“Yeah, gimme five minutes?”
“Sure.”
I walked down the narrow hallway toward the one-stall bathrooms, but when the door was locked, I leaned against the wall to wait. A minute later, the door opened, and out came surfer guy—Holland, Ollie had called him.Stupid name—and when he saw me, he stopped and gave me a long once-over, letting the door shut behind him.
“No wonder Ollie wasn’t up for getting together later,” he said, a lazy smile tipping his lips.
“Excuse me?”
His eyes met mine and he smirked. “I meant that as a compliment. You’re sexy as hell.”
Okay, that wasn’t what I’d been expecting. “Uh…thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, and then mimicked my pose, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. “You know, I hadn’t realized Ollie was seeing anyone, but I guess you two are serious, huh?”
“No, sorry. I think you’re mistaking me for someone else.”
The guy laughed, his pearly whites flashing in the dim light. “Nah, I’d never forget a face, especially one as handsome as yours. You’ve been dating since, what, February? I saw you guys at Fisherman’s Grill one night, but I was on a date of my own, so I didn’t come say hello.”
My face burned as I stepped back. “You’ve got the wrong guy. We just met.”
“Sure you did, sweet pea,” he said, laughing again. “I wouldn’t be ashamed of claiming that man as mine. You let me know if you decide to give him up. Or vice versa.” With a wink, he pushed off the wall and brushed past me, and it wasn’t until I reached for the door handle that I realized my hands were shaking.
What the hell was that? Why would he think I was with Ollie back in February, for God’s sake? Do I have a twin I don’t know about?
I quickly finished and met Ollie back at the table, where he was stacking up the glasses on the table for the wait staff to have an easy cleanup. There was a signed copy of a bill next to him, and I scanned the table for mine.
“Did they forget to print mine out?” I asked.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I got it tonight.” Ollie shoved a copy in his back pocket and inclined his head toward the front door. “You ready?”
With my mind still on my bathroom encounter, I nodded absently and followed him out to the parking lot. I wasn’t sure how to bring up what Holland had said back there, or why it bothered me so much when he’d obviously gotten the wrong person, but after a night of strange images and flashes berating my brain, I was feeling more than a little confused and overwhelmed. I just needed to sleep it off, right? Right. Maybe I’d just gotten overstimulated or something. Like a fucking cat. Or maybe alcohol had screwed with my head. Then I thought back to the way Ollie had looked at my mouth for the briefest of moments and that he’d paid for me tonight, and I wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Maybe I’d had this whole night wrong.
Ollie must’ve caught on to my sudden change in mood, because he said, “Are you sure Mike and Deb didn’t scare you off? I know they’re a bit of a handful, and on tequila, it’s amped up about a hundred percent.”
“No, your friends are great. I really like them a lot. Wild, but great.”
“Whew. You got quiet for a minute there, so I wasn’t sure.”
I hadn’t planned to say anything, really I hadn’t, but the words came blurting out before I could stop them. “This wasn’t a date, you know.”
He gave me a strange look. “Yeah, I know.”
“Then why did you pay for me?”
“I paid for Mike and Deb’s food too. Friends do that sometimes. That a problem?”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I’m aware. But I wanted to. I invited you out. And it’s the least I can do for subjecting you to Mike’s mouth all night.”
“Oh. Well…thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I could sense him looking over at me, but I wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Is there something else wrong?”
“No.”
“Reid, I can feel the tension coming off you in waves. Did you not have a good time tonight?”