And I've got a girl called Monica chewing my ear off about the color of her new car and how it matches her panties.
I'm trying so hard to look interested. She's pretty. Brown hair, nice smile, freckles across her nose. She seems really nice. She was raised here in New Falls and works at the vet clinic on Fourth Street. She's the kind of girl my mom would have approved of.
But she ain't it. My dick is not interested in partaking in this conversation.
I take a deep breath.
"So, what do you say?" she asks, tilting her head.
I blink at her, trying to recall what the fuck she said just before.
"Uh. Yeah?"
Her eyes light up. She bites her lip. Oh shit. Wrong answer.
I finish the rest of my water. I decided if I’m doing this, I need to be sober and be able to drive home. I haven’t had a drink since I got here. Her hand lands on my thigh, and it takes everything in me not to flinch.
She leans in. Her floral perfume almost chokes me. Too sweet. Too sharp. Not coconut. Not vanilla. Not her.
"Your place or mine?" she purrs.
I clear my throat and set my bottle back on the table. Shove my hand in my pocket, searching for my phone. I need a rescue mission. Immediately.
Fuck. It's not there.
What if Harper called? What if she?—
No. No. This isn't why I'm here. I can't keep letting her have this voodoo hold over me from hundreds of miles away.
"My place," I tell her, pulling back.
It's just sex. One night. It's not like I'm marrying her.
"I just need to find my cell. I'll be right back."
She blows me a kiss as I head to the bar, finding Hunter nursing a whiskey and watching me.
"Seems to be going well," he says, arms crossed.
"Yeah. I guess it is."
Hunter chuckles. "You got a condom?"
"Just one?" I joke.
But then I frown. I don't know. I never used one with Harper. Never needed to. It was always just us. Just trust. And her birth control.
"Ace, what's the matter?"
I rub my stubble. "Never used one with Harper. Might need to borrow one."
Hunter bursts out laughing. "You've seen how pregnant Lola is. You think I own any?"
"Shit," I hiss.
He slaps his hand on my shoulder.
"Is this where we have a chat about the birds and the bees, bro?"
