CHAPTER 5
ARIEL
What the fuck am I doing here? Why did I get here early? So I could see if they could find me? I’m not some fucking prey animal. I can’t even explain what the fuck I’m doing here in the first place.
I almost groan and rub my hands over my face, but I stop myself at the last minute, remembering how I put on a full face of make-up tonight. The middle schoolers I teach don’t care how much make-up I wear so I do the bare minimum.
If there’s a night to go all out it’s the night you meet the three guys you’ve been getting to know and falling in love with for months. Not like anything can really come from it. I know it.
First off, three guys? Come on, it’s one thing to have the fantasy, but it’s another thing to actually get it in real life. That kind of thing isn’t something which is going to happen to me. I’m not that lucky.
So, why the fuck am I at Map Room, sitting at a high-top table near the bar and looking like a fucking eager as hell puppy?
If I’m being honest, I’ve wanted to meet these guys for so damn long and there’s no way I can give up the opportunity, even though I’m scared as hell about how this is going to go.
Have I built them up in my mind for far too long? What do they look like? Will they be attracted to me? Do I want them to be?
The answer to that last question is yes. Hell fucking yes.
I know it doesn’t make any sense. I know this could go poorly on many levels. I know I shouldn’t hope for anything more than meeting some guys I’ve played online with. I know it.
If I let myself think about it as anything more, I’m going to get my heart smashed into tiny little pieces, never to be reconciled into something functioning again.
I can’t deny how curious I am about what they look like. I’ve been talking to these guys for months. I’ve gotten to know their voices, the little inflections which come with certain emotions.
I just know they’re going to be hot as hell. I’m trying to brace myself for it, but it’s difficult. I’m going in blind.
I almost snort when I realize I’m not concerned about my guys being serial killers or something. I might not know anything about them, but I do know one thing is for sure—they wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.
I’ve positioned myself so when someone walks in, I have a front row seat to the show. The door swings open an in stalks a man who takes my breath away. His eyes are wide and wild as he looks around the space, his nostrils flaring. An intensity which takes my breath away flows from him.
He is big and broad and the t-shirt he’s wearing does nothing to hide his muscular frame. Yeah, nothing to hide it, instead it accentuates everything. Every-fucking-thing. Then there are the tattoos which run down one of his arms and around his neck.
He looks like a fucking beast.
I’m here for it.
I lick my lips, my brain turning to mush as two more men step in right behind the first one. As I look at the next two, both leaner than the first, but with the same intensity and focus, my breathing becomes labored, and something flutters deep in my abdomen.
As I take in the two new men, I realize I can feel a burning along my skin. When my eyes snap to the first man I know why the feeling was licking along my skin. It’s the way he’s looking at me. His eyes narrow at something over my shoulder, but I can’t tear my eyes away from him for anything other than looking at his two friends.
I should look away. I shouldn’t make it so damn obvious I’m checking out the trio. I’m meeting people, but even if I wasn’t, these guys are way out of my fucking league. I might love my curves, but these guys all look like they stepped away from a photoshoot for three very different products.
That’s how damn good they look.
It should be a damn crime.
Where’s the life police when you need them? Not only are they incredibly sexy, but they know each other and are friends? Talk about beautiful people sticking together.
One of the thinner guys, but almost the same height as the beast where the other is a few inches shorter, which doesn’t make him short because they’re all over six feet tall, steps around his friend leading the charge, giving his shoulder a squeeze as he does.
This man might not be as muscular, but I don’t doubt his strength and ability even a little bit. There’s a quiet strength about him, one which I can admire and desperately want unleashed on me. I tear my eyes away from him, even though it’s incredibly difficult to do since all I seem to want to do is stare at him without a hint of shame.
I feel the three of them getting closer and I can only hope they’ll find a table close so I can study them. I didn’t get nearly enough time looking my fill when it comes to the third guy. I shake off the wave of sadness which comes over me. These guys are hot as fuck and as much as I wish it was true, there’s no way they’re coming over here.
I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I spin around on the stool so fast I almost fall off, but I steady myself quickly. A man with greasy hair and a predatory smile which doesn’t do a damn thing to turn me on and makes me want to run is standing over me leering.
I shudder a little, but I try and cover it because I don’t want this strange man thinking he can do anything he wants to me. Hell fucking no. Been there, done that.