“Tonight, I’m not a friend helping you out. Tonight, I’m your arm candy, proving you couldn’t care less about Josh and how things ended between you two.”
I pursed my lips at him. “You sure think highly of yourself.”
“I know I sound conceited, but a mirror and years of women wanting my attention are proof that I’m right,” he said as naturally as if he were commenting on the weather.
I balked. “I’m beginning to think I brought the wrong guy. Maybe I should have asked Dave, that guy I went out with last week, to join me tonight instead. He was nice and down-to-earth.”
I’d told Slate and the rest of the group about each of my dates so far, how lackluster they’d been.
“Oh, please. Dave is boring and too boy-next-door,” he countered. “And he’s not good enough for you.”
“And you are?” I raised one brow.
“Oh, no, definitely not,” he answered without skipping a beat. “But I’m perfect for an event like this.”
I shook my head. I’d never met anyone like him before. He thought he was God’s gift to women and the best football player on the field, but he could also be sweet and kind, considerate and reliable, and at times too honest. It could sometimes give me whiplash, how he could go from being this cute, thoughtful guy toewin a matter of seconds. It made me wonder if there was a reason he acted like a bottomless pit when it came to women. Had something happened to him? Or was he hiding from something?
He had a point, though. Hewasperfect for an I’m-over-my-ex-and-doing-fine date. Although I’m sure bringing someone who had the boy-next-door look would have worked fine too. Which had me wondering.
“What’s wrong with the boy next door?” I asked.
“Nothing, but a guy like that won’t hold your attention for long,” he said matter-of-factly.
I looked at him in surprise. “How do you know that?”
He glanced over at me. “Why haven’t you gone out with him again? I’m assuming it was a no on your end, not his.”
I turned my gaze to look out the windshield. How did he know this? Yes, he’d been there when I’d told everyone about my date, but I hadn’t gone into much detail. I’d mentioned we’d had a good time and that he was a nice guy, that the conversation had flowed easily enough. When Scarlet had asked if I’d be going out with him again, I’d only shrugged and said I didn’t know. Scarlet and Olivia had seemed excited about the idea of me dating, so I hadn’t wanted to tell them the whole truth.
And the truth was, I had been the one to stop things between Dave and me. I was being honest when I’d told Slate that Dave was nice and down to earth, but the date had been boring, almost like going out with a brother. There had definitely been no sparks.
“It doesn’t really matter why I haven’t gone out with him again.” I didn’t want to admit that he was right. “I’m just curious what makes you so sure that a boy next door type isn’t exactly what I’m looking for.”
He made some kind of noise in his throat, like he couldn’t believe I was questioning him. “You were bored with Josh, and now that you are finally single, you want to experience something more exciting. I’ve been with a lot of women,” he said, to which I made a gagging noise, which had him laughing before he continued. “And over the years, I’ve become really good at picking up on what a girl wants in her current stage of life.”
While I’d been dating Josh, I’d never thought the phrase, “I’m bored,” but looking back now, I could see that I had been. I hadn’t known it at the time, probably because I hadn’t known anything different. Slate had nailed it when he’d said I was wanting to experience something more exciting. I wasn’t sure exactly what that looked like, but I was hoping I could find it.
“I’m not saying you’re wrong,” I admitted. “But I don’t think you having been with a lot of women is a good basis for your reasoning.”
“I disagree.”
“What? How?” I said incredulously. “You literally just have sex with them and move on. How could you possibly get a good read on them and know what they are wanting in their romantic life?”
He glanced over at me before looking back at the road. “You act like I sleep with whomever approaches me.”
“Well, don’t you?” From what I’d seen, he left with any sexy girl who sank her claws in.
He hesitated for a second before answering. “No, they have to meet a few prerequisites before I decide if I’ll sleep with them.”
“You have prerequisites?” I shook my head and folded my arms. “This ought to be good.”
“I know it sounds bad, but I genuinely don’t want to hurt any of these women. I’m not a complete pig.”
I raised one brow at him in disagreement.
“Just half a pig?” he asked, giving me a mixed look of humor and sheepishness.
My expression remained skeptical. “Let me hear these qualifications, and then I’ll decide.”
