My heart soared and I tried like hell not to seem happy. “I um, I’m sorry to hear that.”
Dodge laughed. “No, no you aren’t. What brings you here? Somehow I don’t see you as a Bess Bistro kind of guy.”
Chuckling, I turned and pointed to Sierra. “I left it up to her to pick.”
Dodge’s smile faded for one quick second. “Sierra? Are y’all? I mean are you two?”
“Fuck no! Sierra is just a friend.”
“Really? Y’all seemed to be pretty close in South Padre and Ryn told me she saw . . .” Holding up his hands he said, “You know what, it’s none of my business and I have no right even asking.”
Looking back at Dodge, I had a brief moment of actually liking him. He seemed like a stand-up kind of guy and I appreciated him not talking shit. “Sierra and I hooked up once while we were at the beach, but it was more of a fuckfest, for lack of better words.”
Dodge turned and looked at Sierra again. “She sure is beautiful, I’m not going to lie.”
“Inside and out. She’s going through a pretty rough time right now. Her ex-husband cheated on her and now he is being a dick about their divorce. I think the asshole is dragging it out because he is pissed she actually left him.”
“Why in the hell would he cheat?” Turning, I watched closely as Dodge continued to stare at Sierra.
“Worse part was he cheated on her with her own best friend.”
Looking back at me, Dodge seemed to snap out of his temporary trance. “Damn.”
“That night in the club was my way of getting Sierra to relax a little. I hated Ryn saw it and thought it was something more than it was.”
Dodge stared into my eyes as he narrowed his. “You hurt her really bad, Tristan. I’m not sure if you know just how bad you hurt her.”
Swallowing hard, I looked away. I didn’t need Ryn’s fuck buddy telling me what I did to her. “Yeah, I know.” Turning back, I asked, “Are you in love with her?”
He shook his head and narrowed his eyes. “I’m not sure. I know I care about her. I want to see her happy. I think if given the chance, I would make her happy.” He looked down and chuckled before looking back up at me. “The problem is she loves you.”
My heart dropped and it felt like the Earth wobbled for a second. “She doesn’t know the real me, Dodge. I have . . . secrets.”
“We all have secrets, Tristan.”
“Hey, looks like you two are in a serious conversation.” Sierra walked up to both of us and looked at me and then Dodge. “Dodge, we have to keep running into each other like this. It’s kind of fun. Care to wager on where we will run into each other next?”
Dodge laughed. “How are you, Sierra? I didn’t even see you walk up here.”
Sierra looked behind Dodge. It was the first time I noticed a girl sitting at the table Dodge had been sitting at. She had short brown hair and looked to be about twenty-two or so.
Sierra turned to Dodge. “New friend you got there, Dodge?” Staring at Sierra, Dodge shook his head. “What’s that suppose to mean?”
Sierra paused for a moment before she lifted her hand loosely. “I don’t know. Ryn said you were good at making women forget their problems, so I guess I just assumed she was your latest case. Unless it’s your girlfriend.”
Did I detect a hint of jealousy laced in Sierra’s voice?
Dodge took a step toward Sierra and leaned in closer to her as he looked into her eyes. “Why, Sierra? Are you in need of forgetting?”
Sucking in a breath, Sierra took a step back as her eyes searched Dodge’s face. I walked in-between them. “All right kids, no fighting. Back to your corners. Sierra, it’s not nice to call Dodge a man whore, and Dodge, watch it, dude.” Looking at Dodge, he glanced my way. Nodding his head, he mumbled, “I’m sorry, Sierra, I didn’t mean anything by that.” Dodge turned and waved to the younger girl. “That’s my sister, Em.”
Sierra plastered on a fake smile and tilted her head when Dodge turned back to her. Licking along the bottom of her lip, Sierra said, “No worries. Your offer does sound intriguing though, Dodge. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Dodge’s smile dropped from his face as he took a step back. Yep, Sierra had that kind of an effect on guys. Laughing, I took Sierra by the arm and began leading her away. Calling over her shoulder, Sierra said, “It was good seeing you, Aaron.”
Smirking back at Sierra, Dodge said, “Y’all too.”
