Bouncer by Kim Jones Page 0,2

don’t ever remember feeling as uncomfortable as I do in this moment.

I glance around us to see if anyone has their eye on her. Nobody pays either of us any attention. “You someone’s Ol’ Lady?”

She lets out a laugh then snorts. “Fuck no. Ain’t no one weiner gonna hold me down. Oh no. I got to keep on movin’. You know what I’m sayin?” Her fingers curl into a fist and she extends it to me.

That’s not going to happen.

“You mind taking a few steps back?” I ask, impressed that I managed to keep my tone even.

“Why? You got that virus? What’s it called? Dos Equis…Modelo?” She shrugs. “I can’t remember. But it’s some Mexican beer name.”

What in the actual fuck?

My brow is drawn so tight in confusion my head hurts. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Why are you asking me all these questions? You into me or something?” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. Keeping her gaze trained on me, she moves her head around and opens and closes her mouth until she locates the straw in her cup before taking a big pull.

I just…stare.

Who the fuck is this girl?

This homely, frumpy looking bitch has a big mouth and an even bigger drinking problem. I know she’s no one’s little sister. She damn sure isn’t one of the strippers. She wears yellow, latex cleaning gloves up to her elbows for fuck’s sake.

There’s definitely something wrong with her.

“You’re picturing what our kids are going to look like, huh?”

I’ve had enough. “Get away from me.”

“Ha!” She points her finger at me. “I knew you had it.”

“Had what?” I snap, barely refraining from pulling my gun out and threatening to blow her motherfucking tits off is she doesn’t get away from me.

“That virus. But we don’t have to talk about it.” Her voice drops. “I can tell it upsets you.” She looks like she wants to touch me, so I jerk my hand off the bar and put it in my lap. She just grins. “Cassie! Can I get a shot for me and my new friend?”

She knows the bartender by name.

Judging by Cassie’s apologetic look, she knows the girl, too.

“Um, I don’t think your friend is in the mood for a drink, Apple.”

Apple?

“Your name is Apple?” I ask. And I have no motherfucking idea why.

She takes a step back and I’m so relieved, I almost thank her for the space. “Yep. And before you ask, no. It’s not a nickname. It’s my real one.” She holds up a plastic shot glass and tips it to me before throwing it back. “And if you think that’s weird, you should hear my middle name.”

“What’s your middle name?” Really, dumbass? You still entertaining this shit?

“Another time, stud. I have to pee.”

Just as fast as she appeared, she’s gone. Leaving my head reeling. My mind completely fucked. And feeling even more anxious than I did when I got here.

This is why I don’t fuck with people who aren’t in my circle.

And only half the people who are.

Two

APPLE

I’m drunk.

Nothing new for me. But my job is to clean the toilets. Not puke in them.

With one cheek pressed to the cold porcelain, I close my eyes and wonder why my real life has to be so…real. For once, why can’t I have some super-hot, alpha male in here holding my hair while I vomit? He could press a cold rag to my head. Hand me a glass of water with two aspirin. Carry me to bed and tell me something harsh yet romantic. Like, “if you were mine, you wouldn’t sit for a week.”

I reckon I’m going to be sitting just fine.

And sleeping on the bathroom floor of the King’s clubhouse. Lucky for me, I just bleached the floors this morning. Unlucky for me, there’s been a hundred people in here since then.

The door opens and I hear a familiar grunt. “Jesus, Apple.”

Jinx’s boots appear in my line of sight. They’re wet, as are his jeans. I’m so thirsty, I’m tempted to lick the rain drops from the scuffed leather steel toes. Or suck the moisture out of his denim pants. Before I do just that, I roll to my back and look up at him. His eyes are shielded by the ever-present sunglasses on his face. But the look of annoyance is clear.

“You look bigger from down here.”

“You look like a girl in need of a spanking.”

I laugh. “I was just thinking how wonderful it would be to have a man say something like that to