Page 20 of Captivated

I choke on my saliva. Uh, was there some conversation we had about hooking up that I missed while I was in the restroom?

“Wow, okay. Uh, Misty, we should talk…” I start, but before I can get another word out, a woman strides up to the table and my eyes narrow on her like tunnel vision. Piper is walking over here just moments after our interaction in the hall. What the heck could she want after our little conversation? But let’s be honest, I’m dying to find out.

Piper

Tonight was supposed to be about having fun, conversing with the other nurses outside of the hospital, and trying to drown some of the emotions that I’ve been fighting for the past few weeks.

I was sitting at our table, Long Island Iced Tea in my hand and having a really nice time, adding to the conversation where I could, when I saw Cash Williams sitting in a booth with a curly-haired brunette across the table. The lamp hanging above them highlighted the hard lines in his face, making him appear even more dangerous than I already know him to be to my mind.

“Who’s his victim tonight?” Jess leans over and whispers in my ear.

“What? Who?” I ask, not sure if she caught me staring or not.

“Cash. Your eyes have been fixated on him for the last five minutes.”

“Have not,” I whine, fighting with her like a two-year-old. Shit. I think the alcohol is getting to me.

“Okay,” she rolls her eyes at me and then takes a sip of her drink. “That’s Misty Chambers, by the way.”

“Oh, really? Huh.” I’m trying to act nonchalant, but the increase in my pulse is baffling me right now. Am I jealous? No, I can’t be. I don’t even know him. But I do know he’s a flirt and a player, and he’s staying true to his reputation based on his actions this evening. After Cash offered to show me his dick in the hospital, I relayed the story to Jess and she gave me her signature warning again. But by the way she’s studying me studying him, I bet she sees that my confidence in avoiding Cash is slowly crumbling.

Suddenly, Cash is standing from the booth and making his way to the restroom. My eyes track his movement as I sip my straw and the warm buzz of the alcohol makes me feel bolder than I have in a while.

“I need to pee. Be right back,” I whisper in Jess’s ear before clicking my wedges against the hardwood floor and making my way down the hall to the ladies’ room.

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to keep her from touching me for the next forty-five minutes. And every time she licks her lips… What the hell were we thinking making a bet like this?” Cash’s voice filters through the crack in the door to the men’s room as I walk past, making me falter in my steps immediately.

“Just try to sit all the way back in the booth and keep the conversation to neutral topics. But I’m not gonna lie, Cash… watching you squirm like this and fulfill your terms of the bet is worth every penny Clara spent,” another man laughs as I press my ear to the door to hear better. “I hear you, though. I think after this, all bets should cease. I’m engaged now, man. I need to knock this shit off.”

A bet? He’s out on this date as a bet?

Fury I didn’t know could rage in my body builds like the lava in a volcano, and suddenly, I feel like I’m about to shoot flames out of the top of my head and erupt. The alcohol flowing through my veins isn’t helping the situation either, making me feel even more courageous than normal.

Shuffling of footsteps drawing closer makes me race down the hall with my back turned to the door as I hear it open and close, a man I don’t recognize leaving the room first. A few minutes later, as I turn to watch him exit, Cash glides through the door and I can’t help the words that escape my mouth.

“Your date seems like a lot of fun.”

After a few minutes of back-and-forth banter—the same kind we’ve had since he hit on me in the hospital, full of sexual suggestion and blatant flirtation, I make my way back over to the table where Jess is shaking her head at me as I arrive.

“He’s gotten to you, hasn’t he?”

I shrug and then sit up tall, reaching for the new drink that Jess ordered for me when I left. “He’s so full of himself. Did you know he’s on that date with Misty as part of a bet?”

Jess’s jaw drops as she widens her eyes at me. “What? That’s fucked up.”

“Agreed. What is it with men, thinking they can treat women like property? Like, we don’t have feelings or desires like normal people? What if Misty genuinely likes Cash and hopes that this could be the start of something between them and then finds out, she was nothing more than a bet?”

Jess grimaces. “Well, based on what I know about Misty, I would say that’s probably not the case. But, I get what you’re saying. No one deserves that. But Piper, your attention on him is alarming. I know I warned you what he’s like, but I can’t help but feel like you’re playing with fire here. Just… just be careful.”

Popping up from my stool, I turn to face Jess, full of the resolve I feel to stand up for Misty—because no woman deserves to be treated that way. “Heaven knows why I care at all about him and his questionable choices, but he deserves to be put in his place. I’ll be right back,” I declare before taking a long sip of my drink, fluffing my hair, and then marching right over to where Cash Williams is watching me stride up to him.

This is for women everywhere, and maybe a way for me to feel in control for once. Cash may make my hormones go wild, but at least I know I can channel some of that restless energy into something good for a change.

Here goes nothing.

Cash

As I open my mouth to speak, the smack of Piper’s palm against my cheek rings in my ears and draws the attention from the patrons in the bar. Now my train wreck of a date with Misty has become the sole focus of attention of the entire room, along with Piper’s display of anger that I am shocked about and not sure how to comprehend. The sting of the connection burns as I turn to face the woman I anticipate to look furious because of her actions. But much to my surprise, she’s smiling from ear to ear.

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