Falling from Disgrace Read online

  “Your walls?”

  “Walls get dusty,” Heather answered, sweeping her duster a few more times and then turning her attention to Adrianna. She was a petite little thing, with light brown, curly hair and a decent amount of freckles on her face. Her outfit of cutoff shorts and baggy t-shirt told Adrianna she was in cleaning mode, which was a rare occasion for Heather. Being a single mother with two jobs, Heather hardly had time for serious housekeeping. Adrianna tried to help her out by doing her laundry for her every once in awhile.

  “What are you doing home so early?” Adrianna asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table while Heather pulled a few sodas out of her fridge for them. She snapped the top of her can open and took a few sips before being seated.

  “I called in sick at the bank,” she explained. “I have off from the restaurant tonight and I just wanted a day to myself. Trevor is with his dad this weekend so I am free until my shift tomorrow night.”

  Adrianna’s can of cola tilted in salute as she said, “Good for you.”

  They made small talk and then Adrianna’s back started to protest from being in the same position for too long. She leaned forward in her seat and stretched, wincing.

  “Your back?” Heather asked sympathetically.

  “I’ll be fine,” Adrianna assured her, breathing through the spasm.

  “I feel so bad for you, being in pain like that all the time. I’m such a wuss; if I were you I’d be popping pain pills like candy.”

  Adrianna choked back a laugh. Heather had no idea that what she just said was spot on. But just like everyone else in Adrianna’s life, Heather didn’t know that she did indeed pop Vicodin like candy. She hid her habit well.

  The ache in her back lessened but all Adrianna could think about now was taking another pill and so she excused herself to leave.

  “Hey, before you go, you feel like going out tonight?” Heather asked. “Ya know, since I actually have some free time?”

  “Sure,” Adrianna told her, thinking she could use a distraction that evening of the male persuasion. “What do you have in mind?”

  “There’s a new bar that opened up downtown called Loki’s. Wanna try it out?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Across the hall in her own apartment, two more pills helped Adrianna rest up in preparation for their evening out.

  Heather was obviously excited about getting out for the first time in a while. Her tiny figure was wrapped in a tight, red, strapless mini dress and her hair had been blown out straight. She had overdone it a little with the makeup but Adrianna didn’t tell her that. Instead, she looked at her own outfit of dark blue jeans, grey, flowing tank top, and black heels and told Heather she thought about changing.

  “Nonsense,” Heather said, pulling Adrianna towards the elevators by her arm. “You look great. I just have to try harder because I’m older and a mom.”

  Adrianna didn’t argue with her because frankly, she really didn’t feel like changing nor did she own an outfit that would compare with Heather’s.

  It was Friday and so Loki’s was crowded with all kinds of people, old and young. Heather and Adrianna couldn’t find a table but they were lucky enough to get two seats together at the bar. They sat and ordered their drinks.

  Adrianna sipped her gin and tonic and took a look at the crowd around her while Heather struck up a conversation with a man sitting to her left. Men and women were littered about the place, some talking animatedly to each other, others quietly taking in their surroundings as Adrianna was. She scanned the room looking for someone she would consider taking home that night. There was a group of boys who looked like they were part of a fraternity, each of them clad in khaki and polo shirts. No. Some men in business suits loitered here and there but none of them held any appeal and were probably married. No matter if she was looking for a one night stand or not, Adrianna had no interest in helping a man cheat on his wife.

  Continuing her hunt, it amazed Adrianna how engrossed people were in their cell phones when they went out. No matter where she went, she always noticed a majority of the patrons would be staring down at the little piece of technology in their hands rather than interact with the people around them. Why bother going out if you were just going to keep your eyes glued to your phone? What was so important that it couldn’t wait until you got home? Not at all interested in keeping constant contact with anyone in her life, Adrianna did not partake in any type of social media, and the only reason she had a cell phone was because she didn’t have a landline in her apartment.

  Ironically, Heather’s phone began to shrill and she cursed when she saw it was her ex-husband’s number flashing on the screen. She excused herself from Adrianna and her new male friend so she could take the call outside.

  “Can I get you another?” a deep voice asked, and when Adrianna turned towards the source, she was taken aback by how close his face was to hers. He was standing behind the bar, leaning across it and staring at her with large, striking blue eyes. This wasn’t the same man who had taken her original order, and yet he was already holding the bottle of Tanqueray, keeping his mesmerizing eyes directly on Adrianna’s.

  “Please,” Adrianna answered, and then felt her pulse quicken as she took in the rest of him.

  Now this was a man she would not mind taking home to her bed tonight. His hair was very dark and tapered, cut very short at the neckline and then gradually grew in length towards the top of his head. His skin had a slight olive tone that blended very well with the darkness of his hair. His eyes were deep set, yet still large and Adrianna looked closely to see if he wore colored lenses. No one she had ever encountered with hair and skin like his had eyes that color. They were clear cerulean. His nose was slightly crooked, which gave him just enough edge so that he didn’t look too perfect, and his square jaw, upper lip and chin were covered with stubble. Lips that looked soft and pink turned up in a grin as a strong hand garnished her drink with a lime and then placed it on a napkin in front of Adrianna.

  She smiled in thanks, tipped her drink towards him in a silent toast, and then took a sip just as Heather returned from outside. She did not look happy.

  “I have to go!” she fumed, digging into her purse to fish out a ten dollar bill to cover the one drink she hadn’t even finished.

  “Why?” Adrianna cried, not nearly ready to leave before seeing if the hot bartender was interested in even flirting with her.

  “Trevor is throwing up and my useless ex doesn’t know what to do. I can’t believe this, the one free night I have in I don’t know how long and it’s cut short! I’m sorry, Ade. You’ll be alright getting home?”

  “Yeah, sure, don’t worry about me. Go help your son.”

  Heather gave Adrianna a quick hug before scurrying out of there as fast as she could in heels. The man Heather had been talking to looked disappointed but then hopeful when he eyed Adrianna sitting there. She shot him a “don’t even think about it” look and then turned her back towards him, feeling dejected. She had made the effort to go out that evening, was interested in the bartender, but didn’t want to sit in a crowded bar alone. Her mood turned foul and she downed the rest of her drink and then slammed the tumbler on the bar.

  “Easy there, sweetheart,” the blue-eyed bartender admonished. “You break it you buy it.”

  Embarrassment washed over her features and Adrianna murmured, “Sorry.”

  Blue-Eyes laughed and moved so that he was standing directly in front of her again. “I was only half teasing, don’t get upset.”

  Adrianna straightened her shoulders a bit and sniffed. “I’m not upset, I’m annoyed. My friend had to leave to take care of her puking toddler.”

  “A beautiful girl like you won’t be without company for long,” he told her and then nodded towards something over Adrianna’s shoulder.

  She turned in her seat to find two of the frat boys looking appreciatively at her. With a roll of her eyes she turned back towards the bar and huffed, “Not interested.”

 
When she began pulling out her wallet to settle her tab, the bartender said to her, “Oh, don’t leave yet. Keep me company.”

  “How do you know I’d be good company?”

  “You just look like someone who might have something interesting to say. Come on, one more drink, on the house, and if you aren’t having a good time, you can leave.”

  Adrianna thought on it for a moment and then placed her wallet back into her purse. “Alright.”

  When her third drink was placed in front of her, she pulled out a cigarette and without missing a beat her bartender reached into his back pocket to produce a lighter. She leaned in, cigarette in her mouth, and then brought her hand to his to steady the flame. She didn’t really need to do that but she wanted an excuse to touch him.

  “So what’s your name?” he asked as she exhaled a long stream of smoke.

  “Adrianna.”

  “Adrianna? That’s a mouthful. You go by something shorter, like Anna maybe?”

  “Some people call me Ade.”

  “Nice to meet you, Ade,” he said, sticking out his hand. “I’m Jack.”

  Adrianna switched her cigarette from her right hand to her left and then shook his, liking the way his fingers felt wrapped around hers. She wondered how skilled his fingers were.

  “So, Ade,” Jack continued, “what do you do?”

  Pursing her lips and shrugging her shoulders she answered, “Oh, not a whole lot.”

  “You go to school?”

  “Nope.”

  “Work?”

  “Uh uh.”

  “You a trust fund baby?”

  Adrianna snickered but said, “Something like that.”

  “Are you always so forthcoming?” Jack laughed.

  “Hey, you said I looked interesting, I never said you were right,” Adrianna retorted.

  “True.”

  Another patron called his attention away and Adrianna just watched as he mixed another drink and talked to his other customers. She admired the way his muscles moved underneath his tight black t-shirt and when he turned his back to reach a bottle from the shelf behind him, she admired his tight ass even more.

  By the time she was finishing her cigarette, Jack said something to one of the other bartenders and then moved out from behind the bar to take the seat next to Adrianna. He sat facing the crowd and Adrianna turned on her stool to do the same.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be working?” she asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

  Jack lit his own cigarette and told her, “The boss won’t mind if I take a little break to keep a beautiful woman company.”

  Adrianna didn’t miss the fact that this was the second time he had called her beautiful, and while she wanted to scoff at that, it made her feel good, something she hadn’t felt in a long time without the help of medication. She smiled.

  They sat quietly beside each other, just watching people around them for a while, when Jack finally said, “You see the blonde over there? Little Miss Fake Tits?”

  Adrianna smirked and looked to where he was pointing. She immediately spotted a platinum blonde in a skin tight, neon green scrap of a dress that was cut incredibly low. If she inhaled deeply enough she would give everyone in Loki’s an eyeful. “Aw,” Adrianna said, “don’t mock her. She probably paid a lot of money to look that cheap.”

  Jack nodded in agreement and told her, “She just got served a drink. How much you want to bet she takes a picture of it to post on Facebook? Watch.”

  Adrianna and Jack stared, watching the bombshell flick her hair over her shoulder while she giggled at something some suit said to her. Then she noticed her drink and, much to Jack’s delight, she snapped a picture of it with her phone and then began typing away on it.

  “Can I call ‘em or what?” Jack boasted.

  “You’re very talented, my friend,” Adrianna mocked. “But you know, posting pictures of your cocktail is very important. How else is everyone going to know how fabulous your life is if you aren’t updating your status about it every five minutes?”

  Jack laughed. He decided right there that he liked Adrianna. She seemed genuine, not at all superficial like most of the girls that frequented Loki’s. He was guessing she was only around twenty-four, not a whole lot younger than him, but her makeup was minimally applied, and her brown hair was long, wavy, and without any bleach or dyes. The outfit she wore was nice but casual and he could tell it was chosen because she was comfortable in it, not to impress the opposite sex. That’s what originally attracted her to him when he saw her walk into Loki’s. Then the fact that she was reluctant to talk about herself was practically monumental. Usually the girls he met wouldn’t shut up about themselves. The whole thing about her not working or going to school did perplex him a bit, but she didn’t come off as some spoiled, rich bitch.

  He said to her, “It is in my humble opinion that if your life was so fucking fantastic-”

  “You’d be out living it and not posting about it all damn day,” Adrianna interrupted to finish for him.

  “Exactly,” Jack smiled.

  “So I take it you don’t use Facebook?” Adrianna asked.

  “Nope. You?”

  “Hell no. There’s nobody out there who cares enough to want to know that much about me anyhow.”

  “Oh, I find that hard to believe.”

  Jack looked down and his eyes locked onto hers. They were so round, so warm, and so dramatic he actually got lost in them for a moment, hypnotized by the expressiveness he saw. He felt as if he could stare into those brown pools forever. When he shifted his weight on his stool just a fraction, his arm leaned against hers causing Adrianna’s breath to hitch. His attention was drawn down to her mouth, where, fuck him, she had a set of the plumpest lips he’d ever seen on a woman. How did he not notice those lips until now? He had to fight the urge to just lean down and suck on her full, bottom lip to see if it tasted as soft as it looked.

  “Hey, Jack!” one of the other bartenders called out to him. “You going to get your ass back here or are you taking the rest of the night off?”

  Jack’s eyes were reluctantly dragged away from Adrianna’s mouth just long enough for him to shoot Kenny a look that said, “Fuck off,” and then they went back to her eyes. She stared at him just as intently as he stared at her.

  “I do have to get back there,” he told her. “I close up here in a few hours but my apartment is just upstairs above the bar. Can you hang out for a bit?”

  Adrianna hesitated for a beat. She was definitely attracted to Jack, that was for sure, but in just a short amount of time she felt that he was someone she could actually end up liking, and not for just a one night stand. Then she realized that was all he probably wanted her for and that she was being silly. She wanted a distraction for the night and Jack would be the perfect one. She agreed to his request.

  Chapter 3

  It was just past two a.m. by the time Jack finished closing the bar. Adrianna had spent the last few hours drinking another gin and tonic, getting slightly tipsy and watching Jack work. The more she watched, the more attracted she became to him. Everyone at the bar was on a first name basis with him by the time they left and he was friendly and chatted with all of them. Adrianna supposed that was just the duty of a good bartender, but it was pleasant to watch him in action just the same. Showing off, he pulled some slick Tom Cruise Cocktail moves, flipping bottles and pouring drinks with flair. The way he kept glancing over at her all night, flashing a sexy grin, made Adrianna feel special. There were plenty of women in the bar that were vying for the attention of the hot bartender but he seemed only to have eyes for her. The alcohol and two Vicodin she popped in the bathroom probably also added to her lust for him, but by the time they made their way up to his apartment she was feeling confident and incredibly horny.

  Jack’s place was bigger than Adrianna’s but just as modest. The furniture looked comfortable and lived in, there were minimal accents, like most bachelor pads, but it was warm and inviting. Stretching ac
ross the wall of the main room was a dark wood entertainment center with a flat screen television and other electronics men like to play with. There was a large over-stuffed, grey sofa and matching reclining loveseat adjacent to it with a coffee table the same wood as the wall unit. It was something one would expect to find in any single man’s home. To be truthful, Adrianna was just relieved that there weren’t empty beer bottles and overflowing ashtrays as far as the eye could see.

  Upon entering his living room, Jack turned on the stereo and some soft rock Adrianna didn’t care enough to identify began playing.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Jack asked, cocking his head to the side and flashing that sexy grin at her again.

  Using the last ounce of confidence she had in her, Adrianna just shook her head and dropped her purse on the sofa. She wasn’t interested in small talk or pleasantries; she wanted to get down to business.