Breaking the Ice by Esme Taylor
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Hettie
Seeing Reid and his friends together made me realize just how different they were. Billy appeared to be the more relaxed of the three men in his white v-neck t-shirt, jeans, and black leather jacket, chatting away and laughing with us all.
Thomas, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He was more uptight than the others and that was evident in his choice of attire. He was perfectly turned out in a charcoal grey suit, which he’d paired with a red tie. He even had a matching pocket square. I mean, who wears a pocket square these days?
Granted, both men were tall and off the scale good-looking, they still had nothing on Reid. Dressed in dark-colored clothes, Reid was the epitome of hot. If you ask me, he looked like he’d fallen from the sky. A Viking created by the gods.
Our booth was a bit crowded with so many of us crammed into the small space, so Reid pulled me into his lap, giving everyone else a bit more space to spread out. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mind one bit. But I had a feeling that things were going to get a lot more awkward when I felt his hard cock pushing into my backside.
I wasn’t exactly used to being this turned on all the time. I wasn’t sure what to do with how I was feeling. I wanted to show Reid what he did to me, but I also didn’t want my friends to see what a wanton hussy I had become since meeting him. Throwing caution to the wind, I did a little shimmy on his lap, careful not to let anyone see what I was doing.
We were all several drinks in and having a good time when I felt Reid suddenly tense behind me. I could hear him whispering with Thomas, so I assumed they were having words. Of course, I didn’t want to be paranoid and assume they were talking about me, but my worry only grew as they continued to talk, Reid’s grip on my hip becoming firmer. I can’t explain it, but it felt like he was trying to hold me in place, to keep me from disappearing.
Thomas had barely spoken to me since our arrival. He would give me the occasional uncomfortable head nod or a simple, ‘Hettie’. Otherwise, he was completely silent, glaring at me with stone-cold eyes. I didn’t know anything about him or his past, but he was clearly an expert at hiding his emotions. At least when it came to me.
I leaned forward and tried to distract myself, listening to Billy tell Heather how much he loved the scones she sold in the coffee shop. Meanwhile, Lou was busy staring at him.
“Tell us about you, Billy,” Lou asked innocently. I couldn’t stop watching her, watching him.
“Honestly, there isn’t much to tell. I’m no one special. I used to be a boxer. I even won a few championships. Now, I own a gym. I want everyone to be able to protect themselves, so I teach boxing and self-defense. I also go to a lot of schools to speak to kids about violence and how to keep themselves safe.” He shrugged as if it were no big deal.
“Wow, so you’re good with your hands,” Lou replied, her eyes firmly fixated on his lips. “A real superhero. I have to admit, I’m impressed.”
“I’m not really one to brag, but it’s not just my hands that I’m good with. I’m also pretty good with other parts of my anatomy as well.” His exaggerated wink made everyone except Max laugh. Max simply shook his head and finished his drink.
“Where’s moody going?” Billy asked Reid.
When I turned around, I noticed Thomas was gone. I hadn’t even realized he’d left until Billy questioned Reid. According to Reid, Thomas was well-known for disappearing when he got a better offer.
Once he’d left, the mood significantly lightened. Everyone talked, joked, and laughed. While Billy went to the bar with the promise of returning with shots, Heather, Lou, and I headed out onto the dancefloor.
We were out on the floor trying to dance to some random house music that made me feel old when Heather leaned in. “You’ve got it bad, girl.” She waggled her eyebrows at me. “I think Max might also be giving your man the protective friend routine.” I looked over at the booth and realized she was probably right.
From where I stood, Max appeared to be leaning over, talking to Reid, his face stern. Reid, on the other hand, wasn’t saying anything. He remained motionless, staring at Max while he spoke.
“God, that looks like a fun conversation,” Lou laughed. “She’s right though, Hets. You’ve got it bad. You forget, we watched you scare off that skinny bitch earlier. I don’t know what you said, but she sure ran off pretty quickly.”
“What?” I feigned innocence. “She had her hands all over him. I was simply stopping Reid from having to file a sexual harassment suit. But never mind me. What’s going on with you and Billy? There is some definite sexual tension there.”
“I mean, he’s hot, but it’s just banter. I think he’s more of a ladies’ man than I could ever handle.”
“Oh, man, I’m so sick of being single,” Heather complained. “My biological clock is ticking, and at this rate, my life plan is never going to happen. I mean, by the time I meet someone, date them, marry them and finally have kids, I’ll be fifty. I think I need a Plan B.”
Heather had wanted to be a mum forever. So much so, she made a 5-year plan of what needs to happen for her to get her life in the perfect shape before the arrival of a baby. Sadly, she had failed at step one. She’d tried, but she couldn’t seem to find anyone she liked enough to even have sex with, let alone marry or have a baby with. We have all pointed out on multiple occasions that she could do things in a different order, but she was determined to do it properly.
Her words, not ours.
“Oh, yeah, you do,” I shouted over the 1980s rock that was now blasting from the speakers, making me regret our decision to not have such an important conversation in a quieter location.
“What would Plan B involve?” I asked, intrigued.
“I don’t know––freezing my eggs, finding a donor and a turkey baster, a one-night stand, inventing a time machine to go back and make better choices. Who knows,” she shrugged. “All I know for sure is that I need to think of something, and fast.”
“You have plenty of time,” I assured her, tears welling in her eyes. “Hey, let’s go and get drunk while we can. Once you’re knocked up or have a tiny baby, our shot drinking days will officially be over.” She nodded her head as she wiped her eyes and took my hand, squeezing a silent ‘thank you’ as we walked back to the boys and got to work on our shots.