Page 129 of Hot Mess
“I don’t have a band right now,” Ashley said evenly. “We broke up.”
“Too bad,” Carter said, like it wasn’t too bad at all.
“Excuse us,” Ashley said. Then he grabbed my hand and hauled me with him out of the booth.
Thank God.I was way too tipsy right now to know how to referee the battle of male egos that was brewing in that booth.
“Danica,” Carter called. I glanced back, even though I didn’t really want to.
He had his arm around Melody now, and he was holding up my phone with his other hand.Damn.I’d left it on the seat.
“Thank you.” I took it and stashed it in my purse.
“Nice meeting you,” Melody said—to Ashley.
Ashley didn’t say anything, at least not that I heard. He just tugged me away into the crowd. And…wow. Holding his hand? It made my whole body flush with heat.
I almost fell on my face.
Funny how sometimes, when you’ve been drinking, the floor doesn’t end up being exactly where your high heels seem to think it is. Especially when you’re not paying any attention, because the hottest man you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting is holding your hand.
Luckily, he had quick reflexes. When I stumbled, he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me into his hard, hot body. Then he steered me through the crowd, deeper into the club… and right into a dark booth in the very back corner.
“I didn’t even know there were booths back here,” I said, as he nudged me into the back of the seat. The booth was underneath the stairs to the upper level, next to a partial wall that led to the men’s washroom. I’d never really had a reason to come this far back here before.
Ashley wedged in right next to me, his whole body turned toward me. His knee rested on my thigh, one arm up on the back of the seat and the other on the table. Kinda trapping me in.
I didn’t exactly mind.
I smiled at him, mostly because I was so nervous. I sipped the cider I’d brought with me, though I probably didn’t need any more booze.
His eyes bore into me as he watched me set my bottle, carefully, on the table. What was it about being drunker than someone else that made you want to pretend like you weren’t?
Then his gaze moved deliberately down my slinky dress. He was totally undressing me with his eyes again.
“You like my dress?” I blurted out.
That was the liquor, definitely.
No flirting with the unicorn when you don’t intend to follow through!
“I love your dress,” he said, his eyes meeting mine. “Also, I really enjoyed meeting your ex-dick.”
“Uh… you mean, my ex-boyfriend?”
“I can’t bring myself to say it.”
I laughed a bit. “You didn’t seem to hit it off all that well.”
“That a problem?”
“No. I guess not. I mean… He’s just my friend.”
He made a snorting sound, like he either didn’t believe me or he was mildly disgusted with the idea. Both?
“Thanks for making it so clear to him that I’m just your client,” he said. He tipped his beer into his mouth. “You really know how to make a guy feel special.”
“You are my client. And I mean, I told you we should just be friends…”
