Page 16 of Throttle

Not every man needs to remind me of Throttle. I need to quit. My goal is to take my mind off him. But staring at this beautiful reminder doesn’t help.

“My boyfriend would castrate you, so I’ll pass.”

The guy chuckles, but fear flashes in his eyes when he realizes Angel wasn’t kidding. And I’m pretty sure the massive gulp of his beer solidifies it.

“But my friend would love another.” Angel pinches my arm. I'm itching for him to go away since I haven't had any romantic or flirtatious interactions with a random guy in ages.

“Yes. Thank you.” I smile and as he orders, I kick Angel’s heel under the bar. She's the reason I'm in this situation.

She shoots me a side eye. “What? I’m helping you. The guy’s stacked.” She eyes him up and down like a dessert, but when her gaze falls over his shoulder, her smirk drops. “I’ll be right back. Need to go say hello to a certain lover boy of mine.”

I squeeze her arm. “You're going to leave me alone with this guy?”

“Never. We’ll be over there.” Angel points to Venom, who's holding up the wall with his gigantic frame and biker boot, scowling furiously. I’m surprised his face doesn’t freeze that way.

Watching her go, my nerves kick into high gear. I am by myself and uneasy being left with an attractive guy and I'm unsure how to act or speak.

Jesus, Tequilal. You are not this awkward. You are twenty-six years old. Twenty-six! Get your damn shit together.

“That the boyfriend who would castrate me?” The stranger nods over my shoulder. Venom holds Angel close, his arm serving as a protective barrier.

I snatch the drink he bought and take a huge sip. It’s dangerous for alcohol to taste like Fruity Pebbles. Especially when you need liquid courage to survive. “That would be him. And she wasn’t kidding. He would have murdered you.” I chuckle, but I am very serious.

He laughs, then uses a cough to calm his nerves. His cough is even sexy. Is that weird?

“Right. Well, wouldn’t want to test those waters.” His eyes sparkle under the neon lights, making me warmer. “It's you that interests me, not your friend.”

With embarrassment oozing from my pores, I tuck my hair behind my ear. “Thanks. Though, my friend is the prettier one. She’s more confident and I admire her for it. Totally jealous. Not jealous of her. More like envious. Oh! I guess that’s the same thing. Ew, now I sound weird and…”

“Whoa, hey.” The heat from his hand on my shoulder sends a nervous shiver through my body. “Slow down, killer.”

After taking a breath, I wish for a big hole to appear so I can seek refuge in it. “I’m sorry. I babble a lot when I’m nervous.”

Way to go.

“It’s cute. You’re cute.” He sweeps the strands of hair off my forehead, and I realize any other time I would be annoyed at a stranger doing that, but with him, it’s nice.

“Listen, you caught my attention. Not your friend. So, what’s your name, gorgeous?”

My name? Should be a simple question. Tequila or Hazel? Tequila or Hazel?

“Hazel.” Giving my club alias didn't sit right.

“Beautiful. I’m Caleb. So, what do you say?” He glances toward the center floor. “Dance with me?”

A noise escapes me before I can stop it. It was rude to snort in the man's face. But dance? Oh, boy. Am I supposed to grind on him? Booty to groin.

I despise being an introvert.

He flashes me another one of his rich smiles and I melt.

“Okay.” I cave.

He offers his hand, gesturing for me to accept it. With a brief pause, I take a quick look back at Angel and Venom. She approves with a thumbs up, but Venom gives me a skeptical glance. He’s asking me if I’m all right, and I give a small smile for reassurance.

Caleb leads me to the center floor while an early two thousand throwback song plays. I exhale and surrender to the music's control. I always loved to dance. When I was a teenager, I used to pretend I was Britney Spears, dancing to "Oops I did it Again" in my room.

A warm body embraces me from behind, pulling me out of my flashback. Hands grip my waist, guiding me closer.

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