Gary laughed. “Trust me, your brother isn’t lacking in the women department. Who was the one you hooked up with the other night? You called her some other girl’s name.”
I rolled my eyes. “It was an honest mistake, and yes, I’ve had a few—a few—casual relationships, but there’s something about her that’s…different.”
“Oh hell,” Gary mumbled. “Not the whole ‘she’s different’ thing. Any time a guy says that, forget it, he’s a goner.”
David nodded. “It’s true. I lost my friend Doug after he said those very words. I can’t even tell you the last time I spoke to him.”
Gary pointed at David. “What he said. I’ve known a few who’ve fallen after uttering those fateful words, as well.”
“Would the two of you stop it. I just want to meet her, that’s all. I’m not saying I’m going to fall in love with her.”
At that very moment, she looked over, and our eyes met. Even from where I stood, I could see hers were blue. Then she smiled—and my entire world shifted.
I started to make my way toward her, only to hear Gary rushing to stand up and follow.
“Jesus, Ladd, give me a warning, at least!” Gary hissed as he ran up next to me.
Before he even had a chance to introduce us, I walked up to her and smiled. Reaching out my hand, I said, “I’m Ladd Wilde.”
She smiled even bigger as she reached for my hand and gave it a good firm shake. “Vivianne Pennington.”
“Vivianne, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”
The two women she was with giggled.
Vivianne, however, simply frowned thoughtfully. “It depends. Are you going to wear that cowboy hat?”
I grinned. “Would you want me to?”
“Yes, I would.”
Winking, I replied, “Then I’ll wear it.”
“In that case, I’d love to have dinner with you, Ladd.”
I got her information, and we agreed on a time for me to pick her up. I couldn’t help the smile on my face as I took a few steps backward and said, “I’ll see you at six tonight.”
Her hand lifted in a wave while she bit down on her lower lip. Turning, I headed back to my brother, who stood there with a smirk on his face.
As I grew closer, he asked, “Well? What happened?”
I grinned. “She obviously didn’t have a boyfriend since she accepted my offer of a date tonight, and I just fell in love, little brother.”
David closed his eyes and groaned. “Dad isn’t going to like this one bit.”
“Probably not,” I agreed before walking toward my truck. “I need to go find something to wear tonight.”
Laughing, I heard David ask, “Did I hear that right?”
Gary sighed. “We just lost another one, I’m afraid.”
“How does this look?” I asked David, who was sitting at the end of my bed. He’d moved in with me, Gary, and our other friend, Jack, last summer. We were renting a four-bedroom house right off campus, and when our previous roommate graduated and moved out, David asked if he could move in. It was perfect timing as he was starting his freshman year and didn’t want to have to live in a dorm; the cost to rent the one room was cheaper.
“Did you really ask me that?” my brother questioned, nearly missing the small football he’d been throwing up in the air.
“Ididask you that. I want to make a good impression on Vivianne.”
He frowned. “What is it about this girl that has you all up in knots? I’ve never known you to go out of your way to impress someone.”
