Page 4 of Steady Stroke
Lincoln leaned his elbow against the bar, too bored to shuther down right away. “Nothing much. Listening to some music. Enjoying a local brew. You?”
“Same. Except I don’t seem to have a drink to enjoy.”
Oh yeah, she was hustling him for a drink. But Lincoln didn’t swing that way, and he wasn’t wasting good money on something he had no hopes of banging later tonight. “You might want to get on that, then.”
She pulled out her very best pout. “Someone’s not feeling generous tonight.”
“Someone’s not fishing for your brand of talent tonight.”
“And what brand is that?”
He made an exaggerated head-tilt in Van’s direction.
“Seriously?” She dropped the pout and just looked . . . tired. “You’re gay?”
“Bingo.”
“Why can I never flirt with the right people? Why?”
Lincoln laughed. “I don’t know you well enough to make a guess about that one, sorry.”
“Don’t be.” His companion flagged down Van and ordered a vodka sour. “Melody.”
“Excuse me?”
“My name. Melody Thompson.”
“Lincoln West.” His second introduction in less than an hour. Maybe he wasn’t so bad at this socializing thing.
Van returned with Melody’s drink. She immediately ate the cherry garnish. “So, how come someone as hot as you doesn’t have a boyfriend?”
Lincoln blinked. Despite Roxy’s blunt nature, he wasn’t used to hanging around chicks who said whatever was on their mind. It was kind of refreshing, given the way most people in his life treated him—like they wanted to wrap him in bubble wrap so he didn’t fall over and break. “You’re not so bad-looking yourself,” he replied. “How come someone as hot asyoudoesn’t have a boyfriend?”
“I’m too picky, I guess. Plus, you know, this tendency I have of sniffing the wrong tree.”
He wasn’t sure that was the right metaphor, but whatever. “Ever try an app?”
“I’m not that desperate yet.”
She sipped her drink, and Lincoln took the pause in conversation to study her. Melody had a pleasantly round face, no sharp angles, and plump lips perfectly shaped with lipstick. Just enough makeup to accent her eyes and cheekbones without being over-the-top. Curly dark hair that barely brushed her shoulders. Slim body with not a lot of curves, small tits she made the most of with that tight dress. Someone tonight would definitely want to hit that.
Just not him.
“Want to man-watch together?” Melody asked.
“Sure, why not?” Dominic would be so proud of him for making a friend. Even if only for a few hours of bar conversation. “You have a type?”
She winked. “Blond.”
He ran a hand through his unkempt blond hair that was probably a month past needing a decent trim. “Shocking.”
“You?”
The words “tall, dark, and biracial” lingered on the tip of Lincoln’s tongue, but he kept them to himself. Despite the fact that Dominic was madly in love with Trey, and that Lincoln hadn’t had a sexual relationship with Dominic since they were teenagers, a part of Lincoln had remained in love with Dominic since he was seventeen. Every guy he dated got compared to Dominic, every prospect falling short of expectations until Lincoln gave up on dating and focused on his music. Casualfucks became the norm, and he kept his long-distance crush to himself.
He and Dominic would always be friends and brothers, but that was it, and Lincoln needed to move on. “I’m not too picky,” Lincoln replied.
They both spun their stools around and spent the next half hour critiquing every guy in the place. Some talent existed, but they were either on the arm of another girl or in a clinch with another dude. As the time wore closer to the ten o’clock act, the bar filled with more people and Lincoln was halfway into his fourth beer. Probably not a great idea, considering he’d taken his depression meds later in the day than usual, but whatever. He was out having fun for a change.
