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Vandy’s mom, Dr. Sonal Patel, would have been unbelievably embarrassed if Vandy had ever pulled something like that. However, since he called her pretty, she might reconsider. “I don’t need to pretend. It’s my real birthday.”
“Here’s my present, birthday girl. Don’t forget to pour for each other,” Royce offered gallantly and moved to leave with his cup.
“Stay.” Anna stopped him. She pointed to the chair next to Vandy. “You paid for it. You should at least try it. Teach her how it’s done. It is her first time.”
Vandy flashed a scowl at Anna. They’d gone to high school in Charlottesville together but ended up at different colleges. She wore a little green dress that nearly violated Beyonce’s rules, and she had more than a little mischief behind her smile.
“Can’t refuse that.” Royce sat down, and his gaze dropped when his leg brushed Vandy’s.
His eyes flashed with something Vandy didn’t quite recognize. She burned too hot and too cold at the same time. Part of her brain urged her to drape her knee over his.
Which she did not obey.
They both reached for the bottle at the same time, and his fingers covered hers.
Calluses. This man worked for a living. What did he do, with his tribal tattoos peeking out of his cuffs and twisting up his wrist?
He didn’t move his hand right away and caressed the top of hers with his thumb.
She’d thought trying out college guys had taught her about lust and passion. This didn’t even compare. He wasn’t a boy who stayed up reading Fundamentals of Microeconomics and whined about his stock portfolio.
Royce poured the three of them glasses and passed the bottle back to her. She remembered not to stare at his lips and poured his cup.
She picked up her glass and said, “Bottoms up.”
He put a hand on her wrist to stop her. “No. Sake is meant to be sipped. It’s not a shot. And it’s stronger than wine, so unless you want it to knock you on your cute little birthday girl ass, sip it.”
She nervously licked her lips and took back everything she thought before. She was totally staring at his lips. His behavior wasn’t any better because his hand released her after a solid ten seconds while he stared back.
After taking a sip of the sake, which tasted relatively sweet, she found her tongue. “So, do you live around here?”
“Cleveland born and bred,” he said. “You ladies?”
“Anna and I go to Case. She’s visiting from University of Chicago,” Tara said.
“Chicago?”
“Yeah. I’m an accounting student.” Vandy tried to sip her sake again without slurping.
“I was kind of surprised she got a whole week off to visit me. She took classes the past two summers, and she’s an intern at KPMG,” Anna added.
Vandy would have kicked her for making her sound boring if her knee hadn’t bumped into Royce’s.
“What do you do?” Tara asked at the same time Anna said, “What are you doing here tonight?”
“Hanging out with friends from work.” Royce set his cup down and aimed his next words at Vandy. “Would you like to dance with me?”
She must of have heard that wrong. He wanted to dance with her?
Vandy didn’t move until Anna nudged her with a foot under the table, missing Royce’s leg completely. “She’d love to dance.”
Unable to think in sentences, Vandy tried to wiggle off the chair without losing her skirt. Royce helped her up with his hands gripping her hips. She froze for a second as he headed to the dance floor without checking on her.
Probably because normal girls didn’t turn into mumbling zombies.
Anna, who had been her best friend in high school, shoved her in the direction of the dance floor. “He’s into you. Go get it!”
Successfully not tripping over her three-inch strappy heels, Vandy made it to the dance floor.
