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“Awful people don’t suggest they could be awful.” Valerie turns in her seat to fully face me. “Awful people try to convince you they’re wonderful.”
“Is that right?” I study her for a minute. “What kind of person are you?”
Something I can’t identify flashes across her face. A shadow of emotion that’s gone in the blink of an eye. “Probably awful.”
I stare at her for a second. Then I start laughing. “Fair enough.” Pulling out my wallet, I toss enough bills on the bar to cover the bottle of bourbon I didn’t even drink.
“It was nice meeting you, Valerie, but I think I’m done with this game.” I turn away before I can see the satisfied smirk I know she must have at playing the player. It’s what they all think I am. Why they don’t feel even a little bad for what they do.
I cut through the bar, passing by tables full of women, keeping my eyes on the door. Their stares bother me more than usual tonight. Maybe it’s because Valerie seemed to know exactly how to act and what to say, driving home just how much I’m missing. Reminding me I don’t have a clue how to fix the spot I’m in.
As soon as I reach the path I pull in a deep breath, trying to clear my lungs of her alluring scent.
“Where are we going?” Her voice scares the piss out of me, sending me stumbling to one side, narrowly missing the cut of the curb.
I skid to a stop, staring at her in disbelief yet again. “What are you doing out here?”
She blinks at me, eyes wide and guileless. “I thought we were leaving.” Valerie tilts her head to one side and for a second I think she might be genuinely confused. Then realization sharpens her gaze and a flush spreads across her perfectly alabaster cheeks, sending those whiskey eyes dropping from mine. “You’re not into me.” Her voice is low—barely a whisper—and edged with unwarranted embarrassment. “You could have told me before letting me make a total ass out of myself.”
I’m not sure how to respond. Of course I’m fucking into her. I’d have to be a complete knob not to be into her. Hell, I’d cut my arm off at this point for the chance to find my way into any part of her she’d be willing to allow. And not because I’m hard up.
Not only because I’m hard up.
She’s the sexiest woman I’ve seen in my life, which sends me tipping right back into my original suspicions. Looking up and down the street outside the bar, I still expect to see her cluster of friends lying in wait. Phones ready to snap proof of their diabolical plan to humiliate me further. Raking one hand through my hair I let out a frustrated breath. “It’s not that I’m not into you.”
Her dark brows pull together, forming a crease between them. “Are you okay, Fynn?” Valerie seems uncertain, the easy confidence she showed in the bar slipping a little more as her eyes follow the same bouncing path as mine. “Are you looking for someone?”
I abandon my search for her cohorts, turning all my attention back to the woman staring at me like she thinks I might be insane. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t seem fine. You seem…” Her head tilts, eyes narrowing as they move over my face. “A little like you’re losing it.”
“I’m not losing it.” The fact that I even have to say something like that is a testament to how convoluted my life has become. Taking a deep breath, I try to straighten out the thoughts this woman is weaving into a mass of slightly paranoid chaos in my brain. “I’m not losing it. I’m just a little confused about why you’re here.”
Valerie’s gaze softens as she takes a step closer to me. The narrow heel of her shoes has to be at least four inches tall and she’s still over half a foot shorter than I am, the top of her dark head barely making it past my chin. She’s tiny. Delicate. The kind of woman a man wants to protect.
But I’m still fairly confident I’m the one who needs protecting in this situation.
“I’m here because we’re friends, remember?” One graceful hand comes out to press into the center of my chest and the physical contact sends a jolt of awareness straight to my long-suffering dick.
“I don’t know that I want to be your friend, Valerie.” The ragged edge of my voice doesn’t do much to hide the effect her touch and closeness have on me.
She doesn’t appear offended by my statement as she steps closer, resting her other hand beside the first, the heat of both palms sinking into my skin as she smiles up at me. “Why not? I might be the best kind of friend.” She presses closer, bringing a set of tits so full and lush they could make a grown man cry to push against my sternum.
I can barely breathe. Barely hope. “Are you propositioning me, Valerie?”
She lifts one shoulder, that flush from before flaming back to life. “Maybe.”
Every inch of me wants to go with this woman. Let her lead me home and then spend the night burying myself between her thighs until the past six months of misery are nothing but a distant memory. But I’m not that guy. Never have been, in spite of what people say. And I don’t plan on proving them right. Not tonight and not with this woman. “I’m not fucking you tonight, Valerie.”
Her dark brows lift and the flush turns to a full flame, pinking her perfect skin. “Oh.”
This probably isn’t a situation she’s used to. I’d imagine she doesn’t get turned down often. Maybe never. The whisper of uncertainty from before scatters across her features before disappearing like rain on hot asphalt, evaporating so fast I’d miss it if I wasn’t so focused on every move. Every breath.
“Maybe you could just walk me home then?” Her voice carries a trace of something I’ve none of.
Hope.
I survey the area around us one more time. “You’re really here alone?”
