Buzzcut, glasses, wet dream, tattoo-neck, bombshell.
“So what do I have the pleasure of addressing my company?” he purrs and I internally gag, but plaster a coy smile on my face.
“El.”
We follow another bend as he continues to probe. “And what would that be short for?”
Channeling my inner Grave, I retort, “Can’t go giving away all of my secrets right off the bat. What fun is life without a little mystery?”
Tattoo-neck, bombshell, fidgety.
The man beside me chuckles. “I can see how you caught Everett’s eye.”
Debating the wisdom of it, I ask, “You know him then?”
He scoffs. “Far more than I’d like to.” He leans in close like he’s about to share a dirty secret. “A record doesn’t clean itself that immaculately unless it really needed bleaching, and had a good amount of help to pull it off.” He straightens up, not keeping his voice as hushed as he continues, “Everett showing up for a night out wouldn’t cause as much of a stir if he hadn’t had the mad dog in tow.” I bite my tongue, trying to remind myself that I’m not supposed to cause a scene.
He turns to face me. “Any particular reason they’re here tonight? I would imagine that Everett would want to keep his date as far away from the madman as possible, and I can’t recall a time either of them has come here simply for pleasure.”
Breathing through my nose, I try to remain calm, to think logically rather than telling him to shove off. It’s a challenge, but ultimately, this is one of the few things within my power. Grave was excited for a night out, even if it was for training. If I get in this guy’s face, it’ll mean we’ll have to call it and walk away, and I have no doubt that Julian is watching the security cameras and judging me as we speak.
“I’m sorry to say I truly have no idea.” I feign sounding shocked, like the hushed revelations have me uneasy. “I haven’t known Everett all that long. This is actually our first-“ a heavy pause “-date.”
His eyes rove over my body and he misinterprets my small shudder as a chill races down my spine. “Well, El, I caution you to be careful with that one. And if you happen to find yourself in a bind-“ he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a card with a flourish “-you can give me a call.”
A cursory glance shows him as a lawyer, the comment about Ev’s record making more sense now. With no purse, I tuck the card into my bra, and he doesn’t even pretend not to follow the motion.
“I’ll keep that in mind, sir.”
His pupils dilate and I internally cringe, realizing full well how this could play out if I’m not careful. “Daniel, please.”
I see the table ahead and nearly sag in relief, meeting Everett’s eye and sending him a quick, pleading look. He rises to his feet, meeting us in the middle. Grave’s long gone, but I imagine it will be easy enough to find him when the time comes to leave. Just follow the whispers, and they’ll lead us right to him.
“Dan,” Ev declares, clapping the man’s shoulder in a form of camaraderie and extending a hand to me, palm up. “Can’t thank you enough for bringing my girl back. Was starting to get worried she was lost for good.”
I slip my hand into his, and as he wastes no time lifting it to kiss the back before pulling me into his body. He wraps a hand around my waist, plastering me securely against his side, and I sink into it happily.
Daniel’s lips press into a thin line before he dons his business face. “Might want to keep a better eye on that one. Lord knows half the men in this place would jump at the chance to steal her away from you.”
Everett’s fingers tighten on my hip before he starts walking. “Love to see them try.” He gives the man a mock salute as we depart, and neither of us speak again until there’s a good distance between us and Daniel.
We end up sitting side by side at a couple of slot machines and he passes me a twenty. “You good?”
“Yeah. As skeevy as he was, I actually was lost and it saved me having to stop some random person for directions. You?”
He snorts, tapping some buttons on his machine. “Not sure what you’re worrying about me for.”
My smile is genuine as I reply, “Well I’d hate for you to get lonely. Who knows what sort of trouble you might get into if you were bored?”
Giving up on the pretense of playing, he pivots in his seat to face me, resting an arm on his leg and leaning forward to steal a lock of my golden hair and twirling it around his finger. “Guess you’d better quit wandering off then, hmm?”
“Depends.” Recounting in my head, I ask, “Six?”
He winks. “Missing a couple.”
“Give me a hint? I got Buzzcut, Glasses, Wet dream, Tattoo-neck, Bombshell, and Fidgety. At least let me know if I’m looking for a guy or a girl.”
He barks out a laugh that draws the attention of a few people nearby. Leaning in closer so they don’t eavesdrop, he teases, “What are they, dwarves?”
