Page 11 of Bowser (Dragon Riders MC 2)
Still, I pulled stuff out. Sprite and orange juice. Cherries and something that smelled like sugar water. I reached for the lemons and the limes. I dug out the sugar and some glasses. I mean, how hard was it to make a drink? Surely, I could ad-lib some of this and be just fine.
“Need any help?” Bowser asked.
I jumped, yelping at the sound. “Holy fuck! Are you kidding me!?”
His eyebrows rose. “You good?”
I sighed. “No, I’m not good. Make some damn noise when you come into a room. You damn near gave me a heart attack.”
He thumbed over his shoulder. “Did you not hear the front door open?”
I paused. “No, I didn’t. Dick.”
His eyes panned to the counter. “Thirsty?”
“A bit, yeah.”
He walked up beside me. “Ash informed me that you didn’t eat all day.”
“Not hungry.”
He reached for the tequila. “Sure you should be drinking on an empty stomach, then?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m fine, Mom. But thanks.”
“Hey, just trying to look out for you.”
I watched him grab the limes and the sugar water. He reached for a shot glass in the cabinet and I backed away, watching the man work. With his eyebrow crooked and his gaze focused, I watched him whip me up what I could only assume was a margarita. And when he was done, he slid the glass over to me.
A glass I quickly picked up.
“Try that. Let me know what you think,” he said.
I sipped the drink and the decadent taste rolled over my tongue. My eyes fluttered closed as I chugged it back, wanting more. And more. And even more until I had drained the drink dry. Bowser’s chuckling pulled my eyes open. He plucked my glass from my fingertips as the alcohol settled heavily into my stomach.
I leaned against the kitchen counter as he whipped me up another one. Then, he poured himself a small glass of amber liquid before ushering me to the kitchen table.
I sat down in front of him, but neither of us said anything. It had been a little while since we’d had a decent conversation, especially with the days passing in such a blur. Lately, I’d been getting up well after he left and falling asleep before he got back here for his shift. So, I had missed him for the past few days. Not just logistically, though.
My heart missed his presence these past few days.
“How are you doing, Hope?” he asked.
That one question brought tears to my eyes as I sipped my drink.
“I mean, I’m hanging in there,” I said.
“Your eyes tell me different.”
I snickered. “So do yours, but I don’t ever call you out on that.”
“Maybe you should start. Doesn’t do us any good being cooped up here if we can’t talk to one another.”
I nodded slowly but didn’t say anything.
“Hope, look at me.”
My gaze slowly rose. “Yeah?”
He smiled softly. “There you are.”
I snickered. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
I blushed. “My depression has been getting the better of me lately.”
His eyes locked with mine. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I shrugged. “I mean, what's there to talk about?”
“A lot. You haven’t really talked about anything since you’ve been here. It might do you some good to talk about it.”
“You mean, talk about all the shit Skeleton and his crew did to me.”
“Anything you like. But yes. Also, that.”
I wasn’t sure if I was ready to broach the conversation. But there was something comforting in Bowser’s stare that slowly lowered my guard.
Then again, it could’ve been the tequila on my empty stomach, too.
“My sister will tell you that I’ve never been the most reliable person on the planet. And, well, she’d be right.”
I looked up at Bowser, but he didn’t interject. He simply leaned back, preparing himself to listen.
No one had ever done that for me before.
“I mean, she’s always been so by-the-book. So methodical in what she does with her life. It’s why her career suits her so well. But me? Well, I guess I’ve been more of a free spirit. You know, go with the flow and see where the wind takes you. All that jazz.”
I swirled my drink around as my eyes fell to the glass.
“Well, I was so free-spirited that I followed some guy I was dating all the way to California. I mean, he was a winner, too. Owned his own R.V. Traveled around the country. Saw all of these awesome places and did odds-and-ends jobs to keep himself afloat. Smoked way too much pot in his downtime. Drank the rest of his money away. I mean, a keeper, I tell you.”
Bowser chuckled. “So, you left.”
I snickered. “No. I stayed long enough for him to break things off with me. Like I always do. And when I found myself in a bar trying to drown out how stupid I felt, that’s when I met Skeleton.”
“He found you at a vulnerable point and preyed on that.”
