Page 10 of Sleepover

It happened two months ago, the Saturday night after the divorce was finalized. Hattie insisted it was time for me to get my groove back on—and I couldn’t argue, because I was ready to find my old, fun self. I’d loved Trevor so much and I’d been wrecked by the betrayal, but I wasn’t going to let him ruin my life permanently, either. So I parked Madden with my mom for an overnight.

Hattie said we needed to go to Maeve’s, a bar a couple of towns over that was the best place she knew to meet someone for a hookup—but not (she promised) in a sleazy way. It was a huge bonus that Maeve’s wasn’t right in Revere Lake, because Revere Lake is a small town and everyone knows everyone else’s business. You don’t want to hook up with someone and then discover that he’s your kid’s second-grade teacher or your new gyno.

(Or your next-door neighbor. But apparently hooking up a few towns over isn’t proof against that.) I cringe.

Anyway, Hattie, Capria, Hattie’s friend Juno, and I went out together.

Maeve’s is an old roadhouse—wood walls, posts and beams, big tables and lots of booths, plastic menus. I think some of the street signs and posters and photos and maps on the walls probably date back to saloon days. It just got bought by new owners a couple of months ago—word is, they’re committed to keeping the feel the same—and the night we were there, you could hear occasional hammering from behind the back wall of the bar, where some unlucky construction overtimers were working on an addition for more seating and a stage for concerts.

The four of us ordered dinner and drinks and sat around, chatting and laughing and flirting with whoever looked our way. Unfortunately, Hattie came down with the stomach flu about an hour into the night and Juno drove her home.

Capria and I hung around for a while longer. We chatted with guys who approached our table, but none of them spun my dials and I wasn’t really sure what I’d do if one did, anyway. The drunker I got, the more I wanted to go home to sleep.

After a while, Capria took pity on me. “You want to head out?”

If Hattie had still been there, she would never have let me off the hook, even if it meant personally marching up to some guy and telling him I was looking for a one-night rebound fling. But Capria is a lot softer.

I nodded.

“Okay. I’m just going to hit the ladies’ and we’ll go.”

She’d been gone less than a minute when I noticed the guy staring in my direction from his seat at the bar. Incredibly good-looking, in a football-player-meets-male-model way—tall, built, with near-black hair, dark eyes, and a couple of days’ scruff on his jaw. He wasn’t smiling. Of course, I looked behind me to see if he was scoping out someone else. That’s how badly Trevor had messed with my self-confidence.

When I looked back in his direction, the guy shook his head. You, he mouthed, and the invitation in his eyes and on his lips was unmistakable.

A wave of warmth poured over me, like someone had doused me with heated honey. All the numbness lifted off. Everything came back to life—with a vengeance.

Oh,hello, girl parts. You are still down there.

He raised his glass and cocked his head, a clear Can I buy you a drink?

I froze like a deer in the headlights.

Suddenly Capria was standing in my line of sight, which felt like a reprieve. I could pretend I hadn’t seen the guy offer to buy me a drink, I could get a ride home from Capria, and I could go back to—

Being numb.

No way!cried my girl parts.

“Elle?” Capria peered curiously at me.

That was when I started to think about how much Trevor would hate this guy on sight, and for no legit reason. Trevor has a skinny nerd’s built-in envy of alpha males. They make him twitchy, juvenile, and competitive, like he never got the seventh-grader out of him.

I immediately wanted to have sex with the guy at the bar on principle. Not, like I said, that Trevor actually gives a shit what I do. But I thought he’d loathe the idea of me fucking this guy anyway.

“I know I said I wanted to head out, but would you hate me if I had a drink with the guy at the bar who just offered to buy me one? Don’tlooknow!” I added hastily.

She slid into her seat, checking him out. “Woo, girl! No! I would hate you if you didn’t. And I want to hear all about it after. Mmm-hmm.” She shook her head. “Next time you’re going to the bathroom and I’m taking home the prize.”

I caught his eye across the room and mouthed, Sure, with a little nod. His gaze heated in approval, nudging another chain reaction to life under my skin.

How did anyone manage to look so much like sex on a stick? The way he was staring at me, I could imagine the expression he’d wear when I went down on him, full of abandon and gratitude.

Had I really just thought about going down on a guy I hadn’t even introduced myself to yet?

Mmm-hmm,said the Greek chorus below.

“Go. Get.” Capria shooed me.

---