Page 30 of Flirting with Trouble

“What do you mean count you out?” Fitz asks as he and the others head my way.

“Yeah, when do you ever give up a chance to meet women?” Brant asks.

I shrug and scratch my knuckles. I notice Grant watching me like a fucking hawk. Damn it. He knows all my tells, and scratching my knuckles has been a nervous habit since I was a kid. I grab a beer from the fridge and turn my back to him as I open it.

The bastard walks around me so I have no choice but to look at him. He’s wearing that all-knowing expression he’s had for as long as I can remember. The one that says he’s not going to let up until I spill my guts. He used it on me when our father moved out and got me to break down like the fucking sad, confused kid I was.

“What?” I bark.

“Whatever it is, you don’t have to carry it alone,” Grant says like a true military dude.

“Yeah, man. We’re your friends,” Brant adds. “Let us help.”

They’re all looking at me, like an immovable brute wall. “A’right. Fine. I met someone in New York, and after we hooked up, she blew me off.”

Archer laughs.

I glower at him.

“Sorry, man,” Archer says. “It’s just that you’re the king of blowing women off, and now the tables are turned. It’s fucking funny.”

“It fucking sucks,” I correct him.

Grant puts a hand up, silencing Archer. “What’s the big deal?”

“I fucking like her. That’s what the big deal is. We got together two nights in a row and had an amazing time, but both times she left like a bat out of hell afterward. I don’t think she takes me seriously.”

“Do you blame her?” Brant asks. “You don’t exactly have a history of long-term relationships.”

“No shit.” Jesus.

Fitz lifts his chin and says, “Is this…that woman you met at the bar Friday night?”

I’m grateful he didn’t call me out with Victory, but I can’t lie to him. “Yeah.”

“So what happened that makes you think she doesn’t take you seriously?” Jamison asks.

“Jamison, you haven’t seen our boy Wells in action in a while,” Archer says. “This guy can’t talk to a woman without coming on to her.”

“Bullshit.” I level Archer with a dark stare. “Do you know how many people I talk to at the restaurant every fucking day without coming on to them?”

“Families, sure, but single women?” Archer shakes his head. “We’ve all seen it, Wells. Shit, you joke about it.”

Jamison’s brows knit, and he says, “If that’s the case, it sounds like he can’t hide it. She probably knew what she was getting into when she slept with him, right?”

“She did,” I say sharply. “And I did, too. I thought it was just going to be one night of fun. But then we hooked up again, and now I can’t get her out of my head.”

“So let her know,” Jamison says.

“I did, but she’s a few years older than me, and her life is a little complicated, which I totally get.” I grind my back teeth and admit the worst part. “But she called me a fucking boy toy.”

The guys crack up.

“Thanks a lot, assholes.” I take a pull on my beer. “Remind me never to bend your ears again.”

Jamison stops laughing and studies me. “You really like this woman?”

“Yes, I do.”