* * *
Alcohol had always been a show. I had never needed it and it had never needed me. The brothers had adored the colorful waters for many years and used it for many purposes. But me? I couldn't get past all the awful memories it conjured.
I swirled the amber liquid in the glass and smirked. Tonight would be different. Why? Because I wasn't planning on stopping for the alcohol to do what it did best. Remembering wasn't something that was going to happen tonight. I knocked back the burning, unforgiving liquid and like fire, it lit my entire body up. My nerve endings sizzled and popped as I raised my fingers for another glass. I didn't need it, I had never needed it before, but tonight was different.
The boys weren't with me and as far as I was concerned, they thought I was in bed. After all, tomorrow was a big meeting and I was never the irresponsible one. I would be the one to wake up all the others and take care of my business first, but now? I didn't want to do it. I didn't care to be the first or the best, even if they didn't realize I was. All I wanted to do was drown, and drown is exactly what I did.
Chapter Three
Aiyanna
Tonight was different.I could feel it in the air before I even made it to the bar. I touched the handle on the door and held back all of my feelings. The feels of doubt, the feelings of failure, and the disgust. I didn't know why I had thought it necessary to own and operate a bar after all the pain and torment alcohol had brought my way, but here I was. Doing the exact thing I hated. I took a deep breath, breathing in all the nastiness of the night and pushed through the throng of people that waited on the other side of the door.
The bar didn't need me every night and I tried to go in only when I was needed but tonight was different.
Then I saw him, but this time he was alone. Which had never happened before. He was usually with his other military crew and he never drank a drop. It wasn't unusual for him to spend hundreds of dollars on alcohol that he didn't touch. He made a show of looking like he was drinking, but the dying plant beside his stool told me all I needed to know. His hair was still as short as it had been before, but his usually clean-shaven face had stubble on it. Black tattoos started from his fingernails and extended up to where his sleeves ended. There wasn't an inch of visible skin on his hands or arms. He put his whiskey down and turned his dark eyes to me. His gaze followed my now shorter pink hair. His expression didn't change.
I took a seat beside him at the bar and ordered a water. My bartender narrowed his eyes at me but I waved him off. Tonight wasn't a night for work. It was a night for recon.
Chapter Four
Derek
A bright pink comforter.That definitely wasn’t mine. On or off base. I scratched the scruff on my face. It was starting to get on my nerves, I needed to shave soon.
I chuckled to myself. Out of all things I could be worried about, my facial hair shouldn’t have been one of them. I pulled my hand down my face and realized I was still fully clothed. I sat up and looked around. The room was clean but a bit too girly for my tastes. There were plants everywhere. How had I met this girl? Had I been that drunk? Plants weren’t my thing. Girls with plants were definitely not my thing. Too witchy for my tastes. I looked around me for my phone but couldn’t find it. I groaned. This morning couldn’t get any worse. Not only was I fully dressed but my phone was gone. There was a memory scratching at the back of my mind too, but I couldn’t quite grasp it. I rolled out of the bed and sunk my toes into a fluffy shag rug. Ugh. This girl was steadily working down my interest list by the second.
Something jabbed into my foot and I swore. There were a few shoes scattered about the floor too. Yep, definitely no longer interested even if there was some shred of possibility. I thanked my lucky stars I was fully dressed but my boots were nowhere to be found. The bedroom door was wide open and it led to an immaculate living room, thank goodness. White furniture usually meant no kids or pets, which was a plus. I wasn’t completely delusional the previous night, apparently. I scrubbed my hands down my face before I spotted her at the bar.
I pressed my lips together. Today her hair was green and I would recognize her build from anywhere. The feisty girl that had been following me and had bumped into me the other night. Either her hair was extremely damaged or it was a wig. I was leaning toward the latter. “It’s you.” My voice didn’t sound happy at all. Though I didn’t think I could claim my voice to sounding happy ever. It had been ten years since I had found any form of pure joy or reflected it to others.
I snapped my fingers in front of her face and she jumped. Her phone clattered onto the counter and her bright eyes stared at me in shock, like she had forgotten I was in her bed. Her bright eyes were yellow with a darker ring in the center. I could have sworn they were blue a few nights before. I frowned. She wasn’t right in the head.
She licked her lips and smiled. “I’m sorry, you were really bad off last night and as much as I tried I couldn’t get your phone unlocked to call someone to come get you.”
“So you took it upon yourself to be an upstanding citizen and bring a stranger home?” I cocked an eyebrow.
Her warm complexion turned pink. “I couldn’t just leave you in the parking lot either. I can’t take on that responsibility. I have enough crap to take care of being a small business owner.” She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at me. “Then your phone died and I didn’t know what to do.”
I nodded my head slowly. “You own Halona’s?”
She brushed her green hair over her shoulder before she looked me in the eyes. “Yes, and I have seen you and your brothers around the bar for years. The least I could do was help your sorry ass, even though you have been killing my plants for years.”
A laugh bubbled up from my lips. “You can’t prove it was me.”
She gave me a surprised look. “Wow, there is actually a soul behind all the tattoos and dirty looks.”
“Tattoos have nothing to do with a soul.” I scowled.
“There it is. The man I’m used to. Keep that face on, I can’t recognize you without it.” She laughed then tossed me my phone, which had a full battery now.
“Do you have a name?” I licked the front of my teeth. I desperately needed a toothbrush and a shower. The stench of alcohol clung to me and pulled at a memory.
“Mules, get up man.” Lieutenant Anderson shouted through my apartment door. “You can’t let yourself rot like this. I can practically smell the alcohol from here. What happened wasn’t your fault. You have so much life to live, Mules.”
I didn’t say anything and kicked the empty bottle from the couch. Maybe if I got rid of the evidence I wouldn’t have to address my problem.
I shook the memory away and gave the woman a look of disapproval. This was all my fault but I was going to try to put it onto anyone else. It was what I was good at.
