“No I don’t,” I snapped, forcing a laugh as if she was ridiculous to think such a thing. “And we’ve already discussed this, haven’t we?”
“No. We talked about you sleeping with him and tossing him aside, like you do all the others. Not that there have evenbeenany others lately – but we’ll get back to that later.” She stared at me, as if trying to decode my brain with just the power of her eyes. “Youlikehim. As in, you care about him. I never thought I’d see the day.” Her voice was laced with something like awe as she continued to look at me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lex. You know better than anyone that I don’t do relationships or commitments or even emotions.”
“Then why haven’t you been with anyone else since you met him? Explain that!” She stared at me, triumphant.
“You know, you’re right. It has been too long,” I said, pushing back my seat and standing up. “I think I’ll go find someone to go home with right now.”
Sadness and regret instantly flashed in Lexi’s eyes. “I’m sorry I mentioned anything, Brookie. Stay with me,” she pleaded. “Don’t do this again.”
“Take my guitar home for me, ‘kay?” I tossed over my shoulder, ignoring her as I turned to head for the bar. A quick glance toward the stage assured me that Finn was still busy with his adorning fans. With one blonde on each arm, he certainly wouldn’t be in need of my friendship tonight. I mentally scoffed at my earlier thoughts of comforting him; clearly, I’d been mistaken.
When I reached the bar, I singled out the guy who’d be taking me home within thirty seconds. It was a talent I’d possessed for years: one glance told me everything I needed to know about a person.
My bedmate for the night was an easy mark. He was at the bar laughing with two male friends, which told me he was laid-back and likely single. He was drinking a beer, so he was probably straight and wouldn’t be so hammered that he’d have any problems performing in the bedroom. His light green plaid button down was casual, but showed off the muscles in his broad back and mirrored the color of his irises.
I could have him back at his apartment, naked, within the hour if I played this right.
Approaching slowly, I made sure to ignore him as I walked up to the empty barstool next to his and leaned over the bar. I waved in the bartender’s direction to signal that I was ready to order, then pushed my dark curls over my shoulder in a gesture designed to appear impatient. If my approach alone hadn’t caught plaid-shirt boy’s attention, the fragrance of my shampoo would do the trick. I bought it on special order and it smelled like apples and cinnamon – something that, apparently, attracted boys like crack. I think its male-enticement abilities would be surpassed only by bacon-scented shampoo, and I was pretty sure John Frieda didn’t make that.
When the bartender reached me, I ordered a bottle of Sam Adams and paid him quickly. Turning around, I faced the stage and leaned back against the bar, taking a deep pull on my beer. I could feel the weight of plaid-shirt boy’s gaze on my profile as the cool bottle rested against my lipsand I swallowed slowly. The tip of my tongue lightly traced the glass rim, and I hid a smile as I heard him clear his throat roughly and shuffle his feet.
“Hey, I’m Landon,” he said, moving in front of me. “You were pretty amazing up there earlier.” He held out a hand for me to shake, smiling in a friendly,I’d-like-to-see-what-color-your-panties-arekind of way. His blond hair was lightly tousled and his eyes were gorgeous up close – green with flecks of hazel throughout.
Perfect.
“Brooklyn,” I said, smiling flirtatiously and placing my hand in his. This was going to be even easier than I’d expected.
“Don’t you know it’s not good to drink alone,Brooklyn?” He laughed.
I sidled a glance at him, winking. “Good thing you’re here to keep me company then.” He grinned and I downed the rest of my beer.
Two beers – courtesy of Landon – and thirty minutes later, I was feeling buzzed and ready to leave. I was anxious to get away from Lexi’s accusations and Finn’s flock of women. I’d purposefully avoided looking in his direction, then immediately scolded myself for doing so. If I couldn’t even watch him flirting with other girls, he was even deeper under my skin than I’d realized before. I needed Landon to help push Finn from my mind as soon as possible. Maybe then I could finally get back to normal.
Part of my mind was screaming at me, even as I allowed Landon to lead me toward the exit.
Is this the person you want to be, Brooklyn?
Do you really want to go back to being the guarded,selfish, self-preserving whore you were a few months ago?
What about all the progress you’ve made with therapy and Lexi andFinn?
Just thinking his name had mepushing away that annoying inner voice and snapping back to reality. It was suddenly easy to lace my fingers through Landon’s and follow him to the exit, once again eager to leave.
Near the club door, Landon bumped into a table of his fraternity brothers and stopped briefly to talk. He introduced me, laughing and blushing as his brothers madecrass and utterly unoriginal comments about him “getting lucky” tonight. I rolled my eyes and waited impatiently for him to move on.
When nearly five minutes had passed, Itapped Landon on the shoulder and told him it was time to leave. Turning toward the door, I cast one final glance behind me and, to my dismay, locked eyes with the one person I’d been determined to avoid.
I grinned halfheartedly atFinn, but felt the smile drop off my face as I registered the anger in his eyes. His dark blue irises were steely with rage as they glared at Landon, who’d just placed his hand on my ass in an attempt to usher me out. When I didn’t move, Landon leaned down and kissed my neck.
“Come on, babe, I thought you wanted to go?” His breath was too warm and smelled like beer; it made my skin crawl. There were no butterflies, orchills, or stuttering heartbeats – just an intractable sense of wrongness. I ignored the feeling, pulled my neck away from Landon’s lips, and tore my eyes from Finn’s.
He’d ignored me for an entire week, and now he was furious that I was leaving the bar withsomeone? Well he could go to hell, as far as I was concerned. Either he had some kind of multiple personality disorder, or I was missing some crucial information.
“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go,” Isaid, setting my shoulders determinedly and ignoring the ache in my chest as I allowed Landon to pull me through the exit.
Thankfully, it wasn’t a long walk to Landon’s apartment. He lived about three blocks from the club, in the same neighborhood as me. Itried to remind myself how hot he was as we stumbled through his front door, his lips fused to mine. When his tongue entered my mouth, I responded on autopilot, unable to engage on a deeper level. Groaning in frustration – which Landon no doubt assumed was passion – I pulled off his shirt and ran my hands over his chest.