Page 19 of Brick
“I’m sorry. I don’t usually throw myself at men. Especially men who aren’t interested.” She dug into her purse and dropped a twenty-dollar bill on the bar before striding out.
***
Brick
Brick remained on his stool, staring dumbfounded as Olivia stormed out of the bar.
“Maybe I want to know you.” That’s what she’d said.
And what did he do? He fucking chased her out of the place.
Why did she want anything to do him? Did she imagine him in her bed? He’d practically offered to fuck her, and she never blinked an eye. Instead, she’d held his hand.
The same hand he’d used to dump Pete’s body. The one that put his last boxing opponent in the emergency room. The one that punched the heavy bag until he bled, trying to beat away his ridiculous fantasies…of her.
Their entire exchange only lasted five minutes. Their others hadn’t lasted much longer. In all, he’d spent fifteen minutes with her. Twenty, at most. How could he be so obsessed with a woman he’d barely spoken to? How could she feel the same way?
It’s simple. She can’t.
This whole thing was stupid. He was stupid.
He knew shit about this girl except her taste in music and choice of whiskey. And Asti. She loved the bubbles.
All this mooning over her was ridiculous. He finished the drink in front of him and set the glass down on the polished wood. This place was way too nice for the likes of him. Even in his nicest jeans, he stood out like a sore thumb. It had been stupid to come here in the first place.
Time to move on, starting at the gym, his salvation whenever he needed escape from his fucked-up life. He made it in fifteen minutes in his truck. Then the familiar, dank smell welcomed him back into the pit.
Binding his hands tightly with tape, he stubbornly pushed aside thoughts of blue eyes and freckles, warm skin, and gentle touches. His eyes narrowed on the heavy bag as he rammed his fists into the leather. Each hit slammed harder than the last, and the force shook his target from the chain where it hung.
For ten minutes—twenty—thirty—he pummeled the damn thing, until a crowd formed around him to watch his punishment. And it was punishment. For seeking her out. For allowing himself to know her touch. For letting her leave with a wounded expression on her face.
“Fuck,” he roared as he delivered one more punishing blow. Suddenly, he had no fire left. Exhausted, he forced himself to put one foot in front of the other, ignoring the spectators on his way out the door.
At least he was too tired to dream of her now.
***
He did dream about her, obviously, the kind of dream a lesser man might blush about. But Brick promised himself on the way to his work site he would spend his waking moments focused on the job. He did his damnedest, but the sunshine was the same color as her fucking hair, and twice he had to walk past the spot where she’d flirted with him days ago.
He kicked a chunk of wood-scrap in the yard, sending it flying to the curb. A man should be able to control his own thoughts, and he was…failing.
Despite the constant specter of Olivia hovering over him, late in the afternoon, he stopped mooning over her long enough to pick up on something strange going on with Robby. The guy kept circling around him like a shark in blood-infested water.
Brick snorted.
Robby was as far from a shark as any human being could be. Maybe a dolphin or a baby otter, but not a shark.
What do baby otters circle?
Robby gave him the side eye, and Brick schooled his features. He had no desire to invite a conversation. He came here to work, not to socialize.
His knees ached as he hunched over the partially constructed wall lying on the slab.
“Can I help?” Robby’s voice pulled his attention back.
He glanced up, lifting his eyebrow in a way Robby never seemed to find as badass as other people did. “You know how to inlet hurricane bracing into the studs?”
“I don’t mean if I can help you with the house.” Robby waved the question away as if the answer were obvious. His job involved scheduling the crew, ordering supplies, and reporting back to Xander. “I’m asking if I can help with what’s bothering you.”