“Sky, is that you?”
The familiar voice made the hair on my skin stand straight.
“Wow, Spencer! Long time no see.” This was entirely too much acting for me tonight. When I signed up for this gig, I wasn’t supposed to run into anyone I knew. I didn’t run in a wealthy circle. My bubble of people in this city was small and we certainly didn’t hang around places like this.
Spencer moved in for a hug so quickly, I didn’t have much time to react.
“Bathroom,” he whispered, his lips grazing ever so slightly against my ear.
When he broke our embrace, it was back to pretending he was some long-lost friend, and I was Sky.
“Jayson, right?” I assumed since Spencer was putting on a show that Jayson had to be up to speed with my life outside of serving drinks at the pool.
“J-Jayson Jennings? Sky, why didn’t you tell me you knew the best hockey player in the league?”
Uh, the fuck? Because I don’t. I mean, I didn’t until a few days ago apparently.
Cal was a stuttering, fan-boying mess—clearly a huge hockey fan.
“It’s been a while. Must have slipped my mind.” I forced a laugh.
“I was actually just headed out of here and wanted to say hello to you before I left. It was great to see you again, Sky.” Spencer winked before he walked away, most likely toward the bathrooms.
“Wait, uh, does that mean you’re leaving too, Jayson?” The fan boy in this man was disgustingly desperate.
“I was thinking of staying for another drink. You wouldn’t mind if I crashed the party, would ya?” Jayson directed his question at me, waiting for my answer.
“No, no. Of course not. I’m actually going to let you guys chill for a minute, if you don’t mind. I need to run to the bathroom. Think I had some bad shellfish or something.” I awkwardly smiled before excusing myself.
Jesus, Avery. Couldn’t think of a better excuse to get away?
With every step closer to the bathrooms, my heart raced faster. What was this conversation with Spencer going to be like? And why the hell did I seem to run into him on every shift I worked lately? Did he put a tracker on me or something? And why were we always meeting by the bathrooms?
As if he was Batman himself, Spencer shot out of a dark corner, grabbed me around the waist, and scared the shit out of me in the process.
“Jesus Christ, Spencer.” My hand clenched my chest. “What are you doing here?” I whisper-yelled.
“I was going to ask you the same question. This is Jayson’s favorite spot. He asked me to meet him here for a couple drinks after I got off work.” The smell of bourbon on his breath took me back to the first night we met. How badly I wanted to taste it on his tongue when we were just strangers.
“I guess it’s just another crazy coincidence then because this is where my client needed me tonight.”
“What if I said he wouldn’t need you anymore?”
My eyebrows drew together in confusion. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Come with me, I’ll explain.” Without waiting for my answer, his fingers interlocked with mine, pulling me into a restroom that was bigger than my van.
It was an open, family style bathroom with deep green subway tile on the walls, one toilet, and a marble white counter with gold finishes. Obviously, based on the bar we were in, I wouldn’t expect anything less from the high-end bathroom.
Spencer flipped the lock after pulling me inside.
As I waited for his next move, I rested against the countertop. He stepped toward me in slow motion and my breath hitched when his hands found my waist again. I had to crane my neck just to get a good look at his jawline.
“Jayson is going to keep him occupied for the night. I don’t think your client will mind, do you?” His finger brushed along my shoulder, moving my loose waves to my back.
“I-I don’t know.” His touch made me lose my train of thought.
“Based on how he was reacting back there, I think it’s safe to say he’d rather hang out with Jayson. No offense.” He winked.
