Chapter 14 #3
“Not exactly. He wore me down after coming back and lifting weights, drowning himself with a bottle of water, which was very sexy by the way. All while asking me out a couple times. To which I said no. Of course. I tossed out I couldn’t date members, which is bullshit, but he cancelled his membership anyway.
Alleviating any reason that I couldn’t go out with him. ”
She laughed, rocking in her chair. “That is priceless. Did he really cancel?”
“Yep. He did. Naturally, I felt a little sorry for him and agreed to go out. Just to make him feel better.”
“Oh, of course. That is crazy and I love it. How romantic.”
I cringed a little inside. “Yeah, not bad.”
“Oh, come on. So what’s he like?”
“Well, Roy is sexy as hell. The epitome of tall, dark, and handsome.”
“Roy?” Her nose wrinkled.
“Not his real name. I gave him a false one in the beginning just to play it safe, so he decided to pick a name from our favorite movie.”
“Die Hard.”
“Exactly. Very much not a Christmas movie, but he insists it is.”
“Sounds like someone I know. The great debate. Okay, so what did you do?” She glanced away briefly, sticking her tongue into her jaw.
“Went to a cool little bar called Melito’s.
Where we played pool and talked about everything but our personal lives.
I actually had a lot of fun because nothing was scripted.
You know what I mean. I thought him an arrogant jerk at first. The perfect chiseled jaw and the most intense emerald eyes I’ve ever seen.
But he surprised me several times. He’s very down to earth when he lets his guard down. ”
She narrowed her eyes and I had a terrible feeling something was wrong. “Melito’s.”
“Yeah, kind of a dive bar, but he was more comfortable there.”
“Interesting. So are you seeing him again?”
The big question I’d asked myself a hundred times if not more. The way he’d looked at me before I’d been introduced had been with shock and a raging amount of guilt. He’d honestly thought I was dating Jagger. Oh, the irony of the entire situation kept a lump the size of a watermelon in my stomach.
“I don’t know if it’s such a good idea.”
“Why?” Samantha folded her arms on the table. Why did she have a gleam in her eyes?
“Well, because I need to work on my dancing and I know he has a lot on his plate.”
Every single woman at the other table had their phones out and were scrolling, every so often lifting their head. I scooted a little on the stool so I wouldn’t pay any additional attention to them.
“Oh, okay. So what does he do?”
“Does it really matter if I’m not going to see him again?”
“Tell me what he looks like. He sounds dreamy.”
I took a deep breath, wishing I could stop thinking about him.
“He is. Six foot four or five, shoulders that fill a doorway, and long, muscular legs. He sports a two-day stubble like it’s a fashion statement and he has this gravelly voice.
You know what I mean, the kind that would be perfect for narrating audio books or telling an erotic bedtime story.
And seriously, he has the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen ever before.
So green they shimmer. Please don’t tell me you’re thinking about dating him. ”
The way Samantha snorted was almost comical. “Uh, no, thank you.” When she pulled out her phone, I grew more curious.
“What are you doing?”
“Just hold on.”
“Oh, no. Did I do something terrible? Do you know this guy and he’s married and has six kids?”
She flicked her long nail across the screen, her smile completely smug. “No, I can say with all honesty that I know for certain he isn’t married and doesn’t have any kids.”
The hair stood up on the back of my neck. “How do you know that?”
“Because I do.” She lifted her head. “Did he happen to tell you his name? His first name maybe?”
“Let’s just say I learned his first name after we’d spent some time together in a rather awkward way I really don’t want to talk about.”
“Would it happen to be Cole?”
“Oh, my God. Please do not tell me he’s your boyfriend or your ex or something. I think I’ll toss myself off a tall bridge.”
“No, he isn’t either one of those.” As she shoved her phone into my face, I also heard one of the women from the other table being a little louder than before.
Her comment?
“Yeah, she’s definitely the one.”
“Um, what am I looking at?” The one what? I was so frustrated with whatever the chicks were talking about that it took me a few seconds to focus.
The picture was of a lovely family. Three boys that obviously looked very much alike, a man who was older with a little silver at his temples, a stunning older woman, and my roommate. That’s also when I noticed the resemblance.
“Is that the guy?”
Now I was certain I was going to throw up a little in my mouth. “Uh-huh.” Every muscle tightened in my body. “Yep. That’s him.”
“Cole.”
“Yes,” I cringed both visibly and in my voice.
“Congratulations, roomie. You’re dating my brother.”
I slumped in the seat, shifting downward and when I did, one of the girls just happened to have her phone turned where I could see.
As if a fate worse than death, I realized someone had snapped a photograph of my time spent with Cole. Not just one picture but a couple, and it was very apparent we were intimate.
Very.