Perfecting Patience

Like I knew I would be, I spent the night making sure fuckers kept their hands to themselves. I took a few shots with the girls and danced a few times with Patience and her friends when the DJ played something other than that fucked-up techno bullshit.

I loved seeing her laugh and smile so freely. She was slowly healing, and I was glad I was a part of her healing process. She was standing by me through all my hand crap and in a few weeks I’d be released by the physical therapist and I’d be able to go back to work. That is if I kept my shit straight and didn’t do anything stupid.

Going back to work gave me mixed emotions. I was excited to play with the boys again and I was crazy ready to put down the second album, but I dreaded leaving Snowflake. I didn’t know if I was capable of leaving her again, but she was so engrossed in school and soccer that there was no way I could even think about asking her to come with me.

The good news was, once we were done with the second album, I could come back to Florida to be with her until it was time to tour again. I’d make this work. I’d find a way to be with her without putting music and the band on the back burner. She deserved that much from me, and as much as I loved to play, I loved her more.

Patience and her girls were on the floor, dancing and laughing. She smiled over at me as she ran her hands down her body and shook her hips. I winked at her and then finished off my beer. Turning back to the bar, I ordered another beer for me and another round of shots for the girls. I paid the bartender and put the change in the little tip bottle on the bar.

When I turned back around, the girls were still dancing, but Patience wasn’t there. I looked around the club to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen. I left the bar and walked toward the bathrooms, thinking that’s probably where she was. She’d been drinking the whole time we were there.

I stepped into the little alcove and waited there until she came out of the women’s restroom. I didn’t like the idea of her being alone in a place like a club. It wasn’t safe and considering her history with bars and clubs, I had reason to worry. She seemed to find some form of trouble whenever there was alcohol involved.

The door to the bathroom opened and Patience stepped out. I almost moved from my dark corner, but I paused when the tall fucker that I kept seeing her with stepped out behind her. I felt as if someone kicked me in the stomach. My abs tightened at the site of the two of them together creeping out of the bathroom as if they didn’t want to get caught.

This was the first time I’d gotten a really good look at him since he was practically standing right in front of me. He was about my height, but at least sixty pounds lighter. His hair was dirty-blond and looked greasy. He was definitely a druggy and looked like he’d had too much to drink. He leaned against the door for support and swayed when the door swayed. His dark eyes took in Patience as if she were naked in front of him and then I saw them slide across her cleavage.

Leaning down over her, he said something in her ear and put his hand on her lower back like I did when we entered a room. She reached back and moved his hand from her body and then she smiled and shook her ahead in agreement.

That was it. I was fucking done with this shit. My heart rate increased and I felt its beat behind my eyes. The sound of the music in the club was replaced with a loud roar that sounded like a freight train. I knew the sound well; it was the sound of my blood pressure rising, moving too fast through my brain.

The third time was supposed to be a charm, but in this case, the third time was my breaking limit. Patience was obviously drawn to this piece of shit and if Hope was so into him, why was she on the dance floor instead of locked in the bathroom with him? I’m not sure what pissed me off more—him being all over my girl, or the fact that she’d lied to me. She was cheating. There was no other reason for them to meet like this.

The color in the club drained away, and all I saw was red as I lunged at him.

Fifteen

Patience

“How many you want this time?” Phillip asked as he leaned against the bathroom wall.

His long arms were crossed over his chest and he looked annoyed that I’d dragged him into the bathroom and asked to buy from him there. He flicked his long blond bangs from his face and secured them behind his ear. His hair was too long, much longer than Zeke’s, and I wasn’t sure what girls saw in him, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was he had what I needed to make it through the rest of this week and my final two soccer games.

“How many do you have on you?” I asked.

I felt like I was about to get caught and I kept looking behind me at the bathroom door.