Page 22 of Play Dirty

“You want to date me?” I ask.

“Yes, Jordan,” he says. “Yes. Now that Augustine knows you’re not interested in her or the three of us, I feel like…” He shrugs. “I feel like we can start over.”

“As lovers?” I laugh and it’s not a chuckle. It’s kinda loud.

“You’re not attracted to me?”

I look him over. Alexander is a good-looking man. He’s athletic. And if I remember correctly he’s into horses. Like he plays polo or something like that. He’s got a square jaw, piercing blue eyes, and sandy-blond hair cropped close on the sides and a little longer in the front. So every now and then— despite the fact that he’s well-groomed—a strand or two will escape and fall over his forehead.

We’re about the same height. Six two for me, maybe six one for him.

Both come from money, both well-educated, both…

“So what do you do now?” I ask. Because I realize I don’t actually know anything about the guy. I didn’t pay much attention to how he made money back in LA, I just knew it had something to do with the film industry.

“I run my family corporation. Which is a major arts endowment.”

“So you’re what? A professional board member?”

“You could say that.”

The waiter appears with a bottle of Macallan 18, pours a healthy amount into our glasses, then leaves.

Alexander raises his and says, “To Denver. May this city bring us more than we had in LA.”

“Sure,” I say, “Whatever,” taking a sip and pausing to enjoy the burn of an excellent eighteen-year-old Scotch.

He watches me, smiling. Making me feel self-conscious. It’s been a long time since a man could put me on edge like this, but Alexander always was that man, wasn’t he?

“I’m so tired of asking this question, but here goes. Why are we here?”

He shrugs. Puts his glass down. Slowly twirls it on the tablecloth with his fingers. “We could find another girl,” he finally says.

“What?”

“Someone who isn’t August, ya know? Someone new. No baggage. No expectations. Just… a fresh start.”

I have to run all that in my head several times before I can accept he actually said that. That those words just came out of his mouth.

“I mean, we could try just us, ya know? But I don’t think it would work.”

I just blink at him. “What?”

“Jordan,” he says, leaning forward. “I came here for you and I’m not leaving until I get you.”

“What happened to the guy who didn’t want to kiss me two weeks ago?”

“That’s because…” He pauses. “That was Augustine’s idea. This one is mine.”

“You’re in love with me?”

“With us, Jordan. I want a plural relationship, one with two men and one woman, but maybe I don’t want that with August. She’s…”

I wait for him to finish and when he doesn’t I get impatient. “She’s what?”

“Look,” he says, holding up a hand. “All your reservations go back to how it ended with the two of you. It’s not really about me, is it? So she’s the one you’re avoiding. I’m just trying to make this work.”

“I don’t understand how you got the impression—”