Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Summer
The bar was alive, pulsing with music and energy, the kind of place where reality blurred and bad decisions didn’t feel so bad.
My head was warm, fuzzy, delightfully light, the alcohol settling into my limbs like a cozy hug.
Olivia and I had been here for hours, dancing, drinking, laughing too loudly in the way only best friends could.
I twirled under Olivia’s arm, letting out a dramatic gasp as I stumbled slightly in my heels. She steadied me, laughing. "Okay, okay, that’s it. You need another drink."
I nodded solemnly. "That is so wise of you."
"I know," she said, smirking. "I’m basically a genius."
I patted her cheek. "I love you."
She grinned. "I love you too, babe. Now go get us another round while I go talk to that guy who has been staring at me for the last twenty minutes."
I blinked, following her gaze to a ridiculously good-looking man at the far end of the bar. "Ohhh, he’s cute."
"Right? So I’m gonna go... you know, handle that. You good?"
I gave her a sloppy salute, already turning toward the bar. "I am great. I will handle this mission with grace and dignity."
"That’s literally the opposite of what’s going to happen."
"Shh. Let me believe."
She laughed, already disappearing into the crowd, and I hummed to myself as I made my way to the bar, swaying slightly as I walked. But just as I reached the counter?—
BAM.
I turned too fast, my tipsy brain not calculating distance properly, and slammed straight into something solid.
Something warm. Something expensive-smelling.
And then, strong hands caught my waist, steadying me before I could topple over.
"Whoa," a deep voice rumbled. "You okay there?"
I blinked up at the person I had just face-planted into and...
Holy. Crap.
He was stupidly gorgeous.
Like, model-on-the-cover-of-GQ gorgeous.
Tall. Really tall. Broad shoulders. Sharp jawline. Dark eyes that looked way too intense under the dim bar lighting. And that suit? It screamed money, the kind of expensive tailoring that just shouldn’t exist in a place like this.
Drunk Summer Brain immediately came to the most logical conclusion.
A Greek god had descended from Mount Olympus, and I had just smacked into his chest.
I stared at him, my brain doing the equivalent of a Windows error message.
He raised an eyebrow. "You good?"
I poked his chest.
Hard.
"Ow," he said, even though he definitely didn’t feel it.
I narrowed my eyes, tilting my head. "You’re too pretty."
A slow, amused smirk tugged at his lips. "That so?"
"Mhmm." I poked his chest again, this time frowning. "You look like someone who breaks hearts for fun."
He let out a low chuckle, the kind of sound that shouldn’t be allowed to be that attractive. "Not recently."
I squinted, swaying slightly. "Hmm. Suspicious."
He steadied me, his grip firm but oddly careful, like he was used to holding me.
Which didn’t make sense because I had never seen him before in my life.
Had I?
I frowned, leaning in slightly, studying his face. There was something familiar, something that made my stomach twist in a way I couldn’t place.
I waved my hand in front of my face. "Nope. Too blurry. Can’t think."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I can tell."
"You know..." I tapped my chin, ignoring how steady and warm his hands were on my waist. "I bet you kiss really well."
His expression shifted slightly, the amusement in his gaze turning into something else, something darker, something almost... knowing.
"Is that so?" he murmured.
I nodded. "Mhm. I’m an expert at these things."
He smirked. "Are you now?"
"Yup," I confirmed, placing a hand on his suit collar. "And there’s only one way to prove it."
And then?—
I kissed him.
Before he could say anything, before I could overthink it, before my brain could catch up with what my body had already decided, I pulled him down and pressed my lips against his.
The second our mouths met, a shock ran through me.
His grip on my waist tightened slightly, not pulling me closer but holding me steady.
And then?—
He kissed me back.
Slow. Deliberate.
Not rushed. Not hurried. Just... intentional.
And holy hell, I had been right.
He kissed stupidly well.
His lips moved against mine in a way that sent a shiver down my spine, his hand shifting slightly on my waist like he was memorizing the feel of me. His other hand brushed against my wrist, a soft, lingering touch that sent heat curling low in my stomach.
I sighed into the kiss, fingers curling into his suit jacket, my head spinning in a way that had nothing to do with alcohol.
And then, just as quickly as I had started it?—
I pulled back.
Grinning drunkenly, still completely clueless.
"I like your face," I announced.
The tall, stupidly handsome stranger smirked, his dark eyes flickering with something I couldn’t name.
"You should," he murmured, voice low and smooth.
He leaned in slightly, his breath warm against my skin as he whispered?—
"You used to know it."
I blinked.
The words barely registered through the hazy mess that was my brain.
Wait.
What?
I stared at him, trying to process his face again, but the room felt too spinny, and my thoughts were too slow, and?—
Nope.
Too much thinking.
I patted his chest, wobbled slightly, and took a step back. "Nice meeting you, Pretty Man," I mumbled, already turning toward the bar.