I was in a horrible, dreadful mood. Everything was getting on my nerves. Everything. As I drove home from class, I found myself cussing at the sun because it was too damn bright. Then, I yelled at the radio because all the songs kept repeating the same irritating melody over and over again. And just when I was about to go completely over the edge, everyone around me suddenly forgot how to drive. They kept slamming on their damn brakes and honking their horns, so I laid my hand on my horn, blaring it as I screamed out a stream of profanities that would make my mother blush. I was out of control. Deep down, I knew my drive home wasn’t the problem. Everything was bearing down on me. Deadlines at school. Extra hours at work. Kaden. Mom. Dad. And Tucker Michaels.

There were so many times when I’d heard girls describe their feelings of attraction for a man, and quite honestly, I’d always thought they were just exaggerating. I had never looked at anyone and felt an electric spark or a burning desire—well, not until … Tucker. With just one single look, a rush of heat had surged throughout my body, and my heart pounded in my chest like a round of ignited fireworks. I clearly had a thing for Tucker Michaels because I’d never felt like this before; I was just too afraid to admit it.

I walked into our apartment and yelled, “Jess!”

“I’m in here!”

“Let’s go out tonight.”

She came flying out of her room with a surprised look. “Really? Why? What’s going on?”

“It’s been one of those days, and a movie night isn’t going to cut it. I need to get my drink on, so call the crew and tell them to meet us over at Mulligans.”

“Woo-hoo! Kaci’s getting her drink on! This is going to be awesome!” She cheered as she clapped her hands like an excited child. “Do you want to borrow something of mine to wear?”

“Oh, yeah, and I want you to fix my hair, too.”

“You got it!”

We were the first ones to make it to the bar, so Jess and I grabbed us a table down front and ordered a couple of drinks. In no time, I could feel the stress melting away, and I was even considering singing karaoke with Jess and Allison. The alcohol was already affecting my inhibitions, but I didn’t care. I needed a break from uptight, straight-laced Kaci. I leaned over to Jess and slurred, “I need another drink.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Kaci. Maybe you should wait a little bit.”

“Why?”

“You know you’re a lightweight, and you’ve already had two. Maybe you should eat a little something before you have another one,” she suggested.

While shaking my head in drunken disagreement, I stood up and turned towards the direction of the bar; like a petulant child, I declared, “I’m not hungry.”

I almost made it to the bar, but before I could make it to the counter, I tripped and ended up falling backwards, landing haphazardly in some guy’s lap. While I had no idea who he was, there was something very familiar about him. I sat there, half-dazed in the crook of his arms, studying his handsome face and muscular build, trying to figure out how I knew him. Then, his lips curled into a sexy smile. “Well, hello there, darlin’.”

It wasn’t until that moment when I realized I was still sitting on the guy’s lap. I pulled myself to my feet and said, “I … um ... I’m sorry about that.”

“That’s okay. Accidents happen.”

I was so busy adjusting my skirt and trying to maintain my balance that I never even realized there were others sitting at the table with him until I heard, “Hey, Kaci.”

The sultry sound of his voice made my entire body hum as I peered over at the other end of the table and found Tucker smiling back at me. His green eyes danced with delight as he leaned back in his chair and stared at me. He was wearing a dark blue button-down shirt with jeans, and his hair was tousled in perfect disarray, making me want to run my fingers through it. Damn. The man was too hot for his own good. I glanced to his side and noticed that he was sitting next to his brother, Coach Michaels. They both seemed quite amused by my little misstep with their friend. “Oh. Hi, Tucker.”

“You know her?” the man asked.

“Oh, yeah. He definitely knows her.” Coach Michaels snickered. “This is Kaci, the girl from the park. The one Tucker’s been going on and on about for the past couple of weeks.”

“You were talking about me?” I asked Tucker.

Not giving him a chance to answer, the guy next to him said, “It makes sense now. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Tucker’s brother, Seth.”

“Oh, wow. There’s three of you. Your poor mother!” I teased. I glanced down at the other end of the table and noticed that Tucker’s sexy, little smirk had been replaced with one of complete embarrassment. I had to admit—I kind of liked the look on him. “How ya doing down there, sport?”

I swayed a bit and lost my footing, stumbling next to Seth’s chair. He reached out and grabbed my arm, helping me regain my balance. Tucker growled when he answered, “It looks like I’m doing better than you.”

By the disapproving look in his eyes, it was clear that Tucker wasn’t happy about my intoxicated state, but I was having too much fun to care. “I’m doing just fine, thank you.”

“Oh, I like her,” Seth replied and pulled out the chair between him and Tucker. “Why don’t you sit down and join us for a bit?”

“I don’t mind if I do,” I told him and plopped down next to him.

“Would you like a drink?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Tucker told him.

Contradicting Tucker, I replied, “I think it’s a great idea. Thank you, Seth. I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

“You got it.” He nodded and motioned for the waitress.

Coach Michaels was practically beaming when he said, “Your brother made a great hit today.”

I smiled proudly. “So I’ve heard. Kaden told me all about it. I can’t ever remember him being more excited.”

“I could say the same about Colton.” Seth teased. “He seems to think the team is going to do really great this year, and your brother might just be his star player.”

“I guess you have Tucker to thank for that. Apparently, I’m not all that great when it comes to baseball. Isn’t that right, Tucker?”

“Your words, not mine.” The waitress returned, and as she placed the drinks on the table, he leaned over to me and whispered, “You might want to take it easy. Those are pretty strong.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be just fine.”

“I’m sure you will.” He picked up his beer and took a quick sip. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Consider me warned.” I probably should’ve listened to him, but I was being stubborn—another side effect of the alcohol. With an eye roll, I picked up the drink and took a nice, long slug.

“So, Kaci … Are you here alone tonight?” Coach Michaels asked.

“No. I’m with my roommate and some other friends. I think they’re over there somewhere,” I told him as I continued to sip on my drink.

“Do you make a habit of this?” Tucker asked with a condescending tone.

I looked over to him with confusion. “A habit of what?”

“Going out partying with your friends? I remember you mentioning that you had a great time last Saturday, and I was just wondering if this was something you did often.”

“Umm, actually … No. I don’t. Call me boring, but I’m usually too busy to party or whatever you want to call it.” I blamed my honesty totally on the alcohol, otherwise I never would’ve said, “And I wouldn’t have bothered going out at all last weekend if I’d known you weren’t coming.”

His eyes grew wide at my confession. “About that. I really was planning to be there, but my dad got sick.”

“What?”

“Yeah. We were at the hospital until the next morning.”

“Oh, Tucker. I’m so sorry.” I felt terrible. I’d been holding a grudge against him for days with absolutely no reason. I shouldn’t have assumed the worst and just given him a chance to explain. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine now.”

“I had no idea.”

“No way you could know, especially since you wouldn’t give me a chance to explain.” My cheeks blushed with embarrassment, and when he noticed my reaction, he said, “It’s really not a big deal. I just wanted you to know.”

“I really am sorry.”

He smiled. “Don’t be. It was just a misunderstanding, and like you said, things happen.”

I took another long sip of my drink, trying to drown my embarrassment. The citrus flavor reminded me of a Long Island Iced Tea, which was equally as strong as this concoction. I really liked it and was disappointed to see that I’d finished it. “This was really good. I think I’ll go get another one.”

“Oh, no you don’t.” Just as a slow song was coming on, Tucker stood up and reached for my hand. “Let’s dance.”

“Dance?”

Without any further explanation he gave me a slight tug, and as soon as I was on my feet, he led me out onto the dance floor. Once we were in the middle of the crowd, I considered resisting him—but the way he was looking at me, it was like no one else was in the room—like someone had flipped a switch and the music suddenly faded and the people around us simply disappeared. It was just him and me. He pulled me in close and placed his arms around my waist, and when our bodies touched, a jolt surged through me like I’d just been struck by lightning. Afraid I might lose my balance, I wound my arms around his neck and tried to steady myself. I’d never felt like this with any man, and I began to wonder what the hell was in that drink.

Tucker didn’t seem to notice the affect he was having on me as he continued to sway to the rhythm of the music. Lost in my own world, I rested my head on his shoulder as my entire body melted into his arms. He smelled so good and felt so right that I found myself wondering what it would be like to kiss him. My mind was instantly swimming with a million inappropriate thoughts that I had no business dreaming up. Realizing that my raging hormones were screwing with my head, I pulled away from him and said, “I’ve got to … um … go to the bathroom.”

Leaving him standing there, I plowed through the crowd; as I passed Jess, I reached for her arm and pulled her along with me to the restroom. “Hey! What’s wrong?”

I waited until we were behind closed doors. “Tucker Michaels. That’s what’s wrong!”

“What do you mean?” A knowing smile crossed her face. “I just saw you two dancing, and from the looks of it, you both seemed to be having a pret-ty good time.”

“That’s just it. I was having a good time … a really good time. I do not need to have a good time with him, Jess. He’ll just end up doing something to make me mad … or worse. He’ll end up breaking my heart.”

“Stop being so dramatic, Kaci. Are you attracted to him?”

“Umm … yeah. You could say that.”

“I thought so.” She smirked. “Remember our conversation about you living a little?”

I already knew where she was going with this little lecture when I huffed. “Yes.”

“Well, here’s your chance.”

“But, Jess. I can’t start something up with a guy like him.”

“Nobody said you should. It’s called a one-night stand for a reason. He’s a hot guy. You’re a beautiful girl. Now, go have some fun … and stop worrying so much.”

“I’m not sure if I can do the whole one-night stand thing, Jess.”

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a condom. As she placed it in my hand, she replied, “Sure you can, and who knows? You might actually enjoy it, but you’ll never know unless you try. Go get yourself another drink, down it, and then ask him back to our place.”

“You’re serious about this?”

“Absolutely. I’ll be at Zach’s.” She adjusted my hair and then my shirt as she continued, “If you need anything, just give me a call, otherwise, you have the place to yourselves.”

With that, she opened the bathroom door and motioned me forward. “If this goes bad, it’s all on you.”

“It’s not going to go bad. Trust me.”

Without any major stumbles, I made it back over to the bar and ordered a shot. As soon as the bartender brought it over to me, I picked it up and quickly downed it, grimacing as the burn of the alcohol hit the back of my throat. I took a deep breath, trying to gather up my nerve, and was about to go look for Tucker when I heard, “Is everything okay?”

I turned around and found him standing behind me. I quickly replayed Jess’s little speech in the back of my mind, and when I felt the courage building up inside of me, I blurted out, “Do you want to go to my place?”

“What?”

“My place?” I repeated. “Do you want to go there … with me?”