Raven touches my thigh, then runs her hand up to my crotch. “Oil wells. Impressive.”
I roll my eyes. “Oil well, as in one. And it’s not what you think.”
“What do I think?”
I almost go into my spiel, the one about me not getting into it for the money, but with the way she’s gawking at me, I doubt she cares about anything except how long I can bone her.
A waitress comes by and saves me from having to answer. “Can I get you anything?”
Raven looks at my half-full beer. “Are you the designated driver or something?”
“Or something.”
She giggles far too boisterously, then leans in. “I guarantee by the time you leave, I’ll have fucked you sober.” She turns to the waitress. “Another round, and an extra shot of Jägermeister for him.” She pats my arm possessively.
I get the attention of the waitress behind Raven’s back and give her the cutthroat sign. When she brings our drinks a few minutes later, the extra shot is missing from the tray. I smile my thanks at her even though Raven barks her displeasure.
“What’s the matter?” Ashlyn asks. “You don’t like to have a good time?”
“I like to have fun. I just don’t like the taste of hard liquor.” That’s a lie. I do, especially whiskey, but I’ll never drink it again.
“There must be something you like.” Raven claps her hands excitedly. “I know, let’s get the waitress back here and order one of every drink.” She pulls a wad of cash from her back pocket. “It’ll be fun.”
“Put away your money. We’re not doing that.”
“Buzzkill.” She pushes a fresh beer over to me, even though I’m still working on my original. “Come on, drink with me.” She tosses back another shot. I take a small sip of the beer but leave the mug tipped against my lips to make it appear I’m drinking more than I am.
“That’s more like it. Hey, do you guys want to dance?”
Ashlyn pulls Quinn onto the dance floor. I resist. “I have to hit the bathroom.”
Raven stands. “I’ll go with them. Meet me out there.”
In the hallway to the bathroom, I pull out my phone and check the time. It’s not even ten o’clock. I look at my recent calls and see Devyn’s name. She called me earlier today about a clogged sink. Stupid me, I thought she was calling to talk. As far as I know, it was the first time she’d ever made a call on her new phone. I get the idea she doesn’t know anyone. If she did, she would have been living with them and not under a goddamn bridge somewhere.
It still saddens me to know she was on the streets. Her. Beautiful, interesting, capable. How does someone like her end up with nothing? It makes no sense. Maybe she was in an abusive relationship, and he swore to hunt her down and kill her if she ever left him. Maybe she doesn’t have family to go to, or she does and he threatened them too, and she’s protecting them by staying away.
Whatever happened was just over two months ago. She said she’d gotten three months’ worth of assistance, and it was running out.
“Dude!” the guy behind me says. “Do you mind? Some of us have to take a piss.”
I step out of line and lean against the wall. What is she doing now? Is she up on the roof again? I have an overwhelming urge to know. I forget about having to pee and head out to find Quinn.
“There you are!” Raven yells exuberantly. She pulls me close and grinds into me.
I lean toward Quinn. “I’m gonna bail. There’s something I have to do back home.”
Raven’s bottom lip juts out. “You’re leaving me?”
“Duty calls. Life on a ranch never stops.”
“I could go with you. Quinn says you have a lovely little cabin in the woods.”
“Some other time.” I turn back to Quinn. “I’ll see ya.”
“But we came in my truck.”
“I’ll Uber.”
“All the way to the ranch? It’ll cost you a hundred bucks.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I glance at our table with all the empty shot glasses. “You should Uber too, if you keep this up.”
“Sure thing,” he says. I give him the stink eye. “No, I will. I promise.”
“Well then,” Raven says. “I guess it’s your loss.” Without skipping a beat, she moves her arms from me to Quinn. Ashlyn doesn’t seem to mind sharing. I get the idea this isn’t their first rodeo. Judging by the smile on his face, Quinn is one hundred percent on board. I’m pretty sure he’ll be thanking me tomorrow.
It doesn’t take me long to get a ride, but when the driver finds out where I’m going, he’s less than pleased. There’s not much chance of him getting another fare back to town. I lean forward. “I live in the boonies, but there’s a good tip in it for you.”
“Then it looks like I might be done for the night.”
After he drives into the back entrance of the ranch and down the dirt road leading to my cabin, I have him stop. “You can drop me here.”
He glances around. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
I point. “My place is just up there.”
“Sneaking up on someone?”
“I suppose you could say that.” I can tip on the app, but I pull two twenties from my wallet and hand them to him.
“Thanks, man.”
“Just be sure to back out.”
He salutes me. “Gotcha.”
His car disappears, and I use the flashlight on my phone to navigate the rest of the way. I shut it off as I approach my cabin. It’s dark with the exception of the porch light. But it’s not the cabin I’m interested in. I look over at the lodge and see movement downstairs. People are in the rec room, probably playing pool. But I’m not interested in that either. I look at the roof and there’s a lump on it. Devyn is lying down. I picture her on the blanket we sat on the other night.
The urge to join her is strong. I’ve known her less than a week, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone. If I asked her out, would I scare her away?
I reluctantly go inside my cabin. I don’t turn on any lights. I stare out the window, hoping to see any semblance of movement on the roof. Wanting her to stand up just so I can admire her silhouette in the dim light of the half-moon. Needing her to glance over; give me some indication that she might be interested in me, even if she never does anything about it. But she’s completely still. Maybe she’s fallen asleep.
My legs grow tired from standing. I lean against the table and unbuckle my pants, wishing she were the one doing it. I fist myself as I gaze out the window, fantasizing about the woman who makes nightly appearances in my dreams.
I come hard and wonder if it’s the closest I’ll ever get to being with Devyn Just Devyn.
Chapter Twelve
Devyn
Aaron let me borrow his truck to drive into town. Though I’m a licensed driver, I have no idea where my license is. Not that he seemed to care. He told me fourteen-year-old kids drive trucks out here in the rural areas.
I peek in my wallet for the tenth time when I stop at the one and only traffic light. Three hundred eighty dollars. I feel rich. I tried to give Aaron a hundred dollars to pay him back for the food I took, but he wouldn’t take the money. I left it sitting on the kitchen counter. A promise is a promise.