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Alexa bursts out laughing and grabs Dakota and I by the hands, leading us to the center of the dance floor. The best DJ in town plays a duet with the hottest singer in town, and I surrender to the music, dancing and laughing with my friends.
It's a night to remember. A night that makes me feel alive and bold, and for a moment, even in love.
“Haley, I think you've caught someone's eye.”
Dakota stops in the middle of a dance to direct my gaze to the man watching me across the room.
He's tall enough to draw attention to himself, easily standing out in the middle of the crowd, with an intense, clear-eyed gaze and fashionably cut ash-blond hair. He has a striking square jaw and is dressed in all black.
Jacket, pants, shirt,everything.
He is leaning against the wall, watching me like some kind of god, silent and captivating.
“Who is he?” I ask my friends.
“I don't know,” Dakota bursts out laughing, “but he clearly likes you.”
“I don't think he's looking atme,” I reply.
“Oh, honey,trust me, he is,” Alexa interjects, placing her arms around my shoulders. “You should go talk to him.”
She playfully pushes me in the direction of the stranger, and I look at her nervously.
“I can't just go and approach him!”
“Sure you can.” Alexa laughs again. “Honey, for once in your life be fearless and just live!”
My cheeks heat up. I'm the opposite of a fearless person and my experience with flirting is nonexistent, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do.
Approach him and flirt? Impossible.
So I make my way, not to the stranger but to the bar, looking for an excuse for having wandered away from my friends.
I order a drink, trying to hide my nerves.
“You shouldn't be here.”
The voice sounds very close and strangely calm. I turn and look at him—the stranger with the tattooed arms and gray eyes.How does he know?
He leans against the bar, addressing my unspoken thoughts. “I saw you sneak in.”
Immediately, my lips draw into a grimace. “I paid my cover,” I promise, but he doesn't believe me. Instead, he clicks his tongue.
“Liar,” he declares. He has a slow, slightly husky voice. Deep, capable of seducing anyone.
The bartender returns with my drink. I take a sip and turn around, ready to leave. I don't know how to flirt with a man like this, one who quickens your pulse just by looking at you.
“If you'll excuse me...”
But he takes my hand and stops me as soon as I turn to leave, his fingers gentle but firm against my skin.
He twirls me again, and this time his body moves a little closer to mine. The scent of his cologne sneaks into all my senses and completely bewitches me.
“No, I don't excuse you.”
He leans in a little, reaching a long-fingered hand up to my chin. I hesitate but don't pull back.
He runs his thumb across my lower lip, using his fingertip to wipe the remnant liquor from my mouth. Then he brings his thumb to his mouth and licks it, and inside, I feel myself melt.
