the paid staff would come in late. It was an easy decision to get drunk. Very, very drunk.
Then I noticed Hunter Joseph at the bar.
He was sitting alone, making notes in a leather-bound notebook and drinking from a bottle of beer. I was annoyed he was here—in my bar, in my town, on my dig. Those first two didn’t make sense, but my alcohol-riddled brain didn’t seem to recognize that.
The little flutter of lust in my stomach could easily be blamed on what I’d been drinking. I’d vowed to stay away from his type: the big arrogant men who were all muscles and swagger. Muscles and pretty faces and swagger. And big, soulful brown eyes.
The little angel sitting on my shoulder told me to walk straight past him in my quest for the bathroom. Unfortunately, I had a little devil on the other shoulder, and he was shouting a lot louder.
Joseph looked up, caught sight of me, and looked away with a roll of his eyes. I decided this was an invitation to start an argument.
“Why are you here?” I demanded as I stalked over to him.
“Same reason you are,” he retorted.
“There is no reason for you to be here,” I said. “You—you should just… go away. Leave my dig alone.”
“Your dig, huh?”
“Yeah. Mine. My dig, my diggers, my dinosaurs. You can’t force me out of town with a stupid toy—”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The Indiana Jones toy?” I said, not bothering to keep the accusation from my voice. “Yeah, I know about it.”
“Seriously, Eisenberg, I don’t know anything about a toy. And you need to get out of my fucking face. I’m here doing my job. Maybe you should concentrate on doing yours.”
“My job would be a lot easier if you left.”
Joseph gave me an indulgent smirk. “I’m not leaving, so fuck you.”
So I smacked him in the face.
Punched him in the face might be more accurate. My fist came in contact with his jaw. It hurt my hand. I could only imagine what it felt like on the face side.
I had an errant, unwelcome thought that his face was actually too pretty to be messing it up, all those strong cheekbones and sultry lips covered in silky smooth bronzed skin. That thought was chased out of my head when Joseph’s fist collided with my cheekbone, causing sparks to explode behind my eyelids.
Before I could retaliate further, strong arms wrapped around my chest and Boner heaved me backward and away, proving he was actually stronger than his skinny ass looked. Joseph too was being hauled away by one of the barmen, and the deathly silence that had descended over the bar when the first punch had been thrown lifted into a cacophony of noise.
“What are you doing ?” Boner hissed into my ear as he dragged me outside and pushed me against a wall. “Fighting Hunter Joseph? Are you fucking crazy?”
“He provoked me,” I protested, although even to my ears it came out as a whine.
Boner sighed. “Just… stay here while I go settle up. Don’t move.”
I nodded, feeling sorry for myself and the twin pains in my hand and cheek. Boner was inside for about five minutes, which turned out to be plenty of time for me to start berating myself for being an absolute idiot and wonder if Joseph was going to press charges.
When Boner came back, he had my jacket slung over his shoulder and a plastic bag full of ice.
“Here,” he said, “stick that on your face.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled. It was already starting to throb, and the ice was a cool relief.
Without further discussion, we started to walk toward the motel. Thankfully, it wasn’t too far away. Even more thankfully, Boner seemed to be in a forgiving mood, and his initial grumpiness soon turned to incessant mocking.
“You are going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow,” he crowed as we approached the motel. I tossed the bag of ice into a trash can outside before walking through the lobby, heading for the staircase.
“He’s such a fucking douche,” I said as we stomped up the stairs that led
Then I noticed Hunter Joseph at the bar.
He was sitting alone, making notes in a leather-bound notebook and drinking from a bottle of beer. I was annoyed he was here—in my bar, in my town, on my dig. Those first two didn’t make sense, but my alcohol-riddled brain didn’t seem to recognize that.
The little flutter of lust in my stomach could easily be blamed on what I’d been drinking. I’d vowed to stay away from his type: the big arrogant men who were all muscles and swagger. Muscles and pretty faces and swagger. And big, soulful brown eyes.
The little angel sitting on my shoulder told me to walk straight past him in my quest for the bathroom. Unfortunately, I had a little devil on the other shoulder, and he was shouting a lot louder.
Joseph looked up, caught sight of me, and looked away with a roll of his eyes. I decided this was an invitation to start an argument.
“Why are you here?” I demanded as I stalked over to him.
“Same reason you are,” he retorted.
“There is no reason for you to be here,” I said. “You—you should just… go away. Leave my dig alone.”
“Your dig, huh?”
“Yeah. Mine. My dig, my diggers, my dinosaurs. You can’t force me out of town with a stupid toy—”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The Indiana Jones toy?” I said, not bothering to keep the accusation from my voice. “Yeah, I know about it.”
“Seriously, Eisenberg, I don’t know anything about a toy. And you need to get out of my fucking face. I’m here doing my job. Maybe you should concentrate on doing yours.”
“My job would be a lot easier if you left.”
Joseph gave me an indulgent smirk. “I’m not leaving, so fuck you.”
So I smacked him in the face.
Punched him in the face might be more accurate. My fist came in contact with his jaw. It hurt my hand. I could only imagine what it felt like on the face side.
I had an errant, unwelcome thought that his face was actually too pretty to be messing it up, all those strong cheekbones and sultry lips covered in silky smooth bronzed skin. That thought was chased out of my head when Joseph’s fist collided with my cheekbone, causing sparks to explode behind my eyelids.
Before I could retaliate further, strong arms wrapped around my chest and Boner heaved me backward and away, proving he was actually stronger than his skinny ass looked. Joseph too was being hauled away by one of the barmen, and the deathly silence that had descended over the bar when the first punch had been thrown lifted into a cacophony of noise.
“What are you doing ?” Boner hissed into my ear as he dragged me outside and pushed me against a wall. “Fighting Hunter Joseph? Are you fucking crazy?”
“He provoked me,” I protested, although even to my ears it came out as a whine.
Boner sighed. “Just… stay here while I go settle up. Don’t move.”
I nodded, feeling sorry for myself and the twin pains in my hand and cheek. Boner was inside for about five minutes, which turned out to be plenty of time for me to start berating myself for being an absolute idiot and wonder if Joseph was going to press charges.
When Boner came back, he had my jacket slung over his shoulder and a plastic bag full of ice.
“Here,” he said, “stick that on your face.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled. It was already starting to throb, and the ice was a cool relief.
Without further discussion, we started to walk toward the motel. Thankfully, it wasn’t too far away. Even more thankfully, Boner seemed to be in a forgiving mood, and his initial grumpiness soon turned to incessant mocking.
“You are going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow,” he crowed as we approached the motel. I tossed the bag of ice into a trash can outside before walking through the lobby, heading for the staircase.
“He’s such a fucking douche,” I said as we stomped up the stairs that led
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