A Graceful Mess Read Online Free PDF Page A

I didn’t peg you for a feisty girl. One LIT coming right up, princess.”
    I shake off his dumb remark because, frankly, he is no one, at least not to me. I’ll use him to buy me some drinks tonight, and I won’t ever have to see him again.

 

     
    The bar is packed tonight, but I know the bouncer, Henry, from the gym so he ushers me in as I skip the long line waiting outside. Walking into the building I stand on the balcony so I can see everything, taking a moment to survey the area. My eyes find Spencer talking to a brunette, and then I see my brother shaking hands with a blonde.
    Score.
    Nodding my approval of his choice of woman for the night, I make my way down the stairs and approach the bar.
    “What can I get ya, baby?” the bartender shouts over the music from behind the wooden counter.
    “Whiskey and Coke, on the rocks.” I fumble in my pocket for my wallet, hand the girl a ten-dollar bill, and then make my way to where I saw my brother tucked away in the corner. As I approach Spencer and Carson from behind, I see the two females walking away in the opposite direction.
    “How the hell did you run them off already?” I joke as I walk up from behind them.
    “Ah, my long lost brother. I see you finally came out of hiding. And to what do we owe this pleasure tonight?”
    Given the little punk he normally is, why would I have expected anything different from him tonight? I bite my tongue knowing this isn’t the time or place to get into it with his lowlife ass.
    “Shut the fuck up, bro.” I eye him, seeing if he is going to erupt like the volcano I know he is.
    “I’m just playing, Park. Just ‘cuz you went and got all old on me doesn’t mean you can’t take a joke, right?” He elbows me in the ribs, as amber liquid flows over the rim of his glass.
    “Right,” I mumble under my breath. I wonder how long they have been here and how he is already toasted enough to be spilling his drink.
    “Who were those chicks you were talking to?”
    “I don’t know. Ramsey,” he says, referring to Spencer, “met the brunette one a few weeks ago at the shop, and the blonde just tagged along with her.”
    I see the pair emerge from the ladies’ room a few minutes later. Recognizing her face, I am shocked, but my eyes are instantly glued to her. Her smile is so wide, the sounds of laughter coming out of her mouth echo in the small hallway. I raise my glass to my lips and take a draw. The burning sensation reminds me this isn’t a daydream. Although I wish it were. I can only picture the naughty positions I would lay her toned body in underneath mine.
    “Which is fine by me because she is smoking in that blue dress. Wait, do you know them or something?” I hear Carson talking, but I don’t understand a lick of what he saying. The blonde captivates me in ways I thought weren’t humanly possible.
    “Parker, what the fuck, dude. You listening?” he barks before he notices where all my attention is.
    Forcing myself to look away a second too late, he catches me red-handed. “Sorry, bro, what?”
    “Do you know that piece of ass?”
    “No. Not yet anyway.” Remembering her beautiful face from the file, Grace, the woman I was hired to track, is now only a few feet away. Squinting my eyes, I wonder again if this is real life or a daydream. Who the hell am I kidding? She is real and she is here. I can almost feel her presence, and then realization hits me. She’s here with Carson. How fucking stupid. Carson of all people? I look over to see him mind-fucking some redhead whose black skirt is so short you can see the bottom of her ass cheeks. Perky little ass cheeks, I might add, but that’s not my point. There is a blonde bombshell walking towards us and he is ready to dry hump some skank. She’s a sure thing, I know that, but nothing good comes out of mindless hookups. I’ve learned that lesson time and time again, ever since Kristy and I broke up.
    My eyes watch Grace, step by step, as she draws closer. My