“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one working with him. He hasn’t seen us yet,” I insist. “We can still slip out.”
A hand taps on the mic, pulling my attention back to the stage.
“Thanks for coming out tonight, everyone,” the lead singer says. “We’re glad to see such a great crowd for a Monday night.Let’s get this thing started!” He glances back at the band, counts them in.
My pulse quickens as I look at Nash, hoping he hasn’t seen me.
But he finds me immediately, even in the dim light. He shoots me a playful wink, and my heart jumps up into my throat.
I jerk away, embarrassed, feeling caught.
“Oh, he definitely saw you. No point in leaving now,” Mina says, laughing at my failed attempt to disappear.
The music starts, and it surprises me how good they are. I watch the band, watch him. Nash is in his element. He’s even more attractive like this than he is all buttoned up at work.
I turn back to the food in front of me, doing whatever I can to not look at him.
“Is he looking at us?” I say, knowing I shouldn’t ask or even care.
Mina grins, nodding. “I told you, he wants you.”
“You really think so?” I say, my voice more eager than I intend.
“Yeah, Ave. He’s looking at you like you’re the only person in this bar,” Mina says, and her certainty shakes something loose in me.
The set continues, and the numerous martinis have me feeling warm and fuzzy. Nash is still staring at me, the music an electric pulse connecting us.
I can’t keep my eyes from roaming to Nash, and every time I do, he’s already looking at me.
I look at Mina, and let out a long breath. “This is insane,” I say.
“Go with it, Avery,” Mina says. “Let yourself go for once.”
I don’t know if I can.
The band starts another song, the last of the night from what I gather. I’m overwhelmed. The energy of the room, the focus of Nash’s gaze, the steady layers of noise.
I need air. I need space to think.
Mina watches me closely, reads my restlessness, senses my instinct to run. “I’m going to get another drink,” she says, not giving me an out. “Do you want anything from the bar?”
I shake my head. “I’m good. Just gonna step outside for some air,” I tell her.
The music follows me to the door, ringing in my ears until I make it to the alley beside the bar.
I lean back against the cool brick wall and just focus on my breathing, letting all the ridiculous thoughts Mina planted in my head fall away.
Nash is off-limits, and that’s that.
Outside, the bass stops throbbing against my back on the bricks, and I close my eyes, inhaling deeply. I want to leave, to run back to the controlled safety of my apartment.
No hot coworkers hiding there!
I need to clear my head. My eyes pop open when I feel a presence next to me.
“If you were making an escape, you didn’t get very far. Didn’t like the set?” he asks.
I turn my head to see Nash settling in with his back against the wall beside me.
