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“Anna, look. Jason is at the end of the bar.” Alexis dragged my attention to the end of the bar. Alexis pointed him out among a group of others. “Do you think I should go up to him? Should I wait for him to notice me? Is my makeup still okay?”
I laughed. “Go, you look great. Just make sure you come back soon. We can all go find a table together. I don’t want to be stuck here by myself.”
Alexis worked her way through the crowd. Jason was pretty cute. Tall and built like a runner. Not my type, but no denying that he was attractive. He looked like every generic action movie star. I turned back to the bar and tried to keep track of the bartender getting our drinks. I felt the eyes of someone who had slid up uncomfortably close to me. I side eyed and tried to not make eye contact. A skinny guy, maybe a little older than me, with gelled, slicked back hair smiled back at me. My spidey senses perked up. I didn’t like the vibes this guy was sending my way. It was the way he carried himself, staring at me like he wanted to eat me. You could tell that he thought he was charming but it came off feeling creepy.
“Hey angel, can I get you a drink?” He leaned in even closer and I could smell the cigarettes rolling off his breath.
“No thank you, I am just waiting for a friend, she will be right back,” I responded quickly, hoping he would get the hint.
“I can tell you’re here for a good time, I can give you a good time.” Okay, he wasn’t going to get the hint. My anxiety rose as I looked for a way out.
“Nope, I hate good times. I have a boyfriend. I see my friend now, so I’m gonna go but thank you.” I stammered, that didn’t even make sense. I was just trying to get out of there. I turned to walk to the other end of the bar, but he grabbed my upper arm. Tight.
“Hey baby, you’re playing hard to get. I like that. You wouldn’t be dressed like that if you didn’t want the attention, and I’m trying to give it to you.” It sounded like a growl as he spoke lower, trying to intimidate me.
“I said no thank you,” I said firmly as I tried to pull my arm away from his grip. I tried to sound confident but my voice trembled slightly.
“You’re feisty. I like that too.”
Panic set in and inside I was freaking out. My stomach was jello and swishing around. I could feel my limbs hang loose and my head a little light from the shots. I wasn’t drunk, but I wasn’t fully sober either. And I couldn’t get Alexis in my line of sight. I took a deep breath and tried to stay calm, thinking of ways I could outsmart him.
Suddenly, I twisted around and jabbed my elbow into the nose of the creeper. “You fucking bitch.” He cursed as he dropped my wrist to grab his newly bleeding nose.
“Lily, is there a problem here?”I felt an arm snake its way around my hips and pulled me close. and just behind the broad chest of a man. I could tell whoever it was was tall. I breathed in the scent of whiskey and earth. I decided to roll with it and put my hand on the guy’s chest. I looked up at my hero and even I could see the danger and threat emanating from his stare. The creeper guy’s face paled and he started backing up.
“No, no problem. Just a misunderstanding.” Creeper guy stuttered. He backed up further and disappeared into the crowd.
The arm dropped from my body, the warmth leaving the side of my hip. Damn, my hip felt cold already. His steel, gray eyes, which had been cold and menacing now softened as he looked down at me. I took a closer look at the man before me. A classically handsome face. Strong jawline, with a bit of scruff. He was dressed in dark jeans and a black shirt that was tight across his chest and biceps. In the glow of the LED lights behind the bar, I could see small scars crisscrossing his hands. A faded, barely there scar ran along the side of his jaw. Strong and powerful. A little bit of a bad boy maybe.
“Lily?” I looked up at him.
“You looked like you could be a Lily,” he replied. No smile, just confidence while he waited for my reaction. “Well, you should be good now.” He turned to leave. And I struggled to come up with something to say to keep him here.
“Anna,” I yelled. “I’m not a Lily, I’m an Anna.” I managed to talk like a less crazy person for the second part of my statement. He turned back around, and his lips tilted at the corners, betraying the edge of a smile. “Can I buy you a drink? As a thank you?”
He walked back over to me and flagged down the bartender. “A whiskey, neat and…” He looked down at me, waiting. His eyes slid up and down my body, exposing me as if he could see everything.
“A vodka lemonade please,” I responded. The strange vibe between us was thick with awkwardness. Well, my awkwardness. He oozed confidence, looking completely calm sipping a drink and watching me. While the stranger and I sipped our drinks and I was hoping my nerves would disappear sooner rather than later. Finally, he broke the silence.
“I’m Wilder. Are you here alone, Anna?”
I contemplated, was this just another creeper to replace the one before? I felt like I could trust him, even though I knew nothing about him. “No, my friend is here. She should be back soon. Thanks again. I didn’t know what I was going to do.”
Wilder nodded. “I’m glad you’re not alone”
What did he mean by that? I couldn’t tell if he wanted to have a conversation with me or felt obligated to stay. Despite not providing much in the way of conversation, I didn’t want the conversation with the hot hero to end. I asked, “So what do you do, Wilder?”
“I manage a few businesses here in the city. What is it that you do?” His answer was brief and to the point. Despite his limited conversation, the intense stare in his gaze made me think he was genuinely interested in getting to know me. Maybe it was the way his eyes lingered a bit longer than necessary or the slight smile when he listened to me talk.
“I’m the event coordinator for the humane society. I’m working on a big gala that’s happening in a couple of weeks.”
“That sounds interesting. Have you always had an interest in helping animals?”
He had such a charming smile and he seemed genuinely interested. But at that moment, a bubbly blonde girl came bounding and hung onto him. She flung her arms around Wilder and hung onto him, her giggles echoing through the air. Wilder’s expression changed, his smile faltering and his body language becoming stiff. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy, wondering who this girl was and what their relationship was like.
As she continued to chat away, I excused myself from the conversation and made my way toward the crowd, scanning the room for my friend Alexis. It was clear to me that I had been interrupting a private moment between Wilder and the blonde girl, and I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.
As I made my way through the throng of people, my mind kept going back to Wilder and the way he had looked at me before the blonde girl had arrived. I couldn’t help but wonder what his story was, and what kind of secrets he was hiding beneath his charming exterior.
