I clench my eyes shut and beg every god, goddess, and deity out there to let me just be imagining things.
I’m not.
He doesn’t wait for me to approach him. He comes to me at the bar.
“Whatever she’s ordering, put it on my tab, Dave.”
Asher is wearing a dark green button-up and black slacks. He pushes the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows, and I hate how attracted I am to that simple gesture.
“I can pay for my own drinks,” I mutter.
“I owe you a drink at a later date, remember?” He leans against the bar and looks me up and down. His gaze lingers on my bare legs before coming back up to meet my scowl. “You know,” he says, smirking. “Considering everything that happened the other night, I really thought you’d be in a better mood.” My scowl turns into a full-on death glare. He tsks at me. “You would think thatIwas the one who left beforeyouwoke up.”
Dave places my apple martini in front of me, along with a shot. He shrugs at my surprised expression. “It looked like you could use one. It’s on the house.”
I thank him, take both glasses, and spin on my heel, walking away from Asher.
“Care to comment, Ms. Nyx?” he continues.
I scoff. “Please don’t pretend like you wouldn’t have given me some bullshit hypocritical speech.” I lower my voice theatrically to mock him. “‘Summer, what we did was wrong. It’ll never happen again because it’s wrong. We should’ve never succumbed to our desires; it’s wrong.’ If I had stayed, I would’ve had to listen to you act like a broken record, and frankly, that wasn’t something I felt like doing. You’re cuter when your mouth is shut.”
He stares at me, perplexed, as we stop by the pool tables. “I have never said the words ‘succumbed to our desires’ before.”
I blink. “That’s what you took away from this?”
“Sorry.” He holds up a hand and laughs, though it lacks humor. “I’m still caught up on the fact that I woke up naked, in a bed that smelled like your perfume, and completely alone.”
My face heats with embarrassment. “Could you not?” I hiss before slamming back the shot. I grimace as the liquor burns down my throat, but Asher doesn’t leave.
He leans in closer. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, Ms. Nyx, but we’re the only two patrons in the bar.” I give a startled look around as he smirks at me. “Everyone is with their family on Thanksgiving.”
“And why aren’t you with yours?” I shoot back at him.
“My sister lives out of state, and my parents and I had Thanksgiving lunch. Why aren’t you with yours?”
“My mother’s a nightmare,” I respond before taking a healthy sip of my drink. The crisp taste of apples washes over my tongue. He waits patiently for me to elaborate. I rest my hip against the pool table and sigh. “Whenever I visit home, she always tries to set me up with her friends’ sons.”
His fist clenches, and a little thrill zips down my spine at his reaction. He seems jealous. “And that bothers you?” he asks, controlling his features into something neutral.
“Would it bother you?”
“I’m a little old for my mother to be setting me up on dates.”
“So am I.”
He sips his beer before continuing. “So, the date didn’t go well, and you drove across the state? Was it really that bad?”
“I hid in the bathroom and called Sam for part of the day,” I say by way of explanation.
“Was Sam any help?”
“No.”
“And driving across the state and going to a bar alone helps?”
“Thus far? Also, no,” I say, giving him a pointed look.
“What’s the real reason you’re so upset about your mother trying to set you up?” he asks, a small smile playing along the edges of his lips.
