“My beautiful girl, it’s been too long since I've seen your face. How are you doing? Surviving without your sidekick?”
“Ahh, you know me, plodding along,” I smile, the other girls following suit and exchanging hellos.
“Come sit with us, I’ll get your usuals ordered.”
Great. This is just what I need. A night of feeling awkward with a group of people I don’t know from Adam, when my head is already up my arse. I wish I weren’t this person. I know I’m usually not, but I honestly have no idea how to get back to the old me.
Once Jenson is back from the bar, he makes the rounds of introducing everyone sitting at the table. I don’t know why, as the moment their names went into one ear, they fell right out of the other. That is, until he named one man who was sitting at the other end of the table to me.
Luke.
What a beautiful-looking man. And when I say man, I mean it. The way he is leaning back so casually in his chair with his shirt sleeves rolled up, tattoos peeking out of the sleeves, and his large hand wrapped around his glass as the other drums against the chair arm. Even his neck is attractive, what the hell is that about?
It’s the way he is staring at me right now that really draws me in. He is eyeing me as though he is trying to work me out. Maybe I should warn him not to bother, I’m broken goods. Giving him my most practised smile, I wink and turn back to my friends, who are mid-conversation, discussing where the best place for a Pornstar Martini is.
“You'd better say here. Otherwise, I won’t bother to make you one again,” Jenson huffs dramatically.
“Free always tastes better in my opinion,” Blair says over the rim of her glass, her eyes never straying from his.
“Get a room, you two. I hear enough noises late at night from the pair of you, I don’t need it whilst I’m trying to have a civilised drink,” Gracie mocks, pretending to vomit, causing the rest of the table to laugh.
“Don’t be jealous, sis. Just because you’re not getting any,” Blair winks in response.
The night carries on just the same, laughter and chatting shared between us all. The warmth of the alcohol I have consumed flowsfreely through my body. Tonight is the closest I have felt to being like the old me. I sit back in my chair, taking in the sights around me as everyone talks merrily. But my eyes can’t seem to stop wandering to the man at the other end of the table. There is something about him that is so familiar, yet I can’t quite put my finger on why.
One of Jenson’s friends, a tall scrawny man with a name I cannot for the life of me remember, asks if we all fancy going into the club room for a while. And shockingly, I nod my head yes as the sisters eye me before replying. Maybe alcohol was all I needed after all. Or maybe just being pushed out of my comfort zone. Who knows.
I linger back as they all make their way, and it’s just as I'm about to enter that I feel the heat of someone close to my back. Spinning quickly, I’m greeted by the most dazzling hazel eyes I have ever seen. Luke is standing so close, I don’t know how he isn’t touching me. Tilting my head back a little so I’m able to take him in properly, I raise my brow.
“Is there a reason you’re creeping up on me?” I ask. Amusement was clear in my tone. That’s odd, flirting is something I haven’t done in a while, either.
“Nope, I just thought I may as well,” he replies with a smile.
“I can’t say I blame you.”
“And why is that?” He asks, his eyes narrowing.
“I’m irresistible, of course,” I wink.
He throws his head back and laughs. A real, throaty laugh. There is no denying that Luke is attractive. He is drop-dead gorgeous. But his laugh… I can’t take my eyes off him.
“That you are,” he grins, walking ahead of me as I gawk after him.
He holds the door open, allowing me to go into the room first. The music is bouncing in here, but how it can be so much different from the other rooms, I have no idea. It must all be soundproofed. Everyone we came in with is now mingling and dancing with each other and strangers, leaving Luke and me alone.
“So,” I call over the music, “how do you know Jenson?”
“I don’t. Tonight is the first night I've met him. I was just out with the lads for a drink after work. What about you?” He eyes me. I can’t quite understand the look behind those beautiful eyes of his.
“He is a close friend of my two brothers. I have just always known him, I guess.” I shrug. “I am more like his annoying little sister.”
His shoulders visibly drop at that, a smile tilting his lips. Did he think Jenson and me were a thing? Did he not see the way he was eye fucking Blair? I am thinking way too much into this. I have only just met the guy, for god’s sake.
“That’s good to know,” he smirks.
“Oh? And why is that?” I tease.
“Because, now I know you're not his,” he says, before leaning close to my ear. “And I wouldreallylike to get to know you, Fallon.”
The feel of his closeness sends a bolt of electricity through me, all the way to my vagina. Lust rushes through me. It has been a while since I’ve been close to a man. But something about Luke is different. I haven’t felt attracted enough to anyone to take that step further in a long time. One night won't hurt, will it?
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” I whisper back, the feeling of need growing more and more intense.
His eyes burn into mine as he says. “Oh, Fallon, I want to do so much more than just get to know you.”
