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Lee was another one of Dereck’s friends who had no trouble in the female department. With the combination of blonde hair, blue eyes, and a well-built body, they were practically lining up to date him.
“Is my relation going to be the focus of tonight’s jokes?” Dereck sighed.
The men looked around the table at each other, then said in unison, “Yes.”
“Un-freaking-believable,” Dereck blurted. “And to think I gave up a night of sex for this?”
Dereck wasn’t sure that his night would have been filled with sex. In fact, it might not have been an option since he and Alina had so much to talk about. They had yet to discuss his potential new job and the move, but Alina had invited him to dinner, which meant she was not furious with him anymore. She was also very understanding on the phone when he called to cancel their dinner. However, Dereck was not about to tell his friends that if he wasn’t out with them, he probably would have been being screamed at. His friends didn’t need to know all his relationship turmoil.
“Well, we certainly didn’t,” Martin blurted. “In fact, I have my eyes on a woman who would make a fine nighttime companion.”
“Don’t you ever get tired of sleeping with random women all the time?”
Dereck directed the question to Martin, but both he and Lee gave a unanimous, “No.”
Then Lee asked with a twisted smile. “Don’t you get tired of having sex with the same woman all the time?”
Dereck stared back at piercing eyes. Martin was waiting on the answer he was sure would come and Lee was just looking smug.
“Sex with Alina is never boring,” Dereck said with a certain smugness.
“Okay, alright. Enough about women,” Lee silenced his rowdy friends. “We’re here to celebrate our friend’s big promotion.” Then he raised a filled glass. “Martin, congratulations. I hope you make plenty of money to buy us more beer.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Martin said quickly, knocking his mug and spilling it all over his hand. He cursed. Not because of his soiled hand, but the wasted beer.
Dereck was about to add his glass to the toast when he heard a soft feminine voice. “Is there room for one more at this table?”
Dereck turned around to gaze at the slender woman with sultry lips that had the rest of the men at his table ogling.
“Amanda?” Dereck’s eyes widened at her.
Amanda dropped her hip to one side. “Why do you sound surprised every time you see me?”
Dereck’s words were caught in his throat. Amanda looked even more attractive now in a long sleeve crop top and skin-tight leather pants. She wore leopard print heels with straps to the front. On her stomach, just to the left of her navel, was inked artwork of a flower in bloom. It was vibrant and very feminine, almost like the scent that followed her.
“Dereck, where are your manners?” Martin interjected. “For you, we will always make room.”
Then suddenly there was an empty chair beside Amanda. Dereck didn’t even know which one of his friends had retrieved it.
“So Amanda, how do you know Dereck here?” Lee, who was normally composed in the presence of women, was also fawning over the slender woman.
“Dereck and I work in the same department,” she said, crossing her legs while sitting upright. Amanda obviously knew the effect she was having on these men and was enjoying it.
“Beautiful and smart. You’re a great catch,” Martin complimented, and Dereck shook his head at his friend’s feeble attempt. Listening to him now, it was hard to believe his popularity with women.
“Yet I can’t seem to catch the one I want,” Amanda mentioned no name, but the piercing gaze she sent Dereck’s way made it obvious. She kept her mouth slightly open and occasionally she bit down gently on her bottom lip.
Martin narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. He offered Amanda a beer and changed the conversation. Dereck was thankful for that. He came to celebrate his friend and have a good time and though Amanda was very entertaining, her constant flirtations made him uneasy. Still, he found himself gravitating towards her.
They had a lot in common, and Amanda spoke about her job with a burning passion. Dereck loved that. With Alina, he could not quite delve into the technicalities of medicine, but Amanda challenged his theories and techniques, creating intense discussions.
Dereck’s friends zoned off when the two doctors began to speak about work, drifting off to different corners of the bar to secure company for the early morning, leaving Dereck and Amanda alone for most of the night. At the end of the night, they were both drunk, but Dereck had enough sense to leave alone. He thought about going home but somehow ended up at Alina’s apartment.
“What are you watching?” He had somewhat sobered up by the time he arrived.
“An art competition,” Alina said and took a sip of her water. “How was it?” she asked after some time.
“It was good hanging with the boys again. Just like the good old days,” Dereck said, lying on the couch next to her so that his head rested on her lap.
