Free Scarred Hearts (Blackrock) by Elizabeth Kelly

a lezzer?"
    I stop laughing and turn to glare at him "No Brad, I am not gay. I don't want to kiss you because you seem like a dick and you have a stupid name" I say and get up off the rock.
    I turn around to look for Paige but I don't see her, I start to walk behind the rock her and Duke came behind and I find her sitting in the sand alone. "Hey what happened?" I say as I rush over to her. I can see her wiping away a stray tear, "Its nothing, you know I am done here, do you mind taking me home?" she asks me. "Sure ok if you want to" I reach down and help her up off the sand; we start walking back to the parking lot. I hear a guy slurring his words after us, "yeah piss hoff, you are a tease, pidge" I turn around and see Duke waving his arms around and trying to point at Paige. We reach my car and she makes sure to clean all the sand off her jeans.

 
    Chapter 11
    I pull out of the parking lot and drive back out to the main road. "Are you ok?" I ask Paige. She nods but says nothing. I can see that look in her eye, it was the same look Summer used to get when Ben did something to upset her but she was trying to hide it from me. I drive back into downtown and drive right past her apartment, "Hey you missed the turn," she says to me.
    "No I didn't," I say back. She looks at me questioningly "You told me that we were going to celebrate my birthday tonight because I had no friends here" I say.
    She looks over and smiles, "yeah I guess I did, that shit back there wasn't a very good celebration". "I know so that's why we are going to do it now, just you and me. So you're the townie, where to" I ask her. She begins to laugh at my use of her domicile and she says "Georges is usually good on Friday night, they have a live band each week but I haven't been there for months" she tells me. Ok I think Georges it is, I find a parking spot around the side by the side entrance. We get out of the car and walk around to the front doors, as we step inside the body heat from everyone is stifling, I am glad I did not bring a jacket I would be sweating in a minute.
    Paige walks over to the bar and finds one stool at the end; she plunks her butt down and turns to me. "So birthday girl what will it be?" I decide to do shots with her to help loosen her up and forget about her fight with Duke. "We can do some shots and then I will have a Jack & Coke". I look around the bar taking in everything, I see the band setting up on stage behind me, they have no lights on them and are trying to plug in instruments using the lights from their cell phones.
    I hear Paige order our drinks and turn back to the bar and stop dead in my tracks, "Well look who is here" says the bartender "It's the run away hottie" he says smiling at me.
    I just stand there and stare at him like I did on the street the last two times I saw him. He shakes his head and goes about making our drinks. Holy shit, of all the bars in this whole place we would have come in here. TDH is the barman and I am getting all flustered again.
    Paige looks at me with curiosity "I saw him on the street last week" I tell her "but his hair is different again". TDH returns with our drinks and winks at me, "So what are you ladies doing here tonight?" he asks. "Oh celebrating a birthday," Paige answers up. God I could kill her why did she say that "A birthday huh, and which one of you is the lucky birthday girl" he asks.
    Paige is clearly enjoying the attention and she points over to me," its Bailey's" she says back to him. "Well Bailey I am Max, happy birthday" he says with a wink "the shots are on me" he says walking away to tend other customers.
    "Someone has been holding out on me" Paige says as she turns to look at me, I lift up a shot and hold one out to her "No I haven't I only saw him on the street twice" I say. "Twice" She exaggerates the word while putting her hand over her heart. I roll my eyes and lift up my glass; we both tip them into our mouths at the same time. Ugh tequila, I can't stand the stuff.