“And?”
“I see you.” He turned back to his beer.
Bryna narrowed her eyes in confusion. That was a strange introduction, but it did make her curious, especially since he was good-looking and only a couple of years older than her, at the most. He was blond with dark eyes, wearing casual jeans, a T-shirt, and flip-flops. He had shades dangling from the neck of his shirt and seemed very…laid-back. Definitely not my type.
“Sorry,” he said when he noticed her puzzled expression. “I’ve been out of the country for almost a year, and it’s more a cultural shock to come back than to be away.”
“What were you doing? Work?”
“Nah. I wanted to snowboard my way through the rest of the world. It turned into a bit more of an adventure than I’d bargained for. I’d love to tell you the story sometime,” he said, leaning into her.
Hmm. Smooth. She kind of liked his easygoing confidence. It was her biggest turn-on. “I’d love that, but I have to get back to campus.”
“Oh! Are you at LV State or UNLV?”
“State.”
“Cool. I start there in the fall. Thought I’d rejoin the world of the overworked,” he said with a smirk.
Bryna laughed. “All right. Maybe you can tell me your story next semester then.”
“Definitely. If you want to give me your number, I can call you when I move in. It would be nice to know someone here.”
Bryna shrugged. What do I have to lose? “Sure.” She added her number to his phone. “It’s Bryna, by the way.”
The guy offered his hand. “Cam.”
She smiled again and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too.”
As she was walking away, back to her car, she couldn’t keep the giddy feeling from her stomach. It was nice to meet a guy who didn’t have a preconceived notion of her reputation. Actually, he knew nothing about her. And still, he had seen her when she didn’t even look her best. It was a compliment. Even if he never called, it had been nice to flirt with him for a bit.
She left the resort, feeling as if she had done a complete one-eighty since this morning. She was in a much better mood and was ready to talk to Eric. The drive was short, and she pulled into the empty driveway.
The door was unlocked when she arrived, and she let herself in without knocking.
No margaritas this time.
“Eric?” she called.
No answer.
She wandered outside and found it also empty. She decided to try upstairs, and she heard voices. Walking toward Eric’s workout room, she pushed open the door and found him lifting weights with Andrew.
Both guys were shirtless, sweaty, and hot as hell. Even though Andrew was ridiculously built, her eyes kept being drawn back to Eric. Andrew was spotting Eric on the bench press, the weights nearly resting on his chest. He heaved it back up into the air.
“Am I interrupting?” She leaned against the doorframe with a smirk on her face.
Eric glanced over at her, dropped his head again, and then put the weights back into their resting place. “What do you want, Bri?”
Andrew questioningly looked at Eric. She wondered if Eric had told Andrew anything about what had happened last night. She doubted it. They were friends, but Eric was a pretty private guy…all things considered.
“It’s Sunday afternoon,” she said as if that explained everything.
“Yeah?” Eric muttered.
“I’m predictable…like clockwork,” she reminded him.
“Did you just say you’re predictable?” Andrew asked. His eyes were wide in surprise.
Yeah, she wouldn’t normally say that about herself, but she did spend most Sunday afternoons here.
“Shut up, Holloway,” Bryna spat.
Andrew laughed and held his hands up in surrender. “I’m just saying…”
“Well, don’t.”
Eric didn’t engage them as he sat up and toweled off. Then, finally…finally, he looked up at her. “Did you need something?”
Bryna shifted under his scrutiny and took an uninvited seat. “I got back from my spa day and thought I’d come over.”
“Really?” He sounded disbelieving.
“Yeah. I wanted to check in on you.”
“Come on. The truth, Hollywood.”
Bryna tilted her head up. This was the truth. Mostly. “You didn’t come back to the party last night.” After I kissed you. “I haven’t heard from you all day.”
“And?”
“And I wanted to check on you,” she repeated.
“What exactly am I missing here?” Andrew asked. He grabbed his own towel and rubbed at the back of his neck.
“Bryna is here to apologize, but she’s really bad at it. She’s going to need to try harder,” Eric informed him.
“You’re an ass. I’m not here to apologize,” she said.
Andrew nodded. “I’d have to agree. That sounds unlikely. Bri doesn’t apologize.”
“See? I’m here because I haven’t heard from you.”
Eric shrugged. “Fine. If you’re not here to apologize, then you can go. We’re busy.” He lay back down on the bench.
Andrew laughed hysterically. “You know, maybe I should go.” He grabbed his T-shirt and gym bag and started for the door.
“There’s nothing I’m going to say that you can’t hear,” Bryna said.
“Yeah, but I suddenly feel like I’m in the middle of an argument between an old married couple.”
“Oh, ha-ha,” Bryna spat. She couldn’t believe Andrew. “You’re hilarious.”
“You have no reason to leave,” Eric said.
Andrew shrugged. “I’m going to go anyway. I’ll see you guys later. I have a feeling you’ll be waiting for that apology for a while.” He left, and his laughter followed him down the stairs.
“So…” Bryna said.
“Yep.”
“Do you want to go get dinner or something? I’m starved.”
Eric sat up with rapid speed and stared at her in disbelief. “You’re really going to skirt the issue and act like nothing happened?”
“It’s worked for me before.”
“Hardly.”
“Fine! I was drunk, and I kissed you. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.” It was a lie.
She had felt bad about it all day. She hadn’t meant for it to happen, and his reaction had been even worse.
“No big deal?”
“You’ve never kissed anyone while you were drunk?”
“Sure.” He shrugged. “But usually, it was because they wanted me to.”
She wanted to say that she hadn’t known he wouldn’t want it, but that wasn’t true either. She had known and done it anyway. It wasn’t her finest moment.
“Yeah. Drunk,” she reminded him. “I guess I shouldn’t have done it.”
He tilted his chin down and observed her. “You can do better than that. Apologize like you mean it.”
“You’re insufferable.”
Eric stood and walked toward her. He stopped when he was only a foot away from her. His hazel eyes were a mix of disappointment and frustration. “I’m your friend, Bri. Real friends apologize when they fuck up. They don’t act like they’re better. They don’t pretend like it never happened. They don’t push back when you call them out on their mistake. I realize this friend thing is new to you, and you’re used to guys throwing themselves at your feet. But I’m not that guy. You knew the consequences and what it could cost me when you kissed me, but you did it anyway. I think I’m in the right in expecting an apology.”
“I know,” she said softly.
Their little game was over. Knots worked at her stomach, and she hated that she’d hurt him. Because he did look hurt. Did he know I’d kissed him because Audrey was there? Did he know I’d been jealous? Would he still want this friendship if he did know?
And Eric was right. He was the first real friend she’d had…maybe ever. She cared too much about his feelings, which had never happened before either. She had never cared about whether or not she hurt someone. She always avoided the confrontation or pushed them out of her life because she didn’t care enough or she didn’t want to deal with the fallout.