I threw him a seductive smile. “Listen, I’m saving you the trouble. I’m too much woman for a good boy like you to handle.” I waved my hand to motion him to the other side of the room.
After a beat, he composed himself. “I think you have me pegged all wrong, Kendy. Who says I’m a good boy?” A mischievous grin crept up his face, the kind of smile little boys used when they were hiding something.
I laughed, because only good boys would say that sort of thing. “Because I’ve done boys like you. I know your kind. Plus, I certainly don’t take second servings.” I scrunched my nose as soon as the words left my mouth, my face flushing pink. I had no filter. I should come with a muzzle to keep me from saying things I shouldn’t be saying.
He just laughed, but I bit my lip. I hadn’t meant to sound so crude, or for it to come out like that. I knew he’d been heartbroken when Beth had chosen Kent.
I softened and tried to recover. “I’m sorry.”
“No big deal.” He shrugged, seeming unaffected. Maybe he was over her.
But what I said had been rude—honest, but still rude.
He seemed like a good catch. He just needed some coaching.
I straightened on the stool, ready to do him a favor. “Listen, Brian. Let me give you a word of advice. Quit being so nice.” I shifted so my leg brushed against his side, shooting a tingling sensation up my thigh. “Most women want either a bad boy or a rich boy, neither of which you are.”
There was a glint of amusement in his eyes as I spoke, which urged me to continue. “You can’t change the rich thing, but you most definitely can change the good thing. So if you want to find a good girl, be a bad boy, because women want to change that bad boy and will stay put. We get bored too easily with the good ones. It’s not that much fun. Trust me on this.”
I flipped my hair to the side, exposing my neck. His eyes flickered to my bare skin and I smirked, loving how I’d grabbed his attention. “I know how to play the game, so you’d be good to take my advice.” I patted his arm and nodded twice.
He gave me a disarming smile and my breath caught. I couldn’t help but smile back, the reaction automatic.
He angled into me, so close I could smell his aftershave, which was intoxicating. I could pretty much recognize all the colognes at the department store, but the one he was wearing, I didn’t. “You think I’m a good boy, and maybe I am.” He inched toward me, his warm breath on my face, making my nipples pebble. “But let me tell you, this good boy,” he smirked, pulling at his shirt, “can be,” he angled in even closer, “a very bad boy. In bed.”
I gulped, and my insides turned to liquid. I wondered if there was some truth to his words. I shook my head to get his perfectly sculpted, naked body out of my head.
Peering up into his baby blues, I pushed out my chest, being the tease I truly was. His eyes fell to my bust before landing back on my face.
Ah ha! The tables had turned. “It’s too bad . . .” I breathed as my eyes flickered to his lips. “That I’m never going to find out about this bad boy.” I ran a fingernail lightly down the inside of his arm, angling toward me. “I screw you . . .”
He licked his lips, his eyes focusing on my mouth.
“ . . . and you won’t be able to help yourself,” I said, breathlessly.
His eyes went half-mast as he leaned into me, so close I could smell the mint on his breath, could taste him, quite possibly kiss him.
It took all my self-control to push at his chest with my pointer finger. “You’ll fall in love with me, and that’s something I cannot have on my conscience.”
Then I swallowed hard, averting my gaze, and pretended his proximity did not affect me, while my heartbeat raced in overdrive.
Before he garnered a response, I recognized one of the attendees I worked with. Dan or Sam or something like that. Dr. Hot Pants would be making an appearance shortly. I knew it.
I straightened my skirt and pressed my lips together, evening out my gloss. “You need to leave. My date is coming any minute.” I practically tugged on Brian’s arm and motioned with my head for him to make an exit.
“Isn’t your date supposed to pick you up, not meet you at the bar?” he asked, with a shake of his head. “Seems like you’ve got a real keeper there.” His curious eyes followed my line of sight.
“Well, he doesn’t know he’s my date, just yet.”
Brian lifted an eyebrow and, as I fixed my gaze back at the door, my stomach dropped to the floor. Dr. Klein strolled in . . . with a tall, skinny blonde on his arm. The skin-tight black tube dress and four-inch heels made her mile-long legs look even longer.
No . . .
An onset of nausea spread throughout my body, and my lips pulled downward as the realization that all the effort I’d put into tonight had turned to crap. I closed my eyes, took a big deep breath, and forced myself to shake it off. Shake it to make it. I had to, or it would break my mood for the whole evening and into the morning.
I smirked and sat straighter on the stool, again dusting off this hopeless feeling. Maybe she was his sister. Or maybe not. But either way, she was a tad bit skinnier and taller, but I knew I had all the right curves in all the right places, and the difference was my shit was real.
I pulled at my dress and adjusted my ta-tas. It was time to step up my game.
Brian watched as I fixed myself then his eyes flickered back to the bar. I had to give him credit, though. He was trying to be discrete about it.
I paused as a bright idea came to me. Narrowing my eyes, I pulled him by the collar and wrapped my arms around his neck. He didn’t resist and, like a puppet master controlling their puppet, he molded against me and wrapped his hands along my lower back. A small smile played on his lips as though he was wondering what this psycho girl was up to.
I threw him my winning smile as I said, “I’m going to make you a deal, blue-eyed boy. You help me out tonight, and I’ll help you out in return.” My lips smacked together once more. “You can thank me later.”
FOUR
BRIAN
This woman had me pegged all wrong. I wondered if she thought I was a virginal good boy. I silently laughed at the thought, but I decided to humor her. If anything, I enjoyed her misconception about me.
“Go ahead,” I said, wondering what her plan entailed. My hand rested against her back. The silkiness of her top brushed against my fingers.
“See that man with the blonde on his arm.” With a tip of her head, she motioned toward someone who looked very familiar. “That’s my date.”
It took all my self-control not to laugh out loud. Her so-called date was Stiff, the doctor from the hospital. “So you’re into threesomes? I’ll join, but we have to lose the dude.”
“No!” She laughed, and there was something about the way she laughed that got to me. It lightened my insides.
“That’s the guy I’m going to marry,” she said with all the confidence in the world. There was this glint in her eye when she uttered the word ‘marry’, and my curiosity spiked.
How well did she really know this guy? Judging by the fact he was here with another woman, a sexy but fake-looking one at that, I’d say not so well.
And where had the sex kitten from a minute ago gone? Now she was bouncing on the bar stool, her arms still wrapped around my neck like we were at the high school prom.
“Are you sure he isn’t already married?” I raised an eyebrow at her.
Not only was Dr. Stiff with another girl, but he was trying way too hard. His shirt was undone, showing off a bit too much chest. His dark hair was gelled to perfection. He was a player for sure, but he was terrible at not showing it.
Amateur.