Page 1 of Badd Baby

Chapter One

Duncan

Oh, shit.

My mouth has gotten me into in more trouble than I'd like to admit. I've gotten in fistfights, been slapped on numerous occasions, thrown out of bars and clubs, arrested…all because I'm pathologically incapable of installing a filter between my idiot monkey brain and the runaway train that is my mouth.

I'm about to get slapped, I think.

The girl's eyes blazed blue fire, wrath and ire erupting with volcanic heat. Warning bells rang in my head—danger! danger!

"Never mind," she snarled. "You were hot…until you opened your mouth."

I blatantly checked her out while I racked my brain for a way out of this. And she was, in a word, a smokeshow. Five-seven or -eight, with glossy, thick, jet-black hair left loose in a wild storm cloud around her slender shoulders. Blue eyes, although to call them merely blue is a deep injustice. They're not just blue. They were twin sapphires, a deep, dark, vivid shade that captured my attention and refused to let go.

I only caught a glimpse of her body before she sat down at the bar, and that was a quick glance through the crowd. I'm not a betting man, but I'd bet she's got goddess curves for fucking days.

Right now, she had her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes sparking and spitting. "Nothing to say, huh?

"What's a week from tomorrow, and what's it got to do with me?" I said, after another few seconds of searching for a witty repartee and coming up empty.

"Nothing," she muttered, taking a sip of her drink—Seven-Up and white wine.

“It sounded like you need a date." I turned and snatched the ticket out of the printer, scooped ice into highballs, and started pouring well vodka for the six vodka Red Bulls for Tina's table of popped-collar golf bro douches at table sixteen.

"I don’t,” she snapped. “It was a moment of verbal diarrhea—it’s a condition and I'm off my meds."

I cackled at this, shooting her an amused smirk. "Hey, guess what? I have that same condition."

She gave me a droll glare that said I might be getting somewhere with her. Not necessarily anywhere good, but somewhere. "Well, you need to up your dosage, then."

I waved a hand, blowing a raspberry. "Tina! Order up for sixteen!" To her, then. "I'm self-medicated."

"It's not working." She was killing that drink like it was the only thing saving her life.

I mixed another for her and switched it with her empty the second she set it down. "On the house."

"Is that your way of apologizing?" She sipped this one more slowly.

"Nope. I'm hoping if I keep you drinking, you'll tell me where we're going a week from tomorrow." Another ticket spat out and I scanned it, sighing—more goddamned Piña Coladas. Fucking frozen drink bullshit.

I couldn’t spare any attention for the blue-eyed goddess with the sharp tongue as I set about making all the stupid Piña Coladas. All fucking eight of them. And I only have one blender, which only makes three—four if I stretch it, but if I stretch it, they complain there's not enough alcohol in them.

I was on my second batch when Elin tapped on the service bar with her book. "Dunc! My table is asking about their tequila shots."

I hold up the blender. "Sorry, Elin, one sec. I'm just making eight fucking Piña Coladas, Arizona."

Arizona, who put in the order, looked like she was about to cry—she's new, the Kitty was hopping, and she has the worst section, the poor thing. "I'm sorry, Duncan! What was I supposed to do? Tell them 'Sorry, you can't have those because my bartender doesn't like making them?'"

I hustled through the last batch and helped Arizona tray them. Her eyes were watery and red; I reached through the service bar to grab her wrist. "Hey, Ari, I was just fucking with you. You're cool. Just breathe, okay? You're doing great."

She nodded, sniffling. "Thanks, Dunc, I just…ugh. I'm about to have my period, and my hormones are whacked the fuck out."

I blinked at the overshare. "Um…yeah. No worries. And hey, remember, don’t let customers take drinks from your tray again. They'll upset the balance and make you drop everything."

“The guy at fifteen just now took it before I could stop him.” She winced. "I found that out the hard way at my last job."

I grinned. "I feel like there's a story in there."