Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
“Come on. Let’s be social.”
He nods toward a couple of girls sitting alone at a high top. They’re new to these parts, judging by their startled rabbit expressions and nearly untouched glasses of rosé. They look a bit older too. College freshman, maybe.
“Yeah… I’m gonna sit this one out.” I plant myself on a stool and cradle my drink. “The second Valium is kicking in, and I intend to become utterly useless in conversation any minute now.”
“Fine,” he grumbles in frustration.
Oh, the terrible betrayal.
Silas saunters over to the girls and is quickly invited to sit with them. Spending the last three years in a relationship means he hasn’t had many opportunities to brush up on his game, but those All-American Boy good looks are all he needs.
Neither of the college girls are drop-dead gorgeous, though. They’re cute, but average. There are far hotter chicks in this bar tonight, so I’m puzzled by his immediate interest until I spot a familiar face. Amy sits only a couple of tables away with some of her cheerleader friends, facing Silas and his new gal pals.
Interesting.
I’m not sure if he was intentionally trying to make her jealous, or just didn’t want to look like a dateless loser, but either way, it’s obvious he’s aware of her presence. Those hazel eyes flick in Amy’s direction, and I see the moment she notices Silas. Her freckled cheeks redden before she turns away, saying something to her friends.
I don’t mind Amy. Never did, despite what Silas thinks. Sure, I taunted him about how vanilla his girlfriend was, but that’s because, well, she’s vanilla. What’s wrong with stating the obvious? But I do like her. She’s funny. Hates my guts, though, and I don’t really blame her. I can be an asshole.
Tonight, I feel compelled to intervene. As I get up from my stool, I slug back the rest of my drink then mosey my way toward Silas and his new friends. I throw an arm over his shoulder and offer the girls a polite nod.
“Ladies, if you don’t mind, I need to steal him back.”
“Nah. Take a seat,” Silas says, shrugging off my arm. “We’re not leaving.”
Well. I tried. But I’m trapped by his stubbornness and have no other choice but to join them.
“This is Zoey,” he says, gesturing to the one on his right. Blonde. Pretty in a holiday family portrait sort of way, the one where they’re all in the yard bursting out of a pile of leaves in matching outfits.
“I’m Kathryn, but you can call me Kat,” the other says. This one has long, dark hair. Dark eyes. Face is a six but her body’s edging on a nine, and I know exactly where this is headed.
“This is Lawson,” Silas answers for me. “Forgive him, he was kicked in the head by a horse as a child.”
We don’t get through more than a few minutes of painful small talk before Silas finishes his beer and goes in for the kill.
“Kat, can I borrow you for a minute?”
Dude’s got balls, I’ll give him that. I glance over my shoulder to see Amy watching as Silas and Kat get up and wander toward the dart boards. A moment later, they slip away down the hall toward the restrooms. I’m about to look away when Amy notices me. Her light brown eyes darken to molten chocolate, narrowing at me as her mouth twists in an angry scowl.
Still hates my guts, apparently.
Zoey snorts. “Sort of obvious about it, huh?”
I turn back. “What’s that?”
“Those two,” she clarifies. “Not subtle.”
“I’m sort of surprised at him, if I’m being honest.”
Silas isn’t the type to get a sneaky BJ in the ladies’ room of a bar. Not under normal circumstances, anyway.
“Yeah, Kat came out tonight saying she wanted to be more adventurous. I didn’t think it would work so well so fast.”
“Crazy kids, huh?”
Zoey flashes an awkward smile. “Actually, I’m kind of glad you came over. It was going to be embarrassing sitting here by myself all night. I was third-wheeling it hard.”
“Not all night,” I assure her.
“Huh?”
“Three minutes. Tops.”
She smothers a laugh by sipping her wine. “Oh. Right.”
Even accounting for the ill-effects of Guinness dick, they aren’t gone long. What’s transpired is obvious enough on their faces, though, when Silas and Kathryn reemerge from the restrooms. Which wouldn’t be a capital offense if only Silas could get his rocks off without making it everyone else’s problem. Before they return to our table, he decides he must parade Kat past Amy’s group.
“But I’d never done impromptu before,” Zoey exclaims with a laugh, still unaware I haven’t been following her tale about her recent debate club excursion to Oxford. “Lindsey is heaving up her breakfast in the airport restroom, while our coach is frantically trying to rescue her notes from the luggage before it spends the next eleven hours in the cargo hold all the way to London.”