“Do you have a favorite bar?” she asked.
“I don’t hit the bars too much these days, but I do have a few old favorites. Right here,” I said, releasing her hand to slide my arm around her waist as a cluster of college students rather drunkenly meandered down the sidewalk and almost bumped into us.
We stepped into Johnny’s Bar, one of the smaller and cozier bars in this busy area. There was a crowd, but I knew the owner, and Johnny saw me from behind the bar. He waved us over and magically managed to get us two free barstools in the corner of the bar against the wall where it was a little quieter.
Once we were seated, I gestured across the glossy wooden bar. “Mari, this is Johnny. He’s an old friend. And Johnny, this is Mari. She’s visiting New Orleans for the week, and I promised her I’d make it a good trip.”
Johnny cast a roguish grin toward Mari. “You’ll have to let me know if he doesn’t treat you right.”
Mari smiled in return. “So far, so good. He took me to the best diner.”
“And now he brought you to the best bar in the French Quarter. I know Nash’ll order a scotch, but what’ll you have?”
“How are your margaritas?” Mari asked.
“The best,” Johnny said, waggling his bushy white eyebrows.
“I’ll take one then.”
“What’s your preferred flavor? Regular, strawberry, or watermelon?” Johnny asked as he prepped my scotch and slid it across the bar.
“Ooh, I’ll have to try the watermelon. I’ve never had a watermelon margarita.”
“Coming right up.” As he began to prep her drink, he asked, “So where did my boy take you?”
“The Good Dinner Diner. Best burger I’ve ever had.”
Johnny cracked a grin as he handed over Mari’s drink. “See now, Nash is a smart man. He didn’t go fancy; he just picked the best place. You best be careful, he’s a charmer.” With a wink, Johnny turned away when someone called his name. Glancing back, he added, “Y’all enjoy those now. Let me know when you need another.”
“Thanks, put them on my tab,” I commented. I might not get out often, but I’d had a tab here at Johnny’s since college.
“You got it.” He was immediately swept into prepping drink after drink for the customers crowding around the bar.
Mari took a swallow of her margarita. “Mmm, this is yummy.”
“Just like where I took you to dinner, everything is damn good here.”
Mari spun on her stool to look toward the small stage in the front. A jazz band was playing a mellow set. I couldn’t help but watch when Mari lifted her drink to her mouth, her tongue darting out to lick the salt on the rim.
My body tightened with a jolt of need, and I felt the press of my cock against my zipper. Fuck me. The effect Mari had on me was testing my control.
We stayed at the bar for a while. Although my arousal wouldn’t abate, it was nice to relax with Mari. Dating hadn’t been a priority of mine for some time. I’d been too focused on growing my business, much to the chagrin of my parents.
Once I started to do well financially, I’d wanted to build on it. My family had gotten by when I was growing up, but it hadn’t been easy. There were late-night whispered conversations that I overheard about shrimp seasons that didn’t go well and my dad trying to find extra work.
I dated here and there but didn’t want to use the time for anything more because work had been my focus. With the way I was reacting to Mari, I was wondering whether it was more that no one had caught my attention. Distraction was far too weak of a word to describe Mari’s effect on me. My body was on high alert around her. As the bar became filled with more and more people, and I crowded closer to her, I noticed every shift of her leg pressing against mine.
She had a few more margaritas while I eschewed any additional drinks and nursed my single scotch. I needed to escort her back to the condo and drive myself home after that.
“Are you ready to go?” she asked, the feel of her whisper in my ear sending another shot of blood to my groin, which was already aching.
“Darlin’, I’m ready to go whenever you are. Just say the word.”
“I say we go now. I’m not much for staying up late, so it’s a miracle I’m not falling asleep right here,” she said before she drained the last of her margarita.
Moments later, we stepped out of the bar. Although people were milling about the sidewalks and the sounds of the crowds filling the various bars along Bourbon Street were all around, the noise was muted out here. I curled my hand around Mari’s and walked her back to the condo.
I gave myself a little lecture on the way there, telling myself she’d had a few too many drinks, and reminding myself that she was the little sister of a friend and business partner. I also knew with certainty that if I was going to let things play out further with Mari, I wanted us both stone-cold sober.
When we crossed the street and turned onto the block where my office building was located, I looked ahead to see the silhouette of a man leaning against the building. That, in itself, wasn’t anything unusual. However, awareness jolted me as we approached. I might have only met him once, but I knew it was Brett.
I felt the instant Mari recognized him. Her hand tightened incrementally inside mine before her footsteps slowed and then stopped.
“What the hell is he doing here?” she muttered under her breath before looking up at me. “That’s—“
“Brett. I know. Has he tried to reach out to you?”
She shook her head, her glossy tousled curls swinging lightly around her shoulders. “No. I haven’t gotten any unknown calls. The last time I tried his number, it wasn’t in service. Ugh! I do not want to deal with him. We had a good night.”
I loved that she said we, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. “I don’t see any way around it. Avoiding him will only prolong the inevitable. I’m with you. I sure as hell don’t mind giving him a piece of my mind. Come on.”
Mari held still on the sidewalk for a moment before she shrugged. “Fine. Let’s get it over with.”
She began tugging me along. Once she’d made up her mind to face him, she appeared to relish the opportunity. With her skirt swirling around her knees, the low heels of her sandals clicked on the sidewalk as she strode briskly toward Brett where he waited right outside the entrance to her building, or rather, my building.
I filed that little detail away. Unless he was tracking her, he shouldn’t have known where she was. Mari stopped several feet away from him, keeping her fingers laced with mine as she rested her other hand on her hip.
“What the hell are you doing here, Brett?” she demanded.
I didn’t miss Brett looking down at our joined hands and up to my face before he looked back at Mari. He affected a sheepish expression. “Hey, Mari. I’m glad I tracked you down. I’m sure you’ve been wondering where I was, but it’s all a big misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?” Mari practically spat out. “Brett, you totally screwed me over. You left in the middle of the night, you broke my lease and stole my deposit, you left me with the bill at Inn Boudreaux and ran up all of my fucking credit cards. That’s not a misunderstanding.”