Chapter thirteen

I turned and looked at her. Aaron was standing behind her, his hand on her back, staring at Ivan. Dayton’s eyes were flicking between us.

“It’s fine,” I answered, grabbing my keys from the bar. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

He watched me the whole time. Like he’s a predator stalking his prey, his eyes were fixated on me. They follow my every move, studying me, evaluating me…memorizing me.

It’s unnerving. But it’s not uncomfortable. It’s not a sinister look or even remotely bad. It’s casual. Intense, but casual. No different than the way you watch the characters move across the stage at the theater.

If only there weren’t something…in his gaze that set off a herd of butterflies in my stomach so strong that I can barely eat a thing. Most of my dinner is pushed around my plate, untouched except for the gentle prodding of my fork. 

Aaron asked for the bill, and Dayton squeezed my hand under the table. “I forgot to ask you earlier. Can you come to the cake tasting with me tomorrow? Someone double-booked himself.” Dayton’s eyes slided to Aaron.

“I didn’t double-book anything, sweetheart. I thought the tasting was at one o’clock, not four thirty.”

She made a disapproving sound. Do I want to go to a cake tasting? No.

“Brenda?”

“Can’t Ivan go?” I grinded his name out.

“Photoshoot,” he replied with a twist of his lips.

“My shift starts at five thirty tomorrow,” I protested. “I can’t be late.”

“You won’t be. I promise.” She reassured me. “You’ll be back to White Stag in plenty of time.”

“White Stag?” Ivan interrupted. “You work behind a bar?” 

I looked to him. “Yes. Believe it or not, sometimes taking your clothes off isn’t a great way to earn a living.”

“Word,” Dayton muttered.

Ivan blinked at me. “You don’t seem like a bar kind of girl.”

“And you don’t seem like an expensive-restaurant kind of guy, but you’re sitting in one.” I pulled out my purse to paid my share of the bill, but Ivan beat me to it. “What are you doing?”

“I’m buying your dinner. What do you think I’m doing?”

I counted out a few of his bills from the small dish and put them in front of him. “That would imply that this is a date.”

His lips tugged up on one side. “It can be.”

“No, it can’t be.”  “Because no guy spends that much on dinner for a woman unless he’s expecting to get laid after, and I already made my position on that very, very clear.”

He raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair. “So buy yourself dinner. That doesn’t mean there’s no chance of you getting laid tonight.”

I zipped my purse up calmly and stood, pulling it over my shoulder. “Some women can take care of themselves. That’s why some clever bastard invented the vibrator.”

Dayton muffled her laugh with her hand, I looked at her, keeping a straight face.

“Thanks for the invitation to join you for dinner, but I have to get back. Angus will be going crazy.” I kissed her cheek. “Call me with the damn cake details, okay?”

“Of course. Thanks for accepting my dinner invitation.” She winked, and my lips twitched.

Sometimes, it’s hard to remember we’re not still in high school. That’s the great thing about a lifelong friendship – you never have to grow up around one another.

I said goodbye to Aaron, ignored Ivan, and made my way through the restaurant. I dig into my purse for my keys, berating myself for pointlessly zipping it up. Idiot. The host bidded me goodbye, and I nodded as I went to the direction of the parking lot. Still digging for my keys. Fuck me, I need to buy a smaller purse.

I looked my car in the parking lot and headed toward it. My fingers brush the cold metal as I reach my car, but I’m grabbed and turned before I could get a grip on them.

“What the fuck!” I shrieked, finding myself pinned against my car by another pair of hips and two strong hands.

“Shush,” Ivan whispered. “You’ll wake the dead.”

I glared at him. “There are no graveyards near here. And what part of ‘don’t touch me’ are you failing to understand?”

“The part in which you mean it, babe.” He grinded lopsidedly. Don’t look at the eyes, don't look,, ohh, the eyes

“Shall I try again? Don’t. Touch. Me,” I said, punctuating each word, making sure they’re perfectly heard.

He pressed his hips against mine harder and my body betrayed my words as my clit throbbed. Slowly, he pushed one of his legs between mine, I bited down on my bottom lip.