Ruined (The Eternal Balance #1)(16)
By one thirty, the club started winding down. Theme night had been a huge success—which sucked. That meant Martin would do it again. Hell, he’d probably try to do it every night. Apparently an excuse to leave the house in a costume trumped a serial killer on the loose.
“I gotta say, Sammy… That is definitely a good look for you.”
I froze and begged myself not to turn. Once I looked into those eyes it would all be over. He’d have me eating out of his hand. Barking like a dog. Purring like a f*cking kitten. Dignity would be a thing of the past. Shit… Drink.
I needed another drink.
Back to the bar, shot glass poised at my bottom lip, an inexplicable nervous twitch ran through my body. I tilted the cup back and swallowed, cringing as the liquid burned my throat, then poured another and did the same. With a deep breath, I faced him. “See now, I’d love to say this is a good surprise, but, ya know… You’re kinda like herpes. Totally unwanted.”
“You’re comparing me to an STD?”
I put my elbows on the bar, leaning forward just a bit, then realized what I was doing. OhMyGod, I’d just unintentionally flashed him. Stupid low-cut top. I straightened and pulled the soft material higher. “Yeah. I think so.”
He straightened as well, meeting me a little more than halfway. His gaze traveled over my body, grin appreciative. “I think you have the wrong Flynn. Besides, we both know you’re excited to see me, Samantha.”
Tingles. I got tingles every time he spoke my full name. He always managed to make it sound so sultry. That single word uttered from those perfect lips had the ability to turn me into a pile of goo. He knew it, too. Made sure to drop his voice an octave or two whenever he said it.
He shifted to the right, revealing part of what looked like a black tribal tattoo. The itch to see the rest of it, to know where it ended, was driving me nuts. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t drag my gaze from his arms. His strong, toned arms… “Back for another bucket of puke?”
“I owe you for that.”
“I know.” I pushed off the bar and started wiping down the counters. “How about you run away again. That’ll teach me.”
“Sam,” Martin slammed a hand down against the bar to get my attention. “Start restocking. Gillian can watch things here.”
Yeah. And Gillian could use her padded personality to steal my tips, too.
Grumbling, I turned away from Jax and headed for the corner of the room. The only storage was in the basement and I hated going down there. Normally, I would have argued to have someone else do it, but with Jax standing there, I wanted to stand around and talk to him—which made me itch to get away.
I was almost to the door when I realized I had company. Seriously. This day couldn’t get any worse. “Stalking me? Really?” As if I didn’t have enough of that crap going on already?
He shrugged and held the door open wide. “We were talking. I figured we could walk and talk.”
“We weren’t talking, Jax. You were talking—I’m convinced it’s because you love the sound of your own voice. I was trying to walk away.” I gestured to the steps, then started down them, holding tight to the railing so I didn’t end up in a heap at the bottom. “Exhibit A.”
He wasn’t deterred. “I wanted to give you a chance to apologize.”
Apologize? Was he kidding? I opened my mouth, and then closed it. No. This is what he wanted. To get me going. Instead of answering, I went down to the bottom and made my way through the narrow aisles toward the liquor storage as though he wasn’t there.
“Nothing fancy,” he continued. “A simple ‘I’m sorry and want to make it up to you’ works for me.”
I couldn’t keep my mouth closed any longer. Reaching the end of the row, I turned on my heel and pinned him with my most intimidating glare. “What the hell are you doing, Jax?”
He stopped a few feet away. “Waiting for my apology?”
“Try waiting for rabid monkeys to fly sideways out of my ass,” I snapped. “I mean, here. What are you doing here? You skipped town with no notice three years ago, then you pop back for no reason. You say you’re leaving, yet here you are.”
He stepped closer. “In a rush to get rid of me?”
I wasn’t. But I was. And then I wasn’t. There it was again. That damn indecision. “Matter of fact, I am.” I backed up until I hit the shelf where the club stored its extra vodka. A loud rattle and several clinking bottles, and one zoomed from the top, past my right side. It happened so fast. One second Jax was in front of me, the next he was on my right side, a bottle of vodka clutched in his hand inches from the ground.
He straightened and handed over the bottle. “There. I saved you from having to explain why you broke a bottle. I think I deserve a thank-you.”
The air caught in my throat. There was a mischievous tilt to his lips, but also a stark seriousness in his eyes. I hated how it made me feel. Comforted by the familiarity of it, while at the same time, betrayed because he’d left me behind.
Jax was the one who, up until the night he disappeared, had always been there for me. He brought me back to life after my parents died, the only person who’d been able to reach into the darkness and yank me out.
Our relationship had been the most natural thing in the world. Like breathing or the rotation of the planet. We were made for each other, two halves of the same whole. It’d never occurred to me that we wouldn’t end up together. Then he found the courage to tell me he felt the same way, and was gone the next day.