Page 12 of My Undead Heart
“Holy shit! He’s the same hottie from this morning. Please tell me you dragged him into the bathroom to have your wicked way with him.” Jared’s voice lifts above the crowd and into my ear. I’m tempted to look back at said hottie. He’s most likely following our retreat with that ungodly stare. Those eyes contain such depth they almost make up for what his character lacks.
I hold my best friend’s stare with a lift of one eyebrow because,really?He knows damn well I don’t fuck strangers in the bathroom. Hell, I don’t really fuck anyone these days.
Jared rolls his eyes. “Okay, fine. I know you didn’t. Did you at least get a number?”
“I didn’t even give him my name.” I smile sweetly and hook my arm in the crook of his elbow to pull him along. We squeeze into an opening at the bar and I lean over the counter, flashing a significant amount of cleavage to attract the attention of the busy bartender and order two whiskey sours.
“God, Mia! Let loose! Live life! YOLO and all that shit.” Jared jabbers on but he won’t guilt me into it. Not after the day I’ve had.
“I tried! You were there! You witnessed my epic failure. I was brought back to horrifying high school flashbacks of being picked last for dodgeball. But instead of being last, this time I wasn’t picked at all.”
Jared’s frown spoils his normally attractive features and he drops a kiss on my cheek. “Have you been here all day, Kitten?”
“You mean have I been drowning my troubles in a bottle of Jack while you, Rae, and that wench Violet live out my lifelong dream? Why, yes. Yes, I have.” The bartender sets our glasses on the counter and I nod when he asks if I want to add it to my tab. I hand one to Jared. “Come sit. I made friends.”
“Are they straight?” he shouts.
“Faggot.” I swear I hear someone spit the word and I whip my head around to locate the source. No one meets my glare, so I shake it off and lead Jared back to the corner booth I commandeered hours ago before this place started to fill up.
“Yep, straight as fuck. But funny, too. You’ll like them.” I point at the twins who aren’t really twins at all, just two bearded eggheads who get all my eighties references and speak gamer. They lift their gazes and wave when I smile.
“Cute. They’ve got the whole lumbersexual thing going. You did good, Mia.”
“Right? One of my hidden talents, I guess.” My grin widens because they really are cute. Even if they’ve only been out of college two years. Babies, really. But then, that makes me think of how I met them in the first place. “I don’t understand why Violet got to be a zombie over me.”
“I’m sorry, Mia. I tried.”
“I know you did. It’s not your fault. But you realize I can never be around her without reliving my life’s worst embarrassment ever.”
“Being called pretty?”
“That and not being zombie enough. It’s insulting to the hours I’ve dedicated to the show. And stalking the actors. Chats in the fan group.” My whining is interrupted by Dax stepping out of the booth so I can slide in.
“Dash, Dax, this is my best friend, Jared.” I introduce the bearded duo. They met me at a weak moment when I stumbled into this godforsaken bar almost four hours ago and have been dutifully keeping watch since. Probably hoping for a threesome, but since they’re both too well-mannered or shy, they won’t ask. Thank God for that.
The twins offer a polite hello, but Dax quickly slides into the seat after I do so Jared is left taking the end spot.See? Threesome dreamers.In any case, they’ll realize there’s no hope now that Jared is here.
“Double Ds. You two brothers?” Jared winks in my direction and I let loose a giggle.
“No relation at all. Work together.” Dash shouts as the band strikes up a song on stage.
“Building log cabins?” Jared asks with all the sincerity in the world and I have to cloak my laughter with a pretend cough when they both look confused by the question.
“Software engineers.”
“Geeks. Nice. Did Kitten tell you we design video games at EverSoft?”
Their jaws drop, eyes widen, and gazes bounce between Jared and me.
I glance up at the ceiling and shake my head. “Jesus, Jared. You can’t spring that shit on someone without a warm up. Foreplay isn’t just for the bedroom.”
“Did you two work onLost Worlds?Lost Worldsis my favorite game of all time,” Dax sputters.
Dash’s words leave his lips in a rush. “Please tell meProjectX is ahead of schedule. I’m taking a week of vacation between Thanksgiving and Christmas just for gaming. I will be crushed—crushed—if it doesn’t come out that week.”
“See?” I roll my eyes.
Jared leans across Dax’s lap and I do the same to catch his whisper in my ear. “Should I go grab napkins? They’re about to ejaculate.”
