Page 60 of My So-Called Perfect Life
I catch the stupid keychain just as he turns and heads down the sidewalk.
“Was that Mr. Hottie Bartender?” Mercy asks as she comes up behind me, scaring the ever-loving shit out of me.
“Jesus Christ, Mercy,” I curse as my chest heaves.
“What’s this?” she asks, pulling Ryan’s joke from my hand.
“It’s gonorrhea,” I whisper harshly, still staring at Ryan’s retreating form down the block.
Mercy lets out a loud cackle. “No way.” She laughs. “He’s freaking awesome. Has a great sense of humor too. That’s some funny stuff right there.”
She isn’t wrong. I doubt many men would’ve made the same joke. Most would probably still be pissed at me, not taking me to baseball games, ravaging the hell out of the same body that gave them a disease, cooking me breakfast, and then insisting on walking me to work.
“I’m guessing last night went well,” she states while dragging me from the sidewalk toward the entrance of the school.
“You could definitely say that.”
“And you could definitely thank me for meddling in your business.”
“I’m not going to thank you—” I glance around to see if anyone is near before continuing, “—you bitch! You think I don’t know you and Amelia had something to do with him getting my number?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Danielle
There’s a group of people waitingat the entrance of Cohen’s when we arrive.
“This is even busier than last weekend,” Mercy comments as we approach the guy checking IDs at the door.
I hand my license over and ask, “Last weekend?”
Mercy and Amelia look at each other, share some kind of nonverbal conversation, and then laugh.
“We came here last weekend to meddle in your life.” Mercy smirks. “You know the thing you refused to thank me for this morning.”
“Ugh,” I groan. “Why the hell do I keep you two around? I swear, all you do is complicate my life.”
A hand slaps my ass as we walk through the door. I don’t know whether it was Amelia or Mercy, but I glare at both of them.
“I’m sure we weren’t complicating your life last night.” Amelia waggles her eyebrows at me. “Thanks to us, you had a fantastic night. Probably will again tonight.”
“Shut up,” I tell her as I scan the bar for Ryan.
It doesn’t take me long to find him. His presence fills the room. The way he moves. The way he tosses his head back and laughs. His confidence. It’s hard to miss him.
As if he can feel my presence the same way I can feel his, he glances toward the door. When his eyes land on me, his smile is instant and wide. He heads to the end of the bar, and I do the same.
He drops the towel on his shoulder on the bar as he comes through the opening to greet me. “Hi.”
“Hi,” I reply, looking up at him.
We hold each other’s gaze until a throat clears behind me.
“Is you two ripping each other’s clothes off part of Trivia Night?”
Ryan chuckles. “I see you brought the gang.”
“Not willingly.”
