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Her eyes flitted around the bar area before returning to his face. “Where are your buddies tonight? Not here, obviously.”
“Hard to say. Home with their girlfriends, wives and kids, most likely. Except for one jerk who’s probably busy fucking a Fleshlight because no living human would want him.”
“Ouch, harsh.”
“Harsh but true.” He shrugged. “My baby sister had her engagement dinner here earlier, otherwise I’d be home too.”
“With your girlfriend or wife and kids?”
“With my cat.” Mason crossed his arms on the bar, keeping his eyes locked with hers as he leaned into her space. “That’s the only pussy waiting for me at home. Or anywhere.”
“That’s unfortunate.” She picked up her wine, obviously trying to hide her smile behind the glass.
“I agree.”
“It’s early. You may get lucky yet.”
He angled on his stool and slid closer. “Tell me this is inside information, not a random pep talk.” No answer from Andie, who kept sipping her drink. But she’d definitely relaxed. She didn’t seem pissed at him anymore, either. He’d take it. Take it and run with it. “You look beautiful tonight. Again.”
“It’s nice to know some men have low standards.”
“Some do. I don’t.”
“I’m not dressed to impress.” She fidgeted on her stool, smoothing invisible wrinkles from her clothes before moving on to tuck a wisp of loose hair behind her ear. “And this stupid clip thingy is barely holding my hair up.” Her long, delicate fingers touched her mouth. “I don’t even have lipstick on.”
Some women said things like that to encourage compliments. He didn’t get that vibe from Andie—the way she downplayed her attributes seemed legit. Not like she lacked self-confidence, that wasn’t it. She simply didn’t realize how fucking gorgeous and sexy she was without all the prep and plasticity of other women. An effortless beauty.
“Your naked lips remind me of last night, and that t-shirt is lethal sexy. As for your hair…” He fingered some of the escaped strands at the back of her neck. She shivered, and he smiled. “I like it this way, up, off your neck, with these wavy bits hanging down. I also like how easy it would be for me to grab that clip and let your hair loose, so I could feel it wrapped around my fingers.”
The tip of her talented tongue slid across her bottom lip, making his cock twitch. She jumped when her phone vibrated on the bar, scooped it up, read the text and scowled while combing the crowd. So much for their promising moment.
“Problem?”
“I just got stood up.”
Well, fuck him. He’d been warming her up for somebody else. No wonder she’d avoided making eye contact until forced.
“This is your fault,” she said while clicking a message into her phone.
“Consider this my apology.” He slapped cash on the bar, stood and walked out. No looking back.
ANDIE
Andie’s head snapped up at Mason’s abrupt departure. He weaved through the tables without a backward glance, disappearing through the front doors. That left her alone, confused, and more than a little worked up.
“You shut him down good,” a male voice said from behind her. Its owner took over Mason’s stool and gave her a thorough look-over. “His loss is my opportunity.”
Gross. Not a lot of men successfully pulled off lines like that. Mason could—this guy, not so much. Around her age, nicely dressed and not altogether unattractive, he did zero for her. Clearly, he had no clue. He kept smiling, or rather leering, his eyes working a circuit between her mouth and her boobs. Mason’s comment about her t-shirt echoed in her head. Too bad she hadn’t brought a sweater.
“What’s your name, baby?”
“Ida.” She gave one of her coldest faces. “Ida rather have a root canal than tell you my name.Baby.” Juvenile, yes, but it had the desired effect.
“Bitch.” He slid off the seat and slunk away.
The bartender laughed as he wiped the bar in front of her. “Nice. That jerk’s here every weekend, harassing the pretty ladies. Nobody ever gets rid of him that easily.”
“I’d say thanks, but that makes me sound like a bigger bitch. Which I’m really not.” Why did she feel the need to explain herself to a total stranger? Because she was a wound-up, messed-up wreck, that’s why. “Him, I meant to get rid of. The first guy I scared off was unintentional.”
