[Excerpt]:
"Does it bother you?" He asked, after an incisive moment of silence.
"Does...what bother me?" I immediately returned, unable to decipher the objective behind the closed-ended question.
"The way I stare. At you." He pondered, as his dark...
"On the house, from the gentleman over there." The bartender winked, then pointed in the direction of a tall man standing alongside a group of equally giant men leaning over the balcony.
A black mask concealed his face, which he slowly removed, revealing the underpinnings of a very familiar smirk over a normally clouded expression. Instantly recognizing him, I immediately turned away, motioning over to the bartender whose name I still hadn't bothered to learn.
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"You can tell that same gentleman that I don't want the drink. Nor anything else he has to offer." I declared with finality. Kendall couldn't truly think that I would actually consider taking anything from him, even a free drink, after the way our last conversation went down.
It didn't take long for the high chair next to mine to screech loudly across the floor, indicating that a new person now occupied the seat. The waiter looked conflicted as his gaze darted between me and whoever was in the adjacent chair, until he simply chose to walk away.
Coward.
"Hey." Kendall said, leaning over to grab the martini he'd just ordered me moments ago. He downed it in a single take, while I ignored him.
"And what are you supposed to be?" He chastised, analyzing my outfit that left little to the imagination.
"Why don't you take a lucky guess." I challenged. I wouldn't let his words affect me tonight. If I knew he was going to be here, I definitely wouldn't have come.
"Hmm...I think I'll need to take a closer look if I'm going to do that." He paused and mocked a contemplative expression, then moved his chair closer so that our knees slightly brushed against each other.
"A vixen."
Was he serious?
"Bye, I'm leaving." I grabbed my bottled water and rose from my stool, but he gripped my wrist firmly, pulling me back down. I felt sparks ignite at the skin-to-skin contact, but instantly pushed away the feelings until they subsided.
"Wait. Stay..." His voice came out slurred, and it was then that I realized that the man was slightly buzzed. This could be interesting.
"Fine." I carefully sat back down, folding my arms across my chest defiantly. His eyes quickly traced the movement, before returning to my face. He then called over the bartender, and ordered a large beer.
"Are you sure you should be drinking that much?" I asked the obnoxiously handsome man, who was now scarfing down an almost empty beer bottle. He side-eyed me until he finished the remainder of his drink.
"You should know that men here will consider your outfit, or lack thereof, an open invitation to get between your pretty little legs." He warned darkly, choosing not to respond to my question.
My heart lurched at his use of the word "pretty," but once again I shoved the conflicting feelings away.
"Like you?" I challenged without delay, becoming irritated by his sudden show of concern. Just what was he getting at?
Kendall clenched his jaw, obviously annoyed by the insinuation. I felt briefly remorseful for my spiteful commentary, until I remembered what Coco had revealed to me the other night about him and Patricia.
"Unfortunately for you, I'm not interested." He lowered his tone, as he glared at me.
"Of course, you're not interested. You'd much rather prefer pretentious women like Patricia who tell you all the things you want to hear and suck you off at the mention of a hundred dollar bill. That will never be me."
He released a dark chuckle, but maintained his fixed composure."Touché."
"What do you want, Kendall? You could easily be talking to any girl in this place. Yet, here you are bothering me." I aggressively cautioned, impatiently uncrossing my arms from my chest.
"It's my birthday." He paused, as I detected a hint of vulnerability laced in his expression. But, it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. "And, I guess I don't feel like being around a bunch of fucking yes men, who, as you mentioned before, 'tell me all the things I want to hear' because I sign their checks."
"And how do you know I won't do the same?"
"I'm very good at reading people, Sasha. I can tell that you're different." He removed one of his large hands from the table and placed it over my bare thigh, squeezing it. His hand lingered there, as he searched for any visible signs of objection from me. Surprisingly, I remained silent.
"Well, happy birthday...I guess." I whispered, though my focus remained fixed on his hand that was now stroking my thigh.
"Thanks." He kept his response short, continuing to draw small concentric circles on my leg. Perhaps I was reading too much into his behavior, but his words didn't seem to align with his actions.
"Did you have sex with Patricia?" I blurted out, regrettably ruining the moment. Kendall's face neutralized and he immediately removed his hand from my thigh. Safe to say, I was slightly disappointed.
"No. She pleasured me with her mouth. But, I didn't reciprocate the act, if you're concerned."
"Well, I'm not." If I could have jumped off a bridge at that very moment and died, I think I would. Sometimes, he could be so blunt and unapologetic with the framing of his words.
"Ahem—uh, excuse me sir. I'm sorry to interrupt, but you're needed back at the office." My eyes drifted above Kendall to the sight of a younger gentleman with a blonde buzzcut who was dressed in a tailored suit. He avoided making any eye contact with me, settling his heavy gaze onto Kendall.
"I'll be there in a minute." Kendall instructed, as the man hurriedly walked away. Kendall remained seated, rubbing the small stumble on his chin.
"We'll continue this later." He dismissed and I couldn't help but scoff.
"There's nothing to continue." I echoed, while he forcefully grasped both ends of my chair, maneuvering it in his direction so that my legs were now pinned in between his manspread ones. He gripped my bicep, effectively pulling me in closer to speak into my ear over the loud music.
"You can say whatever the hell you want to make yourself feel good at night, but we both know that's not true." With that, he walked off, along with my dignity.
