Needing Him (Him Series Book #3)

Two

"Jase Ford is here!"

Gasps punctuated the blonde's worshipful statement.

"Where Laney? I heard he used to be a professional cowboy," another woman cried, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "He even rode cows and all!"

Laughter followed.

"You mean bulls, Jessica. He rode bulls," Laney corrected, sipping a neon blue drink.

"Bulls?" Poor Jessica looked confused.

"My best friend's sister said he was in the military," a stunning brunette added.

"My cousin dated him!" another member of Jase's fan club declared with a smug smile on her painted lips. "Definitely military. That's how he got all those yummy muscles."

"I'm so jelly!" Laney exaggerated.

Katie turned to the women, offended on Jase's behalf that they'd talk about him like that. Empty shot glasses and beer bottles littered their table, and each of the gorgeous women was dressed to catch attention—tube tops, frayed denim shorts, sexy midriff baring tops and lots of smooth skin shimmering with sparkly lotion.

With her own hair piled in a messy cherry-blonde knot, no makeup, and wearing an oversized t-shirt and sneakers, Katie might as well be invisible next to those hotties, not that she cared. She was on a mission. Operation Apprehend Ava. It was something she'd done a lot of lately.

Turning to her mission target, AKA her friend Ava, she saw Ava swing her arm and knock over a beer bottle which had a domino effect, and three more longnecks went down. Thankfully, they were all empty.

Katie quickly summed up the situation. Bad news—Ava was drunk. Good news—Ava was drinking beer. Beer nights usually ended with less work and cleanup than a hard liquor evening. She glanced up and her gaze slammed into hot amber eyes.

Jase moved through the crowded bar like a rock-star greeting his fans, a heart-stopping smile on his too handsome face as he made small talk, accepted a few hugs from ladies and high-fived the guys.

Katie's heart ached at the sight of him. Her skin buzzed with awareness, and she leaned over and asked Ava, "What's he doing here?"

"I called him," Ava slurred, nearly sliding off the bar stool and latching on to Katie for support. "B-before I got a hold of you."

"You should have told me." The rebuke came out sharper than she intended.

Ava's gaze moved from Katie to Jase. He'd stopped to speak to more admirers. "What's going on...with you two?"

Katie hesitated a moment before answering. What was the point in holding back? She was exhausted, annoyed, and Ava was too far gone to remember the conversation tomorrow. "I got drunk one night and begged him to take my virginity. He turned me down."

Ava's jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. "Nooo!" She swayed and Katie steadied her. "You don't drink!"

"I did that night." Katie gave a short laugh and rolled her eyes. "Rock bottom has nothing on where I've landed."

"I'm always the last to know." Ava pouted.

"You're the only one who knows. It's not like I could tell Lucy or Izzy. They're devout Christians." Katie winced at the bitterness in her voice. "I don't need a lecture or a prayer. I feel bad enough."

With a slow, exaggerated tilt of her head, Ava frowned and appeared confused. "I don't know, Katie. They love you."

"And I love them, but I can't deal with their judgement. Not with everything else I have going on." She watched Ava's elbow fall off the table and sighed. "I thought you would understand."