Savanah grips my hand. “You gonna sit, or stand there all night, staring at the hot guy?”
My eyes widen when he chuckles and says, “Sit! Just don’t make a scene.”
“Why would we make a scene?” Savanah asks, then her eyes widen as they focus in on the guy wearing the baseball cap. “Hoooly shit.”
“Don’t make a scene,” hot guy reiterates.
“Look, please don’t say anything. I’m just here trying to enjoy my night,” Baseball cap begs.
I’m lost.
“Sure, yeah, I totally get it. But fuck, it’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Dayley,” Savanah gushes.
My ears prick up, and I turn to study the masked man a little further.
“Rush is fine, but honestly, this isn’t a big deal.”
Not a big deal?
He’s a fucking superstar, and we just happened to sit at his table.
But to be honest, I’m more interested in the quiet guy over there.
“Are you his security?” I ask.
“No, I’m no one. I met Rush tonight, too. Call me Kevlar.”
Savanah chortles. “As in the vest?”
“Exactly.” He dips his chin.
I narrow my eyes on him. “You a cop?”
“I was… not anymore.” Kevlar slumps back in his chair, looking pensive.
Savanah sits forward, her eyes wide with excitement. “Oh, I wanna hear that story.”
“No, it’s fine. We don’t need to know. It’s none of our business.” I glare at Savanah. She pouts, bringing her drink to her lips and sucking hard on her straw.
“What’s your story? You here on a girls’ trip?” Kevlar asks.
Savanah coughs on her drink, and I tense, “Something like that. I’ve always wanted to see New Orleans.”
“How long are you here for?” Rush asks, finally lifting his head, joining in the conversation.
“Just tonight. We continue our journey tomorrow.”
“Road trip?” Kevlar asks.
“Again… something like that.”
“You’ve always wanted to come to New Orleans, but you’re only staying one night?” Kevlar asks.
Savanah throws her hands in the air excessively. “See! They get it! We should stay a little longer.”
“I don’t know, Sav—”
Kevlar’s lips turn up like his happiness is growing exponentially. It’s almost as if he’s like the moon rising and darkness surrounds him, but he shines so damn bright it lightens the area. It comes from deep inside to spark in his eyes and spreads over every part of him.
“Yeah… stay,” Kevlar states, then his eyes widen like he’s shocked himself.
A slow smile crosses my face. “We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Rush chuckles. “I wish I could stay, but I have to leave for my tour tomorrow.”
Savanah bats her eyelashes at him. “Well, then, we better make tonight count.”
Rush pulls his sunglasses down flashing his baby blues at her. “Feel like dancing with a dude wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap?”
Savanah widens her eyes. “Me?”
Rush laughs again, pushing his tinted frames up. “Yeah, you!”
“Fuck, yeah!” Savanah turns to me. “Will you be okay?”
I grip her arm gently. “Have fun. Don’t worry about me. Kevlar will keep me company, right?” I ask.
“Right!” He dips his chin.
Savanah stands, along with Rush, then they walk off together inside the bar. I slide over into Rush’s seat, bringing my drink with me. “So, if you’re not here with Rush, does that mean you’re here on your own?”
Kevlar tilts his head. “You should be a detective.”
“Is that what you were?”
“Nah, beat cop. But I had to give it all up.”
I take a sip of my drink. “Injury?”
He inhales, his eyes leave mine. “Love.”
I sink into myself a little. Shit. I didn’t stop to think for one second, he might be unavailable. “She worries too much about you being hurt on the job?”
“No, it wasn’t that…” he trails off, and I can see his mind ticking over when he continues with, “… her family was the issue.”
Scrunching up my face, I try to figure it out, but I can’t. “Her family wanted you to quit?” I let out a snicker. “What are they… drug lords?” I tease.
His face falls, and he exhales. “No, not drug lords…” He leaves it open.
I swallow hard. “Oh, I see… so her family isn’t on the right side of the law.”
He folds his arms over his chest. “I’ve said too much already. Em’s family is good people, that’s all that matters.”
She has a name.
“So, why are you here without Em?” He scrunches up his face like that was the worst thing I could have possibly said. “Sorry, did I say something wrong?”
“No… it’s this place. It holds memories. I come here to feel close to her.”
An uneasy tension rolls over me. “Did you guys split?”
He shakes his head. “Em died three years ago.”
My stomach sinks. “Fuck! I’m sorry—”
“Don’t be… I need to learn to let her go. To move on. I know I need to, but when shit gets hard, you turn to what… to who you know.”
My chest aches for him, so I reach out, grabbing his hand. The second my fingers loop around his, a shockwave slams straight into my chest. My eyes widen as I gasp. His widen too like he’s feeling the exact same thing. My skin prickles, goosebumps bursting all over as I gaze into his eyes. The intense hazel stares back at me, and for a moment, just a brief moment, all the noise, all the chaos from the pub blurs into white noise. It’s just Kevlar and me sitting here, staring at each other. I’ve never felt anything like this before, especially not from just touching someone.
His free hand comes up sitting on top of mine, cocooning it in as my mouth goes completely dry. There’s something about Kevlar that’s rendering me useless, and I fucking love every captivating second of it.
He inhales sharply, then breaks our eye contact, removing his hands. “Anyway, enough of my sob story. We’re here to have a good time, so let’s do that.”
“Yeah, let’s.”
He relaxes back in his chair. “So, you know my name, what’s yours?”
I place out my hand for him to shake. We may have already touched, but for some reason, I feel this is appropriate. “Jovie. Nice to officially meet you, Kevlar.”
His large, strong hand reaches out, sliding into mine.
My body ignites again as I stare at him.
The corner of his lips turns up in the most dazzling way.
Damn, he’s gorgeous.
“Jovie…” My name rolls over his tongue like silk. “That’s a unique name.”
He still hasn’t let go of me.
I lick my lips. “Mother was a fan of the band, apparently. Mom just spelled mine with an ‘e’ on the end, though.”
He finally lets me go with a soft sigh. “Well, Jovie with an ‘e,’ where’s your final destination?”