“Bro, just face it. She got to ya,” Finn said. He leaned back, popping a handful of Skittles into his mouth before giving me lopsided smirk.

I slammed a hand down on the counter between us, startling my friend and making him choke on the candy.

“Or not,” he finally managed to get out after a few wheezing coughs. His cheeks were now a bright red.

I refused to believe he was right. He couldn’t be. She was a friend. Nothing more. But it would have to end tonight before it went any further. She was starting to get closer, and I couldn’t have that. I couldn’t let a woman that near. Not ever. I picked up my phone and with a swift flick of my finger found her name. Shit. Why does the sight of it give me a gut full of fucking annoying flutters? Before I could talk myself out of it, my fingers flew across the keyboard and sent a short-and-to-the-point message.

It was informal and to the point. Nothing sweet. Nothing romantic. I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. The alert sounded from her response.

I tossed the phone down, raking a hand across my head. “After tonight it won’t be a problem,” I said.

* * *

I took a seat at the bar and ordered a drink. This was it. The night I would end things between us. The girl poured a generous amount of amber liquid into the shot glass. Within a second, I scooped it up from the glossy counter and tossed it back in one swift gulp. I slammed it down and waved a finger in the air to signal her for another.

“Luca?” Leigh’s voice sent an involuntary shiver up my spine.

I turned to find her standing behind me in a skintight black dress. It dipped so low in the front, a generous amount of cleavage was on display. I swallowed hard. That was going to make this even harder.

“Hey.” I patted the seat next to me.

As she sat, the short dress rose even higher, exposing most of her thighs. She ordered a Coke, but neither of us talked.

I pushed away from the bar, rubbed my eyes, and finally turned to look at her. The words lodged in my throat. All I needed to say was “I don’t want to hang out anymore. I’m busy,” or some other bullshit line. I had prepared hundreds of them on the drive over here. But now that I was in front of her, and she looked at me with those big doe eyes, the words wouldn’t come out. Why does she have to be so pretty? It wasn’t fair. I should’ve told her to come with a paper bag over her head. Who was I kidding? That wouldn’t help… well… because that dress did wonders over her curves. More booze. I needed liquid courage, and that would make this a lot easier. Without a word, I turned back toward the bar and downed the shot waiting for me.

“Is something wrong? Did I do something to make you mad?” Her voice was small, but I could hear every emotion laced in them loud and clear. Worry. Concern. Fear. This wasn’t fair to her. She didn’t deserve to feel anything of those things because of me. That was why it needed to be over. I wasn’t a guy who could settle down.

“Of course not,” I grunted. “Except for the fact that you’re making me drink alone.”

She shifted from side to side, staring a hole through me. With reluctance, she waved the bartender over and ordered the same as me. Big mistake. I had seen what strong alcohol did to her. My shoes remembered it thoroughly as they were now somewhere resting in peace at the city dump.

“I wish you’d told me we weren’t going to be eating. I would’ve eaten something before I left. Maybe that would’ve given me a fighting chance on not getting completely hammered.”

Food was a definite no for this meeting. I didn’t want her to think this could possibly be another date. Food made it too personal. Just drinks. That was the best way to handle this.

The bartender returned with another for me and one for Leigh. She wrinkled her nose as she took a whiff of the Crown Royal filled to the brim in front of her. We toasted silently. If only she knew why she was here, then she wouldn’t want to celebrate. She would want to chuck it into my face.

Her chest rose and fell like she was on the verge of passing out. “Holy shit. That burned!”

“But it burns in an oh-so-good way, doesn’t it?” I winked.

Her forehead wrinkled as a sigh escaped her lips. “If you say so. I guess it gets better after a few?”

“There’s the spirit! Let’s keep ’em coming.” And that was exactly what happened for the next hour. I lost count how many I had taken — and the entire reason I was here. All I knew was I felt good. Damn good. And I was having a great time with the beautiful woman across from me.

“You know what the best thing about being in a bar half-wasted is?”

She leaned closer to me. “What?”

She smelled like vanilla fused with a hint of orange. Like a Dreamsicle. My new favorite favor of ice cream. Delicious. My mouth practically watered wanting a small taste of her skin.

“What?” she repeated, laughing. “Are you going to make me guess?”

I blinked, shifting through the fog. “Umm, getting to speculate what some of these other people are talking about.”

I motioned over to a couple behind us, sitting at a table. She looked, studying the girl first. She was pretty. Had to be in her early twenties. Her dress was way too tight, so much that it looked painful. He was gray-haired, and overweight. So not even in the same league as the girl. I watched their lips move for a moment before beginning my commentary.

The man leaned toward the girl, his shoulders bouncing as he laughed. “’Hey there, sweet cheeks, wanna take a ride on my Willie Wonka Chocolate Factory?’”

Her face pulled back in a fake smile, looking down at his body for a second before meeting his gaze again. “’Don’t mind if I do. But you gotta put it in my butt.’”

The old man’s mouth dropped. “’The butt? I’ve never done that before.’”

She waved a fleeting hand through the air and messed with something in her purse. “’Oh, it’s nothing. We just need some of this.’” She pulled something out of her purse and handed it to the man. “’Really works wonders. A whole soccer team used it on me once.’”

I turned back to Leigh. Her face was red from laughing so hard. “That’s how their night is going down.”

“So, do you have any secret talents other than mad-libbing?” she asked as she ran her fingers up and down my arm.

Every nerve stood on end at the touch. It practically burned my flesh.

“Um, what do you mean?” I blinked a few times trying to clear the fog from my brain. Was she trying to ask something about sex? The way her body language voiced itself told me she was.

She jerked away from me, leaving me disappointed. She reached over the bar and grabbed a bowl full of cherries. “You’re probably going to think this is really stupid, but I don’t give a shit. The booze has pretty much done away with all that at this point.” She popped the cherry in her mouth, rolling it around a few times.

My jaw dropped as I watched her pouty lips pucker slightly while her tongue worked.

The stem appeared between her teeth as she smiled. It had been twisted into a knot. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. If she could do that with a cherry stem, the possibilities were endless on what she could do with my… My dick throbbed at the thought. I reached up and plucked the stem from her teeth, pausing to trace her bottom lip with my finger.

If only I had found the courage to tell her I didn’t want to see her anymore. I shouldn’t have picked up that first drink. This night wasn’t going to end with us still being friends. We were about to cross that line and head into a gray area that would make things way more complicated.

I glanced over at her swaying to a Blake Shelton song and knew it didn’t matter. I wanted her. There was no point in denying it anymore. She opened her eyes, flicking a playful glance in my direction, and I couldn’t help but to think how lucky I was.

“Why are you staring at me?” she slurred. She poked the side of my face, causing me to smile. “So adorable. I love those dimples.”

Everything I wanted to say wouldn’t come. “You want to go back to my place?”

Her eyes narrowed into a squint, and her head tilted to the side making hair fall across her face. “Thought you’d never ask.”

Our fingers locked together, then she stood and pulled me in the direction of the door. I managed to toss some money on the counter before I allowed her to guide me outside. The door slammed shut behind us.

She twirled toward me, stopping with her palm against my chest. I licked my lips, staring down at her. Laughter rang out, and she shoved me away before spinning around. Gold hair danced behind her as she ran down the boardwalk, barely missing a guy walking his dog.

I smiled. Leigh took me places I never thought I would go. Made me do things the inner voice in my head had no chance at talking me out of. With her, there was nothing I wouldn’t do.

I chased her, not caring about the wild stares the people we ran past gave us. She glanced behind her, the white lights strung overhead practically making her glow. I reached out, and grabbed her hand. She came to an abrupt halt and leaned against the rail. Her chest heaved, sweat glistening across her skin. A gust of wind blew her hair wildly around her face. She tossed her head back, lifting her hands.

I stepped forward, put my hands on the rail, and trapped her. “Nowhere to run now,” I teased, looking down at her.

She glanced at both of my arms, locked firmly into place. “So there isn’t. What are you going to do with me now?”

My body tingled at the possibilities that could answer that question. “Come a little closer and find out. Unless you’re scared.”

All the humor dropped from her features. “If you’re by my side, I’m fearless.” She shifted closer to me. Leigh’s eyes searched mine as if waiting to see what I would do.

Tension hung in the air. Without taking any longer to rationalize my decision, my mouth crashed into hers and pressed her body against the rail.

She gripped my shoulders, digging the nails in. She pulled back for a moment, gasping for air. “We need to get to your house.”

“Agreed,” I said, glancing around at the busy boardwalk. Hand in hand, we ran back to the parking lot and jumped into my truck. I fired up the engine and gunned it out onto the road.

Leigh reached for the radio and turned it up. She wiggled around, putting a finger on the control to let the window down. Half her body disappeared through the opening, the wind lifting her dress to expose her thighs.

The sight of her bare skin made it difficult to concentrate. I forced my eyes to remain on the road. Finally, my house came into view. I stopped the truck, jumped out, and ran around to her side.

She was already out, waiting on me. With a wild look in her eye, she shoved me against the fender. Moist lips touched my neck, her tongue, painfully slow, made its way up to my earlobe. My heart beat faster. I grabbed her thighs and tossed her over my shoulder, running as fast as I could to the front door.

Once we were inside, my hands clawed at her dress, tugging the soft material. Her hands gripped my wrists, stopping me. I pulled back, confused. “Did I do something wrong?”

She rubbed her neck. “No. It’s just that— Remember my list?”

I blinked, trying to think back to her list. It was hard, considering what we were just doing. Then it dawned on me.

Naked.

She was scared of someone seeing her naked.

“Oh. You don’t need to be scared for me to see you.”

She didn’t say anything. Her fingers fumbled around mine, and she pulled me into the living room.

I stood with the couch at my legs before she pushed me down.

“I need to do this. After all, I can blame it on the alcohol tomorrow.” She giggled.

Her chest rose as she drew a deep breath while she stared up at the ceiling. One shoulder maneuvered free of the slinky strap, then the other followed course. Taking her time, she pushed the dress down to her waist, leaving her upper-half completely bare. Her hands rested on her hips for a moment, her jaw locking.

I thought she was about to back out. I started to stand and tell her she didn’t need to do this, but before I could, she pushed the dress along with the underwear down to her ankles.

My breath caught in my throat as the moonlight illuminated her naked form in a silvery glow. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. “You’re mind-blowing, Leigh.”

I stood, unable to tear my gaze off her, and crossed the room. Her arms wrapped around my neck as I lifted her into the air. I fused my mouth with hers while I carried her in the direction of the bedroom. My dick ached to be free of the pants constricting it as she moaned into my mouth, licking my swollen bottom lip. I stumbled into the wall, sending something crashing to the floor. It didn’t faze us.

Nothing would.

There was only us.

We plowed through the door, making it slam into the wall with a bang!

Slowly, I put her down on the bed, growling as I nipped at her breast. Her hands stretched above her head.

“Luca. The room is spinning. I just need to close my eyes for a second.”

I pushed away. “Leigh?”

Her breathing became heavy a second later. I shook my head unable to stop the laughter. All this build-up only for her to pass out on me. I crawled over her and folded the covers down. Without waking her, I moved her up until her head rested on the pillow, and then I covered her.

Shifting back, I started to stand, but she reached for me.

My eyebrows shot up, expecting to see her staring at me, but her eyes remained closed. “Stay with me,” she mumbled.

I wasn’t even sure if she knew who she was talking to, but I did as I was told. I crawled over her and lay down.

“I love you.”

My head jerked up, and I stared at her sleeping form. I wasn’t sure how that made me feel. It scared the hell out of me for sure. My head rested against the pillow, and I stared up at the ceiling.

Tonight shouldn’t have happened.

In the morning, I would have to suck it up and end this.