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“I just got out of a seven-year relationship, and I’m not interested in flirting tonight.”
“Yeah, me too, that’s why I came over.” The angel tilted her head at him and then held out her hand in front of her. “I’m Leigh.”
Manners insisted he take her hand and shake it, and as their fingers touched, their eyes met. Both of them were pretty hazel colors, but one was hazel brown and the other was hazel green. It wouldn’t be noticeable from a distance, but up close, it was impossible to miss. His eyes swept up to her hair, a natural brown streaked with blonde, piled up onto her head. It looked like there was a lot of it.
His brain finally clicked all the information into place.
“Angel’s Leigh?”
A wide smile parted her lips as she shook his hand with a strong but feminine grip, and then let it drop. “That’s me. You’re Jared, right?”
“Yeah.” He studied her as she moved to stand next to him, leaning against the wall - carefully, in deference to the wings she was wearing.
Everyone in his group of friends talked about her. Pretty, friendly, possibly submissive according to some of them, and also recently out of a nearly seven-year relationship. Funny how that worked.
“Anyone ever tell you that you kind of look like Taye Diggs, but a lot bigger?” she asked, looking up at him. She came up to just above his shoulder. Since her heels weren’t that high, he figured she’d just barely reach his shoulder without them. A nice height, since he didn’t have to bend his head too far to look back at her. She had the same body type as Marissa, slim up top with a generous bottom and hips. He had to admit, it was his preferred body type. There was just something nice about a woman who was nicely padded on the bottom, and he liked the contrast of a slimmer top. Breast size had never mattered much to him, although he could tell Leigh wasn’t nearly as well-endowed in the chest region as she was below the waist. She really was gorgeous. He’d heard the story of her break-up. What the hell had her ex been thinking? The man was either a complete idiot or blind.
“No,” he said, trying to remember who Taye Diggs was.
“Oo, talkative, I like that in a man.”
“I thought you said you weren’t looking to flirt,” he said mildly, although for some reason he didn’t really mind. She didn’t seem intent on flirting. That was the difference. It was teasing, but without the feel of an agenda.
“If all you’re going to give me is one word answers, how else am I supposed to fill my time?” she asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Jared found himself relaxing even further as he smiled back.
There was something breathtakingly honest about her, it was refreshing. She wasn’t trying to start something with him, he realized, she just felt safe. Her body language was much more relaxed now too, far more so than it had been when she’d been talking to the Doms that had approached her. Because he’d immediately declared he wasn’t interested, she knew it was okay to tease and flirt... no one was going to take it seriously.
For the first time, Jared started to think he might actually have some fun tonight.
“Oh my god... would you look at that? He’s smiling,” Jessica said, sounding slightly awed as she nudged Angel with her elbow and gripped Hilary’s arm with her other hand. Immediately, all of them looked to where she was.
Standing out, stark against the dark wall in all white, was Leigh. Next to her was Jared, looking down at her, talking, and - yes - actually smiling.
“Oh no...” said Lexie, sounding incredibly disappointed. “She’s supposed to be talking to Jake!”
“What’s wrong with Jared?” Maria asked, frowning at the younger woman.
“He’s still hung up on Marissa,” Angel said in a tight voice, cutting off whatever Lexie might have answered. “Leigh needs someone who will put her first, not a guy that’s still involved with his ex. They’re not flirting, are they?”
“Jared and Marissa broke up like two months ago,” Hilary put in, although she looked a bit worried too now, as she shot a look over at them.
“Yeah, and he totally acts like he’s over her,” Angel said sarcastically. She looked around the circle of women. “We’re thrilled he’s smiling. Does that sound like a guy who’s over his ex?”
“Well it’s not like Leigh’s completely over her ex either,” Jessica pointed out, grabbing Angel’s arm before she could desert them and go over to interrupt Jared and Leigh’s conversation to make sure Jared wasn’t flirting with Leigh. She grinned. “Look, she’s smiling too! And laughing!”
Angel hesitated, obviously a bit torn about whether she needed to go protect her friend or give her the space to have some fun. Although Leigh had tried to put herself out there and date, she hadn’t seemed very enthusiastic about talking to any members of the opposite sex. Seeing her laughing and joking with someone she’d just met…
“Jared might be good for her,” Maria pointed out. “He’ll get where she’s coming from a lot better than most men could.”
“Yeah, I don’t care if they’re friends, as long as he’s not trying to rebound with her, you know?” Angel said, still looking like she wanted to go over so she could personally watch over Leigh.
“I’d be more worried about the other Doms,” Hilary said, with a little giggle. “Have you noticed how many of them have approached her tonight?”
Lexie muttered something uninterpretable under her breath before sighing loudly. “Okay, maybe this isn’t so bad. Jared can keep the other Doms off of her, so Jake still has a chance.”
“I like Jake,” Angel said, slowly, glancing over at Lexie’s brother, who was chatting and laughing with Andrew and Chris. Tall, dark and handsome with those gorgeous blue eyes and the obvious bearing of a military man, there were a lot of submissives staring longingly at him. Too bad, all of the gang knew Jake wasn’t really interested in BDSM, for all that he was definitely an alpha male. Angel grinned suddenly. “As long as he’s looking to treat a woman like a goddess, that’s fine.”
“So you don’t like Jared?” Jessica teased, looking between her and Lexie. “Poor Jared.”
“I like Jared!” Lexie protested. “I’m just saying, I like the idea of Jake and Leigh!”
“If Jared wasn’t still hung up on his ex, I’d be all about Jared and Leigh,” Angel said, right on top of Lexie’s protests. “But since he is… they’d make good friends, I think. But Leigh is not rebound material, dammit.”
Having stayed silent during the brief discussion, Olivia now made a ruling, her gaze thoughtful as she watched the chatting couple across the room. “They both need someone who understands what they’re going through, and none of us really do. None of us have had a similar enough experience to relate. If they become friends, that’ll be a good thing. We should leave them alone for now. I don’t want to accidentally cause either of them to crawl back into their shell.”
The small group watched, speculating, as Leigh and Jared both laughed together on the other side of the room.
