Page 7 of Reputation
Looking back up at him through her lashes, she couldn’t stop herself from responding in kind.“Or,” she paused, a coy smile replacing her teeth, “you could just ask me out now.”
He blinked at her, almost as if he wasn’t expecting the line to work.She tilted her head, watching him watch her.It was oddly satisfying to put someone as confident as he seemed off kilter.
Slowly, his smile grew.“Would you say yes?”he asked, batting the question back to her.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, not taking her eyes off his.“I might.”
Slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.He paused with it halfway out, his eyes darkening.A smile pulled at his enticing mouth, making her stomach clench with excitement.
What she was feeling was unlike anything she had ever experienced, but instead of heeding the caution bells clanging in her head, Eavie found herself wanting to dive into it headfirst, which was truly unlike her.She thought everything through and made calculated, informed decisions.She did not go jumping off a cliff without knowing what was at the bottom.
Fuck, what was it about him that made her want to do just that?
“How about I buy you a drink instead?”he asked, halting her runaway thoughts.She couldn’t help the surprise that slipped across her features.She smothered it quickly, but not before he saw it.“Not what you were expecting?”he asked, a hint of challenge in his tone.
It called to her—that undertone of a dare.Her competitiveness roared to life as she raised one eyebrow, ready to counter his invitation.
“No,” she said.“But aren’t you here with people?”
He shook his head.“I was upstairs with a group.But the party was ending, and I was on my way out.”
“Oh,” Eavie said, frowning now.“I don’t want to keep you if you have somewhere to be.”
She couldn’t help the disappointment that slashed through her.She was enjoying talking to him, being around him.It hit her with the force of an asteroid.She really wanted to have a drink with him.
“Something tells me I would be an idiot not to cancel every plan I have to have a drink with you,” he said smoothly.
Her heart tripped in her chest.His words struck her deeply as her lips parted in surprise.Suddenly, she was the one off-kilter.
“So?”he asked quietly, eyes taking in her parted lips.They were standing so close his breath fanned over her heated skin.
She glanced past his shoulder.She could just see Joyce seated at their table through the crush of people inside the bar.A rush of guilt hit her.She hadn’t even considered that she was here with her best friend.
Knowing she couldn’t abandon her, she was just about to refuse when Joyce tossed her head back and laughed.Someone in the crowd shifted, revealing the profile of a man standing next to her.He said something that made her laugh again.As Eavie watched, Joyce licked her lips, a telltale sign that she was into him.They were flirting and Joyce was enjoying it.
Maybe she wouldn’t mind.Clearly, she wasn’t lonely.Besides, she had been the one to insist Eavie let loose and celebrate tonight, and God, shereallywanted to spend a few more minutes absorbing the addictive feeling of being near this man.
One drink wouldn’t do any harm, and she was enjoying this back-and-forth they had going.It felt good to flirt.She couldn’t remember the last time she had.Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t remember a time since her previous relationship that she had even been interested in someone.
Her gaze came back to him, and she smiled.“I’d love to,” she said.“I just need to let my friend know.Can I meet you at the bar?”
He flashed her another devastating smile.“Of course, take your time,” he said, turning his body so she could pass.
As she stepped around him, she lightly brushed his muscled chest with her shoulder.Sparks shot down her body, landing in her core.She was so shocked that her gaze flew up to him.His pupils had dilated, nearly overtaking the gray, and she knew he had felt that, too.
Swallowing past her dry throat, she continued back into the bar, dazed from the tidal wave of desire that caused her cheeks to flush.
What the hell was that?What she had felt with that brief contact was close to what was written in books about fated attraction and soulmates.That shit didn’t exist in real life.Had she just been transported into an alternate universe?Was she suddenly inside a Netflix rom-com?
She glanced back over her shoulder, her thick hair creating a curtain to conceal her searching gaze.Just past the waves of gold hanging down her back, she looked back at him, and just as she had hoped, he was watching her walk away.
A playful smile curved her red lips as she caught him looking.It didn’t matter that he had caught her doing the same.She was enjoying the feel of his eyes tracking her through the crowd too much to care.
She turned around just as she reached her table.Slowly, she walked up, not wanting to interrupt Joyce and the guy she was speaking to, but also needing to talk to her—like right now.
This was so unlike her, but the feeling of having a man’s attention, let alone a man who looked likethat, pinned to her made her feel…powerful.It was addicting.Five minutes of it, and she was hooked.
“Hey,” she said with a smile as she stopped beside the high-top.Joyce and her companion turned at the sound of her voice.“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she cast an apologetic look at the man, “but can I chat with her for a moment?You can have her back after, I promise.”
