Page 15 of Undertow

Lisa’s jaw falls open.

Hayden turns around without another word and heads back to his car.

Her gaze hits mine, her eyes wide with rage.

Without a word, I also turn around and scamper after my date.

“Hey,” Lisa calls belligerently, but neither of us even pauses.

We get right back in the Maserati, then Hayden backs out of the driveway, and it’s over.

Well, for us.

I can’t bite back a little smile. “He’s probably going to have a bad night.”

Hayden looks over at me and smirks. “I hope so.”

“I hope that doesn’t make things worse,” I murmur since there obviouslyareno cameras and Hayden isn’t actually my boyfriend. The implication that I have a protector now was nice, but since I don’t, it could backfire. He could come at me even harder now.

“It could go either way. If he’s picking on you because he perceives you to be weaker and unable to defend yourself against him, knowing you have someone proactive in your corner should be enough to shake him. The old adage of ‘once you stand up to a bully, the bullying stops’ coming into play. Of course, that wouldn’t work with an asshole like me. I’m the sort to see it through, but I also don’t go after easy targets. Only cowards do that.”

“I’m not weak,” I murmur, looking down at my purse on my lap.

I feel Hayden’s gaze shift to me. “I didn’t mean to imply that you’re weak, Gemma. Only that a certain kind of asshole might think that because you have a gentle nature. Have you ever heard the concept of Maslow’s hammer? That when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail? Some people don’t know any other way, so they assume theirs—in this case, being an asshole—is the one right way, and everyone else is wrong. They lack the empathy or intelligence to understand things outside of their own experience, so they ridicule it instead. I’m far from gentle, but I know it takes guts and determination to remain that way in the world we live in, so I certainly don’t agree with that small-minded opinion.”

I bite down on my bottom lip, trying to suppress my smile so it doesn’t get too big. “Wow, two minutes into this date, and you’ve already defended my honor twice and quoted psychological philosophy at me. Are you trying to win an award or something?”

“Or something,” he murmurs playfully, his eyes glinting with mischief.

I’m pretty sure his implication is purely playful, but it still makes my face warm.

I don’t have sex on first dates. I’m extremely slow to warm up. Henry Cavill could don Superman’s cape mid-date and save a kitten from a tree, and I still wouldn’t give him more than a hug and a lingering kiss.

Unless someone makes it past casual dating to being my actual boyfriend, there’s little chance I’m sleeping with him.

But if Ididsleep with men on first—and only—dates? I think I’d probably sleep with Hayden Atwater.

Chapter Five

Gemma

He takes me to a bar I’ve never been to before—a place called Underworld located right on the beach.

From the looks of it, it’s a hotel bar with a little walkway connecting the hotel lobby and the bar area down by the beach. The bar has its own separate parking lot, though, and is clearly an independent destination.

The salty beach air fills my senses as I step out of the car and walk around to join Hayden. I take his hand, but I’m not sure why. I like affection with boyfriends, of course, but I’m not terribly bold, and I would never just grab the hand of a man I barely know on a first date.

I do, though. He looks down at our joined hands but doesn’t seem to mind.

I shouldn’t be holding his hand.

I can’t shake the thought as we head toward the entrance to the bar. I keep wanting to react to him like I would an actual date that I’m giving a real chance, but this was never supposed to be that. It doesn’t even matter if I like him. I already know this can’t go anywhere, so there’s no point.

I look up at the glowing blue sign with three scary-looking black dogs peeking over the name ‘Underworld.’

“Welcoming,” I say wryly.

He glances up. I get the impression he comes here so often, he hasn’t even noticed the sign in a while. “Oh, yeah. The owner’s dramatic.”

---