Moving up into his face, the guy puffed up. “What? You hard of hearing, pretty boy? I said she’s leaving with us.” The other two had Janice’s arms, holding her up.
“Hey, guys, just leave and let the lady stay here.”
With a smirk, the bigger guy figured he had the odds in his favor, three guys against one.
Then behind him echoed a deep voice. “Is there a problem here, Aaron?”
The mouthy jerk turned to see three hundred and fifty-odd pounds of muscle standing right behind him. And not looking happy.
“No, Leslie, no problem. These guys were just leaving.” Aaron grinned.
Swallowing, the three guys backed away and out of the bar in a hurry. Janice fell against Leslie and wobbled. Her eyes looked up his massive frame and when he reached around to hold her up, they closed.
Leslie caught her as she passed out cold.
She awoke to a loud thumping sound. She tried to open her eyes, but it hurt to even move. The thumping was her heart pumping blood to her painfully confused brain. Her head pounded with every beat of her heart.
“Oh fuck…this is horrible.” She squinted enough to see she was in her bedroom. Doing a quick check, she noticed she wasn’t wearing anything except a T-shirt. Her body was fine and nothing felt violated. The room appeared exactly as she had left it so nothing was stolen. “Oh my God, what did I do?”
She had a blurry memory of the three guys at the bar and a very large bear.
The only thing she knew for sure was she had to pee right away. Her bladder was filled like a water balloon and ready to burst.
After what seemed like a solid fifteen-minute pee, Janice walked out to the kitchen area. The scent of coffee filled the dark air. She took a cup from the small cupboard and poured some coffee. She figured having it black would clear her head of the foggy haze still looming in her mind. There was a flickering light in the living room area from a fire burning. She was puzzled because she didn’t remember making coffee or starting a fire.
“How are you feeling?”
She almost jumped out of her skin, hearing a voice speak from the darkness, and nearly ended up wearing the hot coffee she’d just poured. The chair in front of the fireplace turned and there was Aaron, sitting in her bathrobe.
“You doing okay?”
“Well…I’m basically naked with a cup of coffee in a dark house and don’t remember anything, so I’d have to say no. My head is pounding like a damn drum. What the hell happened?”
“I think my T-shirt looks good on you.”
She sipped her coffee and looked at Aaron. “Why are you wearing my bathrobe?”
“Because you threw up on my Armani suit. I don’t remember seeing anyone throw up that rainbow of colors quite like that before. By the way, cosmopolitans and roofies are a bad combination.”
“Roofies?”
“Yep, those guys spiked your drink with a roofie. They could have taken everything from you and done anything they wanted to you. You wouldn’t have remembered a thing.”
“Jesus.” She gulped. “All I remember is seeing you talking to a woman and getting a little jealous. Then there was one guy that was flirting with me and bought me a few drinks. No wonder they hit me so quick. I was feeling really woozy. Who was the bear I saw?”
“Bear? Oh, you mean Leslie.” Aaron smiled. “He’s a friend of mine. Used to be an All-Pro offensive lineman. He’s as big as a house and stronger than a bull, but the nicest guy in the world unless you piss him off. He’s gotten me out of a couple of jams before.”
“Sounds like your Mother-person has a soft spot for football players.”
Aaron turned and looked back at the fire. “Yes, she does. She helped Leslie out of a really bad pain killer drug habit, and he became her bodyguard. Everyone knows if they fuck with Mother, Leslie will come pay a visit. The man shows no mercy when it comes to people messing with her. A few people have ended up missing.”
“Good guy to have in your corner.”
“Oh yeah, but you don’t want to be on his bad side. So, are you feeling a little better?”
“Actually things are getting less fuzzy and just blurred now.”
Aaron moved over in the chair and motioned for Janice to sit with him.