“Yo, bossman!” Jackson yells while rushing toward me. “I got a question.”

           “What’s the question?” I ask while carrying a bottled beer case to the back of the bar.

           “Are you dating Harper Hastings?”

           I shake my head. “You know me, Jackson. I’m not one for dating. Ivy fucked that up for me.

           “Yeah.” He agrees, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “But rumor has it you’re dating Harper Hastings, and I know you and her hang out. So, I wanted to know if it was true.”

           “Me and her are…doing things together. But we are not dating. It’s more of a mutual agreement.”

           He scoffs and chuckles. “Sure. And I am dating Madonna. Listen, if you’re dating Harper, you need to be careful. She’s not who you think she is.”

           I stop in my tracks. “Firstly, let it sound cocky, but I am Noah Adams. Warnings aren’t something I am ever concerned with. Secondly, how do you know her?”

           My glances around the bar. “Because my brother dated her, and she went a little psychotic. And don’t hate me or fire me for saying that. I’m just letting you know what I know.”

           I set the case down. “What do you mean psychotic, Jackson?”

           He leans against the bar, looking around like he’s trying to make sure no one else is listening. I don’t know if that means he’s lying and trying to hide it or if it’s true and he doesn’t want anyone else to hear about it.

           “She’s quiet and keeps to herself.” He says quietly. “And she’s very polite. She doesn’t need a man. She can do everything on her own, and she chooses to do a lot. But when she connects with someone, she doesn’t know how to act in that relationship.”

           I swing open one of the cooler doors to fill the beer bottles. “Continue talking, Jackson.”

           “I’m going to be blunt, bossman. As we both know, she’s hot as hell. According to my brother, she’s very talented in bed WHEN she wants to be. But that’s where the issue comes in. My brother had to break up with her because she was weirdly addicted to sex, but the way it all happened, so was always pushing away. It’s like she was purposely trying not to have sex yet wanted it. It confused my brother so much that he broke up with her. And before he broke up with her, she started acting weird and a little crazy. She would call him and beg him to talk dirty to her through the phone because she was in the middle of…she called it ‘soloing’ and wanted him to finish her off by speaking dirty…”

           “Hold on,” I say and chuckle. “You’re brother broke up with a girl because she was horny and wanted to hear his voice because that made her come? Jackson, that sounds like your brother is the one who lost out.”

           Jackson shrugs. “On that, maybe. But with all the other things building up, it became too much.”

           “Name something more psychotic, please,” I say and slide the last beer bottle from the case into the cooler. “I wouldn’t mind having a girl call me to help her finish ‘soloing’ it. Hell, I’d tell her to hold on and I’d be there as fast as I could.”

           “She stabbed him.” He’s quick to say, and the look in his eyes guarantees he is not lying.

           I lower my head while slowly standing up. I forget how much taller I am than most people, and I almost want to chuckle as I watch Jackson’s eyes widen as I stand over him.

           My teeth are tightly clenched, and I am not mad, but something is going on in my brain. “What do you mean, she stabbed your brother?”

           “I’m going to say this quick…” He pauses, stuttering his words. “My brother broke up with her. She decided that couldn’t happen. She started showing up at his house unannounced. He’d get home from work and find her lying on his couch naked. He called the cops and put a restraining order on her. She wouldn’t stop calling him even with the restraining order. Then one day he came home, she was there, he finally flipped, and she stabbed him.”

           I curl my fingers, gesturing for him to continue. “That’s too quick an answer, Jackson. Lay it out for me.”

           I nod and exhale. “When my brother found her in his house, he finally had it. She’d broken in multiple times, and this was the one time when he was struggling to pay his bills, working overtime, and there was a new girl that he was into, but she turned him down. So, when he saw her, he snapped, wrapped his arm around her arm, and dragged her to the front door. He wasn’t taking it anymore, and I didn’t blame him. She bit his hand, he released, she whipped around, and rushed into the kitchen. He followed and saw SHE was the one calling the cops. She reached for a knife just as he got to her, and she slid it with ease into his stomach. She did get arrested, but so did my brother. It might have been his house, but she’s the victim in their eyes, and she was defending herself.”

           “She stabbed and bit him?” I ask with disbelief in my tone. “And they still arrested him?”

           He nods. “He grabbed her arm tight enough to leave a bruise wrapped around it. And bossman, I was under the impression she was locked away. I had no idea she was out.”

           “This doesn’t make any sense,” I say, confused and conflicted. “She’s a college kid. She just graduated last year. She has so much going for her. She doesn’t fit that description at all.”

           “Because she doesn’t.” He interjects. “You’re right. She is who she is, the way we see her. She’s kind and sweet. She’s innocent. She’s kept to herself. But in this particular case, she went psycho. And my brother had to pay with his life.”

           My eyes widen. “He’s dead?”

           “No, he’s been in jail for years. Because he had an incident with a girl a year prior, he was still going through that, and this situation locked him up. I’m not going to get in between you two. But I had to let you know, if she’s going to be around, I can’t work here. I’m sorry, bossman. You’re an amazing person, and you can control yourself. No one is taking down a man of your size or the intelligence you have. But she’s not someone I’d want to date.”

           “I completely understand,” I say and exhale a confused-sounding breath. “You have to do what you have to do. I’d never judge you. Unfortunately, she has something held over me right now, and I can’t break that. I’m not dating her, and I don’t know if we ever will date, but I can’t just ask her if she stabbed someone and then call it off with her.”

           “I wouldn’t ask you to.” He says, and his eyes widen as he looks behind me. “And she’s here. I don’t know how I haven’t noticed her in the past when she came to this bar, because that face is hard to forget. But I know I’ve seen her here several times. I’m going to go. I have a meeting anyway.”

           I hold out my hand to shake his. “You’re a good person, Jackson. Thanks for letting me know, and if you ever want to come back, the door is always open.”

           He nods, his eyes staying glued to Harper. “I promise.”

           He slides through the back door, and I feel arms wrap around my waist. “Is this too much?” Harper’s voice sings in my ears with pleasure.

           God! I hope she’s not fucking psycho. She has me wrapped around her finger and we’ve only actually fucked one official time.