“Rio invited me,” I replied.
“And you came.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I did.” Because what else could I say?
“Drake ask you for a blow job yet?”
The way he so casually said the word blow job caught me off guard. I let out a short laugh. “Yeah, he mentioned it.”
Saul took another pull from his cigarette. “Figures,” he replied.
“Does he ask all females that?”
“Just the ones that are breathing,” Saul said and cut his gaze back to me with a half-smile on his lips.
“Glad I made the exclusive list then,” I replied.
Then he laughed. It was a low, deep laugh, but it made me feel all tingly inside. I’d made him laugh. I wish it didn’t feel so nice but it did. He wasn’t just unattainable; I didn’t want to attain him either. He was nothing like Will. Saul was not the security I longed for and missed so terribly.
A door opened and I turned my head to see the blonde from the red convertible. Her hair was piled in a messy bun on top of her head with tendrils hanging down, yet she still looked stunning. I looked nothing like that with my hair in a bun. The short white dress she was wearing hung off one shoulder and highlighted her golden tan.
She didn’t say anything at first, just stared at me as if she were measuring me up. Did she think I was some sort of threat to her? Her eyes finally shifted from me to Saul. In the darkness, I couldn’t read her expression and I wished I could. I needed to know if I should exit the situation swiftly or not.
“I’m lonely,” she said and moved from the doorway to saunter toward us or just him.
“I thought you left,” he replied and I glanced over at him to see he was taking another drag from his cigarette.
“Just to take a shower and change,” she replied as she reached the end of his lounge chair then moved to crawl on top of him. It was seductive and I felt in the way.
Saul appeared amused, but he said nothing as she straddled him. He seemed to welcome her body and closeness. There was a small tug inside I knew was jealousy, but it couldn’t be over Saul. It was just I missed having someone. I missed touching and being touched. I watched as he put his cigarette out before placing his hand on her thigh. I decided it was time for me to go now.
“I think I’ll go see how Rio is doing with the uh… game,” I said as I stood up.
Neither of them said anything and I didn’t look back at them again for fear of what I might see. If they were going into full on make-out mode I didn’t want that image in my head. I feared that something deep inside me might defy my belief that I wasn’t jealous of the blonde because she had Saul. I was too smart to want someone like Saul. I had the best once. I would never want less. I made my way to the door and just as I was about to walk through, his voice made me pause.
“Nice talking to you, Henley,” Saul called out and I managed a nod but didn’t look back at him before hurrying inside. Finding Rio wouldn’t be too hard because I could hear voices and I followed the sound. There was an arched door to the left of the bar and on the other side, there was a large round table with several guys around it. I took in the scene and wondered what I needed to do to get back to Gran’s.
Rio didn’t even notice I had walked into the room as he studied the cards in his hand. I hated to ask him to leave for me, but I was done with this evening. It was Drake that looked up and locked his gaze on me, his mouth slowly spreading into a smile.
“I didn’t know you were still here. Hell, I’d have stopped playing cards if I’d known,” he said in his thick southern accent. Then he winked at me and put his cards down on the table. “I think I’m gonna call, fellas,” he said.
I watched as he stood up and stretched then picked up his beer. Not sure what to do with this I glanced at Rio who raised both his eyebrows. I wasn’t sure if that was a warning, reminder of what he’d told me about Drake, or a question. I didn’t have time to think it through before Drake was at my side.
“Where’ve you been hiding, sugar?” he asked me.
“Uh, I was outside,” I replied then glanced back at Rio who was now focused on his cards again.
“Drake, you promised me you’d go swimming with me when you were done!” the brunette from the coffee shop said in a pouty voice.
He ignored her and leaned closer to me. “Come with me,” he whispered and then I felt his hand touch the lower part of my back as he moved me toward the door with him. I went, but I wasn’t completely sure if it was a bad idea or not.
“Where are we going?” I asked him.
He shrugged and led me into the living area. “I have no fucking idea. I just wanted to get out of there. Too many folks.”
I glanced out at the deck to see Saul and the blonde were still there and it appeared that they were busy doing something other than talking. That was exactly what I didn’t want to witness. Drake noticed it too.
“Looks like the deck is taken,” he said then took a drink of his beer. “Damn Fleur is a parasite.”
Frowning, I glanced back out at the deck. It seemed to me that Saul was enjoying himself although it bothered me, just a little. It shouldn’t and I knew it. I barely knew Saul and sure, I was attracted to him or to his physical appearance. Like in a way one would be attracted to a movie star. That made me feel slightly better about the knot in my stomach at seeing him and Fleur kissing among other things.
What bothered me more than my reaction to Saul was the way Drake spoke about females. It was harsh. I’d heard him do it at the coffee shop with the brunette and now calling Fleur a parasite was just cruel. His charismatic smile and the confident way he carried himself was tarnished with the offensiveness of his words. I didn’t know Fleur, but she wasn’t doing anything Saul didn’t want her to do. There was no need for Drake to get nasty.
“You should work on how you talk about females. Especially to other females. Because any girl worth her salt won’t give a guy the time of day if he’s trashing another girl,” I said the words before I could think it through. I didn’t regret them though.
Drake smirked. “Trust me, sugar. They give me the time of day.”
“Did you miss the part where I said worth her salt? Because a girl worth spending time with doesn’t like hearing other females brought down,” I replied and stopped walking, pulled away from his hand on my back then put my hand on my hip. The attitude had been ignited and I was ready to give him a lesson.
Drake looked at me, his eyes wide with surprise or amusement. I wasn’t sure which one. I was, however, positive I did not care.
“I like it,” he said then grinned and shook his head. “You’re different.”