Taste of Commitment (Whisky and Risky #2)

11. Taylor

Taylor

When Olivia invited me out tonight, I was expecting a hole-in-the-wall, hundred-year-old pub with a few town locals nursing some beers in a dark bar.

The Saloon is a pub but the comparison ends there. A long cedar wood bar stretches the length of the back wall, while high-top tables and low-corner booths fill most of the main area. We squeeze past one hundred or so people who are already on the dance floor—my shoes only sticking mildly. Olivia takes me by the hand and pulls me up to the bar.

“What’s your drink of choice?” she calls out over the— is that country music?

“Tequila!” I shout. “But I think tonight, I’ll just do red wine.”

Olivia wrinkles her brow, studying me.

“I meant what I said earlier, I really do want to get up early tomorrow so that I can finally do my sightseeing.”

“Red wine it is then, I just need to find?—”

“What’s up, baby Browning?” A handsome man with blond hair throws a towel over his shoulder and leans on his forearms against the bar. He flashes Olivia a very charming—okay, sexy—smile, and my god—she’s blushing.

“I’m not a baby, Liam.” She scowls at him.

Liam has no shame in the way he eyes her up and down. Direct. I like that.

“No. You definitely aren’t a baby anymore, huh?”

Her scowl slowly fades, the prolonged eye contact starting to make me feel like I’m interrupting something that I’m not supposed to be witness to.

“Right. Taylor,” she says, facing me. “This is Liam. He owns this bar. He’s also my brother’s best friend.”

Ooo, I love that trope. I smile and nod, extending my hand to his.

“Put her there, partner.”

He laughs, taking my hand, his smile turning more charming than flirtatious. “What can I get you girls? The band is starting in about an hour, so it’s best to get as many drink orders in now.”

“Irish mule for me and red wine for her.” Olivia throws a pointed thumb in my direction.

Liam makes quick work of our drinks and we take them with a ‘thank you’, heading off to find a table. “Enjoy your night, ladies!”

We find a high top, and before Olivia can even hoist herself up onto the tall seat I ask, “So, what’s the deal with you two?”

“Nothing.” She quickly takes a sip of her drink.

“It didn’t look like nothing.”

“Well, that’s probably because I’ve known him for almost my whole life. He and Knox were practically attached at the hip. And as you can see…” She waves a hand in his direction, not bothering to look at him. “He doesn’t see me as anything more than a baby. ”

“Based on the way he was trying to undress you with his eyeballs, I think his thoughts might have changed.”

“He was not.” She blushes.

“Liv, he was practically eye-fucking you in front of the entire bar.”

She chokes, mid-drink, and gently smacks her chest a few times. She’s so sweet and so innocent. I adore her already. I cover my laugh with my hand, reaching over to rub her back.

In the few minutes we’ve been here, the crowded bar somehow grew more crowded. “This place is poppin’ for a town that shuts down so early.”

“Yeah, on the weekends they get live bands from all over the world. That’s actually how Sophie met her fiance.” She says Sophie like I’m supposed to know who that is. Like we’re all old friends. We’re not, and I have no idea who we’re talking about, but I nod along like I’m in on the story anyway. “The two closest neighboring towns don’t have a bar either, so locals and tourists from those areas come over here as well. Are you from a big city?”

“It’s actually one of the largest in The United States”

“That’s nice. I’ve barely ever left this town.” Her eyes grow distant, and she mindlessly stirs her straw around her copper mug.

“Do you want to?”

“I love this town and everyone in it. I never thought I would want to leave, but a few years ago, we went to London for one of Knox’s games, and I don’t know.” She shrugs a shoulder. “Ever since then, I’ve just felt like there’s so much more out there, you know? I just don’t know if anything outside of Stoney Meadow is really for me. Plus, I think I would have a hard time leaving my mom. I’m the one who helps her most days.”

“I can relate. ”

“You?” Her eyes go wide before shaking her head. “I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s true.” I nod. Not the part about leaving my mom. Caroline Nova bailed on me long before I had the opportunity to even consider leaving her, but a piece of my heart tugs for Olivia. Not knowing where you fit in, or not being able to make a decision—hell, that should have been my middle name. Taylor Indecisive Nova. “I think at some point, all of us question what we’re doing with our lives. Where we want to live and what we want to do. Specifically, what we want to get out of it. I’m sure it’s a universal experience. We might not go through it at the same time, but Liv?” Her eyes find mine and I reach for her hand, squeezing tightly. “You’re not alone. We’re all just trying to find our place on this floating rock.”

She clasps her other hand on top of mine with a smile that lights up her face. “And what do you want to do now?”

“Right now, I want to have a fun night out in a new town with my new friend. Cheers!” I lift my glass to hers, and she clinks her mug against mine.

“What about you? You must have a lot of fun bars and clubs where you’re from then?”

“We definitely do. I haven’t been out in a while, though. A drink or two at the bar down the street from where I live, mostly. The last really wild night I had, my best friend, and I went to Vegas, and she accidentally got married.”

“What?” She slams her hand down on the tabletop.

“Yeah, it all worked out, though. Turns out, she actually liked the guy.”

“That’s insane! If I ever—” Olivia keeps talking, but the music, the laughter, all the shouting and glasses clinking fade away when I spot the man sitting up at the bar. He’s talking to Liam, but even from halfway across the room, I can make out his thick, corded back muscles, the way they shift with every little movement under his shirt. Knox sits sideways on his stool, one arm propped up on the bar, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

Butterflies go wild in my stomach at the sight of him, and I sit up just a little straighter.

“Ugh,” Oliva groans, pulling my attention back to our table.

I blink a few times, breaking out of the fog of lust that is Knox Browning. Her whole body is turned towards me now, her chin propped up by the heel of her hand.

“What’s up with that?” I nod toward Knox, who is still looking all kinds of fine at the bar, unable to keep the smile off of my face.

“My dad probably sent him here to look after me.” She rolls her eyes. “Yet another reason I’m questioning if I can stay here any longer. I’ll always be treated like the baby.”

“I—” Before I can respond, Knox captures my attention again. More specifically, the beautiful tall woman with long, silky black hair who has her hand on his forearm. I nod toward her as she laughs at whatever he’s just said. “Who’s that?”

My smile slowly falls as her bigger more beautiful one continues to grow.

Liv takes a quick peek and turns back to me. “Oh, that’s Ava. She just moved back here. I’ve only met her a handful of times, but she seems super cool.”

“Where did she move from?”

“She was traveling for years, I’m not sure if she ever put roots down anywhere, but she’s a model, so she’s been like… everywhere.”

Of course she has. I bite down hard on my inner cheek as something annoying begins to furrow in my ches t

“Let’s do shots!” I blurt out.

Four shots of Jameson puts Liv and me in the middle of the dance floor. The band has gotten nearly every person in the place up and dancing. Bodies surround me, and the alcohol coursing through me has almost made me forget about the two hundred pounds of muscular sex appeal that stands fifty feet away from me. It’s hard not to notice him when everyone in the bar seems keen on grabbing his attention. I swear, every single person has spoken to him at least once tonight.

A guy with close-cropped hair dips between where Liv and I are dancing.

Watch it, Shaggy Rogers.

I’m instantly annoyed, but Liv’s smile brightens when she looks at him, so who am I to shove away her good time? Her wide eyes flit to mine and I hold up two thumbs.

“Yes!” I mouth, backing up a little giving them some space.

My eyelids flutter close and I let the music—and maybe the Jameson—take me away. My arms become weightless as I throw them over my head, and I swing my hips side to side to the rhythm until I stumble into the wall behind me.

Not a wall.

I’m instantly engulfed in a warm and aromatic scent that I have grown to know well. I inhale, but it only makes me more lightheaded. He seems to have that effect on me. I roll my shoulders back and turn on my sneaker-covered heel, coming face-to-chest with the man that I’ve been avoiding all night. I tilt my head back, looking into his eyes, only to find them several shades darker than I have ever seen them .

“If you came over here to play protector for your sister, leave her alone. She’s fine.”

“I didn’t come over here for her,” his husky voice grumbles.

My heartbeat intensifies.

“No?” I angle my head. “Where’s your girlfriend from the bar?”

He rubs a large hand over his mouth, attempting to hide his smile. “You jealous, Nova?”

Is that what that feeling was? Was I jealous? I refuse to come to terms with what that might mean in the middle of this bar.

“What’s jealousy?” I ask, shrugging a shoulder. “Never heard of her.”

Knox steps closer, his hand gently finding the slope of my waist. His mouth dips to the crook of my neck, causing every hair on my neck to stand. “It’s how I feel every time someone walks past you, their bodies grazing your shoulder, your back.” He drags his fingers from my shoulders to the small of my back. “Or the last man who slid by you by brushing against your ass.”

My lips part slightly, my tongue running along the back of my teeth. I assess my options. “Do you dance Knox?”

“Not usually.”

I take a step back, creating some distance between us that I already wish to crush. The music that I had managed to tune out kicks back in, and my hips dip and sway. I trail my fingers in a line from my thighs up my waist. I’m flirting with a dangerous line. I know it, but I’m consumed by the way he looks at me when I do.

Knox’s nostrils flare, and in one step, he’s closing the distance that I deeply regretted putting between us. His large hand finds my body again, fingers digging into my waist where my own touch had just traveled. I’m suddenly furious at his arm in the sling for preventing him from putting both of his hands on my skin. Before I know what I’m doing, my fingers are brushing lightly against his shoulder.

His eyes are darker than the bottom of a bottle when he follows the trail of my fingers along his collarbone. A muscle in his jaw ticks, as if this tiny movement is enough to test his restraint. The rhythm of the music blares through the bar, but standing this close to Knox, my heart hammers louder.

“Okay. I’m ready,” Olivia declares, her head popping up between us. I pull my hands away from Knox like I’ve been caught making out under the bleachers at a middle school football game. I flash him a coy smile, telling him just how thoroughly I was enjoying that moment, before finally looking at his sister instead.

“What happened?” I ask her.

“What always happens. He got weird and asked if I wanted to go back to his place. When I said no, he said he would never have hooked up with me anyway and bailed.”

Well, that won’t fly.

“Where’d he go?” I look over her shoulder.

“It’s fine.” She rubs her arm timidly.

“No, come on. I’ve put dudes in their place for way less,” I tell her. Her shiny eyes land on me, and her lips twitch in an appreciative smile. “I’m serious, Liv. Your enemies are my enemies.”

“I appreciate it, really, but I’m okay.”

She’s so sincere, like my willingness to defend her honor is something new to her, but I can’t imagine anyone in this town not going to bat for this girl.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. I’m just ready to leave if that’s okay. ”

I give her a squeeze and glance back at Knox, who is now scanning the bar.

“Don’t, Knox. Please, let’s just go,” Liv begs.

He’s weighing his options heavily, I can see it in the way his jaw pulses. His eyes fall back to his sister, and with a begrudged grunt, he dips his head in a nod.

“I’m just going to grab my purse from the table,” I say. “I’ll meet you at the door.”

An unused napkin sits on top of my handbag, and in possibly the most sentimental moment of my life, I shove the tiny paper with the horseshoe on it into my bag.

I push through the crowd of people, making my way to the door when a brunette in a puke green shirt steps in my path. I immediately recognize the man who interrupted my girl’s night.

Ohh, Shaggy. Good thing I saved that napkin.

“Hey.” I wave and pull my lips into a wide grin.

His eyes drag up the length of my body, and I have to physically restrain myself from gagging. “Hey back atcha.”

“An American accent. Wonderful. I would hate for this to get lost in translation.” I know my smile is rivaling the Cheshire Cat, but I don’t care, it’s not the first time I’ve looked out of my mind and it won’t be the last. “Now pay attention. The next time a woman turns your malnourished ass down, the correct answer is ‘I don’t deserve you anyway’, because let me tell you something…” I lean in closer and I relish in the way his smile falters. “If the choice was between spending one night with you or repeatedly kicking a rusty saw with no shoes on and an ingrown toenail, I’m taking option B every time.”

His face contorts from confusion to anger, but his brain cells haven’t rubbed together enough yet to signal to his body that he should leave. I close the remaining distance between us and move to pass him, but not before whispering in his ear. “I mean this with the utmost disrespect. Go home. Be happy with your pocket pussy and leave the rest of these women alone.”

The drive back isn’t far, but the speed limit in the town is about as fast as I can run.

Backwards.

Uphill.

In the snow.

Wearing scuba gear.

We pull up to one of the houses on the hill and Olivia hops out, seeming a little better than when we left. “Thanks for coming out with me tonight. I had the best time.”

I can’t stop my lips from tugging upward.

“Thank you for inviting me.”

“Thanks for the ride, Knoxy!” She slams the door and runs up to the house.

I drop my head back to the seat, a smile stretching across my entire face.

“Don’t.” His warning is deep, like gravel.

“Don’t what?” I sit up to look at him. I don’t know how he thinks he knows me so well, but he’s already shaking his head so I push the button that I know he’s begging me not to. “Knoxy?” I ask, shaking with laughter beside him.

“Fuck me,” he grunts, rubbing his eyebrow.

He drapes an arm over the steering wheel, leaning forward to look out of my window, making sure his little sister gets in the house safely.

“So you’re kind of a big deal around here, huh?” I ask when he finally puts the vehicle into drive.

“What do you mean?” he asks, turning the truck around .

“I mean, everyone was all over you at the bar tonight. You must have talked to twenty different people.”

“Keeping tabs on me?” he asks, and my eyes roll back. Caught. “That’s alright. I like it when you watch me.”

“Okay, never mind.” I wave my hand in his direction, and he catches it with his. His long fingers wrap around mine, thumb rubbing my palm.

Is this an erogenous zone?

His knee lifts slightly to keep the wheel in place.

“When you play a sport at the level I did and come from a small town, it’s bound to happen.” He drops our hands to the space between us and I let out a breath that I hadn’t realized had been stuck in my throat.

“I couldn’t imagine getting so excited about a rugby player. No offense.”

“I kind of like that you don’t give a shit about who I am.”.

“Now if you were a Formula 1 driver, that would be a different story.”

“Ahh.” He nods his head.

“You want to talk about sprint weekends, Westin Wright, or which tracks I think should be brought back—I’m your girl. Rugby?” I make an X with my arms and shake my head.

“You really know how to puff up a guy’s ego, don’t ya, love?”

And you really know how to make my chest tumble by calling me that.

“You can take it though, can’t you?”

The truck rolls to a stop and his eyes bore into mine. “You still want to see the sights tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” Where did that breathy whisper come from?

“I’ll take you.”

“Yeah?” I give him my most mischievous little grin.

“See if I can take any more of what you’re gonna give me.” Good God. I’ve never not gone after a man I was attracted to, but something tells me I might be in over my head with this one.

“I’ll pack a picnic,” I say, halfway out the door.

“It might be a little windy for that.”

“Who knew such a big guy could be so scared of a little wind,” I tease him, closing the door behind me.

“Sweet dreams, Nova,” he calls through the open window.

I run up to the front steps, and I don’t need to look behind me to know he’s waiting for me to get inside, but I glance back at him anyway.

I’m. So. Screwed.