Katie
You’re going to wear a hat and sunglasses inside, aren’t you?
Tristan
How did you know?
Katie
Because you suck at disguises…Remember when we snuck out of your birthday early last year? Your mustache fell off into a potted fern.
Tristan
You take that back.
Katie
You’re right, Clark Kent. The hat will totally work.
“Him.”
I look where Tristan is pointing, across the dimly lit bar, to a man standing under the mismatched light fixtures on the wood-paneled wall. The guy in question is tall and handsome and wearing a henley that pulls over broad shoulders. Just looking at him makes me feel nervous. My eyes dart away, over the Friday-night crowd at the Hart’s Hill bar with their t-shirts and their ball caps. More my crowd than Tristan’s, but still intimidating.
I take another sip of ginger ale. “No.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Tristan’s bright green eyes are incredulous when I look back at him. “He’s probably the best-looking guy here. Excluding yours truly, of course.”
“Hot guys make me nervous. I want to start smaller.”
Tristan’s mouth parts. “But you’re not nervous around me.”
“Maybe I don’t think you’re that hot.” I give him a sunny smile. Today, I am immune to his charms. The way his lips wrap around the glass bottle does nothing for me. The movement of his throat as he swallows doesn’t make me feel hot or unsettled as I watch it. I shift in my seat and ignore the beer Tristan got me.
He’s staring at me.
“What?”
“Drink the beer, Bailey.”
“I’m technically working.”
“You’re making me itchy. Stop twitching.”
I still my knee from where it’s jogging under our small table. “I’m not twitching.”
Tristan gives the beer a pointed look, where the liquid is sloshing from my movements. “Whyareyou so nervous?”
“I don’t do this,” I hiss.
“Socialize? Yes, you do. You’re not a shut-in. You’re a twenty-six-year-old woman with passable social skills and atrocious taste in clothing.”
I glare at him. “I know what you’re doing.”
“Is it working?”
My shoulders slump. “No. This was a mistake.”
He chuckles. “Spending our Friday night at a crappy dive bar with all the town’s regulars? We could always discover a heretofore unknown STD, Bailey. Take heart.”
