reason with another woman who came into the bar last week. And a couple of weeks ago, he had a problem with a group of frat guys who were just having a good time. I forgot about that until just now.” Pausing, as if thinking on it, she shrugged. “Maybe he’s having a bad day. I can be a real bitch when I’m on my period or Bruiser pisses me off.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ve had my raving lunatic moments, for sure. But, with me, he’s always in a bad mood.”
“Whitney!”
She giggled. “I better help him out. We’ll talk later.”
Watching her scurry away, she slid off the stool and found a table near the stage. The place looked much bigger when there weren’t so many people inside. Taking out her phone, she scrolled through the newsfeed.
“Do you want a drink?” Smokey asked.
Looking up at him, she smiled. “A glass of pinot grigio would be great.”
“Be right back.”
Her eyes followed him as he swaggered to the bar, admiring his round, tight ass, and the way the muscles in his arms rippled and flexed. Don’t get hooked on him. Whitney’s words confirmed what Ashley already knew: the man was a player—pure and simple. Sighing, she looked down at her phone again and tapped on an article about investing.
Focused on what she was reading, the clink of the glass on the table startled her. Smokey pulled out a chair and plopped down into it.
“Whatcha reading?”
“Just something about investing. Thanks for the drink.” She picked up the glass and took a sip. “Did you finish up your meeting with Eric?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s good.” She took another drink, then leaned back in her chair. “I wouldn’t want to piss your friends off. They come off as a rough bunch.”
“They are.”
“Who was the older guy with blond hair?”
“Banger—the club’s president.”
“Wow. Is he married?”
“Yeah.”
“Kids?”
“Yep.”
“Let me guess—you’re not going to elaborate on anything?”
Bringing the beer bottle to his lips, he said, “You got it,” and took a long pull.
“That’s cool. So who was the mean-looking one?”
He chuckled. “They all look mean.”
“Good point. And, by the way, so do you … sometimes. Anyway, I was asking about the guy with the black ponytail and deep blue eyes.”
“Our VP—Hawk. I warned you about him.”
“Is he married?”
“Yeah.”
“I won’t ask any more questions, because I already know your answers.” She decided to move on. “Well, Willy’s real nice. He doesn’t have that hard edge your club does. How did you meet him?”
Leaning back in his chair, he kicked his legs out in front of him, crossing one foot over the other. Silence fell between them, and Ashley pushed down her impatience, waiting until he was ready to talk.
“When I was growing up, my number one goal was to endure and escape, which I did when I hit thirteen. I wanted to get as far away as I could from the old bastard, so I headed to Denver, hitching most of the way there.”
“Did you know anyone in Denver?”
“Nope. It was the first time I’d been to a city, and all I wanted to do was survive without drawing too much attention to myself.”
“You must’ve been so scared. I can’t imagine being alone at that age without my family.”
“I wasn’t scared. Living with my dad, I learned to hold my own. I just didn’t want to be sent back home, so I tried to live under the radar.”
“What did you do?”
“For a long time, I slept in all types of places—trains, stairwells, doorways, benches. During the warmer weather, I’d sleep under bridges or in the parks, always getting up before sunset so a badge wouldn’t find me.”
“Did you eat at the shelters?”
“No fuckin’ way—I couldn’t risk it. A minor couldn’t come and go in a shelter, and as hard as living on the streets was, it was a piece of cake compared to living with the old man.”
Ashley’s heart ached for the thirteen-year-old boy. She couldn’t even imagine how horrible it must’ve been. Living in homeless shelters when she was young was hard, but at least she had her family, and they all loved and supported each other. But Smokey—he was all alone.
“I don’t know how you did it.”
He shrugged. “Weed and booze helped. I met a nice lady who took me in, and I stayed with her for a year or so until her old man got out of prison.”
“That was so kind of her. You were lucky she came into your life. Have you kept in contact with her?”
Looking away, he said, “No,” and