All She Wanted (2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

to flush my eyes out with disinfectant.  
    I checked my phone again for the time
as I leaned against a metal railing.
    Charlie and Jackie were dancing just a
few feet out from where I stood, yet my eyes continually scanned the crowd
around them. I had a knack for predicting the behavior of others—one that had
been carefully honed after nursing dozens of black eyes, broken ribs and bruised
organs. Fighting had created many opportunities for me to sharpen my
observational skills.
    It wasn’t that I thought Charlie was
stupid—in fact, I believed the opposite to be true, but this evening had
seriously made me question her judgment. It bothered me more than I cared to
admit that she had been in places like this before with only the protection of friends like Jackie. I shook my head
remembering Jackie’s soft-spoken words that held the venom of a cobra. Her
not-so-subtle invitation had supplied me with all the information I needed.
    Her face was equal parts surprised and
curious after I had turned her down.
    I wasn’t into casual sex—at least not
anymore.   
    A particularly vulgar group of males was
on the move, stalking their prey like a pack of hungry wolves. I straightened;
my jaw clenching tight as I focused my attention on one in particular who had
made his way over to where a certain redhead was dancing. I was in motion a
good ten seconds before he even touched her shoulder.
    As I pushed through the sweaty mass, I
saw her turn toward him, a look of evident disdain on her face. I saw her lips
move quickly as he began to close the gap between them, it was then her eyes
found me. But as I reached her, the creep had already backed-off. Whatever she
had said to him had apparently been received.
    For being the size of a Keebler Elf,
the girl was no lightweight when it came to her tenacity.
    The rigidity in my shoulders relaxed as
she smirked at me and shrugged.
    “It’s time,” I said tapping my
invisible watch.
    She rolled her eyes, but surprisingly,
she complied. I watched as she pulled Jackie away from some dude who had
practically tattooed himself onto her thigh. She was none-to-pleased, but she
followed after Charlie regardless.
    As we parted ways with her in the
parking lot, Jackie blew me a very dramatic kiss. I ignored her, which
apparently did not dissuade her.
    “Hope you don’t keep the hottie all to
yourself, Charlie!” Jackie bellowed through the parking lot.
    Charlie waved without comment and then
looked at me incredulously.
    “You gonna tell me what that was about— hottie ?” She asked, sarcasm dripping
from her last word.
    “Are you gonna tell me what you said to
that creeper in there?” I challenged back.
    “Ladies never kiss and tell.”
    I laughed. “Well, if that is your idea
of kissing, then your daddy has nothing to worry about.”
    She smiled, looking out the window
without saying another word. Perhaps we both felt the events of the night had filled
our quota for social stimulation. I wondered how long my ears would keep
ringing from the hideous excuse for music I was forced to endure.
    The silence was greatly appreciated.
    I walked her to the front door after
parking my truck in the driveway. I pulled out her keys, which had been in my
pocket all night, and unlocked it for her.
    “Thanks.”
    I nodded, knowing it was meant to cover
much more than that simple gesture.
    After I watched her enter the foyer I
called to her. She turned.
    “Here,” I said, tossing the keys at
her. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as she caught them.
    “Am I free from my house-arrest so soon,
Manny?”
    “No,” I laughed, “but if you find
yourself itching to leave this house again, I want your word that you’ll tell
me first.”
    She held my gaze as if analyzing each
word I had spoken before answering, “Okay.”
    She closed the front door a second
later, re-locking it. I hopped off the porch and headed up to the garage
apartment. A curious satisfaction filled my chest.
    What an interesting