AllFreeNovel
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“Hot bartender!” Louise, a sorority sister, yells, interrupting us. “I need shots and then more shots after that. You ever heard of Buttery Nipples?”
I stifle a laugh and shoot Louise a dirty look.This is so not a Buttery Nipple place, Louise.
“Heard of them? Yes. Made them? Fuck no,” Maliki replies.
“Body shots then?” Louise fires back with a pout of her lower lip. “I promise to let you do one off me.”
Hell no. Not on my watch.
Chick isn’t coming anywhere nearmyMaliki.
I shove Louise’s shoulder. “Go away. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
“What?” she draws out in a whiny voice. “Dude is hot.” She clicks her tongue and points to him while backing away. “Buttery Nipples!”
Maliki shakes his head, clearly not offended. He’s probably used to attention like this.
He sweeps his gaze over me, inching forward and settling his palms on the bar in front of me. “What can I get you, birthday girl?”
“Surprise me,butdon’t make it a Buttery Nipple.”
“I’ll make you something better than that or anything you’ve ever had.” He smirks, pushes himself back, and turns on his heel.
“Seriously—I’ll say it louder for the sorority girls in the back—you two have a thing for each other,” Ellie says next to me.
I didn’t even notice her presence. Call it the Maliki Effect. Everything around me fades away when he’s around.
“Whatever,” I mutter, rolling my eyes.
She clips her black strands behind her ear. “Ask him to take you to the office you’ve hung out in so many times. Tell him how excited you’ve been to see him like you’ve told meall fucking monthlong.”
“I was excited to turn twenty-one and finally show him up.”
“Yeah, okay,” she replies sarcastically, bumping her hip against mine. “I won’t interrupt your flirt-fest, and if any of these sorority girls try to sink their claws in him, I’ll trip a bitch. Get your flirt on, girlfriend.”
With that, she walks away.
Ellie attends Iowa State with me but called me batshit crazy when I suggested she join my sorority. Joining was a requirement for me. Luckily for her, her parents are more easy going than mine and not obsessed with their image.
I glance back to Maliki.
He pops a black straw into a glass, adds an orange slice garnish, and drops it in front of me. “Legal looks good on you, Princess.”
The short red dress and strappy nude heels I’m wearing don’t fit into the relaxed atmosphere, but I don’t care. I wanted to look sexy tonight …for him.
I tap my nails against the beat-up bar. “I warned you I’d come on my twenty-first. It was necessary for me to fulfill that promiseandthrow it in your face.”
“I thought you’d come back to rob me of condoms again.” He tilts his head to the side and studies me. “We’ve never shared a conversation this calm here.”
I laugh. “I know! I might find out you’re as fun as people say.”
He stands taller and slightly parts his lips. “Oh, trust me, I’m plenty of fun.”
“Nothing I’ve received from you screams fun, so that needs to be proven to me.” I stir my drink, take a sip, and moan when pulling away. “Holy shit. This is delicious. What’s in it?”
He raises his chin. “None of your business.”
“You can’tnottell me what’s in my drink. Isn’t that against bartender code of conduct?”
