Worth the Chance

Chapter 25

Liv

Friday night I have no desire to go out and celebrate. It’s been such a long week, I’d much rather crawl into bed in the fetal position and sleep for twelve hours straight than spend the night barhopping with Ally. But it’s her birthday and I promised her we’d have fun. I know I need to put the week of dead end research behind me and let it go for a while, but it’s easier said than done. I feel guilty for keeping my assignment from Vinny, but I don’t want to hurt him by making him question his father for no reason. A soldier he never knew, a man he always cherished.

I’m still surprised that Ally invited Vinny to join us the other night when he came to pick me up. Normally birthday celebrations are strictly girls night out. But apparently one mention of bringing a few of the guys from the gym was all it took. The birthday girl is easily swayed at the mention of hard bodied fighters with tattoos.

“What do you think?” Ally emerges from her bedroom wearing a skimpy skirt and heels so high she must be close to six feet, even though she’s normally just five foot six.

“Is that a shirt or a skirt?” I tease.

“Some of us don’t have a sexy beast ya know.”

“I’m guessing you’ll attract a beast with that outfit.” I take a sip from the glass of wine I just poured, hoping it will relax me a bit.

“Ya think?” Not catching the sarcasm in my voice, Ally takes my comment as a compliment, looking down at her outfit. Satisfied with what she sees, she continues, “Go get dressed…we need to find this birthday girl a gift to unwrap later.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

It was never a question in my head what I was going to wear. Every girl has that one outfit she loves, the one that gets more compliments than she receives in total for the rest of the year. Mine is emerald green. The simple dress is fitted on the bottom, hugging my curves and coming a little above my knee. The top blouses out after it reaches my waist, and lies draping artfully from my shoulders. From the front it’s simple, the color and fit being the most impressive part of the dress. The emerald green color contrasts with my pale skin and auburn hair, setting off a beautiful palette that people definitely seem to notice.

Although it’s the back of the dress that’s the showstopper and I know it. The same draping that shows just a hint of demure cleavage on the front, hangs on the back, only the draping extends lower on the back. Far lower. Revealing a scant hint of pale white skin from the top of my neck, down to just above the top of my ass. Like a treasure map, it leads the eyes down my back to where the emerald color gathers tightly across my ass. Something tells me Vinny is going to love the dress. I’ve noticed he seems to have taken a liking to my backside. I may pretend I don’t notice where his eyes frequently drift to as we go about mundane things, but I do. And tonight I’m dressing for him.

Pouting playfully as she sees me come through my bedroom door dressed, Ally confirms I’ve picked the right outfit. “It’s my birthday. How is anyone going to notice me when you wear that?”

The second bar we stop in, the one we are supposed to meet Vinny and his friends at, is packed. Squeezing our way up to order our drinks, Ally wastes no time in letting the bartender know it’s her birthday.

“Two Long Island Iced Teas.” She yells over the deafening music playing from speakers that have way too much bass blaring. The thud is so loud I feel the vibration on my hands as they sit on the top of the bar, my heart jumping to join in on the rhythm.

“Make that one and a water,” I yell, and the bartender smiles and nods.

“It’s my birthday! You have to celebrate with me!”

“Someone has to take care of you. One Long Island Iced Tea and you’re going to need to be carried.”

“I’ll sip it.” She smiles.

“Heard that before.”

Half a drink later, Ally giggles through her words as we both eye a couple sitting quietly to themselves on the other side of the bar. They look uncomfortable as the woman stirs her drink and the man checks his watch.

“Last night they went out. It had been nineteen months since she got laid. Nine-teen months.” She drags out the last words for emphasis before continuing. “They met on Match.com. Wait, no, Churchdate.com. You know, the place where the god-fearing go to meet other people that get up way too early on Sundays to spend an hour listening to an old man preach.” Ally takes a breath, long enough to gulp down another inch from her glass before she continues her rant. “Chatted online for a month before he got the nerve to ask her out. They met at a coffee shop last night, seeing each other for the first time in person. Both were highly disappointed.”

Raising an eyebrow at her story, I point to Ally’s glass, “I’m afraid to hear what happens after you slam down the rest of that thing,” I tease.

Not deterred in the slightest by my comment, Ally continues with her story. “So Elgin, that’s the guy’s name,” her grin widens, “suggests they go for a drink. You know, beer goggles and all, everyone looks more appetizing after a few.” Another sip from the innocent looking, yet highly potent, liquid she’s drinking like it’s lemonade. “They both drink four vodka tonics. Elgin’s a big guy, but he’s a lightweight, just like Penny.”

“Penny?” I question, smiling. Ally always picks the best names. Personally, I’ve never known a Penny, but the woman sitting on the other side of the room fits the name perfectly. I wouldn’t be surprised if Penny was actually her real name.

“Yeah, that’s his date’s name. Quit interrupting, you’re making me lose my train of thought.” Sure, it’s my question and not the drink containing five shots of different, highly flammable alcohol she’s consumed that’s making her fuzzy. “Anyway, Penny and Elgin, they go back to her place. Which, by the way, contains an enormous collection of stuffed Hello Kitty’s. I’m talking hundreds of them. That alone should have sent up the warning flags to poor Elgin. But, alas, alcohol and wood in his pants kept him from seeing all the signs.” Ally sighs, as if to say she sympathizes with poor Elgin.

“So what happened in Hello Kitty land?” Sadly, I’m anxious to hear the rest of the story.

“They got into it fast. Two horny, sexually starved CPA’s going at it. Anyway, turns out, she’s a meower.” Ally empties the last of the liquid from her tall glass, slamming it down on the bar with a little too much enthusiasm.

“A meower?” Brows knitted, I’m beginning to think I’m already seeing signs of drunk, nonsensical Ally.

“Yeah, a kitty fetish. She likes to pretend she’s a kitten while doing the dirty deed.”

“What?”

“Yep. Now the secrets out, they’re both sober and this,” she points to the couple still sitting awkwardly at the table on the other side of the room, “is the day after date they both feel obligated to do after kitty cat clawing, dirty monkey sex.”

“Monkey sex?” Vinny’s voice takes me by surprise, I’m focused on Ally, doing my best to follow along with the story being told by my crazy best friend.

Forgetting her story entirely, Ally lights up like a Christmas tree, throwing her arms around Vinny’s neck, giving him an overzealous greeting. “I’m so glad you came!” Yep, she’s definitely drunk. Happy, buzzed, Ally has arrived.

Amused, Vinny grins and raises his eyebrows to me in question. Shrugging, I smile as I watch Vinny handle himself with tipsy Ally. He introduces her to the three friends that he’s brought with him, one more ripped and tougher looking than the next. The tallest of the trio has a shaved head and ink sticking out from beneath the collar of his shirt. I’d bet money that he grunts and growls instead of speaking. It’s not hard to guess which one will be the subject of Ally’s attention tonight.

“Hey.” Vinny comes to me, hooking his arm around my neck and kissing me possessively on the mouth. I never would have dreamed that something so cavemanish would do it for me. Before Vinny, public displays of affection weren’t for me, especially ones with the intensity that oozes so naturally from him.

“Hi.”

“You look beautiful,” he says, his voice low and sultry. He gazes slowly up and down my body approvingly, making no attempt to conceal his appetite. Oddly, it’s one of the things that I find so attractive about him. He’s confident, real, no beating around the bush. Pure, unfiltered honesty.

“Thank you.” Taking a compliment in stride has never been something I was comfortable with, but Vinny makes it easy…because I believe he means it.

“So who’s having dirty monkey sex?” He grins and I feel my face heat with embarrassment.

“It was just a made up story. A game Ally and I like to play.”

Motioning for the bartender, Vinny orders a beer for himself and gestures in the direction of Ally, “And two of whatever she’s drinking.”

“Ummm…I wasn’t drinking.” I hold up my water. “Water. I’m being the responsible one tonight. Someone has to carry Ally home.”

“I’ll carry you both home. Have fun. I’m not taking my eyes off the two of you in here anyway.” Surveying the room, he takes the water from my hand and places it on the bar, replacing it with the drink the bartender delivered.

Grinning, I sip the drink, “Okay, but you don’t know what you’re in for. Ally is crazy when she drinks too much and I’m a lightweight.”

Taking a pull from his beer, Vinny redirects the conversation to a place he’s not going to let me off easily from. “So. Monkey sex?”

“Not going to let go of that one, are you?”

“Nope.” His devilish grin and boyish dimples combine for a face that’s simply irresistible.

Sighing dramatically, I gulp a heaping sip of liquid courage from my glass before delving into the game Ally and I have played since we were kids. It all started at a party we were bored at in high school, but our game has morphed into something more creative over the years. “Bar Forensics.”

“Bar Forensics?” Apparently, Vinny’s not heard of our wonderful game.

“One of us picks a couple and the other has to make up their background…a story about the history between the two.”

“Who had monkey sex?”

Sheepishly, I point to the couple sitting on the other side of the room, still looking terribly uncomfortable.

“They didn’t have monkey sex, Babe.”

“How do you know?”

Raising an eyebrow as if to say “duh…” he takes a swig of beer and turns to canvas the room.

“Tall skinny guy in the black sport coat talking to the brunette wearing...,” he falters, looking for a word, “not much.” Vinny moves to stand next to me. Our backs to the bar, both of us lean casually with elbows supporting our weight. I guzzle from my glass and waste no time in developing my story.

“Brendon.” I turn my head to look directly at Vinny, a mask of seriousness readily in place. “That’s his name.”

Vinny’s eyebrows arch and he smirks, amused, waiting for more.

“Is a computer programmer,” I continue. “He was with his ex, Julie, for six and a half years. Being a computer programmer, he spends a lot of time on his laptop. Julie was feeling frisky one night…”

Vinny interrupts me, “Frisky?”

“Yes, frisky. There’s no interrupting during a forensic recreation, Mr. Stone.” I smile, arching one eyebrow, silently daring him to challenge me.

Playfully, Vinny puts his hands up feigning surrender and motions for me to continue.

“So anyway, Julie was feeling frisky one night and went looking for Brendon in his home office. Not expecting anyone, the door was cracked open, giving Julie a front row seat to his show. She caught him red-handed, getting himself off as he video chatted with a woman he had been secretly chatting with online for almost a year.”

I pause and drain more from my glass. Damn this thing tastes good, it’s so easy to forget how potent it really is until you feel your head begin to become weightless.

“And the woman there, is she Julie or the video woman?”

“Neither. Julie left him. Moved out the next day. Turned out the video woman was married herself, so poor Brendon got dumped twice in twenty-four hours.”

“So who’s the girl then?”

“He met her at Nordstrom’s. He went in to buy a sports jacket. Was planning on spending about $300, but met her. She works in the men’s department, sold him that overpriced $1,500 jacket. He had to put it on a credit card because Julie took everything from their bank account. Sweat was starting to form on his brow as little miss no clothes rang him up…worried his card would decline.”

A real, full laugh tells me Vinny appreciated my story. “You made that whole thing up just now from your head?”

Feigning offense, I retort, “It’s not made up, it’s their story.”

Ally’s bubbly voice pulls my attention back from my playful banter with Vinny. She’s jumping from side to side, doing what’s commonly known as the pee-pee dance. “Come with me.”

Kissing Vinny on the cheek, I smile and push off the bar and allow my friend to begin dragging me in the direction of the restrooms. I make it three steps when a strong arm wraps around my waist, stopping me in place.

“What?” I turn to find Vinny’s face serious.

“I’m coming.”

“To the bathroom?”

“Yeah, I’ll wait outside,” Vinny growls his response.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“I just saw the back of your dress.”

Two hours later, Ally’s in rare form and I’m feeling no pain. Two of Vinny’s friends disappeared into the crowd, never to return. Me, Ally, Vinny, and Shaved Head hang out at the bar, being entertained by Ally’s crazy antics. The last round of Bar Forensics consisted of Ally slurring her words while depicting a tale of mommy issues that the poor couple we picked struggled to overcome.

After Ally drags Shaved Head to the makeshift dance floor, Vinny pulls me close to him, my back to his front, and wraps his arms snuggly around my waist.

“You wanna dance?” I ask, although I’m pretty sure I know the answer before he responds.

“I don’t dance.”

“Never learned how?” I inquire as he dips his head into my hair and finds a tender spot on my neck to nibble on inconspicuously.

“Didn’t say I don’t know how, said I didn’t dance.”

“You can dance?” My voice begins to show my distraction as his nibbling moves to my shoulder. He roughly tugs at my dress to expose more flesh, trailing little nibbles on my sensitive skin.

“Of course, but I prefer to dance with you horizontally.”

Oh my. Me too. Keeping me close, he turns me in his arms and locks his arms behind my back, pressing our bodies firmly against each other.

Looking up at him, our eyes locked together, it makes me wonder what he’s thinking. Except I’ve had too much to drink and that wondering is done aloud. “What’s our Bar Forensics story?”

Pulling his head back, he looks into my eyes, his quiet confidence captivating me as I wait for his response. “The guy? He wandered around for years looking for something, only he had no idea what it was he was looking for. Just felt like a piece to his puzzle was missing. Then he met a smart, beautiful, funny woman who liked to get lost in her head.”

The icy wall I’ve built around my heart to protect myself from this man melts, leaving me vulnerable. Emotions I’m fighting to contain get the best of me, showing in my strained voice. Barely a whisper, I prompt him to continue as I wait, hoping the story has a happy ending, “What happens after they meet?”

Gathering me even closer in his arms, Vinny places a soft kiss on my lips. His hypnotizing, beautiful eyes warming my thawed heart, he continues, “Slowly, a little bit more each day, she let him into her head and one day he woke up and realized he wasn’t wandering around anymore. He wasn’t sure when it had happened or why, he just knew. Whatever he had spent the last seven years looking for wasn’t missing anymore.”

Unable to speak, my breath literally stolen from my lungs, his words wash away all my doubt, leaving the path to my heart free and he takes one step closer to owning it. Again.

Two hours later, I’m tipsy as Vinny opens the car door for me to get in. Throwing my arms around his shoulders instead of climbing in, I catch him off guard and he smiles as I kiss the tip of his nose. I feel badly for ending the party before Ally was ready to go, but the drinks went right to my head. Plus, Shaved Head had already promised to see her home and she looked more than excited at the prospect.

“You’re cute when you’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk.” My words come out with just a hint of a slur, no matter how sober I try to sound.

He kisses me chastely on the lips and surprises me by scooping me off my feet and gently placing me in the passenger seat. He buckles me up, closes the car door, and jogs around to the passenger side.

“Your place or mine?” He starts the engine.

“You’re awfully presumptuous.” I giggle and turn myself in the front seat to face him.

“Just want to take care of my girl.”

Furrowing my brows, Vinny sees the confusion on my face.

“I owe you a dance.” His voice turns low and thick.

I swallow, shifting in my seat to calm the throb between my legs as I think of the rhythm I can’t wait to feel pounding through my body. “Your place.”

Vinny smiles, putting the car into drive.

“Drive fast,” I whisper, resting my hand on his thigh.

“Sweetheart, you were going to my house either way. It’s closer and I’m not sure I can make it ten more minutes after staring at the back of that dress half the night.”