“He’s already written me off.” I rolled my eyes.
“We don’t know that. Just give him a chance. No matter how many awesome guys you meet who want to sweep you off of your feet. There could be many other reasons why Parker went funnythe other night. You know guys are weird, and my brother is the weirdest of them all. He probably doesn’t even know what he wants. Maybe he’s just trying to figure out what he’s doing and what he wants.”
“Mila, let’s just go.” I groaned. “This is making me more depressed. I don’t even want to think about it anymore. I just want to forget him.”
“Fine, but to another bar, okay? Let’s just try one more.”
“Fine.” I sighed loudly and looked around me. “I doubt it could be worse than this.” We stood up and I did a little shimmy as we walked out. As we reached the door, I turned back around and saw the bartender and the two older guys staring at me. I did a pirouette and then raised my hands in the air. “Peace out, y’all,” I shouted into the bar and then exited, Mila following behind me and shaking her head as she laughed.
Chapter 11
Parker
“So then theyasked me if I wanted to be lead, and of course I said yes.” Louisa batted her long fake eyelashes at me and I smiled and nodded as she continued to talk about her dance roles.
“Interesting,” I said as I sipped my beer, my mind wandering to Lara. I looked down at my watch. It was 8 p.m. and I’d only been on this date for thirty minutes, but I was already bored out of my mind and wondering what Lara was up to. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since the other night. The taste of her skin against my lips had been sweet, mesmerizing, and intoxicating. I could still remember the way her back had arched as I’d teased and tantalized her breasts. My entire body had felt like it was on fire as we’d kissed and touched each other. It had been an amazing moment and I’d ruined it. Not because I hadn’t wanted to take her. Every inch of me had wanted to be inside her. Every inch of me had wanted to please her, to take her to heights that would have her screaming out my name. I’d wantedto feel her nails digging into my back until they punctured the skin, to feel her whipping her hair across my skin and face as she gyrated on top of me. I’d wanted to consume her so that her whole body would never want another man—which had scared me, and that was when I’d stopped. Drunken hookups were fine. I had no problem with casual sex, but something about my thoughts when I was playing with Lara had made me hesitant.
“I’m also very flexible.” Louisa’s voice interrupted my thoughts and I looked up at her as she smiled at me in a sexy way with her bright red, vixen lips.
“Oh, really?” I nodded at her and tried to show enthusiasm at her obvious flirting. Louisa was beautiful and fit, probably better looking than her online photos, but I just couldn’t seem to drum up excitement about our date.
“Flexible is good,” I said eventually. “I’m not so flexible.”
“Only one of us needs to be.” She giggled. “I’m flexible enough for both of us.”
“Good to know.” I smiled at her and watched as her bright red fingernails tapped across the tabletop. “Would you like to get another glass of wine?” I asked her, though I really didn’t care if she said yes or no. I wanted to text Lara and see if she wanted to watch a movie or something, but I knew that would be a mistake. I didn’t want to lead her on or take advantage of her. And it irritated me that I was thinking of her while on this date with Louisa.
“Sure,” she said and leaned toward me. “We can have another glass here and then maybe head back to my place.”
“Sure,” I said with a grin. I still had it! “Waiter,” I said, calling him over. “A glass of Zinfandel and a Blue Moon, please.”
“Yes, sir.” He nodded and walked away.
“So tell me more about you, Louisa. Any surprising stories?”
“Hmm, naughty or nice?” she said with a wink, and I knew in that instant she was mine for the taking if I wanted her. Which Iwasn’t quite sure I did. And frankly, this annoyed me. She was a beautiful girl and I never said no to a beautiful woman. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and immediately my mind went to Lara. Was she texting me? I looked up and saw that Louisa was still talking to me, but all I could think about was the text. I knew that the probability of the text being from Lara was slim, but I wondered if she was thinking of me at the same time that I was thinking of her.
“Excuse me a second,” I apologized to Louisa and I grabbed my phone out of my pocket. “I’m expecting an important message and I just need to check my phone. I hope you don’t think I’m being horribly rude.”
“Go ahead.” Louisa nodded and batted her eyelashes again.
“Thanks.” I grabbed my phone quickly from my pocket and checked the screen. I felt disappointed when I saw that the text was from my friend, John. I didn’t even bother opening the full message before turning my phone off and putting it back in my pocket. “Sorry about that.”
“Was it the message you were waiting on?” Louisa asked me curiously, and I shook my head.
“It can wait,” I said and leaned forward. “I don’t want to be rude.” I grabbed her hand and smiled at her, giving her my lopsided grin that seemed to make women swoon.
“Oh, no worries.” She shrugged. “At least neither one of us had to pull the ‘my friend just had a heart attack and I have to leave’ stunt.”
“What stunt is that?” I asked her, not sure what she was talking about.
“How many people have you met online?” she asked with a laugh. “So many guys and girls have fake or old photos or completely lie about themselves. I’ve had so many deaths and heart attacks occur on dates that I’m scared someone I know really will die.”
“So a lot of bad dates, then?”
“You’re the best one yet,” she said, and her fingers squeezed mine. “When I saw you walk in, I thought I’d won the lottery.”
“Oh?”
