Page 6 of When You Left Me Speechless

“Not how I see it.”

“What can I get you?” the bartender interrupts us, wiping his hands on the towel thrown over his shoulder.

“I’ll take another Miller and whatever she wants.” I look in her direction and she smiles.

“One French 75 and one gin and tonic, please,” she says. She turns to me. “So you admit it, you ran into me?”

“I admit nothing,” I say. “Agree to disagree?” I hold out my hand. She giggles and places her hand in mine. The skin beneath her soft touch immediately heats, and a shock pulses through my body.

“Deal.”

“Here are those drinks,” the bartender says, handing her two glasses and making her release her grip. I take my beer. She turns to a tall blonde, who I hadn’t noticed until now, and hands her the gin and tonic.

“I thought you were going home?” Tanner says to my left. “Yo, add another White Claw for me to his tab,” he yells at the man behind the bar.

I casually tilt my head toward the girl standing to my right. “I may have changed my mind.” Her hands are grasping the edge of the wooden bartop as she watches the game on the TV above us.

“I think I might have found a reason to stay a little longer, too,” Tanner says, crossing behind me and heading towards the blonde. He immediately invades her space and whispers something in her ear, causing her to laugh.

“Logan,” Tanner yells so I can hear him over the music. His eyes focus on the name tags they are both wearing. “This is Romy, and this is?—”

The blonde cuts him off before he can continue. “Oh no,” she gestures to the nametag and shakes her head. “Lacey. Myname is Lacey. The name tag is a part of my costume,” she giggles.

I look at the brunette. “Hey, I’m Logan.” I can’t help but let my eyes wander her body again before landing on the name tag she has stuck to her dress, giving me the perfect view of her tits. I quickly try to divert my gaze so she doesn’t think I’m a complete douchebag. “I guess your name isn’t Michelle?”

She looks down at her costume and then at her name tag. “Oh, he’s cute and smart, Lace,” she giggles, nudging her friend. “No, my name isn’t Michelle.” She turns her attention back to the game and takes another sip of her drink.

“Are you going to tell me what your name is?” I ask, a little surprised she hasn’t already.

She turns back to face me and smiles. I think I could get drunk off her smile alone. “Poppy,” she says, twisting a piece of her hair around her finger.

I take off my hat and run my hand through my hair. “Like the flower?”

She rolls her eyes and whispers something to her friend. What about this girl makes me feel like this is the first time I’ve tried to pick up a girl in a bar? It’s not. I have done this plenty of times and have the phone numbers to prove it. I just haven’t done it in a long time.

“So, uh, who are you supposed to be?” I gesture to her costume.

“I’m Michelle, and Lacey is Romy,” she deadpans.

I take a swig of my beer. “Yeah, I think I figured that much out.” I let out a little chuckle. “Who are Michelle and Romy?”

“You know fromRomy and Michelle’s High School Reunion, the nineties movie.” She gestures around the bar at the decorations like they will give me some clue as to who she is talking about.

I shrug. “No clue, but you do look hot, so I guess I’m a fan.”

She cuts her eyes at her friend and then back to me. “Does that really work for you?”

I hear Tanner let out a laugh. I look at her, confused. “Does what work for me?”

She breathes out a little frustrated huff of air and her nose scrunches just a bit. I can’t help but notice how cute she is when annoyed.

“Calling girls hot.”

I choke on my beer and cough, “Most of the time, what girl doesn’t like to be given a compliment?”

She rolls her eyes and sips her drink, “Well, you're going to have to do better thanhotif you want tonight to go your way.”

Her directness makes me swallow hard. I wasn’t planning on taking anyone home with me tonight. Hell, I wasn’t even planning on staying, but damn if she doesn’t make me want to do whatever it takes to spend more time with her. “Is that a challenge?” I smirk.

---