Page 2 of Raise The Bar
“A Negroni.”
He nods appreciatively, then steps up to the bar where he is instantly met by the same blonde server who waited on me. She seems much more eager to take his order. I don’t hear what he asks for, but I fight a smile when she comes back a few moments later with a drink that looks suspiciously like mine. Callum passes her a bill and returns to stand next to me, drink in hand. He raises the glass and we clink them together. Not that I can hear the clink over this head-splitting music.
We say nothing as we stand together, sipping our drinks, but somehow, it’s not awkward. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so completely at ease in his own skin. He’s confident, but not arrogant. Relaxed, but not aloof.
Once again, I rise on my tiptoes to search my surroundings for my friends, but there are too many bodies around me and I can’t see them.
“You should travel with a step ladder,” he teases good-naturedly.
“Hey! I’m not short!” And I’m not. I’m five-foot-six and these heels put me closer to five-foot-nine. “Can you see them, with your bird’s eye advantage?” I’m not great at guessing heights, but I would say he’s at least six-foot-two. He scans the crowded bar quickly and shakes his head.
“Nope. Do you want to get on my shoulders? Combine forces?”
I know he’s joking, but the thought of my thighs straddling his broad, strong shoulders is downright thrilling.
“I don’t think that would be advisable given what I’m wearing.” I glance down quickly at my short hem and when I look back up, I catch Callum staring. He averts his eyes after a moment, and I see him swallow hard.
“Fair point,” he says thickly.
“Maybe we should stay right where we are and let them find us.” I try to sound light and breezy, but even on my third drink of the evening I’m a tangled ball of nerves. I don’t know how to do this. It’s been so long since I was single that I don’t know how to flirt with strangers anymore.
But Callum doesn’t feel like a stranger. There’s a familiarity about him that makes me trust him. He seems kind, and is easy to talk to. It doesn’t hurt that he’s gorgeous. Seriously. He may be the prettiest man I’ve ever seen up close.
“Sticking together sounds like a solid plan.” He leans in as he speaks and his forearm brushes mine. I feel the touch everywhere and my body lights up like the Boston Commons Christmas tree. Tingles start at the top of my head, spilling over me like a shower of sparkles. The way he straightens up and looks at me–really looks at me– I could swear he felt it too.
Say something, Maggie.
“So, we’ll just stand here until they spot us.”
“We could make things easier on them.” His body moves ever so slightly closer to me.
“How would we do that?” I feel myself moving toward him. I’m being sucked into his gravitational pull and couldn’t pull away even if I wanted to. I don’t want to.
“Make a scene.” His tone is light as his blue eyes move from my eyes to my lips and back again. When I wet my lower lip with my tongue, all humor disappears from his eyes.
I want this man. I want to pull him against me and kiss him in this overcrowded bar. I want to give him an all-access pass to my body and find out what he does with it. To take him home, strip him down, and ride him into next year.
I’m going to do this.
We’re close enough now that I have to tilt my head back to see his face. It’s such a nice face.
I don’t hear him over the music, but I watch his lips form my name. I lean forward and just before I close my eyes, my peripheral vision registers someone moving in next to us. Callum notices too and we both turn to face a stunning woman about my own age.
“Is that my drink?” she asks loudly with a flirty smile and head tilt. She doesn’t appear to notice me, only Callum, who dazedly offers her the half-full cocktail. Or is it half-empty? I take a step back as she reaches to accept it, quickly taking stock of the situation.
She’s his date. He’s here with a date.
She’s wearing a black sleeveless jumpsuit with a deep v-neck that accentuates her small waist and toned arms. Her copper hair is in an intricate side braid that falls over her left shoulder. She’s wearing a modest amount of makeup, though I notice she was a bit heavy-handed with the bronzer. But she’s undeniably lovely.
I feel like an idiot.
“Hey,” Callum says, clearing his throat. “Sorry I took so long. Maggie, this is…” He freezes for the briefest moment, searching the woman’s face. “Sasha.”
Sasha gives me a bored smile before frowning at the drink in her hand.
“This doesn’t look like a Cosmo.”
“It’s not. Sorry. I was,” his eyes flicker to mine, “distracted.”
