Chapter 2
Cole
It’s Friday night, and I’m sitting alone at MD’s bar to drink away the stress of the last couple of weeks and celebrate that things should start looking up at work soon.
I’m mentally drained, and MD’s is my go-to when I need to blow off steam.
They always have great deals for their happy hour, and typically I can get lucky on the woman front too.
Both of which would be great ways to relieve some of this stress tonight.
I usually don’t go out alone. I like to have at least one of my friends with me because drinking alone can be a drag, but none of my friends were free tonight to come with me.
So I came on my own anyway, because sitting alone at a bar where there could be women is better than a night at home completely by yourself.
As I sip on my second glass of bourbon, I’m considering just going home, since nothing here seems to be piquing my interest, until suddenly the atmosphere in the bar changes.
What was just a loud, crowded bar suddenly feels quiet.
The sound of the music and people talking becomes more muffled.
I glance around the room, confused by the change, and that is when I see her.
She is standing by the door, having just walked into the bar.
She has the most beautiful curves, long brown hair, and big eyes that I can’t tell the color of from this far.
Her dress is black and low-cut, showing off a perfect amount of cleavage.
It does wonders for her long legs, as do her heels, which would look incredible on my shoulders.
The thought makes my cock twitch. She scans the bar with her eyes, clearly looking for a place for her and her friend to sit, and that is when our eyes meet.
Time feels like it freezes, and our eyes stay locked on each other until her friend says something to her, and that forces our connection to be severed.
She follows her friend to a small table that is on the other side of the bar.
I tell myself to stop glancing at her, but I can’t.
Especially when I notice that she’s staring at me too.
She seems to be as interested in me as I am in her.
Finally, after too long of us sneaking glances at each other, I have the bartender make a drink for her that I think she might like, and I walk over.
“Is this seat taken?” I ask, leaning around her to reach the empty chair.
She goes rigid and slowly turns to me, her beautiful chocolate-brown eyes wide like saucers as she averts them to her friend.
I can see the unspoken conversation between them, and it brings a smile to my face.
She thinks she can avoid this, avoid me. I think not.
Ellie
The guy I have spent the last half hour trying to avoid is asking to sit in the chair right next to me.
Our eyes met as soon as Bri and I walked into the bar and looked for somewhere to sit, and ever since then, we have been stealing glances at each other from across the bar.
He’s so hot it was hard to keep my eyes from drifting to him.
Now he is leaning over me, and he smells just as good as he looks.
A moment ago, when I glanced at where he was sitting, he was gone, and I assumed he had left.
His coming up behind me caused instant panic.
My eyes are wide as I look to Bri for support, praying she understands by the look on my face that I’m not ready.
“No! It’s free! Sit! Please!” Bri exclaims. That is not the support I wanted.
I give her my nastiest stink eye, and she just smiles at me.
She quickly says, “I’m going to go use the restroom!
” As she stands up, she winks at me, and I glare at her again.
While we were sitting here, she caught me watching him a few times and tried to get me to go over to him.
Now she’s trying to give us space. Space I do not want.
“I’m Cole,” he says to me with a smile. I take a good look at him.
He appears as if he just walked out of a magazine, wearing dark jeans and a black T-shirt that shows every ripple of muscle on his broad shoulders and thick arms. He has black hair and piercing green eyes, and the sexiest smile surrounded by the perfect amount of facial hair is the cherry on top.
I’ve always been a sucker for a good beard; it was too bad Jason could never grow a decent one.
He clears his throat, pulling me out of the trance I was in. I look up at him, and he is staring at me with one eyebrow raised, a cocky smile on his lips. Shit. I don’t want him to know this weird effect he has on me.
“Oh. Sorry. I zoned out there for a moment.” I can feel my cheeks heating with embarrassment from being caught so obviously checking him out.
“Yeah. I noticed you seemed distracted,” he says and winks. “You still haven’t told me your name though.”
“I’m sorry, I just had a bad breakup, and I’m not really looking for anything right now,” I say, trying to get him to leave. Although, deep down, the last thing I want him to do is leave.
He is still staring at me, but then he smiles and pushes a drink my way. “I got you a drink, I asked the bartender to make whatever you were drinking. Are you two having ladies’ night?”
I take a sip before answering. “Actually, Bri is trying to get me laid, she says the best way to get over one man is to get under another,” I blurt.
My eyes widen as I cover my mouth, embarrassed, and my cheeks heat as another blush takes over.
He lets out a little chuckle. Maybe I shouldn’t drink any more.
Apparently, I’ve already had more than enough, I think to myself.
“Thank you for the drink, but I’m going to switch to water.
I already had a couple of drinks and need to slow down.
” Luckily I had a water sitting at our table that we got with our first round.
“Well, I think I can contribute to Bri’s efforts and lend a helping hand, if you need it,” he flirts and shoots me another wink as he continues smirking at me.
I have never met anyone so confident, and I also never realized this was something I would find so attractive.
How did such a cheesy line sound so hot coming out of his mouth?
“You are just so sure of yourself, aren’t you?” I say teasingly.
“Of course I am,” he replies and smiles a genuine smile, and I roll my eyes before drinking the last sip of my water. “I’ll go get us more water,” he says as he gets up and walks to the bar.
Once he returns to the table, we continue to flirt for a while. The banter comes easily between us. It’s a nice break from reality. After a little while, I am back to fucking him with my eyes when he clears his throat, breaking me out of yet another trance.
“So, I live right around the corner, want to get out of here?” he asks as his eyes trail down my body. I feel goose bumps on my arms from the attention. He’s so sure of himself, and it just continues to turn me on.
Biting my lip, I think about it. It had been a while since Jason and I had been active with each other, which probably should have been a red flag now that I think about it. Between Cole’s confidence, looks, and my apparent desperation, I’m really considering it. “I don’t want to leave Bri.”
His face slightly falls with his disappointment and rejection. “That’s understandable,” he says.
“But, we could always …” I say, trailing off as I point my gaze toward the hallway with the bathrooms.
He smiles at me, then stands up, takes a step, and stops. “Well, are you coming?” he asks as he waits for me to stand.
I stand up. “This is one time. I’m not interested in anything more. This cannot and will not become anything more,” I say to clarify. My life is messy enough as it is. I don’t need a new relationship to maintain on top of it.
“Understood,” he replies with a wink.
I’m wondering if I will regret this decision as we make our way to the bathroom.