Tanked: TANKED (26 page)

“Already done. Now come here,” he orders in a sexy gruff voice.

I walk quickly toward him and he turns to look where he could set my bag and coffee down.  I don’t give him a chance. I walk into his arms and pull him to me; we kiss long and hard until Jessie interrupts us “Okay we’re going to have to have some rules about what you guys do where.”

I pull away from Tank and he leans in and kisses me lightly one more time on the lips then whispers, “I’ll see you this evening.”

I nod as he hands me my coffee and lunch bag. Then I watch him walk out the front door. I look back to Jessie and he says, “Sunshine, you totally got Tanked?” He adds a little hip thrust gesture.

I wrinkle my nose “That’s really mature and shut up.  When did you get home?”

“I couldn’t sleep. You know they keep the house 80 degrees and I swear to you the heater kept kicking on and off.   I sent Tank a text so he wouldn’t shoot me and I snuck in about 4:30 this morning.” He shrugs his shoulders and then gives me a look. “I guess talking about it helped.”

I slide the lid back on my travel mug and take a sip of coffee,
butter pecan my favorite,
I smile at Jessie. “Oh yeah, talking about it helped a lot. What time do you have to be at the airport?”

“3:30.”

“Can you do lunch?” I ask as I go to grab my purse off the table.

“Am I going to have to hear about your fantastic sex?”

I roll my eyes and shake my head. “No, it’s what he told me before any of that happened.”

“Yeah, we can meet, but I want to hear about the sex too.” He smiles a devilish smile.

I shake my head again and throw my hand up to wave goodbye. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

I arrive at work right on time which is late for me.  I clock in and begin my work.  Mr. Samford shows up fifteen minutes later. I greet him and we have a quick meeting in his office about the 9:30 meeting we’ll be attending together.  When I go to leave his office he says “Ms. Morrow, please don’t be offended by this but you look happy today. Like you have an extra pep in your step.  I’m glad to see it.”

I grin and I feel my cheeks flush. “Thank you.  Actually, I have you to thank for that.”

“Me? Why?” he sounds genuinely interested.

“You introduced us. Tank and I have been seeing each other for a little while now and it’s… well its going pretty great.”

“You and Tatum Osborne?” He tries but he can’t hide his complete shock that rolls across his face.

“Yes sir.”

He’s quiet a moment and seems to be processing the information, then says, “Well I’m glad to hear he’s finally come around. He’s a good man.  Just… if I could offer a bit of advice?” I nod and my brows furrow as I wait for his advice. “He has a bit of a temper, just watch out for that.”

I bite my tongue, I want badly to defend Tank but he’s my boss and he doesn’t know the whole story like I do. “I’ll keep an eye out.” I say probably a little too curtly.

“Alright.  Well, if you’ll get those copies ready.  I’ll be ready to leave about 9:00.”

“Will do.”

I go back to my desk and fume a little over his uninvited opinion of Tank.  Mr. Samford and I make it through the meeting. I wait for him to bring it up again but he doesn’t and I’m glad.  I meet Jessie for lunch at a little place that makes sub sandwiches and soups, I tell him everything from Tanks deceased wife, to the sex, to the warning from my boss. 

“What a BITCH!” Jessie exclaims.

“Shhh… people are looking.”

“I don’t care, that’s terrible.”

“I know but you know you gotta keep this a secret.  He told me in confidence. He didn’t tell me to not tell anyone but I have a feeling he doesn’t want anyone to know.”

“What did you say to your boss?”

“I wanted to tell him exactly what I thought of his words of advice but I didn’t.  I told him I would keep an eye out.”

“I know an abusive man just like I know a drunk and that man isn’t either one of those.”

“I know. Hey look, I got to get back to work. Text me when you land and you know where you are.”

“I already told you, I’m going to Pittsburgh, then to… Oh crap, I don’t remember either. Wish me luck. It will be my first time handling my own passengers.”

“You’ll do great.  You’ll be home Friday?”

“Yeah, should be pretty early if there aren’t any delays.”

“Okay let’s do something, like go out dancing. We’ve done nothing but sit at home and watch movies.”

“Trust me I know, but that’s not my fault.”

I hug Jessie tightly. “I know it’s all mine just be safe and hurry back.”

*****

Everything is moving right along, I’m excited today is Friday and it’s turning into a perfect day.   Jessie just sent me a text letting me know he’ll be home at lunch.  Tank has agreed to go out with us tonight and my boss is in a fantastic mood. It has been a little while since we’ve gotten new clients at work so when we got the call we scored a major company from our meeting the other day,  he tells me “Ms. Morrow, take the afternoon off and enjoy your weekend.”  I want to ask him if it is with or without pay but at the moment I really don’t care.

I call Jessie and pick him up from the house to go to Hands and Hooves to get a much needed manicure and pedicure.  While we’re sitting in the pedicure chairs Tank calls. “Babe, I hate to do this but I can’t make it tonight. I’ve got to leave to go out of town for the night but I’ll be back late tomorrow afternoon. Can we do it tomorrow night?”

“Yeah, I guess.” I can’t help my deflated tone.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“Okay,” I say softly.

“I gotta go. My guy just showed up I’ll call you in a bit.”

I hang up and sigh Jessie asks, ‘What is it?”

“He wants us to wait and go out tomorrow night he’s got to go out of town and won’t be back till tomorrow.”

“Can we not go out tonight without him?” he asks smartly.

Duh
. “Yeah but he may want us not to.”

“Did he say that?”

“No.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

I smile. "There's no problem, although part of me feels like I should call him and ask him if he cares.” Jessie eyes me a bit astonished but I finish saying, “But then part of me doesn’t want to start that because I shouldn’t have to ask if I can go out with my best friend.  Yeah let’s go out. I’ve been looking forward to this all week.  We can go out somewhere else tomorrow night.”

Jessie and I both smile at a little petite lady who walks into the pedicure room then we look at each other with wide eyes. She seems to be our age, but she wears very short cutoff jeans and is covered in tattoos.  She wears a black tank top that is three sizes too small and has boobs that need a shirt three times bigger instead of smaller.  Her neon pink bra is very visible through the thin fabric of her shirt and the straps that hang down at her arms. She has a cute pouty face, with a Marilyn diamond stud in her lip. And her blond hair is pulled up into a messy bun on the top of her head.  I notice she has the same nail polish on her fingers and toes that I do except her nails are long, like cat claws.

I look back to Jessie when he asks, “Where are we going to go? I want to do something mischievous and go somewhere we’ve never gone before.”

I think a few minutes. “How much trouble do you think I would be in if I called Hunter and asked if he would take us to Weasel's?”

“He’d totally rat us out.”

I sigh and lean my head back against the massage chair. “Yeah, I guess we could go back to The Fantasy.”

“What about Outlaw's?” Jessie suggests.

“No, I’ve heard that place is scary, like they’ve had shootings there.”

“And you think Weasel’s wouldn’t?”

“Cops hang out there so they wouldn’t have shootings.”

“How do you guys know Hunter?” the pouty faced lady asks interrupting our conversation and her voice sounds different, she’s missing her southern twang.

I look across the small room at her. “He’s my friend, I’ve known him for a few months now.”

I become a little alarmed when she asks another question, “How’d you hear about Weasel's?”

“Oh, well…” I swallow slowly trying to think how to explain it without going into much detail. “I know some friends who’ve been out there and Hunter said he likes to go there and that they have a good breakfast.”

She smiles and nods her head. “Yep, that’s Hunter alright.”

“Breakfast?” Jessie asks.

I explain to him about the restaurant across from the bar.  The pouty faced woman closes her eyes and put her head back against her chair.

Jessie sighs. “Well, we will figure it out. Let’s go over to Sweetie’s when we leave here and get something to eat.”

I pick my phone up out of the chair's cup holder to look at the time. “We could get her watermelon margaritas. It won’t be long before she takes them off the menu,” I suggest and smile.

“Ooo, yes let’s.”

“Are they good?” the pouty faced woman asks.

Jessie immediately replies, “The best! Sweetie puts real pieces of watermelon in the drink so after you’re finished with the drink part you can eat the fruit and its sooo good.”

“I’ll have to try that next time I’m there.”

“You won’t regret it,” Jessie replies.

After our pedicures are done, we both have manicures then leave to head to Sweetie’s. When we walk out the door the first thing we notice is this big oversized blacked out Jeep and the pouty faced woman giving somebody hell over the phone.  She’s parked right in front of us so it’s nearly impossible to ignore her. I don’t want to be rude so I ask, “Is there something we can help you with?”

“No, I just picked my Jeep up from the damn shop. They said it was the alternator so we had it replaced and now it won’t crank again.”

“Oh, I don’t think I have any jumper cables.”

“No, he’s sending a tow truck to get it.”

“Oh okay.  Do you need a ride somewhere?”

“No, my old man will be here in about an hour. I’ll just go back in the salon and wait.”

“You could go with us to Sweetie’s. It’s right around the corner,” Jessie offers.

What the hell is he thinking?!
  She smacks on a piece of gum as she apparently thinks about it a second, she holds up a finger then dials her phone, “Hey, honey pick me up from Sweetie’s bar… I’m going there with some friends….  You don’t know them…. I can take care of myself…Just pick me up from Sweetie's.” She hits a button on her phone and sticks it back into her large pink leather purse. “Let me change my shoes then I’ll be ready.”

She opens the back door to her Jeep and I turn to Jessie and ask under my breath, “What in the hell did you do that for?”

“You asked her if she needed a ride.”

“Yeah I did, but not to hang out with us.”

“It’s only an hour, besides it’s hot as hell out here. Something we can laugh about tomorrow.”

“Well, this will be something we’ve never done before, that’s for sure.”

It turns out that Flame, Jessie and I have a lot in common. We spend the next hour and a half laughing and gossiping nonstop about celebrities, people we know, beauty supplies, or anywhere the conversation leads we discuss it.  I instantly like her. It’s like she has been a friend forever and we haven’t seen her in a long time.

Jessie asks, “How’d you get your name Flame?”

Sadness briefly fills her eyes. “My brother gave it to me when I was little, it’s a long story.”

We don’t ask any more personal questions after that, we stick strictly to gossip.  We’re on our fourth margarita and sharing our second basket of fries when Jessie states, “Holy shit, look at that dude.” And he says it a little too loud because we’re all a little too tipsy.

Flame and I both turn around. “Wow,” I drool.

“Hey honey!” Flame calls waving to the man.

“Shh… don’t call him over here,” I hiss.

She giggles, “That’s my old man.”

He’s wearing a black sleeveless shirt and has muscles that never stop. I usually find facial hair unattractive but his horseshoe mustache accentuates his bad boy appearance. The top part of his hair is pulled back into a long braided ponytail and it hangs way down his back and the bottom half is shaven clean. He wears his holey blue jeans very well and his motorcycle boots are badass.  When he arrives to our table he doesn’t have a clue who we are and it’s obvious he’s trying to get a read on Jessie and me.  He leans over and kisses her, and it isn’t a normal peck— nice and slow— he takes his time and it’s so hot I quit breathing as I watch in awe.  When he pulls away he says in his husky voice, “Watermelon,” as he licks his lips then grins at her.

Jessie starts patting my arm with his hand as he says, “Sunshine, that’s the hottest thing I’ve seen since Thor.”

I don’t respond. I can’t take my eyes off of them.  All I can do is nod my head when she introduces us.  “This is Jessie and McKinsey. They saved me from being bored out of my mind.”

“Thanks for looking out for her,” he says as he looks between Jessie and me.