CHRISTINE
Oh my God.
I didnotknow how to get out of this situation. It was intense. I mean, I’d only just met Maggie a few hours before as I moved into my college room to find her living alongside me. I didn’t know anyone else in New York City at all, and I definitely wasn’t accustomed to creepers hitting on me in a bar. That was why I asked her, a born and bred New Yorker, to take me somewhere quiet so I could soak in the atmosphere of my brand new city before really hitting it hard.
Maybe I was a bit of a tragic small town girl, who always dreamed of a life in New York but never quite prepared myself for it, but how was I to know that it would besodifferent then back home?
This is exciting,I tried to convince myself as the guy on the left leered over me without saying a word. He was definitely the weird one out of the pair, but it seemed that Maggie already kind of knew the other guy and she was into him. I was trapped.This is the sort of life experience you came here for, Christine. Don’t you forget that. Don’t you let Mom be right about you.
Ugh, it angered me how many tears my mother wept when she learned I was headed off to the city for college, a seventeen-hour drive away. She tried everything she could to get me to go to the community college, Luther College, instead. But I didn’t want to remain ‘not street smart enough.’ I didn’t want to be just another one of those people trapped in my hometown forever, so I was here, and I was going to have to get used tothis.
“So,” the guy finally spoke as he ran his sloppy eyes over my body. “Miss, what brings you to this bar tonight? You looking for a night offun?”
I screwed up my face in disgust. This didnotfeel the same way as the hot guy working the bar devouring me with his gaze. There was something truly thrilling about that look—it made me feel electric, alive. I wanted so much more from him, which wasn’t like me at all. I’d never even seen a guy like the bartender in real life before. In movies, sure, but not right in front of my eyes. I was awestruck and couldn’t understand why he was looking right back at me.
“I’m actually here with my…”
Oh God. What the hell? Now Maggie had her tongue deep in her guy’s mouth, which was arealissue for me. I needed to get out of here quickly before I was left as the gooseberry. No way I was hanging out with this idiot while they made out all night long. I could already tell I didn’t have anything to say to him. I couldn’t tolerate hours of this shit…
“Christine.”
Oh my God. My heart stopped beating as I followed the sound of the chocolatey smooth commanding voice looming over my table. It washim, the tall, dark, and extremely handsome bartender making my stomach flip flop in an instant. He had the pitcher of cocktail in his hand, but this didn’t seem to be aboutthat. If only I could drag some words out from somewhere instead of sitting silent, slightly slack-jawed, like a dumb fish. His good looks were intimidating; I couldn’t speak around him.
“You have a call. You want to come with me?”
“A call? Who would call me here…” Face palm. My words trailed off as soon as I caught on to this guy’s plan. He was offering me a lifeline away from the creeper. I leapt up eagerly. “A call, of course. Thank you, I’m expecting a call.”
Holy shit, those dimples. How was it fair for an Adonis to walk among us? How was someone likemesupposed to keep my shit together when he was giving me the eye? One glance and heat pooled in my panties. I followed the bartender like an obedient little pet, even though I didn’t know where I was going. The call wasn’t real, right? So where did this leave me…?
“Ooh, Mr. Hottie is back! I knew he was going to come back for us.”
Two women so sexy I could hardly breathe around them, let alone compare, surrounded ‘Mr. Hottie.’ Shit, there went my little eye flirting with this guy. There was no way he’d be interested in a plain Jane, girl next door type compared to these women who seemed to understand their sexuality perfectly, in a way that I could only dream of. I’d always admired women like this, knowing I’d never be like them. Now, I was insanely jealous of the attention they were definitely going to get.
I glanced backward. Maggie hadn’t even noticed me gone. She was on herfriend’slap now. They were probably going to leave soon. Hopefully to wherever he lived because I didnotknow New York City enough to spend the night out of my room if my friend had a sock on the door.
Oh God, will I never be able to handle New York? Will I always be ‘not street smart enough’?
“You don’t need to worry about pouring us drinks really.” The woman with flame red hair and a sparkling smile to match purred. “We just want to hang out with you. We want to show you a good time.”
“Hey, I’m the only guy on duty. I can’t hang out with anyone.” Whoa, he sounded much colder with them than he did me.
“Oh, come on,” the raven-haired woman groaned while thrusting her perfectly pert breasts in his face. “Youknowyou can have a good time with us. We can show you things you’veneverexperienced before.”
I had to avert my eyes; this was getting awkward to look at. I didn’t feel like I should be here watching this, or anyone else. These women wanted to get a room with the bartender, and part of me wished they’d just do it already so I didn’t have to suffer this scene anymore.
“I’m working,” he bit back once more. “And I actually have something really important to do right now.”
Much to my surprise, he reached his hand backward toward me. Holy hell, did he want me to take his hand? I stared at it for much too long, probably creating one hell of an awkward atmosphere, until he wiggled his fingers and lured me in. My knees turned to jelly as our skin connected, as the warmth of his hand rushed all over mine. Oh my God, I’d heard of getting butterflies before, but this was on another level. I had eagles flapping with a nervous excitement in my belly. The effect this hot guy had on me was phenomenal.
“Sorry about that,” he murmured to me once he pulled me to the bar. “It’s a bit wild in here tonight. It’s not normally like this. Why don’t you take a seat over there, and I’ll get you another drink?”
Silently, still a little bit in shock, I did as he commanded. Partly because I really didn’t know what else to do, but mainly because I hoped I’d get to hold his hand again. That was a near God-like experience. Imagine what it’d be like if he touched me elsewhere…
Uh oh.I squeezed my thighs close together so no one could sense the throbbing in my panties now.Don’t think about him touching me anywhere…
“I’m Brandon, by the way,” he told me as he slid another glass of cocktail my way. “And I’m here for you if you need help escaping any more creepy dudes.”
For one horrifying moment, I was scared that wasallthis was. Just him rescuing me from some guy he didn’t trust. But then he shot me a heart stopping wink, and I felt that flurry of excitement once more.
Happily, I sipped the drink that wasn’t the only thing making my head spin, as Brandon—ooh, I loved the name Brandon—served his other customers. There was no denying the way he treated them was different to me. I was special. I almost wished my high school best friend, Kaylee, could see me right now. She was always making jokes about me being inexperienced just because she’s been with her boyfriend forever. I almost text her, just to wind her up a little, but I decided against it at the last minute. She wasn’t happy for me to leave either, and I had a feeling she would turn this from something exciting into an awkward conversation. I could already picture what she’d think about Brandon. Clearly, he was older than me, and hehadto be more experienced. I didn’t want her criticisms about this.
Brandon was symbolic of my new life in New York; being someone he liked the look of was how I wanted to begin my time here. His hungry eyes made me more confident than I’d felt in a very long time.
No, this was forme. This was my night, and I wanted to have a good time.
Just as I knew what my Deborah friend would tell me, I could also imagine New Yorker Maggie’s words. She’d be enthusiastic about Brandon; she’d tell me to have a good time with him. She’d already teased me about himobviouslyhaving the hots for me. It was Maggie’s advice I wanted to follow right now because every time Brandon glanced my way, the excited shudder that cascaded all the way through my body was addictive, intoxicating. I couldnotget enough.