THAT NIGHT

Part 1-3

My feet let out a groan of appreciation when I sat, giving them the first bit of relief in hours.

“Wow, these are great seats,” I said.

“Keenan is to thank for that. It was his idea that we get a table.”

“So, who is Keenan?” I asked with a laugh before crunching on a carrot stick.

“A friend,” he said before taking a bite of one of the flatbreads.

“Well, I gathered that.”

He chuckled and finished chewing. “We met in college and both ended up in Chicago. What about Jenna?”

“We met at my first job after college, became fast friends, and have been inseparable ever since.” I moved on to one of the flatbread pieces, pleasantly surprised by the pop of the unexpected combination of sweet and savory.

“What do you do when you’re not bumping into strange men and having their hand down your dress in less than five minutes?”

I threw my head back in laughter. “Total numbers nerd—I work in accounting.”

It was his turn to laugh. “Finance.”

“You’re kidding.” He shook his head. “Another tick for Mr. Too-Good-To-Be-True.”

He laughed while biting on one of the potatoes. “I’m a numbers nerd as well. I have an unhealthy relationship with spreadsheets.”

My mouth popped open. “I love spreadsheets. Like, legit obsession. Spreadsheets are life.”

He leaned forward conspiratorially. “Do you love pivot tables as much as I do?”

A shudder rolled through me. “Stop talking nerdy to me. I already liked you before I found out about the nerdy side of your athlete-in-a-suit disguise.”

“What?”

I waved my hand in his direction. “Hide the muscles all you want, but that ass says differently,” I said with a wink.

He shrugged. “I think best in the gym when my mind is occupied, and since I’ve already told you how I’m a lonely bastard, pretty much all of my free time is spent there.”

“So you can peacock on these rare nights out?”

He smirked and shook his head. “I was a high school football player, you got me there. Got a football scholarship to college and not halfway through my freshman year, I was injured. Keeping my strength up helps keep the pain away.”

It was quite possibly the most serious thing said all evening, and damn if it didn’t endear me to him further. “What happened?”

He finished his bite and wiped his mouth. “I intercepted a pass and was booking it toward the goal. I made it thirty yards before I was tackled by two players and we went down wrong. Broken leg, broken elbow.” He pointed to his right leg and left elbow. “End of a dream.”

“Did they not heal right?” I couldn’t even imagine the depth of despair that would create.

He shook his head. “It took two surgeries to fix my tibia, and one for the elbow. They were both f****d. It took years for me to figure out how to manage them so that I’m not popping pills all the time for the rest of my life. What about you?”

“No football injuries for me.”

Another chuckle before he speared a piece of cheese. “Sports?”

“Does riding my bike count? Or spending my summer in the pool?” I asked. “I did play some sports, but I only got as far as high school freshman softball. My brother is the sporty one. He went on to minor league baseball. Plays for the Indians.”

“Cleveland?” he asked, impressed but confused, as the Cleveland Indians were major league.

I shook my head. “Indianapolis Indians. They’re a triple-A team.”

“That’s cool.”

“Otherwise, my favorite form of exercise just isn’t happening lately.” I didn’t mean to steer what was a neutral, good, get-to-know-you kind of conversation back to s*x, but watching him bite into a strawberry and lick the juice from his lips was more than I could take.

“Of the naked variety?”

“Of course, but like I said, not happening.” I let out a sigh and tried to redirect again. “So I spend the most boring hour a day on the elliptical machine with the music blaring so loud it pisses my neighbors off. I hate apartment living.”

“Poor sound insulation,” he said in a knowing tone.

I nodded. “Too right. I mean, one reason it’s so loud is because they’re both screaming.”

His plate was mostly demolished, as was mine. The food settled, my stomach happy to have something besides liquid in it.

“I’ve lived with neighbors like that, always fighting,” he said.

I shook my head. “Oh, no. They’re not fighting. They f**k like twenty-four seven.” His eyes met mine, and I realized I’d done it again. “Doesn’t matter anyway. I’ll be out of there in a few months.”

“Another apartment?”

I pulled out my phone and brought up the listing for a property I’d had my eye on. “Me and Jenna are both looking at this condo complex downtown on the river. We can be neighbors.”

His brow scrunched as he looked over the photos. “Wait, where do you live?” he asked.

“Indianapolis.”

His lips formed a thin line. “Damn, I wish you lived here.”

His wish made my heart jump and my chest clench. I was buzzing with the idea of seeing him after tonight. “I hooked you already, did I?” I tried to play off how much I liked the idea.

“You’ve had me since I shoved my hand down your dress. Nice breasts, by the way.” He winked at me.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Well, Indianapolis isn’t far, and therefore, neither are my breasts.”

He stared at me, studying me for a moment. “How are you single?”

Given his scrutiny, that was not what I was expecting.

I blinked at him. “How are you? I mean, I’m a weird, numbers-obsessed, nerd hottie. Guys get so confused they don’t know if they like me or just want s*x. You’re a straight-up god-like man…I’m still trying to find a flaw.”

“I’m scarred. That’s a flaw.”

I shook my head. “That just makes you more perfect.”

“You’re pretty flawless yourself, you know,” he said as he set his hand on mine.

I bit down on my bottom lip and looked away, but he wouldn’t let me. He hooked his finger under my chin and made me look at him. “I wasn’t going to come out tonight, but I’m really glad I did. And I’m even more glad I bumped into you and spilled your drink all over your dress.” His eyes grew heavy and he cleared his throat before standing. “Let’s go dance.”

He held out his hand and I slipped mine in, rising back up. “What just happened there?”

He pulled me closer until our bodies were aligned. Electric heat poured through me when his arms wrapped around my waist, hands spread across my back. My heart sped up to triple time.

Leaning forward, he bent down and ran his nose up the column of my neck, his lips at my ear. A shudder ran through me, and I leaned farther into him. The desire to be skin to skin with him was strong.

“My mind went to the gutter and I was consumed with wanting to spill another fluid all over you. Inside you.”

“f**k,” I hissed as my knees went weak, my fingers fisting his shirt.

“Now, I need to get you onto the dance floor before I steal you away to my place to ring in the New Year.”

That was such an appetizing proposition, and as much as my body wanted to convince him that was the right move, I knew it wasn’t. Despite Jenna’s opinion, which was for me to go get it. “Let’s go.”

The group that included Jenna and Keenan had grown, new friends and old having joined. I recognized a guy I’d gone to college with.

“Brent!” I cried out.

“Hey, little Nat,” he said, stepping forward and pulling me into a hug, lifting me from the ground before setting me back down and moving away. He was still as tall and lanky as I remembered, and at least six inches taller than Richard. “Long time. What have you been up to?”

I shrugged. “Work, and hanging out with her.”

Brent glanced over to Jenna who smiled and waved at us, shaking her ass and hips. I was beginning to wonder how she was still standing. Then again, she loved to dance.

“Jenna’s your friend?” he asked.

I narrowed my gaze at him. “Yeah. Why?”

“Because I like her.”

“Because she’s Japanese?” Brent always did have a thing for Asian girls.

His lips twitched up into a smirk. “That may be part of it. So who’s the guy you came over with?”

I glanced over to Richard, who was talking with Keenan but kept glancing over to me. I crooked my finger at him, and he closed the few feet that separated us.

“Brent, this is Richard. Richard, this is an old college friend, Brent.”

“Nice to meet you.” Richard held out his hand and Brent took it.

“How long have you two been together?” Brent asked.

“We just met tonight,” I answered.

Brent’s brow scrunched and he looked between us, at the way Richard’s arm sat loosely around my waist. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Fooled me,” he said.

I stole a glance at Richard, who was smiling at me.

“Come back, Brent!” Jenna called out.

A smile broke out on his face. “Gotta dance.” His hips began to shake to the beat as he backed up until he bumped Jenna.

Richard drew me closer, his mouth near my ear. “I was starting to get a little jealous there.”

I angled my face toward his. “Jealous? Really?”

His thumb stroked against my waist. “I seem to have claimed you as mine tonight, and here is this other guy who is friendly with you.”

I turned in his arms, my hands resting on his chest. “Oh, claimed me as yours.”

“What?”

I nipped at his jaw. “Definite turn-on, in both words and possibility.”

A groan left him. “You are going to kill me.”

“Kill you how?”

He returned my nip with one of his own. “Death by constant erection.”

Heat flooded my face and I glanced down, but between the darkness and the fabric, I couldn’t see anything. Taking hold of my hips, he spun me around and used the music and dancing as an excuse to grind against me.

“Oh,” I said in surprise before reaching up and cupping his neck.

We were in our own little world, moving to the music, our lips drawing closer. Before we could connect, Jenna yelled out, breaking the spell of our bodies.

“Woohoo! Get it!” She laughed.

Keenan followed suit, giving a whistle. “Damn, Rick.”

Richard chuckled against my neck before reluctantly creating space between us. The energy that moved around us was intoxicating. I’d never been so turned on and desperate for any man.

Neither of us was interested in anyone or anything else going on. It was like as soon as our eyes had met, we were hooked on some chemical level. All conversation throughout the evening only intensified the feeling.

A remix of Lykke Li’s “Little Bit” pumped through the speakers. The words rang out as Richard and I danced, our fingers linking together.

In that moment, I was a little bit in love with him.

Was it real? No, but for the moment, it felt real. The interest in knowing more about him was there, and I was desperate for more information but was silenced by every cell in my body calling out for his. The need to know his hands on my skin was a desperation that demanded action.

“I’ll go get us some drinks,” he said after a few highly charged songs.

“Can you get me a Cosmo?”

When he returned I greedily gulped down the liquid, desperate to quench my thirst, which wasn’t the best idea.

Shortly thereafter I swayed on my feet. “I have to go to the bathroom,” I said to Richard.