like I’ve been kicked in the nuts,

my stomach cramping as her words rip at my tattered soul.

“It’s not that simple,” I say, trying to

find the words to explain myself.

She shakes her head. “I’m a

twenty-two-year-old virgin because I’ve been saving myself for you.

I just had my first kiss because my friend wanted to prove you felt

more than you were owning up to. There’s nothing complicated about

this, Wesley. I love you and I want to be with you. If you don’t

feel the same, say so. At least then I can move on with my

life.”

Words have left me, my brain fried by her

confession.

“Karmen,” I say hoarsely. “I don’t know what

you want.”

She laughs, a broken, angry sound.

“That answers my question,” she says

angrily. “All I ever wanted was you. Now, I’ll stay out of your bar

and out of your way. Please pay me the same courtesy.”

She is gone with the slam of a door before I

can even contemplate formulating a reply. My legs finally give out

and my ass hits the hardwood floor. I sit staring at the door for

who knows how long before Adam enters my field of vision.

“What did you do?” he demands, anger coating

his words.

“I don’t know,” I answer, shaking my head.

“But I think I fucked up.”

“Three for three,” my brother says, shaking

his head.

“What?”

“The asshole awards, brother. You made her

cry.”