I never should have let Gigi dress me up. I looked like a two-bit hooker. My pale yellow shirt was low cut with three buttons down the center that Gigi insisted be undone, and she matched it with a short jean skirt and wedge sandals that caused me to walk like a three-legged newborn calf.
"You look fucking amazing," Gigi reassured me as we walked into Filly's. Several guys turned to look at us as we made our way to the back and my gaze dipped to the ground. "Told you," she whispered, and I could not help but smile.
"Shit."
"What?"
"He's here," I whispered.
"I thought you didn't care."
"I don't."
Lucas was at the bar, his back to us as we approached. I stepped behind Gigi as she ordered us a round of drinks.
"I'll get that. My shout." Lucas nodded to us, putting money on the bar. The bartender nodded back at him.
"Thanks," I yelled over the music as he moved closer to us. I stepped out from behind Gigi, and his eyes trailed down my body before he slowly drug them back up making me feel naked under his scrutiny.
"Wow, Henley. You clean up nice." He smiled approvingly, and I had to look away. After a moment of awkward silence, I tried to make some casual conversation.
"Where's your girlfriend?"
"What?" He signaled that he could not hear me. I leaned in closer.
"Your girlfriend?" I said louder, enunciating each word.
"You want to be my girlfriend? I'm flattered, love," he said, leaning back and placing his hand on his chest where a normal person would have a heart, but something told me Lucas was missing that key component.
"No," I smacked his arm, and he rubbed it in mock pain. I was surprised at how hard his muscles were. He laughed and leaned back in closer. I could feel his warm breath on my neck, and it sent goosebumps down my back.
"Too bad," he replied, and my breath hitched in my throat. His face lingered next to mine for a moment. "I'll have to work harder."
"Oh, please. I bet you haven't worked hard a day in your life." I rolled my eyes as he pulled back, feigning shock.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," The girl he had been with at Smokey's said as she smiled at us.
"Not at all, Laney." He pulled back from me as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "This is Henley. She hates me."
Laney rolled her eyes as she looked off toward the bar. "Smart girl."
"I don't hate you I just don't –"
"You just don't know me... yet," he finished, but it was definitely not what I was going to say.
Like God sensing I wasn't humiliated enough, a brunette with long brown hair walked across the bar with a mile-wide smile as she greeted Lucas.
"Harper," he nodded to her as she picked up his bottle and he quickly swiped it from her hand, shaking his head and confirming my suspicion that she was way too young to be hanging out in a bar, not that I had a right to say anything. I was only eighteen, but at least I looked legal and would be nineteen very soon. Harper looked like she could still be in junior high and her overly large deer-in-headlight eyes didn't help.
I took a long drink from my beer and turned around searching for Gigi. I spotted her a few feet away doing shots with a bunch of frat boys.
"I'll see you later," I said, wanting more than anything to get away from the awkward situation. Gigi was wrong. This guy didn't like me, he just enjoyed making me feel uncomfortable.
"I hope so," he replied, his blue eyes smoldering.
"Can we go?" I asked as Gigi slammed back a shot.
"One more drink?" She stuck out her lower lip. I grabbed the shot glass in front of her and slammed it back.
"Can we go now?"
She rolled her eyes at me. "What happened with Lucas?"
I pointed back behind me, and she made a face of disgust. "I told you so."
"There are plenty of other guys here tonight," she said, and she grabbed my arm, pulling me back to the dance floor.
"Oh, no! Remember what happened last night?"
"I remember someone coming to defend your honor." She smirked, and I didn't have a response.
We danced the night away into the early morning hours, our bodies slicked with sweat. When I could barely stand any longer, my calf muscles burning, I begged Gigi to take me home.
"I'm not ready to go yet," she whined, her lower lip jutting out in a pout but her eyes were at half-mast.
"I'll take you," Lucas' gravelly voice whispered in my ear. I turned around to see him standing alone with his hands shoved deep into his jean pockets looking just as exhausted as I felt. I stuttered trying to come up with a witty response, but the fog of the alcohol was preventing me from having any thought but how sexy it was when his tongue ran out over his lower lip.
"That is a great idea," Gigi said with laughter in her voice. I glared at her as my ears burned and I could feel myself beginning to flush.
"No, thank you."
"Come on." Before I could protest, he grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him toward the door. I put my other hand on his back, his muscles flexing beneath my palm, as he led me through the crowd of people. I wondered if beneath the fabric was more intricate swirls of ink.
The cool air of the outside was refreshing. I took a deep breath, happy to be out of the stuffy, overcrowded building. He nodded to his friend's across the parking lot and we slowly made our way to the dark SUV.
"Want to go to my place?" he asked, his lips curled up in a smile.
"You think I'm that easy?" I blurted out as I rolled my eyes and pulled my hand back, but he squeezed it tighter.
A deep laugh rumbled from his chest as he placed his hand over his stomach. "It didn't even cross my mind." I felt humiliation twist my gut. "I know you're not like that, Henley, and your bladdered. I wouldn't take advantage of you," he added as any hint of a smile faded. I let my shoulders fall. I was relieved and disappointed by his remark. Gigi was wrong. This guy wasn't looking at me like a potential conquest but maybe it was better that way. "What have you got to lose... besides your preconceived notion of who I am?"
"It really bothers you that badly that I don't fall all over myself when you smile, doesn't it?"
"Like I said... you just don't know me yet."
"Won't your friends mind?"
"Nah, my flatmates won't care," he said with a shrug, his face sullen as he rubbed his palm roughly across the back of his neck. "They don't stay home very often. It gets too quiet."
I looked him over, worried that it was another one of his tricks to get me to agree, but he didn't have the slightest hint of one of his smirks. In fact, he looked like his mind had momentarily drifted off to somewhere else with an air of melancholy surrounding him. I'm going to regret this. "Let's go," I said, thankful for the alcohol that gave me courage.
We slid into the Durango and pulled off into the night. I tugged at my skirt wishing I had not let Gigi dress me. I glanced over at Lucas whose eyes were on my legs. He quickly looked away, grinning.
"You look... uncomfortable." His hesitation made me wonder if there was something else he was going to say before changing his mind.
"Gigi made me wear this stupid outfit," I groaned. "So, what happened to the girl?" I asked, trying to fill the awkward silence and take the attention off of myself.
"Which one," Beef laughed from the front seat, the deep bass of his voice causing me to startle.
"Laney, the blonde... she went home with some redhead with fake tits," he explained.
"Oh," I muttered under my breath, shocked that Gigi was telling me the truth about Laney and not just trying to make me feel like less of a loser. "And Harper? Was it past her bedtime?"
"That was a misunderstanding... thanks to Laney." He laughed quietly as he ran his thumbnail across his eyebrow. "She thought she was texting you, actually."
"Me?"
Lucas nodded but didn't elaborate. He wasn't as bad a person as I made him out to be. Sure, he was a womanizer, but as a friend, he was very easy to get along with, and he looked out for me, which was sweet. But I would never admit any of that to him.
We pulled up to an apartment building just off campus. Lucas slid out of the car and stood by the door waiting for me. I got out of the car as gracefully as I could in the ridiculous outfit and waved off Beef who was heading back out for some fun. We walked, hand in hand to the door. As he pushed it open, I sighed at the giant set of stairs ahead of me. I slipped off my heels and followed behind him.
The apartment was nice. It had minimal, mismatched furniture but was clean with an open floor plan, which made it feel larger than it actually was. It looked like the guys had spent most of their money on an oversized television.
"Fancy a drink?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle from above the fridge.
"Sure," I said, looking around. "You play?" I pointed down at the video game system hooked up to the large flat screen television.
"Do I play?" He scoffed and drank back his shot. I walked over to the counter and took my drink, slamming it back before gagging on the thick licorice flavor. It burned, but I had drunk enough that it did not bother me anymore.
"Want to play with me?" I asked. He smiled and poured another round for us.
"Of course, I'd like to play with you." He winked.
"Bye," I said and turned toward the door. He hurried around the island and grabbed my arm.
"I'm sorry. I can't help it." He laughed again as his arm fell to his side. I rolled my eyes and went back to the counter to drink my shot. "It's just funny watching your face turn pink. We can play. Let me change first. You want something to wear?" he asked, and I bit my lip wondering if I should borrow clothing from someone I barely knew. "You can't kill zombies in an outfit like that," he joked and headed back the hallway.
"You underestimate me." I followed behind him as he dug through his closet for something to wear. My eyes danced over his walls that were covered in drawings of various sizes, some black and white and others colored in brightly.
"Well, you'd be too distracting for me."
"Wow, did you draw these?" I asked as I walked toward the wall, holding up my hand and letting my fingertips ghost over one of the images of an old pirate ship lost at sea during a storm, but the lone person standing on the deck wasn't panicked. In fact, he was eerily calm. It easily could have been framed and hung in a museum next to other paintings and would have blended right in.
"It keeps me out of trouble." He shrugged as if it was nothing but as someone who couldn't draw a stick figure without making it crooked, I was highly impressed. "That one I call Journey to the Truth," he whispered causing my spine to stiffen. I hadn't heard him creep up behind me.
"What was the truth they were searching for?" I asked, my voice as quiet as his.
"I'll let you know. I haven't found it yet." I turned around as he retreated to the other side of his room and rummaged through his dresser.
He pulled out a white t-shirt and tossed it at me. I looked around for somewhere to change. "I won't look."
His back was to me as he pulled off his shirt. It was broad and muscular and covered in tattoos. He slid off his jeans and put on a pair of basketball shorts over his dark boxer briefs. I bit my lip as I slinked out of my clothing and pulled the shirt over my head. He grabbed a pair of boxers from his drawer and handed them to me.
"You said you wouldn't look."
"You also made it clear you wouldn't be getting naked in my bedroom with me... but here we are with you in your knickers." He rolled his eyes and turned back around. I pulled the boxers on quickly and headed back into the living room. "Was that a tattoo I saw on your back?" Lucas asked with his eyebrow raised.
"None of your business."
"For as much shit as you gave me about my ink, I would have thought you had virgin skin. I just didn't peg you for the tramp stamp type."
"It's not a tramp stamp. It's my F-holes," I corrected. His eyes had widened before he let out a long, deep laugh.
"Jesus, Henley."
"For a violin, you A-hole."
I turned around, raising my shirt high enough on my lower back to reveal two curved lines on either side of my spine. I jumped when the pad of his finger ran over the design leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.
"Wow," he mumbled, and I turned back around to face him, letting the hem of my shirt fall from my hands.
"What? You think it's stupid."
"No... no. I think that's the sexiest tattoo I've ever seen. I wouldn't mind fingering your strings."
My mouth went dry as my eyes narrowed. "Are you always this much of a jerk?"
"No. In fact, I've never had anyone complain about me talking in my sleep." He winked, and I felt my stupid face heat again.
"Charming," I deadpanned.
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