Drew
“GOD, I WISHthis hell was over.”
Brian, our other roommate, groaned before he slapped his laptop shut. “Of course, this project has to be two fucking semesters long.”
“It’s grad school, dude. It’s supposed to be a bitch. And we got an A on part one. Stop looking. Relax and have some eggnog or some shit when you get home.” I slapped him on the back, hoping it would stop the whining. Brian was a good friend and smart as hell, but it was hard to dig him out of the complaining vortex he sometimes fell into.
“Yeah, maybe when we have our own company and women are falling at our feet, I’ll remember these past long nights with some sort of fondness,” he mused before shoving his computer in his travel bag.
I gave a noncommittal shrug. “Let’s get the company first. We can worry about perks later.”
“Drew doesn’t need the women.” Carlos smirked at me as he strolled in the door. “He’s got a hot older woman already, isn’t that right?” He came over and nudged my arm. “So, more for us, Brian.”
My eyes rolled, but I didn’t respond. I didn’t even believe me when I insisted we were just friends anymore. I let people assume we were together, so any guys would back off if they had any ideas. Even Chase apologized to me when I ran into him for “almost hitting on my girl.” I never corrected him and kept walking.
“Good.” Brian nodded at me with his chin. “Last thing we need is John Stamos, Jr. over there cutting in on our action anyway.”
My brows pulled together as I crossed my arms. “John Stamos, Jr.?”
He shrugged. “My sister watchesFull Housereruns. Only difference is Uncle Jesse had a guitar and you have a laptop.” He snickered as he slipped his arms into his jacket.
“Why, because he’s the only other Greek you know of?” Carlos cracked up, reaching into our fridge for a beer. “That’s not stereotyping at all.”
“You can’t see the resemblance? The hair, the skin—you never got the ‘oh, you’re Drew’s roommate?!’” Brian clutched his chest and shook his head.
My head fell back as I barked out a laugh. “I didn’t know you had such a crush on me. You should thank me for being such a great wingman. I didn’t even have to be there, and I was able to get girls to speak to you.”
“Whatever, man. I have a train to catch. Happy Holidays, gentlemen. Eat, drink, and don’t think of this fucking project until January. I know those are my plans.”
Carlos plopped next to me on the couch and took a long pull of his beer.
“Want to go to Night Owls tonight? A couple of the guys said they were heading there later.”
“Nah, I have dinner with Sara tonight. I’m headed out in a few minutes.”
“Holy shit, dinner? A date?” His jaw dropped as a shrill whistling sound escaped the side of his mouth.
“It’s not a date. It’s a dinner. She heads down to Middle Village in the morning and I’m headed to Astoria early.”
A smirk tickled the side of his mouth. “Sara also being in Queens for the holidays had nothing to do with agreeing to see the father you can’t stand?”
“No,” I spat out. “Coincidence, that’s all.” And that was true. Sort of. I probably would have agreed to go anyway but having Sara close lessoned my usual hesitation when it came to my father. I rose from the couch and grabbed my jacket.
“Hey, Drew. Word of advice,” Carlos called out. I stilled before I turned around.
“There’s biding your time, and there’s wasting your time. I hope you can tell the difference.”
A sad laugh rumbled in my chest. “I can tell the difference. Just not sure I can help it.”
“This place is pretty nice.” Sara’s eyes searched the room as we sat down, a lot more relaxed than I’d expected to see her tonight. It was hard to pick a restaurant. I wanted to take her somewhere nice, but too nice would scream “date” and make her panic. Smith’s was an upscale bar and grill fifteen minutes from school and seemed casual enough. When we sat down at a table, she was fine—I was the one struggling. Why did she have to be so damn sexy? Sara wore skinny jeans topped off with a chunky sweater that fell off one sexy shoulder. I couldn’t remember when the sight of a woman’s collarbone caused a tent to rise in my pants. I wanted to run my lips over it to see if the creamy skin was as silky as it looked. Every day, I wanted her more, and every day I had to hold myself back. I thought I’d gotten used to it, but there was something about her tonight. Maybe it was the ease in her smile or the way her eyes held mine when she spoke. She was comfortable with me, and I was falling hard for her. The word “doomed” echoed through my frazzled brain as I forced my eyes to stay level with hers.
“I wouldn’t mind owning a place like this.” She took another wistful glance around the room.
“You’d want to own a restaurant?”
She laughed with a shrug. “Maybe. Someday. I got a call back for a restaurant this afternoon and I guess it’s making me ambitious. You’re right, aim for chef first.”
“What do you like about this place that would make you want to own it?”
