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“Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay.”
I pulled my mouth away from hers. Shuffling through my back pocket to find another bill, I put my arm around Maria’s waist and escorted her out of the bar.
CHAPTER TWO
My mother always told me, “When you have two things you’re trying to decide between, pick the one you know you’ll regret if you don’t.”
That was the only reason I threw caution to the wind and left the bar with the tall handsome stranger who introduced himself as Drew. Because I knew I’d always wonder, for the rest of my life, what would have happened the night I saidnoto the quiet man with the gorgeous face and the deep, gruff voice.
I’d heard Brandon’s laugh from the other side of the room and found him sitting with some of the girls from our group. Tearing my eyes away from the boy who had led me on, Ifocused on Drew instead. He stared up at the TV in front of him, a frown on his chiseled features. Thick straight eyebrows framed his dark, glittering eyes, looking irritated. His nose and cheekbones looked like they were carved out of stone. His skin was a beautiful light brown that seemed to glow, and he wore a ball cap that covered his hair. Dark jeans clung to his well-defined backside, and he wore a black button-down shirt with a tree embroidered on the breast pocket that looked like it had seen better days. Through his shirt, I could see the broadness of his shoulders and the toned muscles of his arms and chest.
When he fixed his eyes on me and sauntered my way, all rational thought left my mind. And now, Drew and I were in a parking lot outside the bar by his truck, and he was offering me his hand.
I hesitated for a split second. I didn’t know this guy. He was clearly older than me, stronger than me, and could be taking me anywhere.
“I’ll walk you back to your hotel if you’d rather not get in the car, Sugar.”
Will I regret it?No, my gut told me I’d regret walking away right now. I shook my head and took his hand, and he helped me up.
I expected him to flirt with me in the car, but instead, we made small-talk that was surprisingly not awkward.
“What are you studying?” he asked.
“Communications. Are you a student?”
“No.” He laughed once. “I own a construction company in Cherokee, North Carolina. Just here to pick up some new skills before I take ‘em back home.”
“Are you Cherokee?”
“Yes ma’am. Grew up on the Res.” He took his ball cap off, and a long black braid tumbled out from under it. His hair was longer than mine, and was shiny and slick.
“Oh. Wow. I’ve never been to North Carolina… but I did a research project in high school about the Appalachian Trail and its influence on current Native American art. It’s what got me my scholarship at school.”
“Pretty and smart… You should visit sometime.”
“Yeah… maybe I will.”
“How old are you? I should have asked that first…”
“I’m nineteen.”
He let out a sigh. “You’re just a baby,” he muttered.
“I am not a baby.”
“You areabsolutelya baby,” his voice was gruff. It made me shiver.
“How old are you?” I countered.
“Be thirty next month.”
Oh, if my mother could see me now. In the car with a man ten years my senior, planning to let him dowho-knows-whatto me.
We arrived at a run-down Holiday Inn at the edge of town. It was a far cry from the hotel at the convention center, but I didn’t care. My hands were sweaty and I tried not to fidget. Butterflies danced in my belly. I’d hooked up before, but something about Drew felt like more than a casual hookup. He wasn’t a cute frat boy or another student.
Drew parked and hopped out of the car, walking briskly to the other side to help me out. He held me by the waist and lifted me down like I barely weighed a thing, and I laughed. Placing a finger under my chin, he tilted my face up.
