And Now He's Flirting

Rebecca

Rebecca slid into a booth at the back of the restaurant, the sound of the crowd filtering back to them, but in a muted sense. Meanwhile, Parker slipped out of his thick leather bomber, his own figure well-constructed from years in the gym as well. He was sinewy and more of a swimmer than a weightlifter, all of which Becca could appreciate. She ran most mornings and kept herself in shape, but it was more about wanting to live long and healthy than attracting someone of the opposite sex. Every date she’d been on in the last year had been a torrential joke. A couple of the guys were already married and just looking for a bit of side action. She’d laughed them all the way out of the restaurant, and she and Parker had spent several hours killing themselves laughing over the drama that was her dating life. He was like a brother, a best friend—a male Trisha.

“What are you having to drink?” Parker’s voice brought her from her thoughts.

“Are you drinking or am I?” she responded.

“You go ahead. I’ll drive us back tonight, and I’ll take you home if you overdo it, you lush.”

She laughed and picked up the drink menu, scanning it.

He reached over and put his hand in the middle of the menu, smiling at her, which highlighted his boyish good looks. “Why do you waste your time with that? You know you’re getting a Corona with a lime.”

She laid the small menu down and laughed. “Maybe I was going to try something new and exciting tonight.”

“You? Never. You’re consistent, if nothing else.”

She huffed as the waiter approached. “Consistent? How boring is that?”

He shrugged, laughing at her. “What? It’s true.”

She looked up at the handsome young waiter, who had to be Jason’s age. “I’ll have a Long Island iced tea, please.”

He smiled and nodded. “Doing it right tonight, hmmm?”

Parker chuckled and ordered a Corona with a lime, waiting until the waiter left to comment. “See, this is what the other guys should know about you. They’d score every time.”

She leaned back, getting more comfortable as she thawed out in the warmth provided by their environment. “Oh please, do enlighten us all.”

“All someone has to do is challenge you, and you rush into it like a bull in a china shop.”

“That was no challenge. I simply ordered your favorite drink, and in turn, you ordered mine. I figured I’d stick my tongue in your drink when it arrived and then take my beer from you.” She shrugged, winked and crossed her arms over her chest. “Tell me why we’re here.”

“You’re drinking both drinks, by the way. I just want water.” He reached for the glass of ice water in front of him and took a quick drink, his eyes losing their light for a minute. “I just wanted to talk to you about some issues I’m having with Mina.”

“Yeah, sure. What’s going on?” Mina was Parker’s wife—his new wife. She wasn’t much older than Jason, maybe a year or two, but they’d had a rocky start from the beginning. When Parker met Mina, he’d just gone through a horrible divorce the year before with Cindy, a woman he’d been with since high school. Mina had to be a rebound. Unfortunately he took the rebound a few steps too far and married her on a whim instead of just dating her.

“I keep telling her that she needs to figure out what she wants to do with her future.”

“How so?” Rebecca asked, reaching up to take the tea from the server. Parker took the beer and started to squeeze the lime into it for her. He slid the drink toward her and she pushed it halfway back. “Let’s not make me look like a total lush, please. With my luck, one of our clients is in here tonight.”

Parker laughed before leaning back, his gaze resting on her. “She needs to get a job or a career or something. I’m fine paying for her to go to college, but she’s just not interested in anything.”

“Did she graduate from high school?”

“I don’t know. I assume so.”

“You don’t know? You guys are married. How do you not know something so basic about her past? You’ve been married for two years now.”

“I don’t know. I just don’t.” He reached for the beer and chugged half of it down.

Rebecca shook her head as disbelief settled over her. Parker’s ex had done a job on his emotions, so much so that he hadn’t paid attention to the first bed he’d landed in. Mina had been a stripper at one of the high dollar clubs on the west side of H-town. She was beautiful, but lacked class and couldn’t really hold much of a conversation as far as Rebecca was concerned. Her heart ached for the simple reality that her best friend had married out of heartache and now was stuck in something with no clean way out of it.

“Okay, then ask her. Just talk to her and find out what her dreams were when she was small.”

Rebecca craned her neck as a handsome male walked toward the restroom, the tight hug of his slacks on his well-formed backside causing her interest to pique.

Parker turned and looked to see what had taken her attention. He laughed as he turned back to her, lifting the beer to his lips. “So, you do like Jason.”

“Jason? What?” Rebecca leaned back over as the man disappeared into the restroom. “That wasn’t Jason, you dweeb.”

“Damn sure was.” He laughed and pulled the menu back out, ordering them a few appetizers as the server approached again. Rebecca looked up at the server to order a glass of water and felt the weight of the young man’s stare. He saw something he liked and the thought jolted Rebecca a little. Was she still this attractive to men ten years younger than her? She knew she was pretty, but most everyone was in their own way. It had to be that it was obvious she had money. The thought caused her stomach to turn. A rich old woman with okay looks and tons of cash … hot.

“I’ll take a glass of water when you have a chance,” she murmured, her eyes moving from the server to touch the gaze of her best associate as he exited the bathroom. He waved and headed their way as the server moved from the table.

“Damn it to hell,” Rebecca muttered as she waved back and looked across the table at Parker, hating him all the more for being right.

He mouthed, “What? Is it Jason?”

Jason stopped beside the table, the top button of his shirt undone and his hair a little bit more messy than it had been just an hour before at the office. His eyes were glossy, as if a beer or two had already married with his system and relaxed him. Rebecca smiled, unable to help herself as he extended his hand to Parker first.

“Boss. Good to see you here.”