Page 68 of Rome
“It’s on the house, gorgeous.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, not overly impressed with his obvious flirting. He looked to be a few years older than me, and I got the feeling he knew exactly how good-looking he was.
“Thank you,” I said, trying to be gracious.
“I haven’t seen you in here before. What brings you in today?”
“Just wanted something to drink.”
He smirked. “So, you came to abar, to get a soda. You sure you don’t want anything stronger?”
I’d never been much of a drinker, and after what I’d been through with Caleb, there was no way I would turn to alcohol to solve my problems.
“No, I’m good with this, thanks.”
He left me alone then but wandered back over my way a few minutes later.
“You look like you’re either going to cry or kill somebody. Anything I can help with, gorgeous?”
“My name isAbby.”
He extended his hand over the top of the bar, grinning at me when I reached over to shake it.
“Well, gorgeous Abby, I’m Griffin. It’s nice to meet you. Now, why don’t you tell me why you really came in here. You could have gone to the McDonald’s across the street for that soda.”
I don’t know what possessed me to start talking, but I did. I didn’t tell him everything, of course, but I did tell him I was newly divorced, and had just had a run-in with one of the women my ex was fucking. His eyes widened a bit, then he covered my hand with his on top of the bar.
“If he cheated on you, gorgeous Abby, then the man’s a goddamned fool.”
He kept alternating his stare between my lips and my cleavage, which normally would have irritated the hell out of me. At the moment though, it was a boost to my ego, which had taken a savage beating thanks to Paisley.
He told her he was desperate for some good head for a change.
He’s been fucking his way through every woman in this place.
He was wild for me.
He was trapped, bitch, and trying to make the best of it, pretending he was happy with you.
He talked a good game.
He just didn’t want to lose his son.
Why the fuck do you think he drank all the time?
I thought about her suggestion to let Cyn give me tips on giving a blow job, and her jabs about Caleb wanting someone more experienced. I couldn’t stop hearing her voice in my head, preying on every insecurity I had. I ordered another Diet Pepsi, and Griffin continued to flirt.
The more he flirted, the more I decided I liked it. Fuck it, if Caleb could move on so damned easily, then maybe I should, too. Maybe Paisley was right. Maybe he had been trying to make the best of it. Had he cheated before? Maybe if I’d had more experience, it would have made a difference.
“I’m getting ready to go on break, Abby. Any chance I can convince you to continue this conversation in the breakroom?” Griffin’s forearms rested on the bar top as he leaned over so that I could hear him over the sounds in the bar, which had grown louder as more people had arrived. He ran one finger over the back of my hand, and I shivered a little at the contact, as well as the look of desire in his eyes.
I didn’t give myself time to think. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have done what I did. Instead, I slid off the bar stool, grabbing my purse as Griffin shot me a sexy grin. He slipped under the pass-through countertop at the end of the bar and reached for my hand. I let him lead me down the hallway toward the restrooms, stopping at the door to a small employee breakroom about halfway down the hall.
The room was furnished with a rather beat-up leather couch on one wall, and a small folding card table with four metal chairs. There was a tiny kitchenette in the corner, with a sink, a minifridge, and a microwave, presumably for employee meals.
Griffin closed the door behind us, then sat down on the couch and pulled me down to sit alongside him. He shifted his body so that he was facing me and stretched his arm along the back of the couch behind my head. He leaned toward me, almost caging me in. I wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but I was starting to second-guess my decision.
He’s clearly been dying for a woman who can match his level of experience.
