Page 3 of Spreading Her Wings

I made the drink, sliding it to her and taking the cash she offered me. When she walked away, I looked up to find two sets of eyes fixed on me.

“What?”

Logan closed the distance between us, pressing the back of his tattooed hand to my forehead dramatically. “Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?”

“Seriously? Fuck off.” I slapped his arm away.

“No, for real, man. She washotand totally into you, and you just… ignored her?”

“He’s right, Auston. Kinda weird,” Simone added. “She looked a lot like Sky, and you didn’t even look twice! That’s not like you, okay?”

I threw my hands up and rolled my eyes. “Sky is hardly my type. Maybe I’m just over it.”

My friends laughed, drawing attention from a small group of women holding books that had a couple of half-naked men with chiseled chests on the front. One of them covered her book and glared at us before they turned back to their table. I chalked it up to her being sensitive because they were group-reading porn in public and chuckled.

“Just back off, okay? I don’t need a hookup. Plus, she ordered a vodka cranberry—it would’ve been a subpar night. The freaky ones never order a vodka cranberry.” I shrugged, hopeful for a change of subject.

Logan clapped his hand on my shoulder. “I just don’t think I’ve ever seen you turn down a chance to get your dick wet, even if it wassubpar.”

“Especially with Asher and Jackson’s engagement party this weekend. It’s not like you to turn down the chance at a smoking hot date.” Simone raised an eyebrow, dropping back onto her stool and pulling her half-emptied beer glass toward her.

“Who said I need a date?” Both of my friends laughed, and I crossed my arms.

Logan’s face straightened out when I didn’t join in the laughter. “Oh, you’re serious? Dude, you always have a date. Usually it’s just some bimbo on your arm who hardly says three words all night, but you never show up riding solo.”

I leaned against the counter with a scoff. “You’re being ridiculous.”

His face raised in hopeful realization at the same time Simone gasped. “Oh mygod! You alreadyhavea date!” she shouted.

“Yeah,” I said.Yeah?!

“You do?” The shock on Logan’s face rivaled what I felt. “Like you’re seeing someone?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged.What the fuck is wrong with me?!

Simone had to make a visible, conscious effort to stay in her seat instead of rounding the bar to shake me. “You obviously have to say more thanyeah,you jackass. Is it true thattheAuston Johannson is putting his fuckboy days behind him? Whoisshe?”

A sense of panic overcame me, and I considered telling the truth and blaming it on a lack of sleep. Instead, when I opened my mouth to tell them I wasn’t seeing anyone, I said, “You’ll meet her on Saturday. Just don’t scare her off, okay?”

Jesus Christ, Auston.

It was barely after five when I pulled up to the blue two-story cottage-style house and shut off my truck. The neighborhood hummed with people pulling in from their days at work, children running around lawns that were a bit too green, and dogs that barked at it all. Katie’s house was quiet, but I assumed her car was in the garage and she’d be home. At least I hoped that was the case.

I skipped up the few steps and onto the porch, tapping my knuckles against the heavy wooden door. There was no sound of movement inside the house, and I glanced down at my watch. 5:15. Maybe she wasn’t home yet. I didn’t actually know how often she got home by this time.

Just as I turned around, admitting defeat and deciding to come back later, the lock clicked, and the door opened. “Auston?” Her voice was cynical.

She yawned, releasing a small squeak when she did, and I smelled the wine she’d probably just taken her first sip of. “Long day?” I asked, earning the kind of eye roll that involved her full head. Her long brown hair was in a ponytail, falling across her back as she rolled her head back to look at me.

“Every day is a long day lately,” she said, narrowing her brown eyes before dropping both her gaze and her shoulders. “Do you need something?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly nervous. “Maybe I can come in?” My best charming smile worked for most people, but not for Katie. She groaned, the type that dragged across the back of her throat, but she stepped back and let the door fall open.

“Did Andy send you again?” She propped her hands on her hips, looking ready to kick me out. “I told her I could move it myself!”

I considered telling her yes. Instead, I raised an eyebrow. “Move what?”

“She didn’t send you…”

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