The Promise (The 'Burg #5)(158)

When she met them at J&J’s, reminded of that hardness and seeing it without her in a bridesmaid gown, happy her girl was happy, Ben understood this was why she wasn’t getting laid.

Men didn’t like hard. They liked soft. They didn’t mind attitude and there were those, like Benny, who wanted that. Some men could get off on the challenge of smoothing out sharp edges, or knowing that was what a woman gave out in the world, but when he got her home, she gave him the sweet underneath.

But Cheryl was straight-up hard. Her eyes said “you are not getting in there no matter what you try, so don’t bother trying.” And everything about her said she’d take what she wanted, and if you got anything out of that, she didn’t give a f**k. This would mean you wouldn’t get anything out of that except maybe an orgasm, but not a good one.

This woman wasn’t about exploring the possibility of building a future or just having a good time and some laughs.

This woman was about riding you hard until she found it, climbing off even if you hadn’t, getting dressed, and going home.

The loyalty she gained from Vi and now Frankie made him wonder what made her like that and why she didn’t put out what she gave to her girls in order to at least get laid and at most find herself a man.

“You do not know me, but I am no dumbf*ck,” she said in a voice cold as ice, proving his thoughts true.

“I figure you aren’t, I’m just remindin’ you not to be.”

She ignored that and stated, “But you do know your woman so you know she isn’t one either. If she couldn’t trust me, she wouldn’t have said squat.”

She was right.

But the stakes were high.

“She’s playin’ with fire,” he pointed out.

“Then don’t let her get burned,” she shot back.

“And I’m doin’ that by makin’ sure you know to keep your mouth shut and don’t do somethin’ stupid like thinkin’ you can help your girl by makin’ this a Laverne & Shirley scenario.”

Her eyes slid to the side.

Jesus.

“Which one are you?” he asked, and her eyes came back. “Laverne or Shirley?”

“I know a guy who’s ace at surveillance,” she told him, chin lifting slightly.

She was Laverne.

“There it is,” he muttered, looking away and reaching for his beer.

“And you should be involved, a guy who owns a pizzeria?”

He took a pull off his beer in an effort not to allow that remark to irritate him before he reminded her, “She sleeps at my side.”

“And my mom’s got high blood pressure. Takes meds for it.”

Benny shook his head. “Cheryl, I got a man in Chicago who got the story of what I could give him while my woman was gettin’ sexed up to go out for drinks with her girl, and in doin’ that, tease every guy here, none of ’em who are ever gonna get close to tappin’ her ass, all of ’em wantin’ to, and all of that annoying the f**k outta me. And this man has resources. Your surveillance guy might be tight, but I’m thinkin’ my guy has that covered.”

Suddenly, she grinned, and if he had a vagina, he would advise her to turn that grin to the room because it was almost cute, definitely playful, and showed she had a sense of humor. All of this in a way that, with her big hair, nice tits, and show of skin, would mean her dry spell would end in about the time it would take to walk back to the bathrooms or get to a car.

“I see your point,” she said through her grin.

“Thrilled, babe,” he muttered around his bottle of beer before he took another pull and moved to sit on Frankie’s stool.

She sucked back some of her cocktail.

When she did, Benny threw her a hint. “Just sayin’, might be good you troll for talent in a bar that’s not the bar where you work.”

She looked at him.

“Yeah. I see that. Problem is, I make some cake here, but it’s the only bar close. I’m not about to get nailed for drinkin’ and drivin’ so I cab it when I hit the scene. And me payin’ hefty cab fares means I can’t buy six packets of Oreos for my boy every week ’cause that kid eats the whole damn thing the minute I take it out of the bag.”

Another thing that would make her a winner if a man knew about it: she gave more of a shit about getting her kid Oreos than getting herself laid.

“Then maybe you should widen the net and not just fish in bars,” Benny suggested, and her head jerked in surprise.

“Like where?”

Shit, he walked right into a discussion he did not want to be in and it was a discussion with no exit door.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “What kinda man you want?”

“A man who looks good, f**ks better, and likes kids.” She gave him her limited wish list and tipped her head to the side. “Got any friends?”

“You willin’ to move to Chicago?”

“No.”

“Then no.”

She gave him another grin, even as she told him, “Just to say, you’re crampin’ my style.”

He glanced through the bar that wasn’t packed, but it wasn’t a slow night either, then looked back to her. “Anyone here you’re even remotely interested in?”

“No.”