Maggie wanted to hook up, if only to get her mind off Cam and this guy was as good as any. Then why did she want to go home, change into an over-sized shirt and climb into bed. When Charlie took her hand, she blinked back the tears and told herself this was what she needed, just like Star had said, a friend, a distraction.
He led her to the men’s room and pulled her inside. As he locked the door, she wrinkled her nose. Yellow dripped off the raised toilet seat. The room reeked of ammonia, the telltale scent of urine derived from a diet of mostly meat and few vegetables. Her hands went to her hips. “I know you don’t think this is happening here.”
He shoved her face-first against the paneled wall, brushed her long hair to the side and nibbled on the back of her neck.
She tried to wiggle loose but he pushed his hard, tall body against hers. “I’ll take care of you baby,” he said. “Trust me.” She heard the sound of a zipper.
He slid her skirt up and snapped the G-string on her panties. Charlie smacked her ass. “Nice.”
Maggie shrugged him off and turned to face him. Tugging her skirt down, covering her herself, she said,
“Listen dumb ass.”
The door vibrated with three hard knocks. A familiar voice boomed from the other side of the closed door. “Put your pecker away and let’s get the hell out of here.” “Cam?” Charlie said.
“No, it’s Santa Clause asshole.”
Maggie covered her mouth. Circling around him, she stepped backward until her back was against the opposite wall and she could add no more distance between her and Charlie. She eyed his fatigues, his black hair and olive skin.
“I’ll be just a few minutes,” Charlie said.
Maggie shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.
“You got two,” Cam said. “Then I leave your ass here.”
Charlie grinned and stepped toward her. “Where were we? Oh yeah.” He snapped his fingers. “I was about to give you a fuck you’ll never forget.”
Maggie smacked him across the face then kneed him in the groin.
Stumbling backward, he groaned. “You bitch!”
“Your name’s not Charlie, is it?”
“Why the hell do you care what my name is?”
She pinned him with narrow eyes. “You’re Cam’s brother, aren’t you?”
He stood to his full height, towering over her, a look of curiosity on his handsome face. His gaze lowered to her green skirt. “Oh fuck.”
“Nice to meet you, Ajay,” she said with a venomous sneer. He shook his head. “Does Cam know what a whore you are?”
Maggie slapped him again.
Ajay palmed his cheek. A slow smile formed on his face. “Next time I hit back.”
“Fuck you.”
“No thanks,” Ajay said. “I like my body parts to remain intact so I make it a rule never to fuck my brother’s
girlfriends.”
Maggie scoffed. “I ain’t his girlfriend.”
Ajay’s eyes widened. “Maybe you should let Cam in on that little secret.” He unlocked the door. “I don’t know what the deal is between you two.” Ajay tapped his head against the closed door. “But he hasn’t dated in a long time and for whatever fucked up reason, he’s fallen for you.” Ajay glanced over his shoulder at her. “Fallen hard. If you don’t feel the same, then tell him so. He may not seem like it on the outside, but he’s a good guy and doesn’t deserve . . .” He smirked. “You.”
Before she could respond, Ajay opened the door and left, leaving her alone, standing in the men’s room of this crappy podunk bar. A flickering fluorescent bulb barely illuminated the urine on the floor and the cigarette butt in the sink. Beer cans and bottles littered the floor.
Cam had fallen for her? Then why hadn’t he called? She groaned at her own stupidity. He hadn't called because she gave him the shove off.
She glanced in the mirror. Her mascara had begun to clump. The heat and humidity had flushed her cheeks.
Her hair lay matted with sweat.
With the backdrop of urine and stale beer, she had nearly fucked Cam’s brother. She was a mess inside and out.
Another knock on the door.
Maggie wiped a tear and opened the door.
A cowboy glared at her. “You’re in the wrong one, sweetheart.”
Maggie smiled up at him.
He frowned. “You okay?”
She nodded.
“One too many?” The cowboy glanced around the crowded bar. “You here with friends, sweetheart? Someone I can call for you?”
Maggie stepped past him into the crowd.
“You gonna be okay?” the cowboy called after her.
She’d spent the last decade trying to convince Tilly, Star, her dad and her brother that she was okay. They’d been overprotective, constantly bailing her out of shit she’d gotten herself into. The more they tried to shelter her from the big bad world, the harder she looked for trouble.
“Yes,” she said to the cowboy. “I'll be okay.”
And for the first time, she actually believed it.
Lita Stone is a wife and mother of three all American boys who enjoy the outdoors. When not pumping caffeine into her veins while writing or revising her latest story, Lita enjoys working outdoors, gardening, playing with her three sons and three rescued dogs, camping and long hikes in the Ozarks with her always goofy but sexy husband. Lita writes dark suspenseful romance stories, a wide variety from mainstream contemporary to surreal erotic tales. She obsesses over story content with her eternal pursuit for the perfect recipe of dramatic suspense, believable characters, and vicariously engaging plots.
