“It’s my first time.” I tuck my hair behind my ears.
He scoots closer until his muscular thigh presses into mine. Awareness shoots through me like a bolt of lightning, leaving behind a trail of heightened nerve endings.
What would it be like to get tangled up in his long legs and muscular arms? I imagine the experience would be orgasmic. An ache starts low in my belly and settles in the junction between my legs. Parts of me that have been dormant for two years tingle and throb.
I clear my throat. Am I taking my fantasy too far? I’m leading Bobby on, and I’m not sure how I feel other than torn. I put space between us and cross my legs, not missing his sexy laughter as an undercurrent beneath the loud music. He’s onto how much he affects me, and torn or not, I like that he is aware of my body’s reaction to his.
“Are you from out of town, or do you live here and it’s your first time inside Crimson?” he asks with his full attention on me.
One of my brother’s rules is to not share personal information with strangers. Carlos’s killer or killers are still out there, and that puts the crew in danger. Bobby is a stranger, but after tonight, I won’t see him again. It won’t hurt anyone, most importantly the crew, if I share a little bit about myself.
Looking at the man studying me with his intense, unusual-colored eyes, I doubt he’ll remember me past tonight. I’m a plain Jane with my dark-brown hair and boring brown eyes compared to the drop-dead gorgeous women in the club.
“If Dumas counts, then yes, I’m an out-of-towner. I live in and attend school in Dumas. It’s my last year at DU, but next week will be my last.”
“Are you transferring to a different school?”
“No, but I’m certain you’re not here”—I wave my hand at the crowd and the beautiful women looking in our direction, staring at him—“to hear a college coed’s sob story.” Gwen’s story.
The server places menus in front of us. I hand mine back. I’m not here for a sit-down meal. I’m here to dance in Carlos’s memory and then drive back home. My stomach has a different idea. It must’ve remembered that my last meal was a bagel with cream cheese during my lunch break. Time slips by me, and I forget to eat. My stomach grumbles, and thank goodness the music is loud enough to drown out the sound.
Bobby takes the menu back like he’s figured me out. “Order whatever you want. My treat.”
From my experience, men who say “my treat” usually want something in return, but I’m not getting that vibe from Bobby.
“She’s not leaving until you order.”
I order the first item that catches my eye. “Mozzarella sticks and a glass of water, please.”
Bobby hands the menus to the server. “The usual.”
She dips her head. “Of course, sir.”
I wait for her to leave saying, “You must come here often if she knows what your usual is.”
“Something like that.” He winks. I resist the urge to melt beneath his sea-glass gaze. “You have questions.” He leans in and stares at my face.
It’s more a statement than a question, and there’s a teasing lilt in his voice that I find adorable and sexy as sin. “Am I that easy to read?”
“Let’s just say you would lose in a game of poker.”
I smile. “That’s fair.” I toy with my napkin, wondering whether I should ask my question. There’s a reason for the saying “curiosity killed the cat.” It was my curiosity that led me to approach Braxton and ask him about the expensive-looking sports car in my neighborhood, not realizing he’d stolen it.
My curiosity gets the better of me, and I ask my question. “How old are you?”
I’ve been to swanky restaurants and dive bars with my brother, Ty, his boyfriend, José, and the crew, and I’ve never heard a server address them as “sir.”
“Unless you don’t want to tell,” I backtrack. Age can be a sensitive subject.
“Twenty-eight.”
Or not.
“You?”
“Twenty-one.” I was only sensitive about my age when women Carlos’s age looked down their noses at me and assumed I was one of the young ones in the neighborhood with a crush on the much older, tatted nightclub owner.
The joke was on them. I was the girlfriend. Nothing came between me and Carlos. Not a guy, and definitely not another girl, though they tried.
