I could feel my cheeks beginning to heat up. How could I explain Alec was the source of my unexpected behavior? That my body felt the need to respond just looking at him. I may be a virgin, but I wasn't naive. I recognized hard-core lust when I felt it.
Olivia's eyes narrowed shrewdly as she studied me. Shit. She knew. I could tell by the way her eyes widened and a gleeful smile lit up her face. I ducked my head, reaching for a chip, but I had the worst poker face in existence. "Ahhhhh, the plot thickens," she crowed. "You think he could be the one to unlock the chastity belt."
Despite myself, I couldn't help snorting. "Chastity belt? Maybe you need to lay off my historical romance books. Welcome to the twenty-first century."
The waitress had returned with our drinks and laughed at my comment. "Are you two ready to order?"
"I'll take your taquitos with a side of rice and beans, and my friend obviously wants something tall, dark and beefy," Olivia said, making the three of us laugh.
"You and me both," the waitress replied, looking at me.
"Okay, spill it," Olivia demanded once I had placed my order. "I've been waiting for this moment forever. I was beginning to think you swung from the other tree. I already had it worked out in my head how I'd let you down easy when you finally made your move on me."
"Ha, you wish. If I was going to swing from that tree, it'd be for someone sweet."
She tried to look hurt. "I'm sweet, bitch."
I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"
"Fine. I was sweet once. I think I was five or some shit like that. My sister wanted the lollipop I got when I had to get a shot and I almost thought about giving it to her."
I chuckled. "I guess it's the thought that counts..."
"Damn straight. Now stop trying to evade my question. Tell me what it is about my new model that made you all hot and bothered."
"You mean besides the obvious? How did you find him, anyway? I thought you were having problems finding someone to replace Grant when he moved to New York last month."
Olivia dipped another chip into the salsa before answering. "That's an interesting story, actually. I met him when Taylor and I went out the other night."
"You guys went to that new club down by Church Street Station, right?" I piped in, dipping my own chip into the salsa.
"That's where we met him. He moonlights as a bartender when he's not in class."
"And he models too?"
"He does now," Olivia answered. "Before you showed up this morning and made your big splash, I could already tell he was going to be a natural. I mean, the abs, right? If I wasn't in a relationship, I would have to rethink my policy about not sleeping with the models. He definitely brings a temptation to the table that none of the others have."
I took a swig of my drink, letting the frozen beverage slide down my throat before answering. "That's because all your other male models are gay. You'd have more of a chance of hooking up with Natasha than any of them."
"How right you are, Sherlock. Anyway, when we were at the bar, Taylor struck up a conversation with him. Alec was wearing a Tampa Bay Bucs shirt and you know how guys feel the need to bond over sports. I was practically drooling out of boredom by the time they hashed out the Bucs chances of making it to the World Series next year."
"Super Bowl," I corrected automatically. Born and raised with three older brothers, I knew more about sports than should have been natural. All of them were total jock heads just like my dad. I spent my adolescent years living with the smell of gym socks and Bengay. I didn't care since the majority of the time I was crushing on their friends. Of course, having three older brothers who had been ordered to watch me by our overprotective father didn't help my dating life in high school. Couple that with a naturally shy personality and it was no wonder I became an introvert. Only my brothers' closest friends knew what lay beneath my bashful surface. Although they appreciated a girl who could talk sports, they never looked at me as anything more than a kid sister.
"Who cares? Super Series, World Bowl, that's not the point. While they were busy pontificating about the future of a team neither of them play for, I was checking out Alec. He's definitely comfortable in his own skin. It didn't take much convincing to get him to agree. I think he liked the idea of earning some extra cash."
I tried to keep my cheeks from turning red, but the more Olivia talked about him, the more I seemed to blush. "He definitely has cover model looks," I squeaked out.
"Wow, you are seriously smitten," Olivia mused as the waitress returned with our food.
"Now you go with smitten? Olivia, I'm not kidding. You need to open up some contemporary romances. If you start referring to women as dames and men as gents, I'm going to stage an intervention."
"What can I say? Your books got me hooked on the historical stuff. You should be pleased."
The waitress paused as she handed over my plate. "Are you a writer?" she asked with excitement. "What kind of books do you write?"
I ducked my head, nearly choking on the chip I had just shoved in my mouth. Talking about my books with strangers was still a new experience for me. I nodded my head, since I was still coughing.
"Don't mind her," Olivia answered. "She spends half her time holed up in her apartment like a hermit while she writes. Thank goodness her books are better than her social skills." She smoothly whipped out one of the bookmarks she had designed for me from her purse. "Here you go," she added, handing the bookmark over.