Liquid Lucidity (A Novella)

Chapter Twelve

A knock on the door woke them from a dead sleep and David looked at his phone and saw it was a little passed noon. Hannah stirred beside him, opening her sleepy dark eyes slowly. "Stay here, darlin'."

David placed a soft kiss against the tired woman in his bed, relishing in the soft moan she made at the small gesture, then grabbed his clothes from the night before and quickly dressed in the hallway. 

It hadn't been his intention to ever start anything with Hannah. David had figured his growing infatuation with her would eventually subside and in time she'd be nothing more than a good friend. 

Fate had other plans for him, he came to find out. When he looked at the gun, her face was the only one that passed through his mind, over and over again playing like a movie and showing him what his life could be if only he gave real living a chance. Last night was his wake up call and damn if he didn't enjoy waking up with her by his side. 

It had been a long time since he'd allowed himself to feel anything more than physical with a woman in his life and David, as much as he tried, couldn't stop himself from feeling everything when it came to her. 

He was sliding his shirt over his head when he entered the living room and saw Meggie standing on the other side of the door, her beat down piece of shit Buick parked behind her by the garage. David had expected the cops to be on the other side of the door since they mentioned something about stopping by to ask some more questions, but it wasn't too surprising that Meggie was here.

After opening the door for her, David stood to the side to let her pass. "Hey."

"I expected you to look more like shit," Meggie spoke in her usual dry, semi-snarky tone he'd come to hate and enjoy.

"Sorry to disappoint. Whatcha need?"

Meggie dropped her oversized purse by the door and her jacket next to it and David had to stop himself from cleaning up the mess. "I wanted to check in on Hannah, but she didn't answer the door. Also wanted to see what you planned on doing about the bar."

"She's still in bed," David explained. 

Meggie's piercing pale green eyes narrowed on him. "Her bed?"

David stared at her for a good few seconds before running his fingers through his bed head. "We should keep the bar closed 'til Black Friday, give everyone a few days off for the holiday. I'll compensate everyone for lost wages, but I think they all need some time to cope with what went down and gives me some time to find a cleanup crew."

"Please tell me you didn't fuck my best friend with your disease ridden dick, David." 

He glared back at her. "I didn't fuck your best friend and my dick is happy and healthy, thank you very much, and none of your goddamn concern."

Yes, David could be considered a man whore. He hadn't done commitment for a good fifteen years at least and Meggie had bared witness to the women he took up to the apartment above the bar. But he was also checked regularly and never had sex without a condom. 

Meggie knew he was a dick and dash kind of guy and that Hannah was not a fuck 'em and leave 'em kind of girl. All this probably spelled disaster to her, but David wasn't just willing to try to be the man Hannah deserved, he wanted to be, which was a damn unnerving thought. 

Meggie crossed her arms and glared at him right back. "If you fuck with her, I will wear the pointiest boots you've ever fucking seen in your life, pierce your balls with them and quit on the spot. Then I'll wait a month before I burn that shit hole of a bar to the ground with you locked inside of it. Do you get me?"