“Touché,” he says, while motioning for another water. I go to say something but am cut off by a group of women that surround him, pushing me out of the way.
And that’s my cue to leave.
“Josh!” one screeches. “King told us you would be back in a few minutes and it’s been forever!”
My fingers pull at the loose strings of my jeans and I will myself to get up and leave. But I don’t. These types are what Josh is used to. I don’t know why I thought he would be any different. He gravitates toward the ones that only want a story to tell in the morning, not the ones that dream of a white picket fence. I’m the one you cheat on with these kinds of girls. I’m the one you leave behind.
Before I talk myself out of it, I finish the last of my drink—to be fair it was only ice, but it distracts me for a split second—and pick up my purse off the bar as my eyes search for Mel. No more waiting around. I’m going home, even if she doesn’t want to leave. Just as I’m about to step away, a hand wraps around my wrist. Turning, Josh eyes me with this adorable, confused expression that has me fighting a smile.
“Where are you going?” he asks as my eyes look past his face and land on the line of girls that are shooting daggers in my direction.
“I need to find my friend, let her know that I’m going home.”
His eyebrows raise for a split second as the warmth of his touch seeps deeper into my skin.
“Stay.” It’s so simple, that one word. And as much as I wish I was strong enough to do just that, play pretend as if I’m ready for a man like him. I’m not.
“Sorry Josh, I need to go.”
One of the girls clears her throat and it takes everything in me not to glance in their direction.
“Plus, you seem to have other plans anyway.”
He doesn’t even look back; he just shakes his head.
“Nope. No plans. Please stay,” he pleads, and even though the heat from his fingers still lingers, I back up. Knowing I have to before I break my own rules.
“I have to work in the morning.” It’s an excuse, a true one but still an excuse, and from the defeated look that crosses his face, he knows it too.
“Can I at least get your number?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I admit, slowly walking backward. His eyes never leave mine and I take a deep breath, knowing this might be the last time I see him in the flesh. “But you can do me a favor.”
He raises a single eyebrow, smirking.
“Work on that swing. Last time I watched a game, you’re timing seemed off.” I’m half teasing. I do think his timing is off, and there’s not a question in my mind that he already knows this. But that look of shock on his face, the one that tells me a woman has never really talked to him like that before, is worth it.
“You wound me!” He chuckles as I give him a small wave and make my way to the back of the bar in search of my best friend and try not to think about the fact that I might have turned down a very good thing.
I finally find her in the bathroom, applying more makeup and giving herself a once-over in the mirror. “Can we leave now?”
She smirks at our reflection as she applies even more lipstick. I know the look she’s giving me, and I know it means she’s not going anywhere.
Great.
“You’re not leaving… are you.” It’s not really a question because I know the answer. And as she shakes her head, placing the tube of lipstick back into her purse, I take a deep breath. “Mel, please. Let’s just go home. I’m tired, I’m not even a little bit buzzed, and I have to open the gym tomorrow.”
She rolls her eyes, knowing how much I love my sleep and knowing how awful I can be if I don’t get enough of it.
“I can’t leave, Harp, I am this close…” She holds out her fingers inches apart from each other. “To banging the Henry Cavill wannabe out there. You know it’s been my dream to sleep with a movie star…”
When I give her a questioning look, she laughs.
“Well, it’s the next best thing! If I can’t have the real thing, why can’t I have fun with the carbon copy?”
I roll my eyes as I lift myself up and sit on the counter next to the sink.
“What about the blond guy? You guys seemed to be quite chatty…” The inflection isn’t lost on me as I avert my eyes, looking through my purse for my phone, knowing that even if Mel stays, I’m leaving. “He seemed hot and very into you!”
There is no way in hell I’m telling her about Josh. I’ll never hear the end of it, and I’m not ready to open that door. Not tonight.
“Before you start planning the wedding, I’m not into him,” I lie. I’m very into him, which is the fucking problem. She eyes me skeptically but realizes I’m not giving anything up, so she goes back to inspecting herself in the mirror.
“You know, I saw the way he was looking at you. It wouldn’t be hard to convince the man to rock your world for one night… no strings.”
I shiver at the prospect, but I know without a doubt that one night with Josh Anderson would never be enough.
3
Josh
Fuck.
Watching her walk toward the back of the bar and into the bathroom is one of the best and worst experiences of my life. Who the fuck is this girl? All I can think about is the fact that she smells like strawberries and her skin felt like silk against my fingers.
“Josh!” someone
