When Paisley didn’t immediately answer her, she turned her head to look over her shoulder and follow her friend’s line of sight. “Wow, now I see what has you so disinterested in our conversation. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone as handsome as him in here before.”
“Wh–what?” Paisley’s eyes connected with her friend’s as she pointed her thumb over her shoulder.
“The group of guys over there. They’re hot as hell.”
Paisley swallowed hard. She knew in her gut that Alissa didn’t mean all of the guys. No, she meant Braxton. “Um, yeah they are,” she agreed, trying not to bring attention to Braxton but it was no use. It wasn’t the threesome of handsome hotties Alissa was looking at. No, it was definitely Braxton that had caught her attention.
Just like the old saying went, if it weren’t for bad luck, Paisley would have no luck at all. And just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, Braxton decided to look toward the patio and spotted her and Alissa. His smile stretched from ear to ear, showing off his pearly whites. Paisley’s heart melted even though he could have been smiling at her friend. Braxton excused himself from his friends and walked toward them, only stopping when he reached their table.
“Hey, Paisley.” He smiled at her, but his eyes were on Alissa.
Paisley’s voice was defeated when she acknowledged his presence. He wasn’t there to mingle with her. There was heat in Braxton’s eyes, but he wasn’t burning for her. All that fire was for Alissa.
Without even looking Paisley’s way, Braxton spoke, his voice low and gravelly. “Who’s the newbie?”
Sheer emotion took over Paisley. Would it be rude not to introduce them? She wanted Braxton to be hers and only hers. Introducing him meant that she would have to share his friendship with her friend. “Oh, yeah, this is Alissa, but she’s not new. She’s in my law and economics class and last year we had Introduction to American Politics together.”
Braxton pulled out the chair closest to Alissa and sat. “So, you planning on entertainment law like my girl Paisley here?”
Paisley’s heart warmed at him calling her his girl. It was just a simple gesture that meant nothing more than them being friends, but she could always hope that there was an underlying meaning to it.
Alissa twirled a lock of her hair, her eyes dreamily staring into Braxton’s. “Well, I kind of thought about it. I’m not sure if I want to focus on the music side or the film side. I just know that I want to work in the entertainment industry.”
Braxton turned slightly in his chair, giving Alissa his full attention. “Sounds interesting. You from here?”
What a royal jerk. Since when did he start thinking majoring in law sounded interesting, let alone entertainment law? She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. Not once in all the years she’d talked about wanting to do to law school had the topic ever piqued his interest.
Alissa giggled, flipping her long red hair over her shoulder. “I’m actually from New York. I transferred out here lat last year when my parents moved to Oakland to take care of my grams. I really wanted to go to UCLA since you’re almost guaranteed to get a great job after graduation.”
“Really?” Brax asked, his head to the side. “Why is that?”
Alissa tapped one finger to her chin, considering. “I guess it’s like a social club, you know?” She paused to take a drink. “Companies want to hire attorneys from their own area.”
“Sounds crazy” Brax shrugged.
“Right? Like, what does it matter which school you graduate from if your grades are good.”
“Exactly” Braxton winked and Alissa’s smile grew brighter.
“But my parents only agreed to let me come to California with them if I was close to family. So, Berkeley, here I am.” Alissa took a deep breath and then let it out.
“Wow.” Braxton’s perfect teeth were on full display. “That’s where Paisley was going to go, but she changed to Berkeley.”
Alissa looked at her friend like she had two heads. “You got accepted into UCLA and you didn’t take it? Why? Your chances at landing an amazing job after graduation there are so much better than here.”
Paisley contemplated her answer, and all she could think of was the reasons Paxton had given her. “Well, the average GPA here is much higher, as well as the acceptance rate. And when you look at the costs of tuition versus living expenses, Berkeley was the better choice.”
The evening got worse. Braxton blew off his friends completely to spend the evening sitting at their table. Only, the majority of his attention was given to Alissa.
Paisley drank drink after drink until she couldn’t feel the pain any longer. With every libation that she tossed down, she tried to remember why coming to Berkeley had been a good idea. She could have stayed closer to home and not had her heart broken. Again. Why didn’t she ever learn?
“Last call,” the bartender yelled out to the waitresses on the patio. The words sounded like heaven to Paisley. After all, how much more could one person be ignored and still sit patiently waiting for the man of her dreams to look her way and engage her?
When the short, bubbly waitress stopped at their table, Paisley quickly spoke up. “I’ll close out my tab, please.” She then turned her attention to Braxton and Alissa.
“We’ll have another round. Also, why don’t you just put Paisley’s drinks on my tab.” Braxton pointed to his childhood friend.
“Sure thing, handsome.” The waitress smiled at Braxton, her eyes full of lust before she reached into her apron pocket for the bill. Braxton pulled out his credit card and handed it to her without even giving her the time of day
“Really? Even the waitress is hitting on Braxton in front of me?” Paisley whispered under her breath. God, I’m an idiot.
Chapter 4
BRAXTON: Hey, Paisley. Are you busy?
Braxton reclined on his sofa, his leg bouncing feverishly
