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We sat down, and I noticed that the two guys at the next table were leering at Brooke, who seemed oblivious to it all.
“What am I going to do with you, Brooke?”
“What do you mean?”
“Every man here wants to hit on you.”
She waved her hand. “No, they don’t.”
“Every man,” I repeated. Me included. She cast her gaze down, playing with her hands, and I thought I saw a tinge of pink in her cheeks.
We ordered drinks, and the show began almost as soon as the waiter brought our cocktails.
Stand-up comedians could be hit or miss. Half an hour into the show, this turned out to be such a miss that I wondered if we’d accidentally walked into a rehearsal. I glanced at Brooke from time to time, searching for signals that she was just as bored, but her gaze was glued to the stage. I’d almost resigned myself to two hours of hellish boredom when Brooke leaned over the small table. I immediately leaned in too.
“Jace... I hope I’m not offending you, but this is terrible.”
“Thank fuck. I thought I was the only one so bored I wanted to burst my eardrums so I couldn’t hear him. How about we get out of here?”
“Excellent idea.”
The room was semidark as we made our way out. A few viewers huffed with annoyance because we obstructed their view. I slung my arm around Brooke’s waist, leading her through the room.
She started laughing the second we were out on the street.
“Oh, that was so bad,” she said. “So. So bad.”
“Awful. And I thought you liked it. Was mentally preparing myself to sit through two hours of torture.”
Brooke tilted her head. “You really would have done that if I’d liked it? Awww... you really are a good friend.”
No, I wasn’t. I was the worst. I moved my arm from her waist to her shoulders, squeezing them lightly. She shivered despite the warm mid-August evening. I pulled her even closer, speaking against her temple.
“Let’s do something else, Brooke. I don’t want this evening to end so fast.”
“Me neither. Hmm... I think we need to watch something good to wash this crap out of our brain.”
“We could go to a movie, but I don’t know what’s playing.”
“I do. Looked over the new releases yesterday. Nothing stood out to me. Hey, I have an idea. Let’s go to my place. We can watch something on Netflix, or one of my DVDs, and I can make us popcorn.”
I wanted to spend time with Brooke more than anything else, but if we were alone... I wasn’t strong enough not to make a move on her.
She was too alluring. Even now, I was fighting with all I had against the urge to cup her cheek and tilt her head just right so I had access to her mouth. I’d pulled her too close, but I’d be damned if I wanted to let go. She watched me with wide, happy eyes. I just couldn’t say no.
“Love that idea. Where do you live?”
“A quiet residential area up north. My neighbors are super nice. Most of them are a little old and like to poke their nose in my business.”
“What are your nice neighbors gonna say when you come home with a man?”
She looked up from the screen of her phone. “They’re gonna think I have great taste in men.”
Brooke’s apartment was an explosion of color. Mismatched furniture gave the place a cozy, lived-in feeling, as did the pictures hanging everywhere.
I laughed, pointing at one picture where she was with another woman—her sister, presumably. Brooke was wearing an eye-mask, and the other woman held a cartoon mustache above her upper lip.
“I have a similar picture with Hailey and Lori.”
