Damaged Beyond Repair by Kashmira Kamat (KittyKash) (ebook reader below 3000 .txt) 📖

 Alana

         "What do you think of the Martini?" Gabriel asked me as he prepared another drink.

        I took a sip of the blue martini which was served by Gabe, all set with a blue umbrella. "It tastes like heaven. I love it."

        "Oh baby, you have no idea what heaven tastes like. You gotta be in my bed to get a taste of that." Gabriel winked.

    I laughed at Gabe's lame attempt at flirting. "Use this one on the next woman you pour the drink for. It's a guaranteed lay."

    "Really? I may as well try it tonight." He said and passed me a tray of nachos. "Here. Tell me what you think of this taco. It's my secret recipe."

    "Am I your guinea pig?" I asked, picking up the taco to my lips and narrowing my eyes at him. 

   "You don't complain when you get drinks and food for free, Ms. Hayes." He said. "By the way, love that dress. It looks great on you."

"Thanks."

       Gabriel worked as the bartender for Demon's Bolt, the operating place for all the wrong things. To be honest, I thought Gabriel deserved better, but this place had a good income and that helped Gabe to pay his rents.

   I hated going to clubs, I hated watching couples dance with their bodies stuck to each other. At least the DJ was playing great music that I was tempted to try dancing. The only reason I was glued to the seat was because Nina and Chez had dragged me to the despite my repeated protests, plus I knew Gabe would keep me company.

    What was so much fun about dancing with strangers and getting groped in the crowd?

    "Is the taco good?" Gabriel asked.

     "Calling it good would be an insult. You are a perfect marriage material. I would kill for a husband who can cook." I said.

   "Don't kill anyone sweetheart, you have my number. Just call me."

   We laughed together, and Gabe pushed a tray of nacho chips, jalapeno and cheese dip towards me as I polished the remains of the tasty taco.

   "Are you trying to make me fat?"

   "It's your birthday, Alana. My treat. Anything that you and your friends order is on me."

    "That's so sweet." I said and wrapped my arms around him from across the bar.  He was taken back only for a minute before he hugged me back. I got a whiff of the familiar cologne he wore which reminded me of all the good things in my life.

    I knew that Gabe had some feelings for me, but we had both come to a conclusion that it would never end well, because even if Rowan and I had broken up, even if he had moved on, it just felt wrong to go right ahead and hook up with his childhood best friend. Gabe would be breaking some kind of a bro code and I liked Gabe as a friend. Things didn't need to get awkward.

   "I have something else for you." He summoned a small box from his pant pockets, wrapped in a ribbon and placed it in my open palms. "Happy Birthday, Alana."

   "You didn't need to..."

   "Of course I had to. It's your twentieth birthday." He said as I began opening the gift but he snatched the box away. "Don't open it now. I want you to open it when you get home."

   I pouted and dropped the box into my handbag.

   "Who is that guy staring at you?" Gabriel's gaze was trailed somewhere behind me.

    I turned to follow Gabriel's gaze and sure there was a guy staring unabashedly at us, or specifically me. I thought I'd seen him before, but I couldn't recall if I really had.

   "Which reminds me, he's been staring at you for god knows how long, and I thought it was just another horny guy trying to hook up with a pretty girl at the bar." Gabriel stared at him so hard that the guy finally looked away. "Watch out for weirdoes because this place is infested with the wrong kind of people. You don't want to get involved with them."

   "I'm always careful. I'm going to dance for some time. Wanna join me?" I asked.

   "I wish I could, but I have work to do."

   I straightened my dress and walked towards the dance floor. There was no sign of Chez and Nina. I wondered if they were busy trying to claw each other's throats out. They were still not dating, and I blamed Chez for that. That guy had some serious commitment issues, so they remained friends. To be honest, I never quite understood their relationship. Sometimes they behaved like a couple in love, flirting while I sat under their noses, and the other half of the time, they acted like mortal enemies.

    I joined a group of girls who seemed to go to Carmel and even though we were just acquaintances at university, I decided they were a better option than joining the larger group which consisted of sweat dripping, hulky men trying to get a taste of any women. I moved to the beats of Jason Derulo's Cheyenne when I felt a strong body collide against my back. I ignored it at first, thinking that maybe it was because it was too crowded. After a few minutes, I felt the body move against me again, and this time a pair of strong arms slipped around my waist.

   I thought it was Chez protecting me from the rest of the male species as usual, so I continued to dance but a few minutes later those hands slipped to my butt and that's when I knew it wasn't my best friend.

I caught the man's arm and turned to face him.  "What the hell do you think you're....?"

  The guy gave me a megawatt smile. I swallowed hard. It was the same guy who had been staring at me. He was just as confident as he had been a while ago, his hands had moved to my waist. And now I knew why I thought that I'd seen him before. He looked kind of similar to a person I'd known. The person I'd loved with all my heart.

   This man was like the younger version of Rowan Masters with a lighter shade of brown hair, and  dark hazel eyes. He wore a black t-shirt with a skull on it matched with navy jeans, silver chains dangled through the loops.