Instead, I’d spent Saturday night nursing a spoiled eighteen-year-old, who threw up twice in my room. I’d saved him from an epic hangover, and the bastard never thanked me in the morning for any of it.
The universe has a fucked-up way of working, though. I heard the door of the bar slam shut, followed by a woman’s gasp, and . . . there she was.
Why, hello there.
She looked like sex on heels. Her blonde hair was down this time, falling in waves past her shoulders. Kayla wore a silky black shirt over jean shorts, and the top few buttons of her shirt were undone. Casual yet teasing, and it made my dick twitch.
“Kayla?” I was up off my bar stool in a heartbeat.
Her gaze snapped to mine, but her expression didn’t make sense. She looked like she was either in pain or pissed, or maybe both.
“This was a horrible, horrible idea.” Her voice was full of dread.
I strode toward her, but she retreated. Her back slammed against the wooden door with a thump, and she grimaced. I’d forgotten how small she was, and the large doorframe exaggerated her petite size. I’d also forgotten how hot she was. Well, not forgotten. I’d been thinking about her and that kiss a lot. My memory hadn’t done her justice though. I stared at her mouth. Sexy, even as it twisted downward like she’d tasted something bad.
She whirled around and flung her hands against the wood, pushing with force at the door she’d just come through.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Trying to escape hell!”
“What?” What was she doing here, and why was she acting like she wanted to flee? “How come you didn’t text me?”
She gave up on the door, and frustration tightened her voice. “I couldn’t. The number you gave me was wrong, and Dave wouldn’t give me your real one.”
My mouth went slack.
How the hell had I been so stupid? For a split second, I blamed Dave, but that wasn’t fair. He’d been following my orders, after all. It was crazy the hoops some girls would jump through—or guys they’d screw—to get to me. It was fucked up, and I’d made sure my friends knew sharing my info with anyone with tits was totally forbidden.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” I said. “I can’t believe I did that. I’m glad you didn’t think I was blowing you off.” The grin that spread on my face was unstoppable. “Did you drive all the way here just to get my number?”
She turned to face me. Well, not exactly. Her attention was focused on Biff, and her eyes were wide with horror. That was weird. The stuffed wolverine wasn’t exactly friendly-looking, but it wasn’t that scary, either.
She must have figured out I was waiting on her answer, and her head moved in a slow nod.
“Okay.” I aimed for a playful tone. “You gotta pen?”
There was no reaction from her. She was stiff and tense. Maybe it was because she was the only girl in the bar. Things were definitely looking up now.
“Come on. Let me buy you a beer.” As I headed back toward my drink, I locked eyes with Smitty. My expression hardened as his gaze drifted over to Kayla with interest. Forget it, pal. This girl is all mine.
But was she?
She hadn’t moved. She was frozen to her spot by the door, and I ran a hand through my hair, confused. “You coming?”
“No.”
“You don’t like beer?” I’d really meant it more as an offer of a drink. It could be whatever she wanted, because all I wanted was to put her sexy ass in a chair across from me so we could get reacquainted.
“Are you a student at Michigan?” She phrased it the same way I imagined she’d ask me if I was a recruiter for ISIS.
I paused. “Yeah.”
Why did she look so disappointed?
“I go to Ohio State,” she said.
Oh.
Well, shit.
Part of me was instantly irritated. A gut reaction. This would be a lot easier if she went to another school. Any school instead of OSU. But I decided to ignore the info and gave a half-smile. “You do, huh? That’s cute.” I glanced at Smitty, who occupied the barstool beside mine. “Scoot over.”
Disgust flooded his face. “For a girl who goes to Ohio State?”
Was he fucking kidding? My glare sent him scurrying to the next empty seat. Kayla was a statue by the door. What was going on with her? “What do you want to drink?”
“Nothing. I’m outta here.”
“But you didn’t get my number. Wait, forget that.” I pulled my phone out. “Give me yours. I should have asked for it in the first place.”
Her face went whiter than a visitor’s jersey. “There’s no need. This isn’t going to work.”
Huh. Usually it took a month for a girl to figure that out. My schedule was brutal, and most girls couldn’t deal. “You can tell already?”