Cheaters Anonymous by Lacey Silks Page B

the school year, Brad ended up wearing a ton of bandages while it healed, making the star football player an easy hit for piglet jokes.
    “Right – Bradley.” I moved a little further away when his arm brushed mine. Was this a friendly visit? His confident body movements and a slight smirk kept me on the edge and put my instinct to stay on red alert.
    “I don’t work here, if you’re curious.”
    I wasn’t. Not too sure what to say, I kept my lips on the straw of my drink.
    “Can I buy you a drink?”
    I pulled my lips away, lifting the glass. “I already have one.”
    “Oh, come on. Let me buy you one and we can call it a truce. What have you been up to?”
    Scar, where are you?
    I wasn’t one to lose my cool around men, even during the past year of recovery. But something about Brad kept my guard up as strong as the Great Wall of China. He appeared to be fucking every inch of my bare skin with his gaze, and I adjusted my small black dress, dragging it lower to my thighs. But that only caused more of my cleavage to show and for his eyes to rest on my boobs. While Brad was a good-looking man, his entire demeanor was totally off. And I didn’t like it. Maybe if I agreed to a quick drink, he’d leave sooner? Hopefully before Scar got here and broke his nose all over again.
    “I’ll have another round of a bloody Caesar.”
    “So, what’s up Doc?”
    “How did you know I’m a doctor?” Has he been stalking me?
    “I don’t. It was just a figure of speech.”
    Oh.
    “But good for you. I guess Kirk was wrong about you being nothing more than a whore.”
    “Okay, I think you’d better leave.” At this point I was praying that Scar would return – and then I’d contact every doctor I knew not to fix Brad’s newly broken nose. Unfortunately, I was sitting against the wall and Brad was blocking my exit.
    “I’m just kidding. Don’t get your panties all twisted. Please, let me make this up to you. I can be a gentleman.”
    I highly doubt that.
    The last thing I wanted was to make a scene at Scar’s nightclub. The way I saw it, I had two choices. One, to give him a chance, have my drink, and hope he’d leave me alone. Or two, to stand up and leave the strip club. I didn’t want to do either one, but at this point I was praying that Scar would return in a few minutes.
    “You know, I’m here with Scar.”
    “Scar Wagner?” Disgust covered Brad’s face, and I couldn’t help but gloat on the inside. Yet there was something else that crossed his face, and I couldn’t figure out what it was.
    “Yeah, the guy who broke your nose.”
    “Yes, I know who Scar fucking Wagner is. I got a free nose job because of him. Looks better, doesn’t it?” He grinned.
    Arrogance had no bounds for men like Brad, but I couldn’t argue with what he’d said. The new nose did compliment his face.
    “Look, I’m sorry. I can come off as a jerk when I get nervous around beautiful women. Please forgive me. I was a stupid kid back then, and I’m sorry about what I tried to pull that night. I appreciate you guys not going to the police on me.”
    Was he actually apologizing? “It was a long time ago. In fact, I haven’t thought about that night since.”
    “Ouch. Well deserved. I understand. Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad I ran into you, because I’ve been wanting to apologize for a long time.”
    Wow, maybe he had changed. Though if I were to bet, Brad was playing some game I wasn’t aware of. He appeared way too comfortable. What did he really want?
    “Are you and Scar together?” he asked
    “No, just friends.”
    “Interesting. I’m engaged, if that eases your worry.”
    It sort of did and didn’t.
    “Congratulations. Where’s your fiancée?” I asked.
    “By the bar. Which means I should get back to her. I just wanted to say hello, Julia. No harm done. I hope you enjoy your drink.”
    “If you didn’t slip any HCB in it, I will.”
    “Touché.” He brought his hand to his chest, pretending