Perfect Regret (Bad Rep #2)(45)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

I lifted Jaz’s feet off the table and dropped them on the floor. “Go bug someone else, Jaz. Cause I’m not playing,” I grumbled, giving my table one last swipe with the cloth and turned to go clock out.

“Wow, who pissed in your cornflakes? I was just making the observation that you seemed to be really into your work lately. I think it’s great you have your work to get you through such a difficult time. We all know you don’t handle your emotions well. I mean look what happened after Damien dumped you,” she said, dropping her voice in a feigned show of concern.

That was it, I was so done. I turned around, ready to unleash my inner Ghangis Khan on her face when we were interrupted by an unwelcome source.

“Back off, Jaz,” Damien said, getting between us. Jaz’s bitch knob, which had been firmly on eleven, dialed back a notch. She turned faintly pink as she gave Damien a bright smile.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Damien. I’m not doing anything to Riley. Don’t make me the bad guy here just because you’ve decided you want back into her granny panties,” Jaz sneered. I grit my teeth together so hard I could have sworn I cracked a tooth or two.

“Seriously, just go,” Damien’s voice was clipped and hard and I was totally shocked. Damien didn’t play the confrontational card very often. Jaz looked hurt by his defense of me and walked off in a huff.

He turned back and gave me a wane smile, his black hair falling into his face.

“Thanks for running interference, D. That would have only ended in a gore fest,” I said and Damien’s smile grew at my unintentional use of the nickname I had given him a lifetime ago.

“Moore would have been pretty pissed if you had bloodied up his brand new carpet. So it’s a good thing I was here,” Damien teased and I found myself smiling back.

Damien reached out to squeeze my arm and before I could pull away there was a commotion from the stage where Generation Rejects had suddenly stopped playing.

“Take your hand off her before I f**king make you,” an angry voice grumbled over the sound system. I looked up in shock to see that Garrett had taken the microphone from Cole and was glaring in my direction.

Well not at me but at Damien who stood there with his mouth hanging open like an idiot.

“Is he talking to me?” Damien asked, his eyes wide with what I could only decipher as burgeoning panic. Garrett had dropped the mic on the stage, pulled his guitar from around his neck, handing it to a flabbergasted Mitch and stormed through a crowd that parted like the Red Sea.

Was this really happening?

Jordan had gotten to his feet and was right behind his friend, trying to stop him. But Garrett wasn’t having it. He was a man on a mission. And clearly his mission was to kick some Damien ass.

Garrett didn’t even stop before he barreled into Damien who went down with an undignified “umph.” Damien sat on his butt, looking up at the scary rocker who towered over him and he seemed to be trying to disappear into the floor.

“Don’t. Touch. Her. Ever. Again,” Garrett growled through gritted teeth. Jordan grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back.

“What the f**k, man. We’re in the middle of a show!” Jordan looked at me as if I could solve this crazy Garrett Bellows puzzle. My eyes were like saucers and I knew I was just staring at the crazy alpha male that had erupted out of Garrett like the Incredible Hulk.

“I was just talking to her. What business is it of yours anyway? She’s my girlfriend,” Damien said, trying to win back some of the pride that had already gotten up and run away.

Wait…what?

Did Damien just refer to me as his girlfriend?

Oh hell no!

But before I could correct my seriously deluded ex, Garrett’s face turned a molten red. He hauled Damien up by the front of his shirt and then without further ado, decked him, square in the jaw, sending him back to the floor on his ass. Poor Damien’s backside was sure getting a work out.

And all I could do was stand there, staring like an idiot with my mouth hanging open. No way was this my life. I avoided drama like the plague but it seemed since hooking up with Garrett, it followed me everywhere.

“Garrett, stop it!” Jordan yelled and I could see Moore coming out of the kitchen looking mad. Garrett turned his mega watt anger on me.

“Were you going to tell me you were back with this jackass? Or did you just conveniently forget while I was f**king you?” Garrett asked and everyone around us gasped. Well I guess the cat was out of the bag now.

I felt my face flush and my heart begin to pound furiously in my ears. I understood now what it meant to see red. Because that’s all I saw.

Deep, murderous, I’m-gonna-rip-his-dick-off red.

“Shut the hell up, man. You have shit to say to Riley, do it somewhere private. This is not the time or place to be hashing out your issues,” Jordan reasoned, trying to cut this off at the pass. Maysie suddenly materialized beside me and had grabbed me by the hand, trying to steer me away from the scene that was about to go down.

Because she knew the look on my face. And it meant I was about to get mean.

I stepped up into Garrett’s personal space and looked him dead in the eye. He was angry but I could also see he was just plain hurt. Well I was also hurting right now. I hadn’t expected for my private life to become front-page news because of his jealous ego. This on top of my minimal emotional functioning and I was ready to pop.

“He is not my boyfriend. But I guess it took too much thought to actually ask me before you made a complete fool of yourself.” Garrett didn’t seem in the least bit embarrassed. He simply looked back at me as if daring me to refute his announcement. Waiting for me to deny we had been together.

“And I obviously wasn’t thinking about much when you f**ked me because otherwise I would have stayed the hell away from an ass**le like you!” I said with a steady calm that surprised even me.

Garrett flinched, a slight movement that only I noticed. My words hit home, just as I had meant for them to. I turned on my heel and started to stalk off. We had created quite the spectacle. Everyone in the bar was watching us with avid interest and I was completely mortified.

“Riley!” Garrett called out but I just kept walking, pushing and shoving my way to the back of the restaurant.

“Okay, guys, I think it’s time to wrap up your set,” Moore said, trying to get some control over the situation. I didn’t even check to see that Damien was okay. Fuck Damien and his stupid hands and even dumber mouth.