Lincoln chewed on her lip, her eyes darting everywhere, as if waiting for someone to jump in and agree with her.
“Give me back my damn beer. I’m not looking for a babysitter.”
“Fine,” she said as she put the beer down hard in front of me. Betty Jane smiled and walked off as Lincoln went on. “Drink your stupid beer and get drunk out of your mind. It’s none of my business, right?”
I saw red. Who in the hell did this woman think she was? “You’re right, it’s not any of your bus . . . ness. Biznestle. Fuck. Business.”
Christ Almighty. I was drunk.
Her brow lifted. “Do you always drink like this?” Then Lincoln covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes before she dropped the hand and said, “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. That’s none of my business either. I got angry because all you’ve been doing is giving me dirty looks all night.”
“No, I haven’t,” I slurred.
“Ha!” she said. “Listen, I don’t give a rat’s ass if you like me or not, but your folks are my neighbors, and they’re good people. And Ty’s nice, too, along with your brother Tanner. I’m positive we’re going to be seeing each other around. If you don’t like me, fine, but can you lay off acting like a complete dick whenever I’m in the vicinity?”
I absolutely hated that she thought I didn’t like her. It was the opposite. I didn’t understand why I was so attracted to her.
I looked around the bar for Ty and Kaylee. They were nowhere to be found.
“You’re not worried about your girlfriend?” I asked, deciding I was too wasted to try to have that conversation with her. Hell, even I couldn’t figure out how I felt about Lincoln.
She shrugged. “She’s been through a lot the last few years, and if she wants to hook up with someone, that’s her business. Much to your surprise, I actually am not a nosy person.”
Ouch. That hurt.
Lifting my beer, I winked at her. She rolled her eyes again and moved so that she was facing the dance floor. I couldn’t help but laugh.
Feisty. I wondered what she was like in bed.
My beer brain was in full effect right now, and a part of me wanted to know the answer to that question more than I wanted to admit.
Chapter Seven
LINCOLN
I could feel Brock’s eyes on me the rest of the night. Ty and Kaylee hadn’t been gone long, which led me to believe nothing had happened between them.
Kaylee sat down in the chair and gave me a look I couldn’t read.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yep, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” Leaning in closer to her ear, I asked, “Did he do something?”
“No, the opposite. I wanted him to do something, and all he did was kiss me. Then he sort of freaked out on me and asked me to dance.”
“Really?”
Kaylee nodded. “Yep. Guess maybe I’m a bad kisser or something.”
I chuckled. “No, I sort of think these brothers have . . . issues.”
My eyes glanced over to a very drunk Brock. Some little bleached blonde was sitting next to him, clearly trying to take advantage of the fact that he was wasted.
“Want to come back to my place, Brock?” she asked in a sultry-sounding voice.
I wanted to gag.
“Not tonight, Lee.”
“Oh, come on! I promise to take good care of you.”
“Kaylee, would you mind if I drove you home tonight?” Ty asked, causing both of us to swing our attention to Ty instead of Brock.
This was an interesting turn of events.
“You want to drive me home?” Kaylee asked, confused. “Why?”
Ty’s cheeks turned a slight shade of pink, and I hit Kaylee on the leg.
“I mean, sure. Lincoln, are you going to be okay getting home alone?”
With a wide grin, I nodded. “Of course I am. This isn’t Atlanta, after all. I’ve had only one beer, and that was a few hours ago. Um, Ty, what about your brother?” I asked, pointing to Brock.
Giving him a hard look and then frowning, Ty replied, “Betty Jane already took his keys. She’ll make sure he gets to his truck and sleeps it off.”
My mouth gaped open. Holy crap. Was that normal in a small town? Just put your drunk kin in their truck, and they’ll sleep it off? That would be a good way to get yourself hurt back in Atlanta. “You’re just gonna leave your brother here to sleep in his truck?”
With a half shrug, Ty answered, “Yep.” He held out his hand and asked, “Kaylee, you ready?”
It was a little after midnight, and I was also ready to leave. I didn’t want to follow Kaylee and Ty out the door, though, especially if they wanted some privacy to talk or whatnot.
Sitting back in my chair, I crossed my arms and watched the scene playing out in front of me. Lee was now rubbing her hands all over Brock’s chest, his arms, even running her fingers through his thick brown hair.