Chapter 8 #2
He never would have moved up in the companies he'd worked for. They were usually family based. And the Sterlings took care of our own. Cooper was most definitely an honorary Sterling, no matter how much ribbing we gave him on the text chain and when we were together.
Someone slid next to my seat and waved for the bartender.
It was Reina.
She was standing close enough that I could smell her shampoo. She smelled amazing, and if she were mine, I'd have my hands on her so that no one approached her. She was delectable in that slinky dress. After she gave the bartender her drink order, she turned to face me.
I felt Cooper get up and leave, probably to go to the restroom, but I appreciated that he'd left me alone with her.
Reina tipped her head to the side, her hip pressing against my leg. "What are you doing here?"
"Cooper wanted to go out." Thankfully, he wasn't here to dispute my claim.
She arched one perfect brow. "Is that right?"
"How's your night going?" Have any men asked you out tonight? Are they hassling you? Do you want them to? That thought made me curl my fingers into fists.
She smiled. "It's great to be out with my girls and not be worried about the fire."
There was something about her energy that drew me in. Who wouldn't be attracted to someone with so much determination and grit? She was magnetic, and I wanted to be in her orbit. I wanted to discourage anyone who even thought about approaching her.
But she was so warm and soft, and she was here, watching me closely.
I lowered my voice. "Are you behaving?"
She laughed softly. "Are you asking as my friend or Tom's?"
I leaned closer to her. "I'm hoping you consider me a friend now. And not just Tom's."
Her brow furrowed. "Yeah?"
I nodded. Tom wasn't here, and what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Or that was what I was telling myself now.
"I'd like to be friends," she said tentatively.
"Me too." Shit. Had I just put myself in the friend zone?
I'd just walked into that one. This was what Cooper was talking about.
I wasn't super experienced when it came to navigating relationships with women.
I was good at the flirting and the attraction.
But this? Navigating the space between friendship and something more was hard.
I didn't want to screw anything up. I wanted her to trust me.
But I also wanted to take her to my bedroom and make her forget any man that approached her tonight.
She smiled wide, and it was so bright; I wanted to bask in her warmth.
The bartender placed a tray of drinks in front of her.
"You can put it on my tab." Reina turned and picked up the tray. "Enjoy your night."
"Yeah. You too." When she walked away, I asked the bartender, "Can you put their tab on mine?"
He chuckled. "Are you sure? Those girls can drink."
"I'm sure."
Cooper sat next to me. "Are you positioning yourself as their sugar daddy for the night?"
I ran my hand through my hair. "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I think I just agreed to be her friend."
Cooper started laughing again.
"I'm not going to hang out with you anymore if you're just going to laugh at me all the time," I grumbled.
"I can't help it. You're a disaster. Worse than Maverick. It's like you've never dated anyone."
I waited for him to stop laughing at me, then asked, "Since you have so much experience, how do I get out of this friend zone?"
"First you have to decide if you want her. Truly want her. Because she's Tom's younger sister. How's he going to feel about it?"
"You don't think we can fool around and go back to how things were when she moves out?" I asked, genuinely curious about my options.
"In my experience, even when a woman says she's okay with casual, her feelings usually change over time."
"That's what I was afraid of. Not that she'd agree to that anyway."
"It might help if you hang out around home more often. She probably thinks that you don't want her there."
I frowned. "How do you know that?"
"I talked to her when I dropped off the truck."
I turned slightly to face him. "I assumed you'd leave the key on the tire or something."
He smirked. "Nah. I knocked on the door. She was grateful for the truck but a little confused about why you were working long hours. I told her you wanted to finish up some jobs before you took on the bakery."
"How'd she react?"
He shook his head. "You live with the woman. You should know these things."
I waved my hand for him to go on. "Just tell me."
"I got the impression she was a little hurt by your absence. If you keep avoiding her, she's probably going to find another place to live."
"I didn't want to make things awkward for her."
"This is your chance to see if she's attracted to you. Walk around shirtless or, heck, with just a towel wrapped around your waist. You'll figure out how she feels real quick."
"I was working out the night the girls were over. I heard some of them make comments about me working out shirtless, but none of them was Reina's." But her gaze had snagged on my chest. She might be interested, but I wasn't willing to share that with Cooper. Not yet.
"You are in a unique situation where you can be close to her and test the waters. Cook her dinner. Watch a movie together. You date without asking her out."
I drank my now-warm beer. "That's not a bad idea."
He sighed. "This is your chance. You might not get another one."
"So work less and hang around the house. That sounds easy."
He shook his head. "You're going to have to do more than just hang around to get her attention."
"I don't need any advice in that area." I saw how she looked at me after my workout, and then there was the twittering from the rest of the women. She liked when I walked around half naked. That would be an easy fix. Wear less shirts and find excuses to be close to her.
When I turned my charm on women, I was usually successful, so this should be a breeze.