Prodigal Son (3 page)

I knew it was really none of my business, but I had seen so many girls in bad situations that I felt like I had to keep an eye out for young, innocent girls who might get into trouble before they realized what was happening. More than once, I’d sent one of the busboys or servers out to walk a girl to her car if I’d gotten a bad vibe from one of the guys at the bar. I didn’t want to see any more girls get hurt.

Planning to keep a close eye on the group I’d just served shots to, I headed back to Mr. Gorgeous.

“So do you like Denver?” he asked again when I got back to him.

“I guess. I haven’t really been much of anywhere else.”

The man looked a little surprised. “Really?”

I figured that he had no idea that I didn’t have an extra dime to my name. “Yeah. I don’t really get to travel much.”

He thought for a second. “Well, you’d be the perfect person to help me out, then. I’m going to be in town for a week or so, and I could use some recommendations for good restaurants.”

I didn’t get to eat out very often. Goodness knows, Bug didn’t ever take me out. But I did know the hotspots from hearing other people talk about them.

“I’ll be happy to give you some places.” I looked around. “Be right back.”

A bartender’s work was never done, and I made another round of fresh drinks and to deliver some food that was ready. I set the plate of tamales in front of the man and decided to take a chance.

“What’s your name?” I asked, as I gave him silverware and a napkin.

“Luke,” he answered. “And that looks amazing.”

“Well, enjoy, and I’ll be back to check on you in a minute.”

T
he tamales tasted like heaven. The filling was smoky, spicy chicken, and the green tomatillo sauce was tangy and blended perfectly with the sweet cornmeal. Just as I finished my beer, Krystal appeared in front of me to ask if I wanted another.

What I wanted was to know if she was single. She didn’t have a ring on, but she was young — probably too young to be married. The one thing I knew for sure was that she was smoking hot. She had long, dark hair that she wore pulled back in a ponytail, a fringe of bangs framing her face. Her bright blue eyes make my stomach flip, and the glimpse of a tattoo I’d caught when she’d been making drinks made me want to see the whole tattoo — preferably with her naked. She was gorgeous. Amazing cleavage, perfect ass, and beautiful smile. I kinda liked Denver so far, and I realized that for a few minutes I hadn’t thought about my parents’ death or the prospect of tracking down my birth parents — people who may or may not be happy to see me.

“Want to try something different?” Krystal asked, with a wide-eyed expression that made me wonder if she knew that I was thinking about her rather than another beer.

“What do you suggest?”

She turned around without a word and headed down to a tap at the far end of the bar.

“Trinity Flo IPA from Colorado Springs. It’s new, and it’s great with the tamales,” she said with confidence.

I took a sip, and she was right. The beer was aromatic and bitter, and it was the perfect complement to the sweet, spicy, smoky tamales.

“Perfect,” I said after I’d tasted it. I checked up and down the bar to see if she needed to tend t o any other customers, but she seemed pretty caught up. “So what’s there to do in town besides drink beer and stare at pretty girls?”

She smiled at me, and it looked for a second like she was blushing a little. I was surprised, because she seemed so sexy and confident.

“Well, the Rockies get back into town in a day or so, and going to a baseball game’s always fun. We have some great restaurants in town, and some great trails if you’re the outdoorsy type.”

Krystal seemed pretty friendly, and I decided to roll the dice.

“Any chance I can talk you into going to a ball game with me?”

She looked surprised. “Well, I’m gonna have to check my schedule and let you know,” she said with a wink before turning to pour a couple more beers for the server waiting at the end of the bar.

She hadn’t said no. That was a start.

I hadn’t realized just how hungry I was until I polished off the last bite of the huge plate of tamales. I watched Krystal work, turned on by her fantastic body and the ease with which she managed the very busy bar. She took the time to talk to everyone there, giving them her undivided attention, even if it was just for a few minutes. The little glimpses of her lower back tattoo made my mouth water, and I wondered what the chances were that I would have a chance to see it all.

“Another beer?” Krystal asked when she returned.

“Absolutely. I’m not driving, and after the last week, I’m ready to drown my sorrows.”

Krystal looked perplexed. “You don’t seem down in the dumps.”

“I’m not gonna burden you with my sob story, but it’s been a rough week.”

“Well, drink up, mister. I’ll keep ‘em coming until you tell me to stop.”

It might have been the two beers, but a vision flashed in my head of Krystal naked in the enormous bathtub in my suite. I imagined water just barely covering her breasts until she stood up to lead me into the bedroom, water running off her body as she turned to reveal her perfect ass that was just begging me to grab it with both hands.

Jesus, I had half a hard-on, and I hoped it wasn’t visible to anyone else at the bar. I had to find a way to distract myself from thoughts of Krystal naked. I decided to check out the other folks at the bar. I made the mistake of making eye contact with an older woman a couple of seats down from me. She had the look of a cougar on the prowl, and I wasn’t about to become her prey. I looked away quickly and started watching the group of six at the far end of the bar.

They looked determined to get drunk, and the laughter and suggestive talk was loud enough that I could hear them from time to time. I wasn’t sure how the math was going to work out — with four guys and two girls — but I knew that at least some of the guys were getting lucky. One of the guys kinda hung on the edges of the group, and I realized that he was trying to get Krystal’s attention. She finally finished up an order of frou-frou drinks for a couple of ladies, and she smiled as she appeared to ask for the guy’s order.

He had a full beer in his hand, and he leaned across the bar to get closer to Krystal. She looked like she didn’t entirely trust the guy, and I thought she was smart to suspect his motives. I watched as she stood up straight, turned on her heel and walked away.

“In your dreams,” she called out, clearly irritated.

Shit. As gorgeous as she was, Krystal probably got hit on all night, every night, and she probably just thought I was another horny jerk who wanted to get in her pants. I mean, I did want to get in her pants, but I wasn’t gonna be an asshole about it.

Krystal was shaking her head and laughing when she came back over.

“Friend of yours?” I asked when she put another beer in front of me.

“Hardly. I shouldn’t let guys like that get under my skin, but he was really rude.”

“I won’t ask you what he said, but I’m hoping it doesn’t affect my chances of getting you to go to the ballgame with me.”

“I have a mighty busy week ahead of me,” Krystal said, and I couldn’t tell if she was kidding or telling the truth. “I’ll have to let you know after I check my calendar.”

“Well, I’m not heading anywhere anytime soon,” I said. “I’m enjoying both the view and the company.”

I hoped she wouldn’t take my comment the wrong way, and as I watched her working, I realized that she hardly stood still for a second. I was betting that she was exhausted when she finished a shift and that she had a fat stack of cash from tips. I wondered how late she’d be working and if there was any chance I could talk her into having a drink with me later that evening.

I figured I had nothing to lose.

“So how late you working?” I asked the next time she ended up at my end of the bar.

“We close at two, but my manager’s going to close up for me. I worked a double yesterday, and I’ll be over forty hours if I work until close tonight. I’ll probably finish up around midnight.”

“I don’t want you to think that I’m like that asshole at the end of the bar, but is there any chance you’d have a drink with me when you get off?”

The thought of Krystal getting off — and I was thinking sexually — made me hard again.

“You know, I don’t usually do that, but I’m gonna make an exception for you.”

I tried to keep a straight face, but a grin kept trying to find its way to my face. “Great. You want to stay here or go somewhere else?”

Krystal laughed, “Oh, we’ve got to go somewhere else. If any of the customers here saw me with someone else from the bar, they’d never leave me alone. I don’t want to sound conceited, but I have enough troubles as it is.”

“I’m sure you do,” I said. “You pick the place. My treat.”

“Deal,” Krystal said as she headed back into the trenches, smiling, laughing, filling glasses, serving food, and absolutely captivating me with her easy charm.

It was a few hours and a few beers later when Krystal appeared on my side of the bar. She’d changed out of her work shirt into a plain black t-shirt that hugged her curves and made me want to explore those curves with my hands first, and then my mouth. I tried not to stare as she walked toward me, but I don’t think I was very successful.

“Ready?” she asked. “Sober enough to walk?”

I laughed. “Yeah. I didn’t have that many. Didn’t want to get drunk and stupid and embarrass myself in front of a beautiful woman.”

I saw it again…that hint of a blush, as if Krystal wasn’t used to sincere compliments.

“You want more beer, or would you prefer wine or cocktails?” Krystal asked as we walked toward the door together.

I felt the glare from the guy at the end of the bar who’d been so rude, and I have to admit that I took great pleasure in putting my hand on the small of Krystal’s back — just over the tattoo I’d glimpsed — as I opened the door for her. I knew that I was the envy of every single guy in that bar.

“Your pick,” I said once we were on the sidewalk. “You deserve to get the drink you want after working that hard.”

“Oh, I don’t care. I’m easy.”

“Oh, I saw you handle that guy. I doubt that,” making it clear that I was deliberately misunderstanding her.

She laughed. “I mean that I’m not picky about drinks. I used to be a rum and coke girl, but since I’ve been working at the Taphouse, I’ve learned a lot about craft beer, and even a little bit about wine.”

I thought for a second. “There’s a bar at the Ritz,” I said, hoping that she wouldn’t take the suggestion the wrong way.

“That’s fine.”

She stopped walking, and I figured that she was about to refuse to go to my hotel with me. I was preparing to protest that I didn’t have any ulterior motives when she spoke.

“I’m dressed pretty casual. You think a swanky place like the Ritz will let me in this way?”

“Absolutely,” I answered with confidence. “They let me in,” I said, holding my hands out and gesturing to emphasize that I was dressed casually as well.

“Well, then take me to the Ritz,” Krystal said with a smile. “Just don’t get any ideas.”

Even though I had all sorts of filthy ideas about what I’d like to do with Krystal, I reassured her. “I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”

“What a shame,” she said as she entered through the door that the valet held open.

H
oping that I wasn’t making a huge mistake, I walked inside the fanciest building I’d ever been inside. The ceilings were high, and the room was enormous, leading to a front desk decorated with huge flower arrangements. The light fixtures probably cost more than my car.

I was a little nervous, and I wasn’t sure how to act around Luke. He was clearly a whole different class of man than I was used to. I wanted to fuck his brains out, but I was also surprised that I enjoyed talking to him — at least as much as I could talk to anyone while I was working. I was gonna owe Mark big time for covering the rest of my shift. I hadn’t been exactly honest about how I’d managed to leave early, but for some reason, I felt like it was important that I go have a drink with Luke.

I hadn’t realized how much I missed having Moses to talk to until Luke had walked into Falling Rock. My conversations with Bug were limited to occasional discussions about where to go for dinner on the rare occasions when he took me out to eat and Bug’s instructions for how he wanted me to suck his dick. He wasn’t very creative in bed, and to be honest, he didn’t really do much for me in that department. He was selfish and wanted to feel like he was in control. In another man, the control craving might be sexy, but in Bug it was just pathetic. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been completely satisfied in bed…and then I realized that it had been with Moses.

Realizing that I had the chance to forget about how pitiful I felt chasing after Bug — a man I neither liked nor respected — I decided to just try to enjoy having a few drinks with Luke.

“Here we are,” he said, as we walked into the bar.

“Wow,” I said. I was used to the mountains since I’d grown up in Denver, but the view really was spectacular. The bar felt warm and inviting, and Luke held my seat out for me while I sat down.

The bartender came over. “Evening, folks. What can I get you to drink?”

“I think I’ve had enough beer for one night. You have any decent scotch back there?” Luke asked.

“Of course, sir. We have Macallan twelve-year-old and twenty-one-year-old, as well as several small production scotches from Bruichladdich. We have Oban, Laphroigh, and Balvenie Double Wood.”

I had never even heard of most of the scotches he mentioned, and I wasn’t a scotch girl, in any case. Luke ordered one of the scotches with a couple of ice cubes.

“I’ll have a glass of red wine, please,” I said to the bartender, hoping that he wasn’t going to ask me any complicated questions about the wine and embarrass me. I felt completely out of my element in the fancy bar that just oozed money.