“No water. Only booze!” I shouted after him, but he ignored me. He returned a few minutes later with a glass of ice water. I drank from the straw, dribbling some down the front of my shirt.
“Oops,” I giggled, wiping at my boobs. “My tits are all wet.” I looked up at Jeremy with what was meant to be sultry eyes. “You like my tits, don’t you Wyatt?”
He cleared his throat and I thought his cheeks flushed red. “Drink more of that water. Maybe I should get you some coffee too. Sobering up might be good for you.”
“Pshh. That’s stupid talk.” I pushed the glass of water away and stood up unsteadily on my feet. This time I was the one to grab hold of Jeremy. “Don’t move,” I instructed as I got my bearings.
“You sure do drink a lot,” Jeremy muttered, pushing my hair back off my face. I liked the way his fingers felt on my skin. I tingled all over. It was probably the margaritas. Or it was Jeremy. Either way, I liked it.
“I drink just enough.” I wagged my finger in his face. “Don’t tell me how I am.”
Jeremy laughed, his hand dropping from my face down to my waist where it stayed. “I would never try to tell you anything, Ducate.”
I pressed myself up against him, looking up at him. “Good. Because you don’t know me at all, Wyatt. You could have known me. You could have known all about me, but you decided I wasn’t worth your time.” I waved my hands around dramatically for effect. I barely noticed how Jeremy had to dodge my flying appendages. “I wanted you to know me.” I went up on my tiptoes. “I wanted you to really know me,” I whispered in his ear. My hand crept up to rest on his chest. Even as drunk as I was, I could feel how hard his heart was beating beneath my palm.
“I wanted you to know me inside…” My hand crept further up so that I cupped the side of his neck, my lips hovering close enough to his ear that I tasted his skin. “And out,” I finished, my tongue darting out to flick his ear.
I felt him shudder. He wrapped his hand around my wrist. “Lena.” He said my name as if he were in pain.
I abruptly pulled away. “But you lost that chance when you decided to be a total jerkass.” I pointed at him again for emphasis.
“Jerkass? I don’t think I’ve heard that one before,” he said, and I knew he was trying not to laugh at me.
“Yep, a jerkass. And I don’t waste time on jerkasses.”
Jeremy’s expression hardened. Clearly, he didn’t like being called a jerkass. He should stop being a jerkass then.
“That’s good, Marlena. I don’t want you to waste your time,” he sneered. Was he mad at me? What reason did he have to be mad at me? I was the one mad at him! For being a jerkass!
“It’s Lena!” I shouted.
Hannah, hearing me yell, was by my side in an instant. “Babe, what’s up?” She took my arm, giving me a shake. She as just as inebriated as I was, so it became a matter of propping each other up with our shoulders.
“Just setting the record straight for the people in the back.” I was still glaring at Jeremy, who now seemed less than thrilled by my presence.
Well, that made two of us, buddy.
Hannah, finally realizing who I had been speaking to, began to grin. “Look, Lena, it’s hot man meat!” Then she started laughing like a hyena. Which made me laugh uncontrollably.
Jeremy looked at us as if we were insane. “Hot man meat?”
We laughed even harder. “Forget it,” I wheezed as Hannah and I stumbled away.
Stupid Jeremy Wyatt trying to mess with my good time.
I glanced back to find he was watching me. I felt his eyes on me for the rest of the night, though he never approached me again.
So, I danced without abandon. I drank like a sailor. I had the goddamn time of my life. All the while his gaze felt heavy on my skin. Touching me in places his hands caressed in my darkest, secret fantasies.
And I craved him.
I hated him.
I wanted him so badly it tasted bitter in the back of my throat.
Jerkass.
Chapter 5
Jeremy
I looked through the pile of resumes that Adam had dropped on my desk, wishing I was anywhere but where I was.
I was supposed to go through the applicants for the receptionist position, but they were all starting to blur together. It was the most Monday of Monday mornings. And I had a headache.
I had a horrible weekend. My run-in with Lena on Friday night had started it off with a bang. Every time I tried to forget about it, I would see her face in my head. I would feel her hand on my chest. Her tongue on my ear. The way she had whispered, “I wanted you to know me inside.” I couldn’t stop thinking about how she had pressed up against me. Her breasts. Her long, gorgeous legs. Her soft skin.