“Great. Then let me go find my friend and I’ll try to hook up with you in a little bit.”
His eyes sparkled. Had I really just said ‘hook up’ with him? “Don’t try, Molly. Make it happen.”
Damn, that sounded like a proposition I didn’t want to miss. I left Hugh, smiling, realizing my panties were wet already and he hadn’t even kissed me yet. I moved through the crowd hunting for Chloe. Across the room, I spied her at another bar with a mutual friend, Jeremy. I headed over to check out what was happening between the two of them. Maybe Chloe and Jeremy were hooking up. I giggled. That would make an interesting twist. Chloe and I had joked about having a threesome with him because he was so hot.
“Hi, guys,” I called out when I reached them.
“Hey, we were catching up,” she said.
Jeremy leaned over and kissed my cheek. As he did, a really hot guy approached Chloe and they started chatting. If anyone deserved attention, it was Chloe.
Jeremy excused himself as some other woman caught his eye, leaving me the third wheel as the hot guy stared at Chloe like she was a prized filly.
I headed back in the direction of where I’d left Hugh, and luckily, I found him still seated at the bar where I’d left him. He stared into his drink like he was shouldering the problems of the world.
“A penny for your thoughts,” I said.
“I’m pretty sure you’d want a lot more than a penny for what’s in here after listening.” He tapped his temple.
“Ah, it can’t be that bad.”
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “It’s worse, believe me. But you didn’t come to this party to hear some guy complain about his issues. So let’s toast to better times, shall we?” He picked up his glass and touched it to mine.
“To better times.”
Our eyes connected and my stomach tightened. He was hot, there was no denying it. But it was more than that. This man had depth to him, which was weird I felt it so quickly.
I took a seat next to him, wanting to explore who this man was. “Where are you from, Hugh?”
“Here. I was born and raised in this town. What about you?”
“I’m local… well, sort of. I live in the next town over, but drive into work here every day. I’d love to live here, but can’t afford it.”
“How do you like where you live?”
Shrugging, I said, “I like it okay. If I didn’t have my best friend, I probably wouldn’t like it as much.”
“I get that. It’s better when you have friends and family close by.” Then he frowned. His eyes appeared pinched at the corners. I wondered what that was all about.
“What about you? Do you have family here?”
“Yes, but that’s a story for another day. Would you like to dance?”
“I’d love to.”
There was a large dance floor off the other room, so he walked me over and we swayed with the music. I wasn’t upset when his lips sought out mine in a slow, sensual kiss. As his tongue pressed through the opening of my mouth, I thought of how it moved to the rhythm of the music. Soon, the tempo turned feverish as he sought out every secret I held.
“Come home with me tonight, Molly. Don’t deny me.”
I wasn’t the kind of girl who easily hopped into bed with a man, but tonight was different. Things were shit in my life and this man could be the cure for the night. Plus, he was impossible to resist.
“Okay.” My breath came in puffs as I tried to catch it. “But we go to my place, not yours.” I might be reckless, but I wasn’t crazy. It was better to be on my turf.
“Fine. Did you drive?” Hugh asked. I nodded my head. “Would you mind leaving your car and picking it up in the morning? Is that okay?”
I’d had a few drinks. It was probably for the best. “If they don’t mind,” I said.
“They don’t. I promise.”
“I need to call my friend first to let her know I’m leaving.” But then my phone rang and it was Chloe. “Hey, girl, I was just getting ready to call you,” I said.
Chloe asked where I was. I told her and she explained she’d met someone. She asked if I was cool if she left with him. I laughed and told her it was fine, and she had the all-clear to leave without me. Actually, I told her to get her freak on. She needed it and so did I. Then she said she was texting me a picture of the two of them.
I opened my phone at the sound of a text. It was the picture of her with Ryan, the hot guy she’d been talking to earlier. When I chuckled, Hugh asked, “Are we good?”