To Luke.
Nobody needs to know I’m as far from attracted to him as a woman can be to a man. I’ll tell Avery the truth later, but for now, I want Luke to see me with a guy I trolled on a dating site. And I want him to see me smiling and having a good time with said guy.
I’ll show Luke that I can find a guy on a dating site.
“Dwayne was one of my matches on the dating site,” I answer her as I lean against the counter and watch him talk to the guys. Luke’s face seems to be set in a permanent scowl as he listens to Dwayne. Tyler, on the other hand, appears quite animated, as if he’s interested in the conversation. And he probably is – Dwayne has hardly shut up about football all night, and Tyler loves talking footy.
I turn to catch her licking her lips. She grins at me and says, “I bet that man is a master in bed. Look at those muscles. I’m sure he’d have stamina to last the night through.”
She’s right, but sex is the last thing I’d want from him. And that’s saying something because three months without it is messing with my mind and ensuring that pretty much all I think about is getting some.
Reaching for the vodka she’s just poured, I take a long sip before shaking my head. “I’m not even interested.”
Her eyes widen and her mouth gapes. “Huh?”
I throw some more of my drink back and then let out all my frustrations. “God, why is it so damn hard to find a man these days? For fuck’s sake, I just want a guy with manners who is as interested in me as himself.” I guzzle the rest of the vodka and slam the empty glass down before raking my fingers through my hair. “No, strike that! I want a man who hangs on my every word for at least some of the date…some attention would be nice. A guy like Dwayne is only interested in himself, and I bet sex with him would be a bust. He’d probably get off and not even make sure his woman was taken care of before turning on the damn television to catch up on sport. Ugh.” I ignore Avery’s bulging eyes and the shaking of her head. She can think I’m wrong, but she isn’t the one who had to sit through two hours of the guy.
“Shit,” she mutters as a throat clears behind me.
Spinning around, I find Dwayne staring at me. “So I take it that tonight’s not leading anywhere.” His words don’t stun me - they only confirm my suspicions.
Well damn. I figure there’s no saving this now. “Nope.”
His gaze lingers on me for another moment before he reaches into his pocket for his keys. “Figured as much at dinner, but I thought a drink might loosen you up a bit.”
“I think you should leave now.” Avery’s protective streak kicks in and her anger flares. She’s always looking out for me and I love her for it.
Dwayne takes a step away from us. “Consider me gone,” he says and a moment later, we watch him walk out of the bar.
“What a douche!” Avery exclaims, her eyes wild with indignation. “All he wanted was sex.”
I groan. “Well, to be fair, I’m pretty desperate for that, too.”
“Yeah, but at least you’re also looking for a guy to date. I’m glad you didn’t lower your standards for him.”
I catch sight of Luke staring after Dwayne and then our eyes meet for a moment.
“Another dud?” Tyler asks as he joins us, distracting me from Luke.
“She’s better of without him in my opinion,” Avery offers her thoughts.
I sigh. “Yes, another dud. Why are good men so hard to find?”
Tyler grins. “I know one right in front of you, who I don’t think you’ve ever considered giving a shot.”
“Please enlighten me so I can rectify that.” I’ve no clue who he means.
At that very moment, before Tyler shares the name, a guy runs into me, spilling his drink all over my new dress.
Can this night get any worse?
“Fuck!” Tyler yells as his features cloud over with anger. He grabs the guy by his shirt and hauls him outside before I even get the opportunity to give him a piece of my mind.
Avery passes me a roll of paper towel and I attempt to soak as much alcohol out of my dress as I can. The smell of rum fills my nostrils, and my annoyance builds.
“I’m going to the ladies, babe,” I say to Avery as I dump the paper towel on the counter. “This is going to take more than paper towel. I’m freaking covered in rum.”
She stares at me with sympathy and nods. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
“Make me a vodka? A double, please.”
“I’ll make you a huge ass vodka,” she promises and I leave her to head to the bathroom.
First order of business – clean my dress.
Second order of business – drink as much vodka as is needed to put tonight out of my mind.
* * *