Ugh, Julie. Get a grip.
He slides onto the empty stool next to mine. His large frame dwarfs it as his knee brushes against my bare thigh.
“I’m Blake, by the way,” he says and offers me his hand.
“Julie,” I manage to respond as I slip my hand into his.
“So, Julie. What’s a gorgeous girl like you doing hiding out with a book at a bar like this?”
“It’s Vegas,” I reply, trying to sound nonchalant. “Isn’t everyone here hiding from something?”
Blake chuckles. “Touché. Mind if I ask what you’re hiding from?”
My responsibilities. My life. Myself.
But I don’t say any of that. Instead, I say, “My friends, if I’m being honest.”
“Sounds like you need better friends.”
“No, they mean well, it’s just...” I groan slightly. “It’s my twenty-first birthday, and they’re determined to make it this whole big thing, you know?”
“Well, happy birthday.” His smile is a white flash in the strobing lights. “Let me buy you a drink.”
Shyness grips me and I duck my head. “Thanks, but I don’t drink.”
Surprise flickers over his chiseled features before an admiring grin replaces it. “Ah, a responsible birthday girl. I like that.”
My cheeks burn, and I pray the club’s shadows conceal my flush.
“So what do you like to do for fun, birthday girl?”
“Umm, read mostly.” I cringe internally even as I admit it. Could I be any more boring? “I know, I’m a total nerd.”
Blake’s grin widens. “Nothing wrong with being a nerd. I think it’s sexy when a woman has brains to go along with her beauty.”
My heart stutters in my chest. Is this really happening? Is this insanely attractive man really flirting with me?
I’m so not used to this kind of attention from guys. The guys at my college are such immature assholes. I’ve never even had a real boyfriend before. But Blake seems different somehow. Genuine.
Like he might actually be into me.
Needing to deflect before I make a fool of myself, I change the subject. “What about you? What are you hiding from tonight?”
Amusement dances in his eyes. “Same as you, believe it or not.”
My brow furrows. “What do you mean?”
“My friends.” Blake jerks his head toward the pulsing dance floor. “I’m here for a bachelor party, but honestly, I’m not feeling it. Clubs aren’t really my scene.”
“That makes two of us.”
“I guess it does.” Then his gaze rakes over me, sparking a slow burn low in my belly. “Would you like to dance, birthday girl?”
It’s phrased like a question but feels more like a command.
Every sane part of me screams to refuse, to run far away from this insanely hot man and the unsettling things he makes me feel. But for whatever reason, I slip my hand into his, surrendering to his magnetic pull.
“Okay. One dance.”
