Lea is looking around, for Noa, I assume, but he isn’t anywhere in sight. “Didn’t you say everyone from work is meeting here?” I ask from behind her. Why would the guys we work with want to hang out here? As I’m thinking it, I realize it’s the perfect place to meet a horny woman. Smart.No, not smart. Stupid.
She looks down at her watch. “They’ll be here in about five minutes,” she says. “Noa must be in the back. Come on.”
I follow like the puppy dog I am to her, while trying to avoid the sights of the mostly naked men walking around with trays of food.
“That says ‘Men’s Locker Room,’” I tell her as she’s moving forward to push the door open. “Shouldn’t you knock first?”
“It’s justcalledthe locker room. No one is ever getting dressed in there when I go in.”
How can we be two such completely different types of people, yet we came from the same exact background? It makes no sense. She shoves the door open, and all we hear is a thud and what sounds like a growl. “Oh my God. I’m so, so sorry!” Lea says. “Did I just hit you?”
She pushes the door open a little further and grabs me by the strap of my dress, pulling me into the locker room with her. “I’m fine,” I hear, before making my way around the door. “There’s a lot of power behind those small arms of yours.”
Lea giggles … of course … and as the door closes, it sheds a new light on my already wonderful evening.
It’s him. The guy from the pool.He works here. Seriously?I should have figured.
In any case, I am a little stunned by the sight in front of me. I may have noticed him in his board shorts earlier, but this is a little different. I’m seeing more, but less, and I need to stop staring.
“Good evening, ladies,” he says.
Lea giggles again. She can’t control herself, and Noa is literally right here. She could at least try to act less like a teenage girl who’s standing in front of a mostly naked, good-looking guy.
“No … right?” he asks.
“My name isn’t ‘No,’” I respond while taking another long drink of the sight he’s forcing me to take in. Despite my normal ability to remain unaffected by men talking to me, I’ve suddenly forgotten how to breathe. It’s a good thing I already responded to his question.
“Oh, I see. Well, I’m Denver, in case you forgot,” he says, reaching his hand out to me.
“That’s right! I forgot you two met this morning. This troublemaker over here … ” Noa says as he slaps his hands down on Denver’s shoulders. “Ladies, Denver is officially my newest—”
“Man bun?” I ask.
Noa clears his throat. “Sure, sis. We’ll go with that if it gets you any closer to smiling instead of snarling,” Noa says.
“I’m not your sis, and when I am, I will still only be your in-law,” I inform him.
“Please don’t start tonight, you two,” Lea follows. “I want this to be a good night.”
“Then you shouldn’t have tricked me into coming here,” I reply.
“Lea, I told you not to do that,” Noa interrupts. “You know I can’t afford to have any drama in the restaurant, babe.”
“Drama?” Lea responds with haste. I give it two seconds before steam is pouring out of her ears.
“I didn’t mean drama, drama, I just meant—”
“That I embarrass you, right?” Lea replies.
For the love of God.“Leave him alone, Lea.”
“Leave him alone?” Lea snaps at me. “You can’t be serious. You’ve been attacking me for the last hour, and now you’re telling me to leave my fiancé alone?”
“Attacking her?” Noa asks me.
“No! No one was attacking anyone. She’s being dramatic,” I emphasize with a wide-eyed glare.
“Ladies, ladies,” Denver cuts in.
