Grabbing April and Harmony’s hands, she pulled them over to the bar for another round. The man looked highly disappointed, but Jessie could only laugh at his dismay. He was really too old to be at a club purely for the fun of it, and Jessie was sure he spent his weekends trolling, looking for young, easy hookups. He even completed the player look with a paisley dress shirt, opened about three buttons too far, and a gaudy gold chain poking through his chest hair. Approaching the dark, stained bar, Jessie wished him luck, but she had no intention of being an easy score.
The next several hours went by in much the same way—the girls found a group of guys to dance with, then left them to grab more shots at the bar. The bartender started offering his suggestions on what they should drink, and pretty soon they had moved past the sweet, creamy liquors to the hard stuff. Several guys, hoping to speed up the inebriation of three attractive girls, bought them even more drinks. Each man was obliged with a swift kiss to the cheek and an intimate turn on the dance floor, but not much more than that.
Jessie was pleasantly buzzed, laughing with her friends at the bar, when she felt a set of eyes on her—different than the eyes she’d felt all night. Twisting to search for the source of the heat, she instantly spotted a guy at a nearby table. He was standing by himself, sipping on a beer and staring at her. Jessie couldn’t help but return his focused gaze. Even if she’d been completely sober, he would have gotten her attention. From their proximity, he looked tall and athletic, the cut line of muscle clearly visible on his arm as he tilted back his bottle. While his body seemed nice enough, that wasn’t really what had captured Jessie’s attention. It was more his face.
An intriguing blend of ethnicities fused the man’s genetic code, but Jessie’s muddled brain couldn’t quite place what they were—an appealing mix of Caucasian, Latin, Asian, or maybe even Puerto Rican? His skin was that beautiful mulatto color that always looked deeply tanned, regardless of the season. But even that wasn’t what had Jessie still staring at him. It was the eyes. He had the most stunning pair of bright blue eyes. She wanted to be closer, so she could see for sure, but she was positive it would be like staring at a tropical ocean. In her carefree state, she suddenly wanted to be swimming in those eyes.
Almost as if he’d finally realized they’d been staring at each other for a while, the man blinked and looked down at his table, like he’d just been caught doing something wrong. Jessie knew she had a certain attractiveness to her. Her mother had graced her with the aforementioned cleavage and a trim waist to emphasize it, and her father had given her his dark brown hair with matching chocolate eyes. Harmony and April hadn’t let her leave the house tonight until she’d shucked off her I’ve-just-been-dumped sweats, and she’d spent a good hour giving herself sexy smoky eyes, painting her lips the perfect shade of red, and taming her naturally curly hair into thick ringlets. The alcohol flowing freely through her veins made her think she looked particularly amazing.
She bit her lip as the beautiful boy kept his eyes downcast; a small, adorable smile curved his mouth. Jessie couldn’t be sure, but he didn’t seem to be waiting for anyone. Maybe still feeling her eyes on him, he lifted his gaze back to her position at the bar. As Jessie was still staring at him, he quickly returned his vision to the table, but his smile grew a little larger.
Laughing that the most attractive guy in the club was actually being shy with her, Jessie twisted around to order them a couple drinks. April and Harmony looked at her expectantly, but furrowed their brows in question when she only purchased two of her favorite drink—rum and vodka with a splash of orange juice. Seeing their confusion, Jessie nodded her head at the man. “He looks lonely. I’m gonna go cheer him up.”
Her friends laughed and immediately—and not subtly—checked him out. April nodded her approval. Harmony raised an eyebrow and waved at him. Jessie swung her head back around, hoping her friends hadn’t scared him off, but he was still there, shaking his head and laughing as he stared at his table again.
Throwing her friends a warning glare, Jessie started stumbling her way over to him. Ignoring a few slurred greetings as she waded around a couple groups of men, she approached his table with what she thought was a sexy swagger. Immediately, she got her foot stuck in a crack. Luckily it wasn’t enough to twist her ankle, but it did jar her step, and she stumbled and started to fall.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist, steadying her, as she squealed in surprise. Jessie was now completely pressed against a hard, flat stomach, and a lean, muscular chest. But his body barely registered as she stared into the most incredible set of sea-green eyes she’d ever seen. They were even more amazing than she’d hoped they would be, and she was reminded of travel brochures used to promote faraway island getaways. He was just…spectacular.
“Are you okay?” he asked over the heavy beat of the music.