The Reluctant Cougar (Rise of the Alpha King's Heir)

Edward and Danielle ("Danny")

"Sometimes life just sucks. Actually, that's most of the time."

Edward didn't know why he was saying that, why he was opening up to this strange, small, tough girl.  Unlike the pastel-clad party girls and the Dollar Tree goths he'd left at the club, both this bar and Danny somehow felt... real.

She was a twenty-one year old single mom, covered in tattoos and piercings. They'd only been talking for a couple hours, but he already knew that she had a kind heart, a rebellious mouth, and a mischievous smirk. He wasn't sure about her body, since she pretty much hid it behind baggy men's clothes, but he admired her cute face and her I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude.

"Hey, life's set up to fuck you over. That's just the way it is," she said with a shrug, downing another shot. Edward found himself leaning forward, knowing from the twinkle in her eye that she wasn't done speaking her mind.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and gave a satisfied sigh before grinning, "But it's up to you to figure out whether or not it was a good fuck. It's all perspective. Take my ex for example-- piece of shit left me when I was eight months pregnant. He decided to go for a drive a couple months later, drunk as a skunk, and --" she whistled, running a finger across her neck, "ran right underneath a semi-truck. Now, it sucked when he left me, but it could have been worse. I could have been in the car with him--or my baby girl for that matter. What felt like being fucked over turned out to be a good thing. And that is my take on life."

Edward found himself nodding, amazed at how strong the little human sitting beside him was. She hadn't been the "princess" her family had wanted. Instead, she'd been a rebel in every sense of the word. Her parents owned Danielle's Styling Nails, named after her, but Danny had wanted to go a different route, had been interested in piercings and tattoos. Then, at sixteen, when they found her in bed with another girl, they'd disowned her.

She'd found an old tattoo artist a couple towns over willing to take her on as an apprentice, trading her work for room and board until she got licensed. She continued on with him until he retired, saved up as much money as she could, and opened up her own shop across the street from her parents'. Her shop, Hard as Nails, catered to the clientele her parents would not. Not only did she do nails, but she was the only shop in town licensed for piercings and tattoos.

She'd been through a lot in her life, but it sounded like every time life threw her a curve ball, she swung her bat fearlessly. She was amazing.

"What about you?" she asked, nudging him with her elbow before taking a long sip of whatever amber liquid she'd just ordered. "Mmm, damn, this is good. Thanks, Mel."

Melody gave her a nod before continuing her work. 

Face carefully blank, internally freaking out, Edward repeated, "Me?" 

She nodded, "Yeah, I told you several of my stories. It's your turn."

His turn. Crap. What could he say? She was a human. He rarely talked about his past, and when he had, it had never been to a human.

"You don't have to," she said after a long pause, shrugging her broad shoulders. His gaze slid to her thick forearms. Nice. Did she lift weights? Was the rest of her also lean and muscular? Why was that so attractive? 

"I was just curious," she continued, waving her hand. "It's one of my flaws."

"Curiosity isn't a flaw," he automatically disputed, forcing his eyes back to her impish face. "How do you learn if you don't ask questions?"

She looked at him, really looked at him for what may have been the first time that night. The intensity of her gaze startled him.

"What?" he asked cautiously.