He shrugged. “Honestly, wasn’t really looking. Just needed a drink and some company without having to actually talk to anyone.”
I studied him for a beat, the heavy bass line sliding around us. “Bad day?”
“Nah, just long.”
“Ah, yeah—I know all about those.” I wrapped it in innuendo, as if I meant sex marathons when it was really more showing up before sunrise to check on patients I couldn’t treat, trailing actual doctors like a very tired ghost.
He tilted his head, watching me for a half-second, before a grin cracked through. “Well, I’m disappointed.”
The curl of his mouth made it more dare than complaint, so I matched his playful air. “Because…?”
“I’d expected at least a token invitation to make me forget all about it.”
“Nah.” I dipped my chin, smiling at him from underneath my lashes. “Too easy.”
“Really.” He delivered it in a deadpan drawl, a challenge still tucked underneath if you listened closely. I did.
All right, then. I leaned in, close enough to catch a whiff of his woody cologne, and let my lips brush the hollow beneath his ear. My voice pitched to rival his bourbon—smoke over embers. “I wouldn’t make you forget your day, Jesse.” A fraction of shyhesitation that I hoped passed for a calculated pause. “I’d make you forget your name and what year it is.”
Too much? Maybe. God, I wasn’tsure—had never done anything like this before. But the way he swallowed and turned his head to look at me for a long breath, as if measuring the truth of my words… My pulse jumped even as I let a smirk flirt around the edges of my expression.
Jesse’s nod was like a slow, private concession. “Yeah, okay. I can definitely see it.”
“See what?”
He smiled. “Why there’d be a waitlist.”
Fun fact: My last boyfriend wouldn’t drive four hours.
I crushed the thought and smiled back. “For you, I’d make an exception.”
“Skip the waitlist and agent?” His voice was a murmur that only just translated over the music, eyes dancing with something that seemed halfway between challenge and intrigue.
“And the reference. Consider this a personal invitation.”
Okay, what the hell was I evendoing? How far did I want to stretch this mask before it snapped? But then again, why not? This was just…a game. Just a game, no harm done, especially since I could tell that Jesse wasn’t entirely sold, still trying to figure out my hand.
New city, new me.
“I’m flattered,” he said with a dramatic swish of his hand.
“You should be.”
The bar noise dropped to a steady pulse as we watched each other. Flashing lights threw shifting patterns across his face, attention focused on me with a weight that was almost addicting.
And then a glass crashed somewhere behind us. I shot around just as people shied away from the damage, sticky liquor spilling across the floor, shouts and laughter, the guy who’ddropped the drink cursing up a storm. The world rewound to its regular speed.
Jesse’s gaze returned to me after a second, shifting on his bar stool. “You know,” he said, “I’ve never actually done this. Talked to a…” He stopped, frowned as if confused. “You know.”
Hey, that made two of us.
I let my lips quirk. “If you can’t say it, you probably shouldn’t, well—do it.”
His chuckle was quiet, eyes warm. “You’re a little bit of a dick, huh?”
“Only when I’m off the clock.” I let half a beat pass, then raised my hands to measure a sizable gap between them. “Otherwise I’m a big dick.”
He laughed, full and delighted in a way that sparked a bright echo in my chest. “Walked right into that one, didn’t I?”
