Trusting a Warrior (Loving a Warrior #3) - Melanie Hansen Page 0,6
the bar and the restroom there.
She barely made it to the toilet, where her stomach emptied itself in heave after wrenching heave, her whole body shaking with the spasms. A warmth knelt behind her, then gentle hands gathered up her hair and held it high.
“Oh, God,” she choked out. “No!”
“Hey, it’s okay.” Geo’s voice was low and soothing. “I’m just a stranger you’re never going to see again, right? We can pretend this never happened.”
Lani wanted to argue, but the nausea refused to abate, even after everything was purged. Geo continued to hold her hair out of the way as she hunched over the toilet, trembling.
Unable to bear the awkwardness, she gasped, “So are you married? Kids?”
“Neither.”
“Married to the teams?”
“Nah.” He waved one hand behind her neck, and the cool air fanning against her sweaty skin made her want to sob, it felt so good. “Just never been the type to settle down, I guess.”
When the queasiness finally eased its grip, she collapsed on her butt to lean against the wall. Geo let her hair go and wet a paper towel at the sink, which he handed to her before crouching back down to her level.
She pressed the cold towel against her hot cheeks. “Sorry. This is getting dangerously close to small talk territory, isn’t it?”
His sudden laughter was rich, and the grin that spread across his face punched the last remaining breath from her lungs.
Ordinary? No way.
Because his cheeks crinkled and his eyes danced with genuine amusement, and Lord, in that moment he was absolutely beautiful.
“Thanks, Geo,” she mumbled.
“You’re welcome...?” His voice trailed off inquiringly.
“Lani.”
“You’re welcome, Lani.” Knees cracking, Geo stood, then extended his hand down to her. After he’d pulled her to her feet, she shakily made her way into the employee’s lounge, where she drew herself a small paper cup of water from a nearby dispenser.
After a moment Geo said, “I guess I’ll go back to the bar. My drink is melting,” and the door closed gently behind him as he left her blessedly alone.
Sinking to the edge of the battered leather couch, she buried her face in her hands. Jesus, a strange man had just held her hair back while she puked. How mortifying. How ridiculous. And it could only happen to Lani, the Human Disaster.
Grimly, she tamped down another wave of self-pity. “Get over yourself, bish. This is your shit to deal with. It’s not anyone else’s fault.”
Struggling to her feet, she brushed her hair and refreshed her makeup, then changed out of her sweaty logo tank to replace it with a clean one. Making a mental note to stash some mouthwash in her locker for next time, she fished a mint from her purse.
Not much, but it’d have to do. It wasn’t like she’d be kissing anyone anytime soon.
Back out at the bar, she patted her co-worker’s shoulder. “Thanks for covering, Josh. I’m okay.”
“Good.” Josh was busy wiping down the counter. “Oh, the club manager just called,” he said. “They’re closing us down, so if you wanted to go serve...”
Lani shuddered. “God, no. I can’t handle that tonight.”
“I didn’t think so, and she said don’t worry about it, just go on home.” Josh paused. “Why don’t you close out your tabs, hon, and I’ll reconcile the tip jar.”
After dealing with her other open tabs, she approached Geo, who was idly twirling his coaster with one finger. He lifted his chin toward Josh. “That dude said you’re shutting down up here?”
“Yeah, they do that on slow nights.” She moved to her register. “I’ll have to close your tab, but the main bar will be happy to open another one for you.”
“Nah, I was going to take off anyway. Let’s settle up.”
She rang him out, and he signed the credit slip before stuffing a twenty in the tip jar. Lani gave him a rueful smile. “Probably should be tipping you for the hair-holding service, right?”
“Why don’t we just consider it my good deed for the day?” Geo pushed back from the bar with a quiet, “Take care.”
“I will.”
As she watched, he picked up his glass and lightly touched it to the other one in a silent toast, then turned and disappeared down the stairs toward the dance floor.