“Oh shit,” Ariel says, and I snap my head up.
“No oh shit. What’s oh shit?”
“He’s coming over here.”
CHAPTER6
Alex
What the fuck is she wearing?
It’s revealing, sexy, and not at all something I’d ever imagine her choosing to wear. I take a long sip of my beer, watching her while she still has no idea I’m here. She’s talking in a very animated fashion to her friends, who seem completely engrossed in whatever she’s saying. Then she says something that makes all their jaws drop.
She covers her face with her hands and shakes her head.
They clutch at their chests, and the only guy in the group screams and covers his mouth.
My chest tightens with jealousy at how much they’re enjoying her company. I want to be laughing and having a good time with her. I also want to slide my hand up her milky thighs and bury my face between them.
I adjust myself in my jeans. Now is not the time to start fantasizing about little Miss Emmert.
Finally, she turns around, her eyes scanning the room. She doesn’t recognize me at first. Her eyes pass right over me but then immediately bounce back, growing wide just before she spins back around and attempts to hide behind her friends. I can’t hold back my laughter. She is clearly caught off guard by seeing me here.
I slide off my barstool and maneuver through the crowded room until I reach her.
“Good evening, Miss Emmert.”
She looks over her shoulder before turning her body toward me, her rosy cheeks lifting as she smiles.
“Good evening, Mr. Snow.”
“Caleb,” the man to her left says, holding his hand out for me to shake and almost knocking the woman next to him off her chair.
“Alex, pleasure.” I smile and shake his hand before turning to introduce myself to the others.
“Sorry, this is my boss, Alex Snow. And these are my friends.” She gestures around the table, and her friends take turns waving and telling me their names.
“So what brings you to our side of town tonight, Alex?” Caleb asks as her friends stare at me, barely suppressing their giggles. If I had to guess, she told them about the penis incident.
Sadie grabs my arm and tugs me away from the table before I can respond.
“What are you doing here?”
I shrug. “Guess our conversations in the elevator about this place made me get into the holiday spirit for once. Sounded like a fun night.” I don’t bother to hide the way my eyes rake over every inch of her body as I reach out to touch the soft white fur on the edge of her skirt. “This is cute.”
“Um, yeah. I didn’t want to wear it this year, but Karlie insisted. It’s part of our tradition, we’re the—” she stops abruptly and wraps her arms around her waist, attempting to conceal her very toned bare midriff.
Fuck me, I’d like to drag my tongue over her exposed skin. Maybe leave a few bite marks to mark where I’ve been.
“The what?”
She stares at me for a few seconds before giving in.
“The ho-ho-ho girls. Have you ever seen Mean Girls? You know that scene where they dress up like this and sing ‘Jingle Bell Rock?’ That was our inspiration.”
I let my head fall back with laughter. “That’s cute.” She crooks her eyebrow at me, a sassy little expression on her face I haven’t seen before. “Is that what you were going for with that outfit and name? Cute?” I bring the beer to my lips as she slowly shakes her head no.
“Not exactly, but when my two best friends are both a solid six inches taller and look like models, I’m used to gettingcute.”