Page 14 of How to Get Lucky
“Archer. He’s my brother. You probably know him.”
I drop my head in my hands as all my luck drains away.
6
Fact one: I just had the best first date of my life.
Fact two: I want to kiss her again and again, and pretty much do everything else with her that you do without clothes.
Fact three: She seems to want the same things I do.
Fact four: She’s London Hollis. My boss’s little sister.
That final fact obviates everything that precedes it. Doesn’t matter how true facts one to three are. Nothing can come of them.
I’ve been there. I’ve done that.
I’m not getting on that merry-go-round again.
That’s where things got messy with Tracy.
Or messier, I should say. I worked for her father, and we were all kinds of connected.
Tracy and I met at a Decemberists show at the Roxy and started dating quickly. Turned out our mutual love of music was more than a hobby, and she introduced me to her dad, the president of Loud Nation, the largest collective of radio stations on the West Coast. He pulled some strings and got me a plum gig hosting my own show. Sure, that show was on-air at four in the morning, but it was still mine, a dream come true. In that satellite studio in Hollywood, DJ Insomnia was born. I was building a name for myself, ascending the ranks way faster than I could have on my own.
But when everything went belly-up with Tracy, so did the job with Loud Nation. Tracy pulled the rug out from under our relationship, and the whole house of vinyl came tumbling down. Her father terminated my show, and effectively barred me from doing anything else with Loud Nation. End of side A, please flip the record over.
Like I was the one who needed to be taught a lesson.
But I learned it the hard way. And now I live it, abiding by my own rules regardless of what company policy dictates. Don’t mix work and dating. Don’t date coworkers, clients, or business partners. Don’t take out the boss’s daughter, the boss’s sister, or the boss’s second cousin.
I’m not interested in taking those risks again. I’d be a fool.
This time, I’m doing things on my own. I’m making good money and having a great time working at the club. I’ve got my weekly show on-air with the local public radio station. The pay isn’t great, but I have more control over the music I play, and the time slot is better. I have to stay focused—I’ve worked too hard to get back to this spot post-Tracy.
I can’t chance sliding to the starting block again, especially when there’s a raise on the line. I want that raise. Just as soon as I hit the one-year mark next month.
After I pay the check and walk London to her car, I inhale the salty ocean air and then I level with her. We’ve been honest all along. No reason to stop now.
“Look, I would love nothing more than to see you again and take you out again and kiss you again. And I’m just going to be totally blunt—I want to take you home.”
She lowers her face and presses her fingers against the bridge of her nose, right under her glasses. “I want all that too, and I feel like such an idiot.”
My heart lurches toward her. I want to reassure her.
But I can’t. If I don’t say this, I will push her up against the car, pull those glasses off her face, and kiss her under the moon until we both see stars.
“But there are club rules,” I say. “No messing around with employees, and even if those rules didn’t exist, you’re my boss’s sister.” It sounds like a joke when it comes out of my mouth, like karma is fucking with me, and I honestly don’t know what I’ve done to piss off the cosmic gods.
Her brown eyes lock with mine, and she lifts her arm like she’s going to squeeze mine or grab my wrist. But she must think better of it because she drops her hand back to her side. “No, Teddy. I didn’t mean to put you in a bad place. I should have thought of that—my brother and the club rules and all. But I met you and we had a connection, and I guess I thought . . .” She slows down, meets my eyes again with that fire in hers, and in a softer voice says, “We had such an intense spark that I honestly wasn’t thinking about rules. The whole time at dinner, I was in the moment, having a good time. A great time.”
I reach my hand behind my neck and squeeze. Tension radiates through my body. I need to find a way to release this energy other than slamming my mouth to hers because that is one of the coolest things a woman has ever said to me—that she was so caught up in the energy, the chemistry, that she wasn’t thinking about games or rules or how things are supposed to be, or if you call someone after the first date or not. Things I’m honestly not sure about either, but would want to figure out with her.
