“Well, I’m single, and you’re single. Last night, you were into me,” she said boldly. She could channel her inner vixen and act as forward as her friends. “And…I’m into you.”
Damon stood quickly, and she stumbled to her feet. Her cheeks heated at his departure.
“Look, Trihn, I don’t want to be some rebound.”
Her mouth dropped open, and then she quickly recovered. That was exactly why she had come up here—for him to be her rebound. That was what she wanted. She wanted someone to help her forget the shit she had just gone through. She was pretty sure Damon could do that.
“And I don’t want a relationship,” she told him.
“Maybe that’s what I want.”
She scoffed. “You don’t even know me.”
“I don’t have to know you to know that I want a relationship. I’ve seen you in the club. I see the kind of person you are. When you look down at people every weekend, you can generally see who the good ones are.”
“And I’m a good one?” she asked skeptically.
“You’re real and genuine.”
Trihn shook her head. “You can tell that from looking at me in a nightclub. I think that’s ridiculous.”
He shrugged. “Didn’t ask for your opinion. I know it for a fact.”
“So, you don’t want to have sex with me then?”
He clenched his fists together and looked back down at his equipment. “Don’t make this hard on me.”
Trihn took a step forward, emboldened since he hadn’t said no. “I want you to fuck me, and you’re not interested?”
“Of course I’m interested,” he said. He pulled his hat off his head and twirled it between his fingers. “And maybe a couple of months ago, I would have done just that but not tonight.”
Trihn’s stomach sank as she heard the finality in his voice. Her cheeks heated, and the confidence that had gotten her through this conversation deteriorated. She was just a girl feeling the sharp sting of rejection.
“Okay, fine,” she said.
She hurried away from him, heading toward the door. All she needed was to be out of his booth where she had just humiliated herself in front of a guy who she had thought was interested in her. Why had I thought it would be okay to ask him to have sex with me? Fuck!
These kinds of conversations worked for her friends, but she just sounded and felt ridiculous, trying to put herself out there. Everything always blew up in her face. She shouldn’t even be surprised that this hadn’t been any different.
“Trihn!” Damon called after her.
“No, I get it. Forget I said anything.”
Then, she was out the door, rushing past the bouncer, and heading down the stairs that led back to her friends.
She leaned against the wall and took a few deep healing breaths. She wasn’t going to cry. She promised herself that. Her heart ached because of her breakup, but the slap in the face that Damon had delivered with his refusal hadn’t helped anything.
Trihn’s rebound mission was officially over.
“YOUR IDEA SUCKED,” Trihn said when she calmed down enough to return to her friends.
Bryna had been dancing with Eric but had stopped her movements at Trihn’s approach. She cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“He turned me down. I offered to let him fuck me, and he said no.”
Trihn wasn’t sure who looked more surprised—Bryna or Eric.
“Is he gay?” Eric started laughing.
Bryna jabbed him in the ribs. “That is not funny!”
If Trihn weren’t so embarrassed after what had happened with Damon, she would have found the joke funny. For more than a year after Bryna had first met Eric, she had thought he was gay because of some offhanded comment her ex-boyfriend had said to keep her away from Eric. Then, she had discovered the truth that he was one hundred percent not gay and one hundred and fifty percent in love with her. He was also the best thing that had ever happened to Bryna.
“No, he is decidedly not gay. He said he wanted to fuck me, but he wouldn’t fuck me.”
Bryna opened her mouth and then closed it twice before speaking, “That’s…wow. I’ve never had that happen before.”
“We all know that, Bri,” Trihn said.
“Hey!” Eric cried.
Trihn smiled genuinely up at Eric. She really liked Eric and had been rooting for him and Bryna from the start. He was easy on the eyes and quick to make Bryna smile.
“I know it’s just you now, but we all know how she was.”
“I’m not Stacia!” Bryna said. “Anyway, that has nothing to do with the fact that Damon obviously has some mental problem. Who would turn you down?”
“Clearly, every single guy I’ve ever been interested in,” Trihn said, throwing her hands up in the air.
“I could hook you up with one of my friends,” Eric suggested. He pointed out a guy standing by the bar. “That’s Patrick. He’s a redshirt junior on special teams right now. I’m working with him to plug him in as a defensive back. Probably will get some good play time next year.”
Trihn looked over at the guy and then shook her head. “I’m not sure anything you just said was even English. No offense, but the last thing I want to do is date a football player.”