before walking toward the back of the bar. He watches her walk away, and hell, so do I.
I can’t believe she’s here after turning down the offer to come at the office. Did she do it because she didn’t want to be near me? Did she simply get bored and change her mind?
I need answers to these questions, and it seems Ramshaw has thought of a few things he needs to tell her too because he’s making his way across the bar toward the restrooms as well.
Not on my fucking watch.
“Nope,” I tell him with a hand against his chest when he tries to walk by.
“I need to piss,” he snaps.
“You can wait until she comes out or you can piss outside.”
His eyes dart between mine but decides against arguing. I know he was planning to corner her in the hallway. I don’t think he has ill intentions with Sophia, but kisses are easily stolen in private. I’ll be damned if he’s going to get something that belongs to me.
Chapter 16
Sophia
Cold water from the faucet doesn’t take the edge off the trembling in my hands, and I don’t think anything will. Ignoring Colton at the station isn’t easy, but it’s manageable since I can leave his office and work in the breakroom. Ignoring him after realizing he’s here at Jake’s was nearly impossible even with Dillon’s distracting game of darts. I’m an excellent dart player, largely in part because I grew up around a bunch of bikers with a dart board on the wall of the clubhouse. You wouldn’t know that from watching me play tonight, though.
I blame Colton. Hell, I blame Colton for nearly everything these days.
Bad hair day? Colton.
The flat tire I had on the way to work Tuesday? Colton.
The new dart holes in the wall tonight? Colton.
Everything is his fault, even the flush in my cheeks, heavy breathing, and the knot in my stomach each time I think about walking out of this bar tonight and not cutting my eyes in his direction.
The distance I’ve put between us the last couple of weeks has been harder than I ever anticipated, and my resolve is breaking quickly.
I watch my eyes in the restroom mirror, knowing that dark circles are hidden under a layer of makeup. I’ve seriously wondered if I’m losing my mind because it doesn’t make sense. I’ve had crushes before. I’ve been attracted to guys at school that turned me down or didn’t show any interest. I’m not new to rejection, although it doesn’t happen very often. That’s more on college guys’ lack of being very selective, but pressing my mouth to Colton’s only for him to look down at me like I violated him hit harder than I ever thought it could.
Arguments in my head are a constant whisper.
If the man doesn’t want you, Sophia, move on.
It’s that simple.
But I’m finding that it isn’t simple at all.
I growl in frustration, turning the tap off and drying my hands.
So what that he’s here, probably less than a hundred feet away? I’ve been coming to this bar for years, long before I was legally able to belly up to the bar. He doesn’t own the space, and I shouldn’t let his presence deter my evening.
With a straightened spine and head held high, I walk out of the restroom, ready to join Ramshaw back at the dart board.
The false bravado lasts all of ten seconds, because the man infiltrating my mind on a constant rotation is standing in the hall, leaning up against the wall, looking more perfect than I ever remember him being. Is it the soft lighting? The mysterious shadows hiding part of his handsome face? A combination of the two?
Who the hell knows, but my skin tingles and my heart beats faster with just the sight of him.
He watches me the same way I watch him, long seconds ticking between us with neither speaking a word.
Having him across the room in the bar was one thing, something I could eventually distance myself from. Him in front of me, expectant eyes waiting for something? I swallow thickly, a swarm of emotion hitting me right in the chest and look away.
“Goodnight,” I whisper before turning to walk away.
“Sophia.” His hand brushes my arm, and that single touch has the ability to stop me in my tracks.
My mouth is dry, and I’ve lost the ability to speak without my words revealing the pain I’ve been feeling for weeks. I close my eyes, just breathing in his proximity, hating