Alec smiled again, watching me as he prepared a drink order. Maybe someone like Olivia would have no problem maintaining eye contact with a hot guy across the room, but I looked away, pretending to fumble with my purse. I stood up to readjust my stool, keeping my head down. After getting myself situated, I found the nerve to glance back at Alec. He smiled as if he had been waiting for me to look at him. Shooting me a wink, he turned his attention back to the customers in front of him.
That was my weakness, especially from someone with such striking eyes. Call me a slut, but it wouldn't take much more than that to get me to drop my panties for him. Winking for me was like liquor to an alcoholic, and he was getting me drunk. I suddenly realized I had bigger problems than making eye contact. At some point he was going to walk over to us and I would have to say something. Preferably something witty or smart. The harder I tried to come up with something clever, the more my mind went blank. Shit, of all the times to experience writer's block. My heart felt like it would beat out of my chest. I had nothing. All I could think about was how I wished I wouldn't have worn my hair up. I could have used it to hide my embarrassing rosy red cheeks. I fidgeted uncomfortably on my stool, praying to any god that would listen to give me the sanity to make it through this.
Olivia placed her hand on my shoulder. "See, it's not so bad, right? What are you going to get to drink?"
"Uh, I'm not sure yet."
Olivia turned her attention back to Taylor. I felt like a third wheel as their voices were drowned out by the crowd. Truthfully, I was probably too distracted to listen anyway. I found myself studying Alec again as he chatted with two women he was preparing drinks for. Neither of the women could have been more flirtatious if they tried. They both wore undersized shirts that displayed as much cleavage as they could possibly get away with. The way they stuck out their chests, you would think they wanted Alec to take a bite. Personally, I found it more funny than attractive, but clearly Alec knew how to handle himself. He leaned in close while they talked before throwing his head back, laughing deeply. The two skanks absolutely ate it up, like either of them stood a chance.
I didn't know what had come over me. Alec and I were not a couple. We were nothing. Certainly nothing to elicit jealousy over. It had to be his off-the-hook sex appeal. It was clouding my judgment. As if he could hear my thoughts, he turned my way, flashing a devastating smile as he sauntered over.
Be cool. Be cool. The words rang through my head.
"Hey, Olivia," he said, greeting her with enthusiasm. "Taylor, my friend, how's it hanging?" They fist-bumped before Alec turned his attention to me. "And the lovely Nicole," he said, winking again. Holy hell, there went my hormones again. Was it possible to fall into insta-lust with someone? I'd never believed in love at first sight, even though my current thoughts had nothing to do with anything lovey dovey and everything to do with the persistent throbbing between my thighs.
I had every intention of returning his greeting. I even opened my mouth with the expectation of saying something, but my tongue stuck stubbornly to the roof of my mouth like I had just eaten peanut butter. He may have just seen my impression of a guppy, but I at least nodded my head for good measure.
Olivia coughed slightly, trying her best to hide her laughter. Taylor unwittingly saved me by engaging Alec in a play-by-play account of the last Tampa Bay Rays game. Ironically, I had also watched the game while eating dinner at my family's house Sunday night. Even after getting my own place, Mom insisted I still come over every Sunday for dinner. She said it was the only way she could be certain I ate at least one good meal a week. Not that we ever ate a traditional family dinner at the dining room table. In our house we ate while watching TV, usually sports of some kind. It may have been unconventional, but we never claimed to be normal.
Listening to Taylor and Alec trade stats about the game was like listening to my brothers, Tony, Zachary and Riley. I could have easily joined their conversation and held my own. Like how Davis should have been pulled in the sixth before giving up a two-run homer to tie the game. His arm was obviously shot at that point. I was hesitant to give my two cents, fearing Alec would see me the same way my brothers' friends had back in high school. A cool chick to talk sports with, but not worth dating.
Olivia knocked on the counter to get their attention. "Boys, if you're going to talk about boring sports all night, Nicole and I will have to find other ways to occupy our time."
Taylor stopped mid-sentence with his eyebrows raised. "Oh yeah? I'd be up for watching that."
"Get your mind out of the gutter, perv. How about you get me a drink instead?"
"Sorry, babe. My manners are horrible," Taylor said, planting a kiss on the back of Olivia's hand. She practically melted against him before straightening up. I knew from our conversations she was trying to maintain boundaries with Taylor, but clearly he was slowly finding a way beneath the cracks. I silently cheered for him.
"So, what's your poison?" Alec asked, turning his attention to me.
I took a deep breath before answering. "Uh, I'll take a Coke." It wasn't the most cosmopolitan choice, but at least I didn't choke on the words.
"Hell no. We're doing shots tonight," Olivia crowed, tearing her eyes from Taylor. "We're here to loosen you up tonight."
Alec chuckled lightly at her words.
"Liv," I warned, glaring at my friend.
"Come on, Nicole. It's been ages since you threw caution to the wind. You need to relax and let loose a little. If you're not careful, you'll develop a reputation as some crazy cat lady."
I would never admit it to Olivia, but my worst fear was that she would turn out to be right. I had a recurring nightmare that ten years from now I'd still be a virgin holed up in my apartment writing stories about other couples' love lives. I wished I could change my personality. I wanted to badly. Remaining a virgin at twenty-two was not a status I set out to achieve. Hell, in high school sometimes it was all I thought about. When you're an underclassman you don't want the reputation as a slut, so you kept your knees together, but somewhere between junior year and graduation that stigma began to change. It started with one of my friends losing her V-card, and then another friend after that. Before I knew it, I was the only one in my group of friends who hadn't had sex yet. It didn't feel like a big deal at the time since there were plenty of girls in my graduating class who held the same status as me. All of that changed during my first year of college. Everyone seemed to be hooking up—except me.
Alec laid out four shot glasses—after I nodded my consent—and filled them to the brim with whiskey. Everyone reached for a glass, leaving the last one for me. "Are you allowed to drink on the job?" I asked, stalling for time as I picked mine up tentatively.
"I can now. I'm off the clock. It's sorta hard to be on a date while I'm working." He winked at me again.
I gaped at him before turning to Olivia, who wore a feigned expression of innocence. And I was back to wanting to kill her. Throwing caution to the wind, I brought my glass to my lips, downing the contents in one gulp. The fiery liquid burned a path down my throat before settling in the pit of my stomach. A cough trickled up my throat, begging to be released, but I held it back as tears filled my eyes. >Scrambling from my bed, I rubbed a hand across my eyes and flipped on the lights as I made my way to my front door with Severus trailing behind me.
"I knew it. You fell asleep," Olivia proclaimed when I pulled open the door.
Rather than try to deny the obvious, I turned and walked away so she could enter. "Why didn't you use the key I gave you?"
"I left it in the car with Taylor. His mom called him as we pulled in."
I bit the inside of my cheek at the way Olivia said mom, like it was a dirty word. Her own parents had been absentee at best. She had warmed up to mine over the years, but still maintained a standoffish attitude where parents were concerned.
"Why aren't you dressed? Is this a ploy to get out of going? Because I might as well tell you, it's not going to work. So get your skinny ass in there and get dressed."