Caden: Ride with Me

2. 2

Olivia Duncan sat in the booth with her friends, wondering why she’d agreed to be the designated driver. It seemed like she was always asked to be the designated driver since she wasn’t much of a drinker. Yes, she did drink on occasion, but not to the point it impaired her judgement. She’d learned that lesson the hard way.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t having fun, but since everyone else had been drinking for several hours, they thought they were far funnier than they really were.

“Livy!” her best friend’s voice pulled her out of her own head.

“What?” Olivia turned to look at Nicole.

“Are you daydreaming of your new guy?” Lainey, Olivia’s sister asked her words slurring together. “She’s been talking to you for almost five minutes.”

Olivia couldn’t help but be glad she’d gotten them out of the bar when she had, or she’d end up carrying her sister into her apartment later.

“No, I was just thinking. What was it you were saying?”

“Did you see that guy that just came in?” Nicole said, tilting her head to one side, her voice way above a whisper. Olivia could only hope it didn’t carry.

She turned and looked out across the room. “Which one?”

“The one sitting alone. He’s like the only one!” Nicole sounded way more excited than she should be about some guy sitting alone at a table.

“I see him, what about him?” Olivia turned back to her best friend while the rest of the girls at the table giggled.

“Isn’t it too bad you’ve got a new boyfriend? Isn’t he just yummy?” Nicole turned to look at him again, then back to Olivia. “If I didn’t have Jay at home waiting for me, I’d go introduce myself.”

Olivia gave the rest of the girls a smile and wished for the hundredth time that evening she hadn’t told them she was seeing someone new. At the time she’d thought it was a good way to get them to stop pointing out every guy in the bar and trying to tell her to ask them out. Now she had to come up with someone to take to the wedding next weekend.

As soon as Lainey had heard she’d had a new boyfriend she’d clapped her hands and been thrilled.

“Great! That means you’ll have a date for the wedding. I was worried you would have to show up stag.”

That had been early enough in the evening that they would remember it. Now though? She wouldn’t be surprised if they remembered any of this part of the night. Her only hope was that they’d forget all of tonight.

She wasn’t that lucky.

And if she went to talk to him now, her luck wouldn’t hold, because someone would remember it and call her out for hitting on a new guy when she was already seeing someone. But damn was he hot. She liked the flashes of color she caught on his arms and wished she dared talk to him so she could get a closer look at his tattoos.

She’d always wanted to get a tattoo but never found anything she was willing to wear forever. Maybe someday.

“I guess we better head home,” Lainey said, sounding as if she didn’t really want to go.

“Give me just a minute.” Olivia slid from the bench seat. “I’m going to use the bathroom and pay the ticket, then we’ll head out to the car.” She headed for the sign in the corner pointing toward the restrooms, smiling at the man the girls had been talking about as she walked past him.

She had finished in the bathroom and had stepped out into the short hallway when she saw him approaching. She smiled and nodded.

“Looks like you’ve got your hands full tonight,” he said with a smile, tilting his head in the direction where her friends could be heard still laughing and giggling at their table.

Olivia glanced in that direction, and for some reason could only be glad they couldn’t see her. Especially not talking to him.

“Yeah, luck of the draw ending up the designated driver,” she said with a shrug as she started to step past him.

“Hey, I’m glad I caught you though.”

His rough voice caught her, she stopped and turned back to look at him, once more checking to see if she could see the table where her friends sat.

He turned pink and looked away. “I wanted to see if maybe I could talk you into coffee or something. But I didn’t want to interrupt you and your friends.”

Warmth washed through her. She liked that he didn’t want to interrupt. Plus, she knew that approaching a group could be far more intimidating than approaching a single person. Especially a group as loud and obnoxious as her friends were being tonight.

“I’d like that. Let me give you my number.”

He pulled out his phone and she gave him her number. She couldn’t help but notice the way his muscles flexed under the tattooed skin of his arms. Her body heated as thoughts of things he could do with those hands flashed through her mind. A moment later she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

“There, now you have mine. I’m Caden by the way.” He held out one hand.

“Olivia.” She shook his hand as the girls at the table got loud again, this time they seemed to be bickering. “I better get them home before they start pulling hair and slapping each other,” she said with a laugh.

“I’ll be in touch,” he said.

“I look forward to it.” Olivia headed for the table wondering if she might be able to convince him to go to Lainey’s wedding with her. Just the thought of how her father would react when she showed up with this tattooed, bearded guy made her grin as she went to the counter and paid for their food before she made her way back to the table.

“Did you see that hot guy while you were back there?” Nicole asked as soon as Olivia reached the table.

Olivia kept her face straight. “Was he back there too? Must have missed him.”

“Too bad. I bet he’d be great in bed,” another woman piped up.

Olivia didn’t even want to know where they got that idea from seeing him across the room. Her mind flashed back onto his arms and the way they’d flexed as he moved. Her body heated again but she ignored it.

“Come on, it’s time to get out of here.”