Always Have: A Bad Boy Romance(6)

Tonight, because the ache in my chest is too much to bear, I let him take the lead.

I take a long pull from the bottle and turn my attention back to the blonde at the table. I catch her eye and offer a very small smile. Just a twitch of my lips. She looks down quickly, like she’s going to play shy.

Most guys would order her a drink and have it sent over. I don’t play that game. I’ll make eye contact a few times, show her I’m interested. If she approaches me, great—I like it when women are bold. If not, I’ll just walk up and tell her what I want.

I don’t get turned down very often.

I glance at their table again. They’re all looking at me now. I focus on the blonde, holding her gaze for a long moment. The others giggle a little and whisper behind their hands.

I take a swig of my beer. Might as well get this show on the road.

“Evening, ladies,” I say as I approach the table. I hold my hand out to the blonde. She takes it and I lean in, bringing her fingers up to my lips. “Braxton Taylor. And you are?”

She looks at me with an open mouth. Yep, she’s in. I can see the yes in her eyes.

“Jessica,” she says.

I keep hold of her hand. “It is very nice to meet you, Jessica.”

Her friends are staring at me, just as open-mouthed as she is.

“You, too,” Jessica says, her voice breathy.

I hesitate for half a second, wondering if I should ask her over to the bar to get her away from the influence of her friends, or just say f*ck it and proposition her right here. I decide on the f*ck it option.

“Jessica, I was wondering something,” I say.

“What were you wondering?” she asks. She’s getting her voice back, but she’s still staring at me.

“Would you like to come home with me right now?” I ask.

One of her girlfriends gasps and claps a hand over her mouth. Another says, “Jessica!”

She holds my eyes for a long moment, but I don’t flinch. I don’t look away. I show her in my gaze, in the heat of my hand on hers, that I’m completely serious.

Slowly, she stands.

“Jessica, you can’t leave with him,” one of her friends says.

She doesn’t take her eyes off me. “You bet I can.”

“Come on, you’re only doing this because of Jordan.”

Aha, now I see. They’re out in solidarity with their recently-made-single friend. This is perfect. Revenge sex is usually fantastic.

I lean close to her so I can brush my lips close to hear ear. “After tonight,” I say, pitching my voice low, “Jordan won’t exist.”

Her hand twitches and her mouth curls in a little smile.

“Don’t worry, ladies, I’ll take very good care of her,” I say.

“Holy shit,” one of them says under their breath.

I hold my arm out and Jessica tucks her hand in the crook of my elbow. I lead her outside, turning down the street toward my condo.

I’m well aware of what I’m doing. I don’t intend to get Jessica’s phone number, or be her rebound relationship after Jordan, whoever the f*ck he is. I’ll give her a night she’ll always remember, and she’ll help fill the hole in my chest—even if only for tonight.





I have to circle the block three damn times to find a parking space. I don’t know why the streets around Selene’s house are so clogged with cars, but it’s frustrating as hell. I haven’t seen her for a few weeks, but she texted me out of the blue twenty minutes ago with our code for an emergency, asking me to meet at her place. I was just leaving work, so instead of heading home I drove straight here.

I finally find a spot two blocks away and park my little Honda Civic. It’s uphill to her house, and I’m in heels, so that definitely sucks. When I get to the door, I don’t bother knocking, just use my key.

“Selene,” I call out as I walk in the door, “where are you?”

Her muffled reply comes from the back of the house. “Couch.”

I find her in the corner of the L-shaped sectional, wrapped in a thick blue blanket. Her eyes are bloodshot, her cheeks wet with tears.

“What happened?” I ask. I sink down on the couch next to her and she tips over to lay her head in my lap.

She sniffs. “Nathan…” She stops and sobs into my legs.

I run my fingers through her hair and shush her. “Oh, honey. It’s okay. Tell me when you’re ready.”

I’m seething inside. What the hell did Nathan do to her? They seemed so happy together.

Selene sits up and wipes under her eyes. I swear, even the woman’s ugly cry is pretty. She takes a deep breath. “You know how Nathan travels a lot for work?”

“Yeah.”

She takes another shaky breath. “He wasn’t spending those trips alone.”

“What?”

“He has a woman in every city he goes to. They’re, like, trip mistresses or something.”

“Oh my god, Selene,” I say. “What an absolute *.”

“I know,” she says.

“How did you find out?”

“He was out of town earlier this week, and he texted me something really strange, something about meeting me in the lobby,” she says. “I knew, the second I got the text, that he sent it to me by mistake. Work has been so busy, I didn’t think about it much for the next couple days. But he got back today, and I went over to his place so I could ask him.”