Page 57 of The Great Dating Fake Off
She’s not wrong, though I’d argue it’s just a horny athlete thing, not a baseball player-specific thing. “And how would you know?”
Her shrug is coy. “Maybe I was paying extra close attention.”
I shove down my irrational jealousy that her attention was directed at those other assholes as I turn to face her. My heart pounds against my ribcage. Her gaze flits between my eyes, and I fight the urge to look at her mouth.
And then I lose that fight. Her pretty lips lift at the corners. I bet they taste as good as they look.
Gia steps up on the running board of the bar and hails the bartender. “’Scuse me sir, do you sell champagne?”
His stare is appraising. “I have the stuff you cut with OJ for mimosas. Andre.”
“I’ll take a bottle.”
The grizzled bartender, who looks like he could kill a man with his bare hands, retrieves the Andre, aims it at the wall, and uncorks it before surrendering the bottle. White bubbles fizz from the top. “How many cups?”
Sergio cuts in. “None, thanks.” He takes it and whirls around as Poison’s “Nothin’ But A Good Time” pumps the air full of energy. “Line up!”
“Wedding parties,” the bartender grumbles, shaking his head as he lumbers off.
Enzo drops his ass into a stool and pulls Ro on his lap. Gia perches on the stool beside them and pats her thigh. “Nora, get over here.”
She trots over and hops in Gia’s lap.
Sergio hovers over Ro and Enzo first. “Open up.”
Enzo, who has reached senior prom after-party levels of drunk, wraps his fingers around Ro’s mouth to pop it open. Sergio lifts the champagne and drips it in. She wipes the excess off her lips as she swallows.
“Feed me, Seymour.” Enzo steals the bottle from Sergio’s hand and takes his own swig.
Sergio steals it back and moves down the line. His shit-eating grin fixes itself in place as Gia lifts her chin.
His forearm flexes as he jerks the bottle upward, giving her way more than Ro.
Liquid bursts out of her mouth and sprays his white shirt. She punches him with one arm and holds Nora to her lap with the other so she doesn’t fall out. “Don’t drown me, jackass.”
“Whoops.” His innocent expression fools no one as his attention moves to Nora. “All right, Benji’s girl—open wide.”
That saying makes my skin crawl, coming out of his mouth. And I don’t like the way he looks at her.
She opens her mouth. He rests the glass edge of the bottle on her tongue and places a hand beneath her chin, for no fucking reason.
I want to smack that bottle out of his hand.
Nora’s eyes meet mine as he tips the bottle, heat swirling in their depths.
Her throat works as she swallows but she doesn’t even blink, watching me like there’s not another human on Earth, let alone in this bar.
Good. I want her eyes on me. I want all her attention. I don’t want her to touch Benji or anyone else.
And it’s driving me up the wall.
Bubbly liquid spills out of her mouth, pouring down her neck, down her chest until it soaks her shirt. She pushes the bottle away. “Too much!”
“Whoops.” Sergio attempts a chagrined smile. “You were taking it so well I forgot to stop.”
“Jesus Christ, Sergio.” I lunge forward and snatch the bottle from his hand.
Everyone’s eyes are on me, but I feel Ro’s like a brand pressed into the side of my face.
