Play Fair (The Devil's Share Book 3)(28)
“Show me how you pick up chicks. Let me watch. I’ll be your wingman, whether you think you need one or not.” Bryan took a pull off her beer and then used it to point to a blonde on the small dance floor. “What about her? She looks easy.”
I shook my head. “Nah. Easy is no fun. Besides, I like brunettes.” The truth was I was never picky before. Blonde, brunette, redhead. All had the same thing I wanted. But Bryan was a brunette and I was very subtly trying to drop hints.
“Okay, okay. Uh…there’s one. The girl at the pool table in the short skirt.” Bryan watched as the girl bent over to line up her next shot. “I’m pretty sure she isn’t wearing underwear.”
I didn’t bother looking. No one could ever compare to Bryan. The way her eyes held so much humor, the way she smiled with her lips against her beer bottle, everything about her was what I wanted. Did she not see that? Or did she see it, and not like it? “It’s all about the chase, doll.” I polished off my beer and then tossed it into the trash. “First I make eye contact with the one I want, hold it for a little longer than I normally would, and then look away. I go about my night, dancing and drinking and laughing. But every once in a while, catch her eye again. I don’t smile, don’t let her know it’s intentional. Sooner or later, she’ll come to me.”
Bryan laughed at my words as Dylan came up and grabbed her hand, pulling her out to the dance floor. Smith walked over and handed me a fresh drink. “Could you eye f*ck her any harder? Is that the way a friend behaves?”
I took a drink from the cold bottle. “I think I just might have a crush on your girlfriend’s baby sister.”
Smith put his hand to his chest. “What?! You fell for your sexy, down-to-earth, hilarious, bad-ass best friend? Who could have possibly seen that coming?” Then he crossed his arms, his tone once again becoming serious. “Oh, right. All of us.”
I winced. “It’s slightly terrifying for several reasons. One being that Dylan isn’t a fan of us being together and I’m afraid she’ll cut my dick off.”
Smith nodded. “Be careful, she’ll do it. I mean, shit, she shot my dad.”
My eyes went wide. “What? She shot your old man? When?”
Smith turned slightly away from the dance floor. “New Orleans.”
I knew there was a confrontation with Smith’s * drug-addicted low-life father, but I had no idea that Dylan shot him. “Did she kill him?” I didn’t think so. I figured we would have known if he had died, but maybe not. Smith wasn’t one to share about his family.
“Nah. She shot him in the foot. He was fine.” Smith let out a laugh. “Dylan means well, you know? She’s protective of the people she loves, and it seems to me that she is trying to look out for you just as much, if not more, than she is her sister. She says that Bryan never sticks around, she gets bored easily. You have Landry now, stable is your new middle name.”
“I just can’t picture Bryan leaving us…but maybe Dylan is right to worry, she’s known her a hell of a lot longer than I have.” That last comment felt bad on my tongue. I hated even entertaining the thought that Bryan would just up and leave us on a whim.
“Don’t worry so much about what Dylan thinks. She cleaned up your puke. She watched you stumble in, night after night… She’s hesitant when it comes to the two of you. You both seem volatile to her, you know?”
Smith was right. Dylan had literally cleaned up my messes when she had joined us on tour. I knew to her I was just a player with a drinking problem. And I couldn’t really blame her for thinking it. “Lexi cleaned up your messes too, man. But she didn’t get in the way of you and Dil.”
“Dylan isn’t Lexi’s baby sister.” Smith smiled, almost apologetically. “Look, man, you did me a solid when I was about to screw things up with Dylan before they even started. I owe you, and I’m here for you.”
I shrugged. “To be honest, I’m not even sure Bryan is into me. I’ve never had to guess at that before, never really had to put myself out there.”
“She’s into you, man. Why do you think Dylan has her panties in a twist about everything?”
We both stayed quiet for a while, just watching the girls dance and sing. You could see the love between them, that unmistakable bond of sisters. I bet when you added Mikah to the mix, it was even more profound. “You have any advice? You have insight into these Lawson girls.”
Smith took a deep breath. “They were raised to be strong, capable women. They can hold their own in any situation, don’t forget that. And just be yourself, and be honest. They don’t take well to fake.” He chuckled. “Oh, and ice. Keep some ice handy.”
“Ice?”
“You’ll see.”
I watched as Dylan spun Bryan around. I made sure to catch her eye. She wanted to watch me pick up a chick? She’d get a front row seat. “Let’s go do some shots.”
After the next song was over, the girls came and joined us at the bar. It was a good thing too, because we were starting to draw a crowd of ladies. Smith grabbed Dylan, dipped her back, and kissed her—letting the chicks know he was taken and the men know to back the f*ck away. My hands itched to do the same to B. Every male eye in the bar had been on her while she danced with her sister. I settled with pulling her in for a one-armed hug around her neck and a kiss to the top of her head. It would have to do for now. I didn’t need Dylan chasing me around the dance floor with a knife.