Page 16 of Before We Came

“I, um, I think your buddies are trying to get your attention.” She nods in their direction.

“Yup, they are.” But I pay them no mind and don’t take my gaze off her. She’s even more stunning up close. Full pouty lips, huge gray eyes—there’s something familiar about her eyes but I can’t place it. They are hauntingly beautiful. Beyond that, she’s petite and curvy. Great smile too. I try to focus on her sparkling eyes and smile, but my brain wants to spend more time checking out her body.

“What do you do for a living?” I nonchalantly move my barstool a little closer to hers and a faint blush spreads to her cheeks. She’s confident but has a touch of wariness that is so refreshing.

“I’m a chef, I teach mostly private classes. You?”

“Interesting. That actually works really well for me because I suck at cooking.”

I don’t answer her question, but hope she doesn’t notice.

“That’s impossible. Nobody sucks at cooking. If you can read, you can cook. What’s the best thing you can make?”

“Peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

She covers her mouth with faux shock. “Oh my God, I didn’t realize you were illiterate. I’m so sorry.”

Add sense of humor to her list of attributes. I suck my teeth at her flirty insult. “Pretty good, Gray. Pretty good.”

“Gray?”

“Eyes.” I point to my eyes, then to hers. “You have pretty eyes.”

That time, she definitely blushes, and I have to bite my bottom lip to keep from kissing hers.

“Wow. I wasn’t aware we were in nickname territory already. Does that mean I get to give you one?” she asks.

“Of course. Whatcha got?”

“Oh, I’m going to need a little bit of time. Choosing a nickname is an enormous responsibility.” She tries to look stern by hardening her features.

“That’s true. I’m glad you’re taking it so seriously. You don’t think I was too hasty coming up with yours, do you?”

She takes another sip of her drink and gazes up thoughtfully. “No, it’s brilliant, actually. I mean, it’s giving you a lot to play around with. I’ll be disappointed if you don’t work it into some cheap Fifty Shades references before the end of the night.”

“Oh, I might be able to do you one better if you play your cards right.” I wink and take a drink of my beer.

Jonesy yells out something about handjobs, and I roll my eyes. This time, I look in his direction with an expression that, I hope, conveysfuck off very muchas obviously as I intend it to. The drunk hollering doesn’t cease, so I hold up my index finger behind me.

“Is that so?” she replies.

“I mean...” I shrug. “How about I give you my number, and you can text me if you decide you want to find out.”

“Sure.”

She hands her phone over for me to add myself as a contact. I send myself a text message to make sure I have her number.Conway would be so proud.

“I’ve got to get back to my table, but I hope I hear from you later.”

“It was nice chatting.”

She says it so sweetly I wonder if I’ve misread the room. Doesn’t matter. I’m laying it out there. It’s up to her to decide what to do with it.

“You too.” I wink, and it earns me a sexy smile that eases the hesitation from a second ago.

When I get back to my table with the boys, I make sure the server knows to add her drink to my tab. She stays to finish her cocktail, but the next time I glance up, she’s gone. A heavy dose of disappointment settles in the pit of my stomach. Flirting with her tonight was energizing and fun. For the last couple years, any banter with a woman was such a chore. But tonight, it was as if she and I existed in this little bubble together. She awakened something that’s been dormant for a long time. Passion? That can’t be it.

I want this girl. Bad. At least I’ve got her number. I could always text. I’ll reach out tomorrow and see if she wants to grab coffee or dinner. I know she’s on vacation, but I travel enough that my odds of seeing her again aren’t beyond reason. I open my text messages so I can save her as a contact. I didn’t ask for her name for fear she would ask for mine, which is why I saved myself in her phone as Hot Guy From The Bar. UnderContact Name, I typeGray.

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