Page 4 of Surprise Baby for Daddy's Best Friend

As I pushed off the bar, my gaze fell on one of the tables in the dim light at the edge of the club. The table was overcast with the red tint and pushed away from most of the club. A thick pole blocked the person sitting there from the view of most of the club as he leaned back in the booth. I couldn't look away from him. It was as if his presence had me entranced. His hair had a silver tint to it on the sides. He turned to me and as our eyes met, he lifted his glass and nodded his head.

I licked my lips and made my way over to him. Something about the way he looked seemed familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on what it was. I had a decent memory of people I had met, and I knew everyone from the wedding party, so it wasn't like he was anyone from back home.

Once I reached the booth, I pointed across from him. "Mind if I?"

"Go ahead." He tilted his drink forward. "I'd love some company in this chaos." He took a sip of his drink, and I realized it wasn't alcohol but a soda.

"You don't drink?" I sidled in and leaned forward a little to get a better look at him.

He shrugged, "Sometimes. It's been my vice." He took another sip. "And you?" His eyes drifted off to somewhere behind me.

"I...Well, I've had a few drinks already. Trying to enjoy my night out, you know?"

He smiled and nodded. He still didn't look me directly in the eyes. It was like he was a completely different person from the one I had walked up to earlier. Like he had discovered I wasn't the person he intended to say hello to originally and I had ruined his night.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I can leave if you--"

"No!" He snapped. His gaze turned back to me. The sharp lines on his face were accentuated by the overcast shadows before softening. "I mean, no you don't have to leave." He cleared his throat, "I get a bit caught up in my thoughts. You're not a nuisance."

"Oh!" I blushed as the intense fire in his eyes focused on me, "So, what's your name?"

"Jared."

I said his name, tasting each syllable as it crossed my lips. "Well, Jared, I'm Kim." I rested my elbows on the table and held my chin up, "I hope you're not planning on leaving me tonight. My company has gone off to dance without me, and it's pretty lonely being the third wheel."

2

JARED

Iclosed my eyes and took a sip of the soda. The scent of sweat and alcohol mixed into the club was intoxicating. This week was about my daughter and her friends, but that wouldn’t stop me from having my own fun on the side. Too many people half my age were dealing with their own problems. If I wanted to find someone who could fit my desires, I needed to work for it.

Finding someone that wasn’t just interested in my money but who I was, had turned into a game for me. Finding a genuine person I could spoil and enjoy the deeper pleasures of life with, was growing more difficult by the day.

I opened my eyes and glanced at the bar to check if it was clear enough to grab a drink. Hard enough ordering special drinks back home, but adding in that I was getting a potential top-shelf drink was an easy signal for most. Instead, I was greeted by someone barely older than Mandi staring at me like I was some animal in a cage. I lifted my drink and nodded in her direction.

As she walked closer to me, I realized something was off about my first perception of her. The smile and saunter in her step were more akin to a woman that had already enjoyed a few drinks and was looking for someone to talk to. Not like I was going to complain about that. She was attractive by every definition of the word, from her beach-wave brunette hair to the spark in her fiery green eyes. Just looking at her filled me with both a sense of excitement and dread. She was going to be a poison I would gladly drink deeply from.

"Mind if I?"

I pointed to the seat across from me at the table. "Go ahead. I'd love some company in this chaos."

My drink quickly became my solace as I indulged myself in her beauty. She was a lot younger than me, but the interest in her eyes made me curious. I wanted to uncover the mystery about her and who she was. Images of her undressing in front of me sent me deeper into my drink.

"You don't drink?"

I swallowed the latest gulp of my soda and shrugged, trying to play it off, "Sometimes. It's definitely a vice." I’d let her figure out the meaning behind that. Reel her in a little more to get interested in me.

We continued talking about nothing in particular which left my mind drift off into the distance. It wasn't like I wanted to ignore her, but if she were all fluff in her talk, then even a pretty face wouldn't keep my interest.

"Sorry, I can leave if you want."

"No!" I said it a little too sharply for my own good. I wasn't sure why I stopped her. I was losing interest quickly, but something about her reminded me of someone, even if our conversation wasn’t going anywhere. "I mean, no you don't have to leave."

She blushed and averted her gaze, and for the first time, I saw a softness in her looks that I hadn’t noticed before.

"So, what's your name?"

"Jared."

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