“I’d hate to see what you’d do if a girl in here came up to Tony.”
“Oh, they won’t.”
“They won’t?” I asked, confused by her certainty.
“No. He’s in white.”
I looked around the group and saw most were in white, a few in pink, and a few others with red. “What don’t I know, Lizzy?”
She smiled a wicked smile.
“Damn it, Lizzy, what did you not tell me?”
“You remember back when we were in college and we used to go to those stoplight parties?”
I closed my eyes slowly, letting everything click into place. “Let me guess. White off limits, pink maybe, and red is ready to bone?” I caught a shocked look on Derek’s face and pulled my lips in apology for the assumption.
“Pretty much.”
“Damn it Lizzy.”
“You didn’t tell her?” Tony asked, grabbing her arm, entering the conversation.
“You didn’t tell Derek!” She snapped back.
I looked at Derek, whose lips pinched into a flat line, and he shook his head.
A woman in black walked by carrying another tray of drinks. I grabbed two off and knocked one back, and offered the second to Derek.
“No thanks. I don’t drink.” I couldn’t hide the surprise on my face, and he quickly added. “I drink. Just not shots… or liquor… anymore.”
“One time in Cabo, he had a few too many tequila shots.” Tony added, providing context.
I knocked the other shot back before the conversation fell awkwardly quiet. I got the impression Derek was not super comfortable here and was probably lured out by Tony and Lizzy. Poor guy. I felt bad for him, but I needed to get my feathers flicked and my candy licked, and I was thinking he wouldn’t be the one to do it. I know it made me sound whorish, but damn, it’s been six months.
“Those shots are fantastic. They taste like those little sugary candy hearts.” I said, licking the remnants off my top lip, trying to find another girl in black with a tray.
The room was packed with people dancing and lights jutting from side to side. It was almost mesmerizing to watch. I started to get a tingly feeling and looked up to the balcony above and found a pair of electric blue eyes watching me. The man had feathery dark hair, strong jawline with a sexy five o’clock shadow, and was wearing all black. He had those smoldering fuck me eyes I was hoping Derek was going to have, but Derek seemed like a good guy. The guy you’d want to meet your parents, but not the kind who could rock your world in bed. A soft fuck kind of guy. Not saying he’d be bad, but there would be that thing missing.
I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the man and found myself not wanting to. I created a game in my head- a staring contest- one which he didn’t know the rules of, so I would win. Was it stupid? Yes. But I liked games and right now I was loving this one. I felt my heart beating faster the longer we stared at one another. Was he playing with me, too? Testing me? Waiting for me to turn away?
I saw another man in a black suit, equally attractive, whisper something to him. His lips flattened and his face changed from amusement to frustration. His hands gripped the railing a little tighter before he turned to walk away.
“What are you looking at?” Lizzy asked, putting her cheek beside mine. “Oh, that’s the owner’s suite up there.”
“Owner’s suite?”
“Yea. Do you want to meet them?”
I looked at her, shocked. “No. Why? Do you know them?”
She laughed. “No. But Tony and Derek do. They helped design this place. I could talk to Tony.”
“No. That’s ok.”
“Good. Tony said they were kind of weird.”
“Weird?” Is it bad I was intrigued? I glanced back up to the balcony, but he was gone.
