Page 29 of The Lair

“Of course. That’s what us girls are for,” she says with firm conviction. “You can still hang out with us, by the way. Or if you want to go talk to your friend, that’s all right too. Just come find us if you need us, yeah?”

Maybe her sweetness should overwhelm me, but instead I can’t wait to tell Jada about it in the morning.I made a friend.

I give her a genuine smile. “I will. Have fun with your friends.”

She winks. “And you have fun with yours.”

I don’t know about that.

Sitting in a corner booth alone and hidden in the shadows, Travis doesn’t look like he’s having a lot of fun. As I walk toward him with no clear plan in my head, I wonder if he’s waiting for someone. If he’s waiting for a woman. He doesn’t strike me as the partying type, so why else would he be here?

I let myself fall on the seat in front of him and set my half-empty drink on the table. He’s nursing a bottle of water, which only confuses me further. Who comes to a pub alone and doesn’t order a drink?

“Hey, Travis.”

He tips his head. “Allie.”

I’m very aware of the people around us. Their phones, their cameras, pointing in so many directions at once, it’s impossible to tell if I will be in the background of any of their pictures. The mere thought makes me want to run away, which prompts me to swallow down the rest of my drink. I might need another one.

That, or a distraction.

For my liver’s sake, I choose the latter.

“Are you here with someone?” I ask him, the alcohol letting my tongue be a little more loose than usual.

I’m a lightweight, and whatever they put in that drink is doing what it’s supposed to. The chances of embarrassing myselfin front of the only man I’ve felt a sliver of attraction for in the past decade are at an all-time high.

“A couple of friends.” A pause, in which I ignore the way my shoulders sag with relief that he didn’t saya woman, and then he asks, “You?”

“Charlie invited me, but I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Maybe this is the alcohol talking, or maybe I’ve officially gone insane. All I know is that, before my brain can process what I’m about to do, I stand back up and tell my boss, “Let’s go. I want to kick your ass at darts.”

“Darts?” he repeats in that gruff voice I’m not used to hearing outside of The Lair.

“You’ve played before, right?” We have a dartboard at the bar along with a pool table, but I’ve never seen him play either.

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he maneuvers that enormous body out of the booth and takes a step forward until his shadow is cast over me. I’m met with a chest so wide, it stretches the material of the long-sleeved dark T-shirt he’s wearing.

“You’re asking me if I’ve played darts before?” He tilts his head to the side, a silent challenge glinting in his eyes.

This is new. I’ve never heard Travis sound almost playful.

I smirk, not breaking eye contact. “Well, have you?”

A low chuckle escapes him. Travis shakes his head as if he can’t believe my question, and I swear this is the most amusement I’ve seen him show in a year.

He gestures to the back of the pub. “After you.”

I don’t see Charlie or Lola on my way to one of the dartboards at the back, but I do spot Travis’s friends, including Josh, the birthday guy. Another group is playing pool nearby, but otherwise we are alone. The butterfly in my stomach is extremely aware of this fact.

“Want to invite your friends?”

But he shakes his head. “They’re too busy trying to go home with a woman tonight.”

And you aren’t?

I remind myself once again, heart racing, that Travis’s love life is absolutely none of my business. I’m probably saving myself from heartbreak by not prodding, too.

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