“Kinda.” I nodded. “You?”
“I just came for a drink. By myself.” He smiled again. “It’s been a long week.”
“Work?” I asked him.
“Yeah.” He nodded and fake shuddered. “I’m an attorney and I’ve been in the middle of the most tedious document reviews for the last two weeks.”
“Sounds painful.”
“It was. My night is looking up now, though,” he said, his eyes twinkling as he looked at me. “Would you like a drink?”
“Oh, my friend went to get me a drink,” I said and looked toward the bar to see if I could see Parker. I felt weird saying he was my friend, but what else could I say?The man I love who doesn’t care about me? No way.
“Oh, okay.” He nodded and his expression became thoughtful. “My name is Tom, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Tom. I’m Lara.”
“Lara,” he said with a grin and then held his hand out.
“Something amusing about my name?” I asked curiously as I shook his hand.
“My sister’s favorite doll when she was growing up was called Lara,” he said with a smile.
“Oh.”
“I have fond memories of the name.” He laughed. “She used to make me play house and I was Lara’s favorite uncle.”
“Well, that’s good, then.” I laughed. “I can’t say I have any similar stories about Toms, though I loved watching theTom Sawyermovie when I was younger.”
“Aww, I haven’t seen it. I’ll have to check it out,” he said and then he took a step closer to me. “So, what do you say about getting out of here?”
“Getting out of here?” I swallowed quickly. Tom had gone from zero to a hundred in less than ten seconds.
“Yeah, maybe we could go grab a bite and talk?” He leaned over and whispered in my ear. “And maybe we could have some play time.” I felt his hand on the small of my back and I froze. Damn! He was smooth and I had totally not expected the immediate come-on. He’d seemed so sweet and nice in the two minutes we’d been talking.
“Um, I, um...” I stuttered, not knowing what to say as I felt him tapping my ass. “Hey,” I said as I jumped slightly.
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” He grinned. “You have a nice ass.”
“Uh, thanks,” I said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
“So, what do you say to maybe going back to my place?” he said with a wink and a quick lick of his lips.
“Hey, what’s going on here?” Parker arrived back then with our drinks, and I could have thrown my arms around him.
“Can I help you?” Tom looked over at Parker with a frown.
“I’m wondering if I can help you?” Parker’s face was unreadable as he stood there. “Lara, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I nodded, not really sure what to say.
“Oh, this is your friend?” Tom looked at Parker and then back at me. “If he’s looking for a gay bar, this isn’t the place, but maybe when we head to my place, we can drop him off at Out of the Closet. It’s a hot spot for men.”
“Excuse me?” Parker’s voice was deep and I knew he was pissed.
“Oh, sorry, you’re not gay?” Tom said with a shrug and I felt his hand on my back again. “Want to dance before we leave?”
“Leave?” Parker’s voice was louder and angrier as he stared now directly at me. “What’s going on, Lara?”
