ChloeTroy chuckles. This time when he looks at me, his eyes linger and my skin crawls. He might be attractive enough, but he's one of the creepiest men I've ever laid eyes on. I divert my attention quickly and Olivia reaches for my hand. "Oh don't worry. It's not you I give a shit about anymore, brother."He lifts his tumbler off the bar and raises it in Rex's direction then slides off his stool. I know where he's heading and if he follows through, there's no way it will turn out in his favor."Hey there. Welcome to The Flying Goat," Ethan says, stepping in front of Troy. His voice is devoid of any hospitality.Troy, though, is too stupid to get the not so subtle hint. "Uh, thanks?"He tries to step around him but is stopped by one of the Zeus twins.He's a tiny man surrounded by three large, angry men.I don't know how much of Rex's story any of them know, if anything at all, but they see the anger coming off Rex's body and know Troy is the cause of it.Troy turns
RexI'm nervous. Fuck me, but I think I'm going to throw up.But it's not every day that I get to ask this question, and I don't want to mess it up.I knock on the door to hopefully my future. "Come in.""Hi.""What's going on? Why'd you ask to see me like this?""I need to ask you something. And I really need you to hear me out before speaking because it's important.""Okay? You're acting really fucking weird, man. What's going on with you?"I place a small, black velvet box on his desk and I pop open the lid, presenting the small piece of jewelry to him.Ethan takes a close look, lifts it out of the soft cushion it's cradled in, inspects it before slipping it back in the box. "Ah, for me? You shouldn't have. But it's a little flashy for my taste. I prefer something a little more subtle. Not so many diamonds." I realize he's just trying to lighten the mood and he knows exactly what this box means, but I still have to say it. Need to. For Chloe. It's the right t
Chloe"How are you feeling?"Liv glares at me and grits out, "Dandy! Just freaking dandy."I look at Rex and stretch my lips out in an eek face and he smothers a laugh."Okay then. Well, I'll leave you two to it.""No!" Ethan tries grabbing Rex by the arm but he's too quick."Unless you plan on being in the room with us when Chloe's giving birth, I suggest you let us go. This is your time. You got this.""No we do not!" Liv shouts. "There's nothing about this that we've got."The nurse comes in and says, "Let's check you, shall we? See how you're coming along?"Liv nods, shifting uncomfortably in her bed. She looks like hell. Beautiful as usual. Well, that's actually not true. Her face is splotchy, hair matted down from sweat, there's black under her eyes where her mascara has run.She reaches a hand out to me and I shoot wide eyes to Ethan who's already by her side. "You gonna tell her no?" he challenges and I shake my head.Rex moves quickly so he's standing
Rex"It's time, babe. It's time!" Chloe's voice is full of excitement as she nudges me awake. Her hair is still wet and she smells incredible. Fresh and clean and I really want to snag her around the waist, and pull her under me."What?""It's. Time!""Shit." I spring up out of bed, trip over the damn cat that never leaves my side, catch myself on the curtains in our bedroom and right myself."Are you okay?" Chloe asks, laughing before groaning."I'm good. Yeah. Are you?""Of course. I'm excited.""Me too, babe. But I'd be more excited if you would have let me sleep a bit longer.""I can't help it! This isn't on me and you know it."I grin. It's not her fault. It's actually mine. I was the one who suggest we elope and promised to take care of everything, including getting our flights scheduled for so early in the morning."You know, it'd be nice if you told me where we were going." She grins over her already packed suitcase. The one I packed for her so she'd be
Rex"Miss Garcia?""That's me."Chloe stands from our place in the waiting area off of the resort's spa. I arranged for a day of pampering complete with making sure her hair and makeup is done for the wedding later this afternoon. By the time she walks down the aisle, she'll be relaxed and hopefully the tension and stress of the last few months will have washed away.Right after I proposed, we had a bit of a scare with the baby.She started spotting and since this was our first, we both panicked. The doctor assured us it was totally normal, but then her blood pressure started dipping. She'd be at work doing a client's hair and suddenly feel light headed with no warning. After the second time it happened, I made her see the doctor who put her on a limited work schedule, to put it simply. It wasn't bed rest, but for Chloe who loved her job, it might as well have been.She was cranky and irritable but soon started seeing the benefit of being home part-time and putting in
Chloe"I need you to listen to me, Chloe girl, and don't interrupt."I fluff my mom's pillow behind her head. At least the beds at the Hospice house are nicer than they were at the hospital. She's more comfortable here, despite what the underlying meaning behind it is. "Mom, you need your rest. Whatever you have to say, you can tell me later.""You and I both know there might not be a later," Mom says, taking a deep breath through the pain. Cancer is a bitch and it's stealing away the only family I've ever known.I never knew my father, they met while he was in Mexico on spring break, had a brief fling, and went back home to Ireland. She went through a bit of a wild phase and getting pregnant with me was her wake up call. At least, that's what she's always told me. My grandparents, though, thought a little differently of her awakening. They all but disowned her after I was born. Apparently, it wasn't okay for me to have an Irish father."Mom," I sniffle, not even trying to
Rex"This one's on me, sweetheart," I tell the brunette standing in front of me. I throw in a wink for good measure. Her eyes give me a once over, stalling on the tattoos that peek out from under my rolled-up shirt sleeves. Both of my upper arms are covered in tattoos I've designed myself but I've purposely kept my forearms bare. There's no rhyme or reason to it, simply a personal preference."Thanks, Rex," Brooklyn coos. For the last few months, she's been coming in to The Flying Goat, the bar I work at nights and weekends when I'm not glued to my computer, working codes and creating apps. I work for myself which allows me to take on whatever contracts I'm interested in. "Whatcha doing later?" she asks. This isn't the first time and likely won't be the last. Every time, I've turned down her advances but she's persistent."I have an early day tomorrow," I tell her, purposely avoiding her question. If I tell her I don't have plans, she'll jump on the chance to come home with me
RexShit.I take a step forward.A friend of hers places a hand on her back, rubs up and down. Leans over and speaks into her ear. Another woman scoots closer, resting a hand on her arm and another reaches across the table, doing the same. Her friends are comforting her, offering her support for whatever is going on in her life to make her break down in tears in a public place.What am I doing? I don't know her. Yet I want to go console her. Cheer her up. Figure out what's making her sad and fix it.She's here at The Flying Goat, with what looks like a group of friends out for drinks which means it's supposed to be a happy time for her. So, what is happening that's causing her to stand here and cry? Better question is, why do I care so much? It's not that I lack compassion, but typically if I see someone upset, but they clearly have a support system surrounding them, I wouldn't think of it again.But this beautifully broken girl, I can't tear my eyes away from her. I sti