Page 21 of One More Round

Shit, I’m going to regret this in the morning.

I see Simon nod to the bartender.

“Gia, are you jealous?” he says so close to my ear that I nearly jump. Without thinking I turn to look at him, but I misjudged his closeness because our noses nearly touch.

I look down at his nose and then glance back up to those twinkling eyes.

“No, why would I be jealous of two boobs on legs? I’ve got a brain,” I snap.

“So, the real answer is yes. Yes, you are jealous of Lindsey,” he muses.

“Oh, is that her name? I was calling her a dumb booth babe in my head.” OK, so the liquor is starting to do the talking.

He barks out a laugh.

I roll my eyes.

He leans back, and I can feel the cold air swirl in between us. He crosses his arms and gives me a challenging look.

“Why do you think she’s dumb and why are you calling her a booth babe? She’s not, by the way. Dumb, that is.”

I reach for the water that I don’t remember ordering and take a sip. Wait, how did this get here?

“Have you heard anything that has come out of her mouth tonight or do you only care about what goes into it? Because, Si, that girl is dumber than a box of rocks,” I say, swirling the straw in my mouth.

He coughs and tries to smother a laugh.

“Oh, and I call her Booth Babe because isn’t that where you pick up girls? At your video game events? Isn’t that what they call the girls the video game marketers hire to stand around at them? To look all hot and draw the male attendees into the booth? Am I right, or am I right?”

“You’re cute when you’re jealous,” he says.

“Nope. Wrong again,” I say, then catch the bartender’s eye. “Another!”

“Gia, it’s probably a better idea to stick to water,” he says.

“And it was probably a better idea for you to have stayed away. But here you are, out of nowhere. So … one more round.”

Two new shots appear, and I push his shot and salt toward him.

“I’d offer to let you lick me, but we wouldn’t want Little Miss Booth Babe to get jealous.”

Yes, I heard what I just said. I’m ignoring, remember?

Once more I take a shot, not caring if he took his too. I stand from the bar, faster than I should, then grab ahold of the bar just as quickly. I gather myself, smile and turn to Simon.

What I see makes my head start to spin again. Heat. Pure heat fills his eyes and all amusement has left his face. I continue my exit attempt when I hear his low reply.

“I’d do it.”

I stop for a split second and look over my shoulder. I manage to avoid meeting his eye before I keep on walking.

Holy shitballs.

Chapter Eleven

Gia

It’s been a few days since I got wasted with Simon, told him he could lick me and made an utter fool of myself. So, I’m trying to lie low. As in, I’m hiding from Simon.

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