Chapter Thirteen

Paul was never there when Karla got to work, especially on Friday’s, because he always stayed until close and usually went home with whatever skirt he allowed to drink free all night. Karla counted on him not being there tonight after finding him at her mother’s house. She didn’t want to talk to him, deal with him. She wanted him to stay gone for as long as possible.

What she wanted wasn’t what she got, however.

When she walked into Sand Dune, Paul stood behind the counter, wiping down a sparkling clean bar. He looked at her, his expression soft, troubled. “Karla…”

“Don’t.” She held her hand up, as she moved behind the bar and started flipping glasses over, preparing for the evening rush. “Don’t talk to me, especially about my mother.” She turned to face him, and he started to speak again. “I said don’t,” she repeated.

He nodded as he stepped back. “I’ve got some paperwork to do.” He turned and sulked back into his office.

Karla didn’t even watch him walk away. She took a deep breath and moved to the edge of the bar. I should have just called in sick.

Once she left her mother’s place, she just returned home, too upset to think about food. She only wanted to get the image of Paul out of her mind, but that’s all she could see. How dare he cross that line into her personal space. There was an unwritten code. You just didn’t bang the mother of someone you already slept with. It just wasn’t done.

That nauseous feeling returned, churning inside her stomach. She poured herself a shot of Patrón and downed it before she could think better of her decision. The liquid burned its way down her throat to start a fire in her belly. She held onto that feeling, claiming it as her distraction. The whole idea of Paul having… sex… with her mother just made Karla feel…dirty.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the roiling in her stomach, as two guys stepped up to the bar and ordered two Jack and Cokes. She flipped over two high ball glasses and filled them with ice.

“When does the Friday night kick in around here?” one of the guys asked. His dark curling hair. cut short with wisps of curls, poked out of the V of his open shirt, tall, with a wide smile revealing strikingly white teeth against his tanned skin. His partner for the night seemed just the opposite, short with straight blond hair and a perpetual frown on his face. Definitely not the wing man Karla would choose for the evening.

“Not for a few more hours,” Karla replied. “It’s still pretty much family night for right now. You’re hitting the bars pretty early if you’re looking for action.” She pushed the full glasses in front of them and waited for a credit card to start their tab.

Tall, dark, and handsome just nodded as he slipped a card in front of him. “Plenty of time to relax then.”

“Relax?” the smaller man repeated. “Why do we want to relax? Let’s find a bar with women.”

“Julius, my man, relax. Women will be here,” the dominant of the two said. “Quiet is good.” He lifted his glass as he slid the other one in front of his friend with his other hand. “Gives us time to feel the place out and watch it build. Why come in when things are full-blown? Most people have already paired up by then.”

Karla watched them bounce back and forth in their conversation, knowing the stronger of the two would win. The other kid was definitely a follower. Then she found herself wondering when she thought of these…kids…as kids. They were practically the same age as her.

The other kid didn’t even argue, although it was obvious by the frown of his brows that he wasn’t happy staying at Sand Dune. The dark-haired one slid the card back to her, telling her to keep it open, grabbed his glass, and led his friend to a table with a perfect view of the main door, as well as the bar and dance floor. Karla found herself nodding, proud of the kid’s plan of attack. Or at least his plan of observation. She definitely would keep her eyes on the duo to see how their night panned out.

Then, just as she thought she would have fun being their last call take home, she remembered Mitch and his rules. How weird would it be to call him and tell him she wanted to go home with two other guys? She shook her head. It just didn’t seem…natural. How in the world could she do this? None of it seemed right to her. You don’t just call your boyfriend and say you wanted to go home with someone else in order to screw around. Men didn’t allow that. They didn’t allow their girls to go home with anyone else. They kept them under lock and key. They talked about their fantasy of watching their lady have sex with another, of threesomes and random sex acts, but they stiffened up as soon as they got off and the moment was over. This was a trap; she knew it. Mitch would wind up being just like everyone else.

The doors opened and a trio of girls stumbled in, their heels clacking on the wood floor, drawing Karla’s attention away from the duo on the sidelines and back to work. Maybe the night would stay busy, and Paul would stay hidden. She had enough to dwell on without thinking about her boss and her mother. She just wanted to pour drinks, that’s all.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mitch stood outside Sand Dune for a few moments, peering inside over the wooden railings that gave patrons a view of the beach. Karla kept busy at the bar, serving drinks and teasing around with the customers. She smiled and laughed, but something else pulled her down, it seemed. Furthermore, he noticed every time Paul came out of the back, Karla scowled at him, and he went scurrying away with his tail between his legs. Something was going on there, and Mitch wished he knew what. Not that he didn’t trust Karla to handle it, of course. While Karla could be volatile in nature, she had a strength about her that in no way diminished her femininity. She could handle her own and never even mess up her nails. She wasn’t just tough; she was bad ass, but she had a soft, caring side about her that she rarely ever showed to people. That was the side he wanted to bring out.

Laughter erupted from the bar and Mitch watched as some college kids whistled at Karla, who showed off her skills at pouring drinks. Two guys, a tall, dark-haired kid and his short, blond counterpart, seemed glued to the bar and Karla’s every move, egging Sean, the other bartender, on as he flirted and played grab ass with Karla. She moved with confidence, but she was always aware of the appreciative glances being thrown her way. It was why she always dressed the way she did—short shorts, skimpy skirts, low-cut tops. She craved the attention, whether she wanted to admit it or not. She may not like relationships, but Karla Harper wanted everyone’s eyes glued to her. Everything she did was a show, it seemed. Her twirls, her bending over, even her giggles. Those he knew were fake. Karla didn’t giggle. That was for college girls and bored housewives. No, Karla Harper laughed, loud and full of life.

Glancing at his watch, he noticed it was almost closing time. He pushed himself off the palm tree he leaned against and made his way inside, ready for a drink, and the next phase of his quest for Karla. The problem with Karla was that she didn’t believe anyone could allow her the freedom to be herself, to behave the way she needed for the attention she craved. For the most part, she was right. Most men didn’t go for their women being the center of other men’s attention. But Mitch wasn’t most men.

Even though Sand Dune was mainly a bar with openings instead of windows, the noise level assaulted his ears once he stepped inside the main section of the bar. The DJ was still going strong, and the dance floor was crowded with people gyrating and grinding against each other, the foreplay for the evening had begun. It was time for him to do the same.

He took the end of the bar opposite the two guys ogling Karla’s ass and bouncing breasts. He didn’t want to end anyone’s fun, after all. Sean came over and took Mitch’s drink order. Karla was so caught up in her show, he downed a fourth of his drink before she even noticed him. When she finally did see him, her face turned a slight pink from embarrassment, as if she had been busted doing something she shouldn’t have been. He just smiled, lifting his glass in a slight toast.

Karla finished what she was doing, and then trudged over to where he sat at the bar, her brows curved down in a frown. “How long have you been here?”

He shrugged. “Not too long. Sean hooked me up, and I’ve just been people watching. You seemed busy and I didn’t want to bother you. I figured you’d notice me sooner or later.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, bracing for a fight. “Is that disapproval I hear in your voice?”

He chuckled, as he shook his head. “Nope. That’s just my voice. You looked pretty damn sexy doing what you do. It was fun to watch.”

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Fun? To watch? Really?”

He laughed harder, as he lifted his drink to his lips. “Yes, fun to watch. I like watching you in your element. It’s sexy.”

Her expression told him that she didn’t really believe him, thinking it was still somehow a trap of some kind. “So, you’re not here spying on me?”

“Wow, you really have had some issues with men, haven’t you?” He shook his head. “Actually, it was a beautiful night, and I didn’t want to wait until closing time. I thought after your shift we could sit on the beach for a bit. We did make plans to meet tonight, remember? Right after I…” He held up his palm, making a spanking motion. Her eyes went wide. “Of course, if you forgot and made other plans, I could always come back tomorrow.”

He watched her stare at him, the battle waging within as she tried to figure out if it was a trap or not. He sipped his drink and just let her debate it quietly. He wasn’t going to make her decision for her. Not yet anyway.

“I do not have other plans.” She wasn’t going to tell him that she had forgotten he was meeting her tonight. How could she forget when he had her squirming so badly that morning? “I have another hour, though,” she said. “Can you wait that long?”

He winked. “I can wait for however long I need to wait. Take your time.” The truth was, he had been waiting for her since the moment she dropped her shorts in his garage that very first time.

She nodded, her smile weak, still not trusting him. He just gave her a reassuring smile in return and asked Sean for another drink. Spinning, Mitch turned his gaze away from Karla and onto the dancing throng in the middle of Sand Dune. She may think he was there to spy on her, but he was going to ignore her until her time was up. Besides, there were plenty of others to entertain him with their antics.

The hour went quickly, and Mitch did his best to give Karla her space while he waited for her. Of course, that didn’t stop him from watching her out of the corner of his eye. She did her best to act natural, but it was obvious his presence threw her off her game just a little bit. She wasn’t as flirty or exposed as she normally would have been. She also wasn’t doing her best to antagonize him and prove some ridiculous point either. With fifteen minutes left, he downed his drink, paid his tab, and told Karla he would meet her outside when she was done. Might as well allow her to enjoy the ending of her night and relax some. He didn’t want her all agitated and tense at the beginning of their night on the beach.

The night air was chill, the sound of the waves crashing the shore nearby. The moon was almost full, it’s light glistening off the ocean surface. It was a perfect night for a couple to sit back and get lost in each other.

Thirty minutes later, he heard her walking up behind him. Turning, he smiled, offering her his hand to hold. “All done?”

She nodded, her dark hair falling across her eyes for a moment before she tucked it back behind her ear. “Finally. You sure it’s not too late for this?”

“Too late to enjoy some time alone with my girl? It’ll never be too late for that.” He tugged her closer to him, wrapped his other arm around her waist, and held her tight against him, a gasp escaping her lips from the sudden movement. He peered into her blue eyes. “Shall we?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice a raspy whisper.

He leaned down and kissed her, her lips warm and dry. He smiled; he couldn’t help himself. He liked her a little on edge and nervous, not knowing what was happening. She needed to be in control, and he liked when he could knock that out of her for just a little while. He walked her away from the bar and onlookers until he found a soft spot of sand that had dried out from high tide earlier. He didn’t bring a blanket or anything, knowing Karla was a beach girl who preferred the sand. He fell to the beach and pulled her down beside him, nestling her close to his side with his arm around her waist again. He stretched his legs out in front of him, smiled at her, and then gestured to the Atlantic. “I love how the moon hits the water.”

She rubbed her upper arms a bit, the chill causing goose bumps to pop up on her flesh. “I never saw you as the soft, romantic type.”

He chuckled. “I know. You see me as brash and crude, after what’s between your legs and nothing else.” He shrugged. “I’ve had what’s there. I want the rest of you now.”

She cocked her head as she peered at him, the moon giving them enough light to see each other’s faces. “Oh, do you now? Why?”

He leaned back on his arms, his hands digging into the sand holding him up. His gaze turned back to the quiet waves. “Because I think we fit well, or we could if you’d just ease up your defenses and give us a chance.”

“And just how do we fit well? You don’t really know me.”

“I know you better than you think. I know you love attention. You get turned on when guys—or girls for that matter—look at you and can’t take their eyes off you. You like the control your body gives you with men.” He turned and looked at her. “You like sex but only if you control it. It’s the same with relationships. I think you want one, but only if you can control it.”

She shook her head. “No. Relationships suck. I much prefer getting in, having my fun, and getting out. No one gets hurt that way.”

“I know you want to believe that,” he said, his hand shifting a little in the sand. “I’m not sure what happened or who hurt you, but it made you cynical and angry. I wish I could fix it. Hell, I’d like to kick the ass of whoever did it to you.”

He heard her sigh beside him, as she wrapped her arms around her knees, drawing them up to her chest. When she spoke, her voice was soft, distant. “I did it to myself.”

He glanced at her, the disappointment and hurt obvious on her face. “What do you mean?”

She told him all about Reed and Pat in high school, of sneaking out of the house, because she wanted to be part of the popular crowd, of allowing herself to be used, but never dated. “You’re right. I love attention. It’s stupid, but it’s addicting, and it made me make some crazy decisions when I was younger, but it also taught me I could be popular and still in control. Men will always be dogs, but I will always be the one holding the leash.”

“But what if you had a relationship that allowed you to have all that, the attention, the sex, the wild nights, while someone else held the leash and protected you, kept you safe?”

She harumphed. “I’m pretty capable of holding my own leash, thank you. And I get to do all that now. Why would I want a relationship?”

He snuggled into her, his nose toying with her ear. “Aren’t you tired of being alone? Don’t you want to share the adventure with someone else? Someone who can appreciate you showing yourself off as much as you get off on doing it? Don’t you want to tease others while going home to someone who will spoil you rotten and treat you the way you deserve to be treated? Someone who can protect you and keep you from hurting yourself while you explore and show off?”

“You think I need protection?”

“I think you need me. And I think I need you. We need each other. I think you’re hurt and scarred, and you need someone who can make that pain go away.”

“And you think you’re that person, huh?”

He kissed the side of her head. “I know I am. And I’ll prove it.”

She turned and faced him. “Oh really? And just how are you going to prove it?”

He grinned, knowing she wanted it, but just didn’t want to admit she wanted it. “By showing you off, of course.” He winked at her, her mouth parting in confusion and surprise. “By giving you what you want. All of it.”