Page 14 of The Hot Mess

“Not tonight. I have a meeting after this and don’t want to be too buzzed,” I lied.

“Oh, okay. Well, sure…if you don’t mind. I’ll give it a try.”

“Bring the bottle,” I snapped at the waiter. Jada could drink enough for the two of us if she wanted.

“Strange times,” Jada remarked. “I’m used to being the one not drinking when I go out with people. Not the other way around.”

I smiled and nodded. I wanted a drink more than anything, but it suddenly occurred to me that this was the worst time for my inhibitions to be weakened.

“So…your interviews,” I stated, trying to stay on track. As in, not staring at the perfect curve to her graceful fingers as she brushed the back of her neck.

“Oh yes! I did my first one today actually. With Isabella, your sister. That part was a surprise. You didn’t mention you two were siblings.”

“Did I not? Oh, my mistake. I forget that Izzy went to a different school and that most of my old highschool pals have never met her. Probably for the best. I would have gotten suspended for beating up any guy who looked twice at her.”

Or any friend of mine who dared to ask her out to dinner…

Lucas and Joshua popped into my head and made me tense up all over again. “How did the interview go?” I asked, desperate to stay on topic.

“It went well, I think,” she replied, thinking it over. “She’s definitely an intimidating person, like you. So I guess this is all good practice. It’s probably better for whoever you’re interviewing if it’s not obvious that you’re nervous. You two will give me nerves of steel.”

“Nervousness makes you human,” I argued. “And that puts people at ease. Makes them open up to you.”

“I hope you’re right,” she smirked. “I’ve certainly never been a smooth talker.”

“What are you talking about?” I laughed. “In high school, you were the most eloquent student in the whole school!”

“If I’m reading a paper or something.” She shrugged. “In real life, I’m fumbling all over myself. That’s why I wanted to revamp myself, so to speak. I’m tired of beingthat girl.”

“Maybe the problem is more so that you don’t see yourself the way others do,” I offered. “And part of becoming this new you really just means you’re seeing yourself for the first time.”

Her eyes glossed over with an unreadable look. They were too big and bright and luring me in like a moth to a flame. Sirens were going off in my brain, begging me to stop.

“Anyway,” I cleared my throat. “Sorry for that. It seems I’m being veryhumantonight myself.”

“And you were right,” she nodded, sipping her wine. “It is putting me at ease. I was thinking today about how much our families have in common. You and your sister’s parents are gone, and so is our dad. I was so sorry to hear about your mom.”

“And I was very sorry to hear about your dad,” I smiled tightly.

“I think we were all so frantic to fix our finances after he passed away, we barely had time to grieve,” she explained. “Maybe that was for the best. Everything we found out about him after he died kind of made it feel like we were just then getting to know him for the first time.”

“I know what you mean,” I said softly. “I learned all kinds of things about our mother after she died. I hated myself for not getting to know her better while she was still alive. Izzy has one up on me there. She and my mother were very close.”

“Do they have a lot in common? Isabella is so elegant and poised. I wasn’t sure if that came from your mom or her fancy boarding school.”

“Both. But yes, she reminds me a lot of our mother. Don’t ever tell her I said that.” I grinned. “God, I’m sorry we keep getting derailed. Back to your interviewing. Let me think of some tips…”

“Jack,” she said, reaching across the table. She wrapped her hand around mine, but my eyes were glued to her other hand across her chest. It drew attention to the cleavage peeking out from under her dress. “It’s okay, really. You were really kind to offer to help me like this. But maybe this is what I need more of…Just talking to people I don’t usually converse with. This is like a practice interview of sorts.”

“Whatever helps,” I sighed, carefully pulling my hand out from under hers to wave over the waiter. “I changed my mind about that drink. Whiskey, neat please.”

If I was going to survive this, alcohol suddenly seemed vital. The worst part about my attraction to Jada was that it was unexpected and hitting me out of nowhere like a ton of bricks. On top of that, she was totally unaware of it or just how beautiful and alluring she was. Every innocent touch to her was like an electric shock to me. No woman ever had me at that kind of disadvantage before.

“Here’s a tip,” I said once the waiter brought me my drink. “This stuff? Liquid courage.”

“Is that why people like it so much?” She took another sip of her wine. “I’m not so sure. I guess I never acquired the taste for it.”

“Maybe wine just isn’t your drink,” I suggested.

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