“‘Stop being a pussy and get the fuck back to work, Soldier,’” Jace deadpans. “And yes, that’s a direct quote.”

Kale cracks up until I hit him on the back of the head, and I just shake mine, wishing I could follow Chief’s orders because not working is slowly going to be the death of me.

Once Jace finds a parking spot, I get out of the car and groan when I realize we’re at The Lodge, the same place where I met Charlie last weekend. Jace just shrugs when he sees the look on my face.

“It’s the best place to watch sports, and then it turns in to a club after nine. Best of both worlds, man.”

I sigh as I follow them inside. When we enter the bar, my eyes have to take a second to adjust to the dimly lit room. Following them to a high-top half table, half booth, I slide into the booth portion beside Kale. I can tell he’s already checking out the selection of women in the place, and I can’t help but follow suit. I tell myself I’m just scoping the crowd for hot chicks, but I know I’m looking for her. Part of me wants her to be here, especially after witnessing the moment between Jace and Lexi earlier, but the other half of me knows I need to not complicate things. And going after Charlie would do nothing but cause complications.

“She’s not here, Knox. Relax,” Jace says, interrupting my thoughts. I don’t even bother to respond because a cute blonde waitress sidles up to the table and begins to take our drink orders. Since I’m not driving, I decide that I’m going to let myself have a good time. I haven’t taken a pain pill since lunchtime, so I think I’m safe. We order a couple pitchers for the table, and I get a round of shots, although Lexi declines since she’s driving. Responsible. Another reason to like her. I glance around the bar one last time, disappointed when I see that Jace is right. She isn’t here.

A COUPLE of hours and a few pitchers of beer later, Lexi’s yelling at the TV, more than pissed that her team is losing pretty damn badly. Jace is just watching her like a lovesick fool, telling her that it doesn’t matter because they’re still first in their division, but she doesn’t want to hear it. The dance floor has opened up and Kale’s had a revolving door of dance partners for the past half an hour. It’s really amazing what a crew cut and some dog tags can get you.

“So Charlie seems like a nice girl. How are things going there?” Jace asks, pulling my attention away from Kale and the blonde chick who’s practically giving him a lap dance on the floor.

“Umm, yeah, she’s fine.” I know what he’s going to say, and I’m not interested. Okay, that’s a lie, but I’m not interested right now.

“Okay, admit it. How awkward was it when she showed up on your doorstep the morning after you were a total dick to her?”

I signal the waitress for another shot, even though I’m already feeling pretty buzzed. “I wasn’t a total dick to her. I may have been a bit abrupt, but I wasn’t even mean. Rude, maybe, but I wasn’t an asshole. As ass, but not an asshole.”

“You know, she said the same thing when I tried to smooth things over for you.”

Huh. That’s weird. I figured she’d hated me. Her face had grown red with humiliation when I basically told her I wasn’t interested when all she’d done was introduce herself. “She actually said that?”

He nods, and I’m surprised.

“Okay, so, yeah, things were kind of awkward the next day. It didn’t help that we had another misunderstanding. I don’t know, Jace. She’s gotten under my skin and I don’t like it. I still can’t believe Cohen’s not coming back after finals.” I shake my head, still pissed that my brother called me earlier today with news that a spot had opened up in a summer course at UT and he could get ahead if he took it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of my brother for pursuing his dream, but I have to admit that I was really looking forward to spending the summer with him. And to putting an end to this babysitter volunteering business.

Taking a sip of his beer, he watches me. “Why does it have to be a bad thing that she gets under your skin? Maybe it’s time you finally met someone who makes you feel something more than just lust.”

“Maybe, man. I know I’m over random hook-ups. But Charlie Davenport isn’t the girl I need start anything with. We’d kill each other in the first week. We’re not compatible at all.”

“If you say so.”

Before I can respond, Kale rejoins us at the table, and the conversation switches to less serious topics.

“Holy shit, that girl is smokin’,” Kale says as he takes a drink of his beer. He’s staring at the dance floor, and when I look over, my heart stops and my shorts tighten in the crotch area.

I don’t know how I missed her come in, but there’s Charlie in the middle of the bar, dancing with some guy who’s barely an inch taller than her. I can only see her profile, but then they slowly circle so that I can see her from the front, and I go completely hard. Her long brown hair hangs in loose curls down her back, and she’s wearing a fitted, tight black t-shirt that cups her breasts perfectly. She’s paired it with tight, tiny jean shorts, and I can tell that this girl works out because her toned thighs show off a slight ripple of muscle as she moves her hips back and forth to the hip-hop music that’s playing.

I can’t stop watching her, and she looks like she’s in her element, without a care in the world. Her eyes are closed, but even though they’re dancing, her back to his front, she’s leaving about a half an inch of space between them.

“Hey, isn’t that—” Jace starts to say when Kale cuts him off.

“Oh damn, I didn’t even realize who it was. That’s Charlie. I used to never see her out, but after she called her engagement off, she’s started getting out a lot more. She’s a nice girl,” Kale says absentmindedly as he checks out the girls at the table next to us.

“You know her?” I ask him, wondering how he knows her, feeling jealous that both Jace and Kale seem to get the nice, sweet side of her at all times.

“Yeah, she helped me out with all my G.I. Bill stuff when I first transferred to Ft. Campbell. You guys haven’t seen her at the boxing gym? She’s there a couple of times a week, and I like sparring with her. She’s got great technique, and it helps that she’s hot has hell. I’ve got a good thing going with one of her friends…” He trails off, looking around the room, and I’m wondering why I’ve never seen her at the gym. Obviously I haven’t been since I’ve been back, and before I always went late in the evening. We must’ve never crossed paths. Kale spots someone and gets up from the table. “Excuse me, fellas and Lexi, but I have a lady waiting for me,” he says, grinning as he heads back out to dance.

Jace and Lexi get up to join him, and Jace shoots me a look. “I’m good, man. Go ahead.”

He nods, and I can’t help but laugh as he crutches to the edge of the floor and tries to dance with Lexi. It’s more of him standing there holding himself up while she dances against him.

Turning away, I look around to find Charlie again. I spot her just in time to see the douche she’s dancing with put his hands on her hips and pull her into him as he grinds into her ass. Gritting my teeth, I start to look away when I see her push away from him, only for him to pull her back.

Before I can even think about what I’m doing, I’m downing my beer and crossing to the dance floor. Right as I’m getting to where she is, she turns around and shoves the guy, and he stumbles slightly. I have a feeling he’s had a little too much tonight, and he’s not getting that she isn’t joking. He’s about to reach for her again when I grab her arm and pull her into my chest. She wasn’t expecting it, so she smashes into me, causing a sharp pain to shoot through my ribs, but I can take it.

She looks up into my eyes and they widen with surprise when she realizes who’s grabbed her.