“Oh no, we’ve met,” Eva says as a sly smile spreads across her face. “Fancy meeting you here, Noah,” she continues. “You had to be the last person I thought I’d run into tonight.”
“Likewise,” I smile back.
It’s not the greeting that I fantasized about, or the one I played over and over in my mind while lying in bed last night, and this morning, but it isn’t a slap in the face either
Rex looks at the two of us in disbelief. His head turns to Eva first, then to me, then back to Eva. In an extreme state of shock, his mouth falls open as he tries to understand what’s going on.
“Noah, you want another beer?” Michael calls out from behind the bar. I silently thank God for his tiny distraction.
“I’d love another beer,” I reply, smiling at Eva, and pushing between her and Rex to take a seat at the bar beside her.
“This is that friend of mine that moved out with me after college,” Rex says, perplexed. Shaking his head, he continues, “How have you two met before? I’ve been trying to get him over here for months now, but he always refuses.”
Eva eyes me curiously. My gaze drifts from her breathtaking eyes to her mouth. I lick my lips, remembering her taste.
“So, you think you’re too good for us huh?” she asks, teasing me.
God, what I wouldn’t give for the opportunity to tease her back, and watch her body rise into a frenzied need.
My gaze lifts back to hers. “Well, if I would have known you’d be here, I definitely would have come a lot sooner.” I wink at her, then take a sip of my beer, and never break eye contact. I make it a long sip, hopeful it calms the nerves rising inside my gut.
She leans forward on the bar, and I unintentionally glance down at her delectable cleavage. Glancing back up, she provocatively replies, “But then that wouldn’t have given us that wild and crazy night in the bar now would it?”
Licking her lips, I suddenly catch my breath. Damn, I’d love to give her wild and crazy, slow and sweet, or any way she likes it, just so long as I’m the one giving it to her.
“Whoa … whoa … whoa,” Rex shouts. “What the hell did I miss?”
Eva throws her head back, and laughs at his comment, making me notice once again the unintentional way she captivates everyone’s attention in the room. Every ounce of this woman is alluring. Rex’s brother, Trevor has made his way over to the group during our conversation and takes the empty seat on the other side of Eva. I watch as Trevor seems to respond the same way I do to her charm. I can’t deny the jealous tug that immediately starts to build in my veins. If I would have known this little brat was all over trying to get a piece of her too, I would have never declined a dinner invitation, and would’ve made sure to have staked my claim a long time ago.
“Don’t get too excited,” she giggles. “Nothing like what you would consider wild and crazy, Rex. He saved me from, shall we say, your typical bar rat?” She looks at me for confirmation, to which I nod, and then watch as Trevor scoots his chair a little bit too close to her for my liking.
“You know,” she continues, “the type that can’t keep their hands off, thinks no means yes, and convinces themselves that every girl is asking for it.”
“Want me to make you another one, sis?” Eva’s brother asks.
She nods, and finishes her drink. She leans across the bar, pulls a cherry out from a dish, and plops it in her mouth. As her mouth closes around the stem, I fight the urge to push her back against the bar and taste the cherry flavor on her tongue.
“I would have saved you,” Trevor mumbles under his breath. She smiles at him and Trevor longingly smiles back.
Yup, it’s confirmed. This guy thinks he can just roll up and stake claim to what I intend to make mine. Game on. Sorry, Trev. But I intend to make sure you don’t have a fucking chance.
“So, how’s business?” Eva asks Rex and Michael.
Her brother and Rex opened a nightclub in Auburn about a year ago when Rex and I returned home from school. The two of them had always talked about going into business together, and now that they both have degrees, and money isn’t an issue due to their well-off family names, they pursued their childhood dream and recently opened up one of the biggest watering holes this side of the Mississippi.
Gatsby’s sits on top of a large hill in Old Town Auburn. It’s an upscale lounge made to look vintage with an art deco edge. The town of Auburn always needed a place like Gatsby’s, and the club’s popularity came quickly. Anybody who wants to be seen and known about town flocks to Gatsby’s on a regular if not almost nightly basis. They drink and schmooze their nights away in a way that would make Gatsby proud.
I made it a point not to frequent there often. I’d heard enough stories from Rex to know that it isn’t a place I want to be.
“I still love that you took the name I suggested,” Eva says. “It’s masculine with just enough of a lustful edge.”
“Anything to make the ladies lustful,” Rex jokes. “There was this one that came in the other night with the biggest ass and perfect fucking tits that…”
“On another note,” Eva loudly interrupts, making Rex laugh.
“Business is great as always,” Michael says. “We’re about to have our first holiday season. We’ve planned a lot of special events. It should be impressive. Maybe you should write about it. Put it in the paper and help your brother out!”
“We’ll talk this week, and I’ll get the details. We have the next edition of the magazine coming up, and I know Rob has been wanting to create more articles to bring in younger readers. I’m sure he would be all over it,” Eva suggests.
