Chasing Charlie

Chapter 4

"Hey Declan, who's this pretty, young thing here?" A guy, about Declan's age, eyed me up and down when we walked up to the bar to get something to drink.

It was dark inside Down the Hatch. It definitely wouldn't be considered a hotspot for someone looking to have a wild, raging night. There were a few people milling about on the dance floor. For the most part though, there were only a couple scattered groups sitting at the booths sipping on dark liquor, talking, and smoking cigars. However, a few younger attractive guys sat at the bar talking to the two bartenders, one who had been eying me.

"That's Talon's baby sister," He smirked at the attractive guy who was still watching me as I leaned against the counter casually.

"Nice to finally put a face to your name. Talon told us a lot about you, Charlie. I'm Adam Hillmont." He stuck his hand out for me to shake and I confidently extended mine. I could tell he was surprised by the force in my handshake. He probably expected me to be fragile.

"Well Adam, why don't you buy me a drink and you can tell me how exactly you know my brother." I flirtatiously smiled back resting a hand on his muscular forearm.

"Man, if you buy her that drink there is a very good chance that Talon will come back and haunt you from the dead. She's barely legal!" Declan said as Adam began to pull out a cute glass that would hold some girly cocktail.

"No way, how old are you?" Adam pulled back ever so slightly, looking me over once more as if a number would magically appear to answer his question.

"Thanks a lot Declan! I'm pretty sure I'm old enough to handle myself. I'm twenty-one," I scoffed at Declan.

"That might be true, but I'm not giving your brother any more reason to come back and haunt me. I say no, and what I say goes." He winked at me. Living with him was going to be insufferable if he was always going to act like Talon was watching his every move, I thought to myself.

"You just wished it worked that way, my dear." I grinned wickedly at him and walked away from the two boys. I could feel them staring after me as I sauntered up to the bartender at the end of the bar. I could tell that he was young enough to be interested in what I had to offer.

"What's a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this?" He leaned on the counter eating up my attention. He looked me over top to bottom without hesitation and I gave him a flirtatious grin. This wasn't exactly my first rodeo, so I knew how to play my cards right in order to get what I wanted.

"Trying to find someone to buy me a drink." I smiled coolly at him. I knew there was a chance that my bluntness would scare him away, but he seemed like the type of guy that liked a challenge. The way he watched me twirl my hair around my finger, captivated by every motion told me he was intrigued.

"Parkston, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Declan glared daggers at him, sending him a silent message from the other end of the bar. I wasn't focused on his interruption though. I didn't care about the drink anymore. Parkston. The name echoed in my head and I just looked at him in silence. It was so cut and dry. I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the concept though.

"Easton Parkston," I whispered quietly, but he still managed to hear me and looked up at to see me point blank staring. At first he seemed confused, like he didn't know why I was saying his name, or how I knew what it was. Then reality registered and he gave me a solemn look, closing his mouth, then opening it again to speak.

"Did Talon tell you about me?" It was an awkward situation all the way around, because neither one of us knew what to say to the other. He didn't know how much I knew about him, and I didn't know whether to yell and hit him for not letting me go with my brother or to thank him for saving my life without really doing anything.