Today was not that day.
“See, I knew you’d have a great time.” Lisa arched a brow as she unlocked our door.
“It was great to leave the room for a night, that’s for sure.” I agreed as I shrugged off my jacket. “The girls are nice. Don’t ask me to go clubbing just yet.”
She scoffed as she kicked off her boots. “You were fine. Although, if you wanted to play pool, you could have.” She cocked an eyebrow, and I knew I was busted.
“No distractions. No matter how shiny and pretty. After my year is up and I finally graduate, I’m moving back to the city to find a job and an apartment for my daughter and me.”
“Shame.” She tsked as she fell onto the bed. “Mr. Shiny and Pretty was looking back at you most of the night.”
“Was he?” My voice came out in an unfamiliar shriek, causing a bubble of laughter from Lisa.
“But, no distractions, right?” She winked as the corners of her mouth twitched. “Look, I get it. You want to get back home to Victoria. But, you could still have . . . a little fun. How long has it been?”
“Since what? Fun?” I let out a humorless laugh. “Let’s see, my daughter is eight, so add nine months to that. I can’t afford to screw up again,” I whispered, reminding myself more than Lisa.
“You won’t.” Lisa’s expression turned soft. “You are a great mom. You’re always speaking to Victoria, planning for her, saving for her. Is it so bad to plan for yourself, too?”
“I should plan to flirt with the hot stranger in the bar next time?” I rose from the bed and trudged into the bathroom.
“Yes. Plansomething. For yourself. At this point, I think you’re out of excuses.”
I didn’t answer as I shut the door behind me. I guessed being scared shitless wasn’t an excuse.
Drew
“I HONESTLY DON’Tknow what happened . . . I hope I didn’t break anything. You better have a look.” Sabrina peered at me under batting lashes as her finger drifted up my arm.
Freshmen weren’t supposed to practice in the test kitchens and didn’t have a reason to. Second-year students were here the most, usually trying to crack a technique, and the third- and fourth-years knew their way around enough to test for the hell of it. This girl, twirling her auburn hair through her fingers with doe eyes fixed on me, wasn’t here to practice or test. How she got written permission to be here was beyond me, although I’d bet she used the hair thing for that, too.
“I’m sure you didn’t. Point me to the station and I’ll fix it.” I forced a smile and suppressed an eye roll as I stood from my chair. Manning the test kitchen was supposed to be an easy on-campus job, and since the IT positions were gobbled up so damn fast, I thought this was an easy way to make money without too much aggravation. Usually I just signed people in or out, checked the power at one of the stations if a student had trouble, or passed the time during my allotted hours reading a book or working on a project. This girl wasn’t here to learn, as the only thing she studied when she’d come in was me. This was the fourth “I don’t know what happened” in two weeks.
She had a petite, curvy body topped off with a cute face, but I never gave in to her attempts at flirting. Sabrina was the kind of girl I’d dated a hundred times. Granted, that’s what you were supposed to do in college: date, get laid, repeat, but it became tedious for me. My friends still embraced the cycle, but I wanted a woman who made me work for it, not offered herself on a platter before she even said hello.
After I ambled over and found nothing wrong with the station or the equipment, I made my way back to the front desk. Sabrina muttered something about me being her hero, but I ignored it. I hoped she’d get the hint eventually, but eventually didn’t seem to be anytime soon.
I slid back into my seat and opened up my laptop, hoping like hell for a quiet rest of the shift.
“Hey,” a throaty voice greeted me, pulling my eyes away from my screen. “I know it’s late, but could I sign in for just an hour or so?”
Well, I’ll be damned. The beautiful hallway and bar angel stood before me. She was the only woman to back away from me as if I had the Ebola virus the two times I’d met her. Both times, my eyes had stayed glued to the contour of her perfect ass as she rushed off to escape me. I noticed her at Night Owls the other night and caught her checking me out a few times. When I finally managed to slip away from the guys and reintroduce myself, she was even more skittish than when I first met her.
Her whiskey-colored eyes searched mine, and fuck, she was gorgeous. A blush spread across her cheeks, and I couldn’t resist calling her on it.
“At least we didn’t knock each other over this time.” My lips twitched as I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms.
Her eyes narrowed as if I’d offended her. Forget about my usual game, small talk was like pulling teeth with this girl.
She tucked a chestnut lock of hair behind her ear before glancing at her watch with a frustrated hiss. “I didn’t realize it was this late. I’d meant to get down here earlier, but classwork from today took longer than I’d thought, and I really wanted to cook something for myself for once. I’ll try back tomorrow.”
She turned to leave, and I popped out of my seat and grabbed her elbow.
“Not too late at all, Sara. Station in the front is totally free. Cook your heart out.”
“Really?” She squinted as her head cocked to the side.
“I have nowhere to be tonight.” I shrugged and leaned against the front of my desk. “It’s no trouble at all.”
