return the smile back. She didn’t even get to him before he started in on her.
“Where the hell did you go last night, Chandra?” As she got closer she could see that he was red-faced in anger. There was not much of an excuse to be had for her actions and she put her hand up to calm him.
“Do you know how you left me, fuck, Chandra.” His last words were soft and higher-pitched. The anger had given way to another emotion that made her even less comfortable. Uncovered need was hard to deal with for a woman who was building walls to fight emotion.
“I’m sorry, Liam. I was just upset after talking to Keith and I just left.”
“What do you mean, upset?”
“You know, just upset.” Chandra certainly did not want to get into it with Liam, but it was clear she had no choice. The least she could do was soften the blow. “It’s nothing, really. We will have to schedule again soon, okay?”
Chandra put her apron on for the poolside bar and waited for him to move out of her way so she could clock in on the computer. When he still didn’t move, she met his eyes. The anger was back and mixed with lust.
“What about now? We have fifteen minutes till the bar opens.”
There was a flood of wetness to her insides, preparing the way, but her mind was pushing against the idea. She wanted Keith and when confronted with another, it did not hold the same appeal. She shook her head and stopped his advance with a palm on his chest. He looked down at it and then up at her. “Now you don’t want me cause rich boy is back in town? Is that it?”
Chandra could hear the bitterness in his words. She wanted to make him feel better, but she was affronted by his words. Having anything sexual with Liam was becoming less appealing as the seconds passed. His face screwed up in anger and he was unrecognizable from who she had thought he was. For a moment, she almost wished that she had gone into the backroom with him, but she squared her shoulders and pushed the wish away.
“It's not even like that, Liam. Do you really want our first time to be only fifteen minutes?”
Liam came towards her and kissed her. His teeth grazed her neck in a soft bite, while his hands pushed her against the bar counter. “Just give me a few minutes to pound you and that will be enough.”
Chandra shivered, her senses being taken over by Liam. He was devilishly handsome, strong and had a way with words, as well as his hands. Chandra didn’t want him to stop, but she knew that she had to. While she would not admit it to herself, she really wanted to see what would happen with Keith. There was a connection there that she wanted to experience. Her mind pushed her hands up to stop him, while her body fought to get closer. Chandra was tugging back and forth with herself, but she finally said to wait.
“I don’t want to. Come on, let’s go.”
“No, Liam, I just think we should be friends.”
The look in his blue eyes changed and his hands dropped away from her. He took a couple steps back and nodded his head. “I see.”
Chandra was sorry to have said it that way. He looked mad again and for a second she realized how alone they were, even though they were in a pretty public place. No one was there to witness anything. “I'm sorry, Liam.”
“No, it's okay, I understand.”
Liam walked off, leaving Chandra breathing hard and a bad feeling taking hold in the pit of her stomach like a bad seed. She knew in her heart that something was going to happen from that moment. Chandra shook off the ill feeling as best she could and started to cut the fruit for garnishments. Liam did not come back for the rest of the shift, so Chandra’s day was very busy. She saw Keith for a couple of minutes, but was unable to really talk to him with all of the people needing drinks. He slipped her a napkin as he was leaving when she was finally able to get her attention back to him. Keith seemed
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