Page 29 of Electric Blue Love
“Nobody calls me that. I’ve gone by Court since as long as I can remember.”
“Not even your parents?” I asked, feeling more comfortable with him in the hot seat. Also, there was something comforting about the way Court interacted with me. Despite how insanely hot he was, he didn’t look at me as a pathetic girl he was taking pity on – he looked at me like he was interested in who I was and what I had to say.
The smile on his face disappeared and in its place was a look I didn’t recognize. Before I could analyze it, the bartender arrived with our drinks and Court turned his back to us. When he faced me again, the smile had returned.
“I can’t tell you the last time I had a lemon drop shot,” he said as we raised our shot glasses together.
“What should we toast to?” Tasha asked.
He glanced down, a seemingly harmless gesture until I felt his eyes land on my legs and down to my feet. Lifting his gaze back to us, Court’s mouth quirked up on one side before he said, “To rules and knowing when to break them.”
He winked as he lifted the drink to his lips.
We’d barely set our empty shot glasses on the bar when Tasha was hugging me and giving her apologies to Court.
“I’m gonna go next door and see if I can convince Lance to come here. Text or call me when you’re headed home and let me know you made it.”
“You’re not coming home tonight?” I hated the way my voice sounded whiny and disappointed. Of course, she was staying at Lance’s place. She almost always did when we’d been out.
“I have a feeling Lance is going to want to peel this dress off with his teeth when he seems me.” She shimmied her hips and shot a friendly smile at Court.
“It was nice to meet you,” Court said.
Tasha looked from him to me and then narrowed her gaze back to Court. “You too. And good work with this one. Rules or not, she’s come a long way since she met you. I mean look at her, she’s smoking hot.”
With that, Tasha disappeared and I let out a shaky breath at being left alone with Court.
“If you want to get back to your co-workers,” I pointed over my shoulder to the table we’d left. “I should probably call it a night anyway.”
“Are you kidding me, 8B? I want to see you in action.”
“In action?”
My heart hammered in my chest and my mind raced to understand his meaning. Did he want me to pretend to be his girlfriend here? Now?
Grabbing my free hand and tugging me behind him, Court’s intentions were only clear once we reached the karaoke signup table.
“Oh no,” I shook my head fervently. “I don’t do karaoke.”
He raised both eyebrows at me as he took a pen and scribbled on a small piece of paper. Curiosity got the better of me and I craned my neck to try and make out what he’d written. No luck.
Like he hadn’t just signed me up for public humiliation, he grabbed my hand again and pulled me away before I could ask questions… or grab the paper and tear it to shreds.
“Come on, let’s go grab a seat.”
Court was filled with a sort of contagious energy that had me smiling despite the way he took charge and left me trying to catch up. I liked to be one step ahead, but with him I didn’t even know which way we were going.
“How are things, Bianca?” he asked once we were seated at a table in the corner. Hearing him say my name made my pulse pick up.
I fidgeted with my drink, stirring the straw in circles and watching the brown liquid swirl and catch the light.
“Things are good. Great,” I added in a voice that sounded more like I was trying to convince myself than him.
Court laughed softly and pulled his chair closer to mine. “You don’t make it easy, do you?”
“Make what easy?”
“Getting to know you. You’ve got your canned answers down pat. You’re less guarded over text.”
