AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"We can take her there tomorrow,” Danny suggested. “They definitely don't have milk and cookies there.”
We walked into the restaurant, and the guys garnered stares like they had everywhere we had been so far. But this time I was getting stares as well. Some of the women looked jealous. I realize how this looked, me tucked between two ridiculously hot guys. Anyone would think I was a lucky girl.
Dinner was amazing. I'd only been to Cheesecake Factory once a long time ago so I couldn't really compare the two, but the chicken dish I ordered and the cheesecake that followed were both really good. As we walked out Danny was practically jumping in place. "Where we going next?" he asked.
I looked at him in shock. "Um, to sleep?"
Danny just laughed at me and Max shook his head, that smirk he always had on his face. "You really don't know us well if you think we are going to sleep at eight pm," Danny said. He took his phone out of his pocket and started to fiddle with it. "Aha," he said delightedly. "A karaoke bar. We're going there next.”
“But..." I started to protest, thinking of just how out of place I would be in a karaoke bar of all places. I had never been able to sing. The guys would not want anything to do with me if they saw me singing.
"Well that settles it, we're going," Max ordered. I stared at him incredulously. I somehow couldn't imagine him at a karaoke bar either.
He seemed so serious.
"You can't deny me a karaoke bar," begged Danny, reminding me of a dog who wanted a treat. I couldn't say no to him.
"Guess we’re going," I answered with a reluctant shrug.
A cold breeze swished past, and it felt like it was -30°. I’d die out here.
We all headed toward the bar when my phone chimed with a message. I grabbed it from my pocket and glanced at what it said.
It was Todd. I cringed as I read his message.
Heard you were stuck in Chicago. Where are you staying?
I was not about to tell him. I knew he went to a state school somewhere in Illinois and I was not going to risk him somehow showing up if he hadn’t been able to make it to NYC either. My break from reality included a break from dealing with him.
I stuffed the phone back into my pocket and joined the guys who waited for me outside of the Uber that had just showed up. Yep, I was going to have fun, and nothing would ruin that for me.
Naughty List #4: Embarrass Myself In Public
Goosebumps were erupting all over my skin as we sat in the Uber. I was in the middle, sandwiched between two guys who were more attractive than anyone I've ever seen. I had gotten somewhat used to Danny's penchant for being all up in my space, but Max seemed to be purposely sitting as close to me as possible as well.
I couldn't deny that I liked it.
We pulled up to a karaoke bar that apparently was very popular considering the line that wrapped down the street in front of it. I didn't know if that was usual for a karaoke bar since I had never been to one, I really hadn’t been to many bars at all now that I thought about it.
When we got out, I started to head towards the end of the line, but Max took my hand in his and marched us up to the front of the line.
"The end of the line is that way," the bouncer drawled in a bored voice as he put his stamp on a girl who was wearing very little considering the fact that it was many degrees below freezing right now.
Max reached into his wallet and cleared his throat, getting the bouncer's attention since we hadn’t moved yet. He pulled out a few hundreds and slipped it to the bouncer who immediately let us in despite the protests of the people in line.
My mouth dropped in shock.
Had he really just dropped a few hundred dollars to get us into a karaoke bar? I couldn't fathom being that free with money. We had never been poor, just comfortable. Living in New York City where everything cost a million times more than everywhere else had always kept us on a strict budget. Especially now that my father had married a woman who didn’t know the meaning of a budget, nevertheless a strict budget, the money that my dad sent for expenses in college was slimmer than ever. I had gotten jobs on campus to make ends meet, but I still couldn't imagine doing what Max had just done.
"Your mouth is going to get stuck like that," Danny chided as he tapped my chin gently to close my mouth, sending goosebumps down my neck.
I opened my mouth to say something, but Danny shook his head. "Just have fun," he told me quietly, making sure that his voice was out of listening range of Max who was going to the bar to get us drinks. "He just wants to show you a good time."
"You don’t have to spend money on me for that," I said. "We just met."
"Max likes to take care of people, you just need to let him. He gets that from his dad, I guess," Danny explained. He paused for a moment as he seemed to search for what he wanted to say. "Think of it as his… love language if you will,” he continued.
The word “love” made my stomach feel funny. I pushed the word quickly out of my head. I had no business even thinking about a word like that after knowing these guys for one day. I refused to admit to myself that they were the kind of guys who you could love though.
