“Done with it all. I’m going sober.”
His eyebrow crinkled as he held back a laugh at my metaphor. “Off men.”
“If that’s what it takes,” I agreed seriously, even as my goddess-like conscience was laughing in my head at the sheer and utter ridiculousness of the statement.
“Sounds like the opposite.”
After how many I’d tramped through, I was pretty sure that it wasn’t. My entire energy needed a cleanse, and unfortunately, celery juice wasn’t going to give me the results I needed.
What else could I do?
“Okay, okay, everyone,” Brenson’s gruff voice poured from the speakers. “Thank you for your patience. We are going to get trivia night started.”
Finally.
A few cheers of regular teams went up around the room. The moms group was the loudest.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Need to get in the zone?” he teased.
“What? You’re not a fan?”
“Of trivia?” Dom shrugged his one broad shoulder. “Honestly, it’s a little boring. Though I didn’t know it had such non-romance seeking, sparkling fans.”
“Whoa-ho-ho-ho.” I jokingly laughed along with him, ignoring his blatant come-on. “Now, you think it’s funny to tease me because of my terrible dating history?”
“No. I’m just taking your advice,” he said. “I’m taking in the beautiful things I see in life.”
I expected him to snicker at his comment. Instead, this time, any shyness left in him was gone.
Dom relaxed in his seat next to me. “Plus, I’ll need to be here to soften your blow when you lose trivia tonight to the out-of-towner.”
He caught my entire attention as Brenson announced the first category—film.
“Excuse me? You think you can win this thing?”
“I know I can.”
“You just said you hated trivia.”
“I said it was boring. I never said I wasn’t the best.”
“Now, you’re the best?”Where did the humble man who didn’t think to take advantage of other sloshing green-margarita drinker and sat down next to me go?“Doubtful.”
“We’ll see, but I warned you.”
“Bring it on.”
5
The storm started in the middle of the night. I knew it was enough water falling from the heavens when I heard a muffled curse from the hallway. Along with the apartments in this building being small, the hallway had a slight tilt to it, ever since the last flood a few years ago, often causing the economical, green-carpeted floor to turn into a mushy swamp whenever it rained more than half an inch.
Another reason I needed to move to a new place eventually—before this one crumbled around me.
By the sound of the thick sheets of rain slapping against the sliding door, it was raining much more than an inch—and quickly.
April showers …
