"Oh nice. You look like a beach girl. A good tan, and a great smile. I'm surprised you're not beating the guys off around here." He smiled and then looked ill. "I meant. I didn't mean like literally beating the guys off. I meant like..."
I laughed. "Stop. You're digging a hole you're not going to get out of."
He smiled. "I do that often. I keep telling my friend, Finn over there that he's going to have to teach me how to talk to women or I'll forever be alone."
"The more you do it, the easier it gets." I shrugged and took a glance toward Finn.
Cindy was tucked up against him, whispering something in his ear, but his eyes were on me and Brian. The anger in his gaze told me that maybe there was something more than a silly challenge sitting between the two of us. If that was the case, then it was better that he and Cindy leave together.
"I actually don't want it to get too easy." He glanced down at me and I turned back to him.
"Why is that?"
"I don't know. I've seen Finn go through a lot of shit because he can talk to women so easily. Seems like it would be any guys dream to live as a bachelor with women throwing their panties at you, but I think he wants something more. He's lonely. I don't ever want to experience that." He shrugged and I stiffened in his hold.
"Did he tell you to talk to me?" I lifted an eyebrow and pulled back.
"What? No. He doesn't even know you, right?" Brian studied me as I fumbled for the right thing to say.
"No. Of course not. Never mind." I slid my arms back around him and turned us so I could find the twins. They were dancing with the other three guys in Finn's group, having far too much fun.
The dance ended and I was ready to head home, but it would seem that the party was just getting started.
We gathered back at the bar and I nodded toward Cindy. "I'm getting tired and my stomach's hurting. You guys ready to go?"
"Go? Hell no. We just got here." Kinsey laughed and wrapped her arm around me tightly from the side.
"Yeah, Chloe. Don't go yet." Finn turned his face from Cindy as she moved up to kiss him.
Bile rose in my throat and I knew I had to get out of there. I didn't believe in love at first sight, but something buzzed with excitement inside of me at the very thought of the handsome guy before me. I couldn't handle the pressure of wanting to pull him from my friend and subsequently punch her in the face. I wasn't at all a violent person, but something about the way she draped herself across Finn left my blood boiling.
"Right, well...get another ride. I'm ready to go." I moved from the bar and started for the door before someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to the dance floor.
"Not until you tell me where I'm dropping these lovely girls off at." Finn tugged me toward him and caught me as I tripped over the edge of the dance floor.
"I'm not dancing with you. I'm going home," I barked at him and tried to pull back, but he held me tighter.
"You're not leaving me with this crazy bitch. I've sworn off women for a month because I need to remember how to breathe. If you leave her here I'll have no choice but to take her home or turn her over onto Brian. He's far too much of a gentleman to tell her no. Don't do that to him. Don't do it to me."
He smelled so good and the strength of his arms around me left me dizzy. "What? I'm not doing anything to anyone."
"Yeah, you are, and you know it." He moved us to the middle of the floor and slid his hands over the top of my ass, squeezing softly as I pressed my forehead to his shoulder and let out a groan.
"I need to go," I whispered roughly.
"Why are you running from me? I'm a good guy. I just want to see you again, Chloe. No commitment, no promises, just a date." His voice was gravelly and filled with untapped lust.
I wanted to drown in it, to be consumed by the heat I felt pulsing between us.
My relationship with Seth had been good, but not great. Warm, but not hot. This...this was intense and I could lose myself in the man holding me. Fear raced through me and I pulled back a little.
"I need to go. Spend the night with Cindy. She's a noncommittal kinda gal. You know..." I looked up at him and lost my breath for a minute, "No commitment. No promises. Just one night."
He released me and nodded. "Right. My kind of woman?"
"Perhaps. I don't know who you are, so figuring out what type of woman would force a man like you to settle down and cherish her seems impossible."
"That's cause it is." He shrugged and walked past me, leaving me standing there, feeling like shit for tearing him down. He wanted me and I wanted him, and yet I wasn't just pushing, but stabbing him with every arrow I could find. Why? It seemed so out of character for me, and yet I wasn't ready to stop punishing him for being whatever he was.
It was unfair and I was being an ass.
"Alright, have fun." I smiled and reached out to pull Cindy into a hug. "Call if you need me."
"Be careful on the ride home. I'll call on my way to the airport tomorrow." She snuggled up to Finn and he turned toward her, lifting her face and leaning down to kiss her in the way I'd give anything for a man to kiss me.
I turned and half jogged to the front door, not realizing that Brian was following me until I walked out into the frigid night air.
"Hey. Can I catch a ride home? Sorry to bother you with it, but we drove a big van and I'd rather not witness an orgy tonight." He chuckled.
"Of course. I don't know the town well, but if you can give me directions, I'm happy to drop you off." I lifted my hand and hit the key button, waiting for the SUV to light up. "Over here."
We walked to the car in silence. It wasn't until I had the heat on and had pulled from the parking lot that Brian broke the silence. It was a good thing he did. I was close to crying over witnessing a guy I'd just met and my best friend from high school kissing. I was an idiot and it didn't make sense, but my emotions were all over the place.
"I'm glad we got a chance to dance tonight. It was fun." He tugged at his seatbelt as if uncomfortable.
I needed to save him from making the mistake of asking me out. I wasn't sure if he was headed that way, but I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Mine were already hurt enough.
"Yeah, it was fun. I rarely go dancing because my boyfriend in Los Angeles gets so overly protective, but my buddies from high school came into town, and as you can see...there's no telling them no." I laughed and he let out a sigh of relief.
"You have a boyfriend?"
"Yeah. Why?" I looked over at Brian and gave him the warmest smile I could muster, which wasn't saying much.
Having a boyfriend was a great lie. Maybe that way Brian didn’t feel terrible that I wasn’t going to sleep with him.
"Finn said you were the girl of his dreams. I was good with it until we got closer and I got a good look at you."
"What's that supposed to me?" I chuckled, unable to help myself.
"You're beautiful and would break his heart. I thought you would be like the other girl's he's dated, but you don't seem to be at all. You're the designated driver for shits sake." He snorted.
"He doesn't date girls. He sleeps with them and leaves them." I turned as he pointed to the house at the end of the street and gave me a few directions.
"How do you know that? You just met him tonight." Brian turned to me as I stopped in front of his house.