Lana arched a perfectly-trimmed, smug brow. “Someone will certainly be getting you out of those heels,” she drawled. “Cheers to the one who does.”
CHAPTER THREE - GAVIN
I CHOSE A seat at the far end of the bar to watch the fun while chatting with a few friends from work. While the party started up, I’d made time to pull out the app and do a little dancing around with the profiles, nudging some people in the right direction for a strong connection and shifting a few I knew would be explosive in the end. Those were my favorites, the ones I was most proud of, and every now and then, they happened to work out. But most of the time, they were just fun to watch, and seeing them play out in real time there at the bar was set to be the highlight of my night.
Drinks were flowing. The music was a thudding white noise in the background to all the laughter and talking around the room. People were loving the candy hearts and matching on the app... Everything was going according to plan. It was all perfect… anormalValentine’s night…
Until she walked in.
Fuck me.
Everything my friend, Zayn, was saying, muted. The woman was shrugging her black trench coat off, revealing the off-shoulder light pink sweater tucked into a wide belt over her leather mini-skirt; her full, pillowed breasts pushed up and exposed along the vee neckline. Her long legs were hidden beneath a sheer layer of black tights and thigh-high black-heeled boots. Just the peek of those tights had me more curious about her, of whether she’d worn full tights or if they were connected to some slutty lingerie beneath.
Fucking gods, I hoped it was the latter.
The fantasy of her in something strappy, perhaps sprawled out on the bed, her wrists locked together over her head with my new fuzzy handcuffs, filled my mind. I already wanted to set those beautiful tits free, feel how soft they would be in my mouth, bracing my cheeks—
Shit, she’d barely been in the room for three minutes, and I was already plotting all the ways I would have her.
She laughed at something her friend said, then absentmindedly pushed her long, silky black hair off her face as she reached for the drink menu. Her smokey makeup accentuated her warm ivory skin and highlighted her round, dark eyes.
How fucking beautiful she would look on her knees… my hand threaded through her soft strands, those wide eyes looking up at me as she took my cock deep…
I shifted in my seat as the image stirred my now attentive dick. Where the fuck had she come from? She wasn’t on any list of persons I knew would attend, nor did I remember her profile even showing up in this area of the country. She was a ghost. An apparition come to drive me toward insanity if I couldn’t have her.
One of the neon red lights ricocheted off her friend’s bouncing textured hair, caramel streaks in the tamed spirals, and bathed her light brown skin in its glare. The pair were looking at the candy hearts, and I couldn’t fight my swallow as the girl I was admiring laid one on her tongue and rolled it back into her mouth.
Shit.
“Hey, Gav—“ Zayn snapped his fingers in my face twice, and I zipped out of the daze.
I was a breath away from slapping the knowing grin off Zayn’s face.
“She’s cute,” Zayn said, sipping his drink as he glanced her way.
“She is,” I agreed. “I don’t remember seeing her on my list.”
“Open party,” Zayn shrugged. “Sure, a few will slip in with friends.”
Though, I did recognize her friend. I’d seen her profile many times before, had seen some of the people she’d matched with, and even had some fun of my own matching her with a few I thought could be interesting.
I took my phone out with a plan in mind. Time for some fun.
My friends continued to chat around me, but I couldn’t stop stealing glances at the girl. I noticed a couple of guys coming up to chat and watched as the two women slid candy hearts in their direction. It didn’t take me being at the table to know they were using hearts with rejection sayings on them. A few of the men looked pissed off while others laughed, seemingly intrigued by the game.
It had been a long time since I’d genuinely lusted after another. Most of the mortals I’d found myself in bed with had been last-minute suggestions, mere glances exchanged that ended up with my taking them home and fucking in the back of my Jeep Wrangler.
This woman… I had a feeling I might have to do more than smile to get her attention.
I’d start with the basics.
CHAPTER FOUR - CHLOE
I SLID A candy heart reading ‘THANK U, NEXT’ toward the latest man that had approached to buy me a drink. It wasn’t even that he wasn’t good-looking. I was simply having entirely too much fun with the game Lana and I were playing. Even the onlookers were having fun with it once they found out what we were doing. A few had come up to us just to see what hearts we would give them.
And for the first time in months, I actually forgot about work.
I practically felt my jaw unclench and my shoulders relax with every smile and laugh. I kept my phone face down on the table, and every time I thought about checking my email, I reached for a candy heart or took a sip of my drink instead.
