I’m not surprised she came back, but damn did she look good in that skirt. This girl was still a bit of a mystery. I could already tell she was gonna be a handful, though.

When I opened the passenger door of my car she slid in front of me, lingering long enough for me to smell her hair. I got so hard the zipper nearly blew off my jeans. She had an effect on me like I hadn’t experienced in years. Maybe it was the endorphins coursing through me when I met her… Maybe it was just the way her eyes melted my insides… I was hooked.

I wanted her.

“If I knew you were coming out dressed like that I might have skipped dinner,” I said, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“You know, you can throttle back a little bit on the act,” she said, poking me in the ribs.

This was driving me wild.

“You think it’s an act?” I asked. “I think maybe you’re the one who’s acting.”

She looked me up and down then settled back into the seat without answering.

“You didn’t ask me to dinner to thank me for what happened back in that alley, and you damn sure didn’t wear that skirt without knowing what it would do to me…”

After a long pause, she turned on her hip to face me. “Maybe I didn’t...”

“Glad we’re on the same page,” I replied, pointing to the dark building on the corner. “We’re here…”

Bria waited for me to put it in park then carefully opened the door.

“You’re not gonna break it,” I told her, laughing.

I walked around the front and extended my arm to her. She took it and followed me inside like a lost puppy dog. The Maître D’ scrambled to his podium as soon as I walked through the door.

“Mr. Greer, I didn’t know you would be joining us tonight. It’s so nice to have you. And who is the lovely young lady with you this evening?”

“This is my wife, Bria,” I said, sharply. She looked up at me with a hilarious amount of concern on her face.

“I’m so sorry sir,” said the Maître D’. “I didn’t know you had married. I’ll have a table set up right away.” With that, he hastily retreated to the dining room.

“What are you doing?!?” she asked with exasperation in her voice.

“Play along,” I whispered. “I bet that skinny little bastard will say something to the tabloids and it’ll be all over the news tomorrow. ‘Luke Greer’s secret wedding!’ You’ll be the mystery woman everyone wants to know about.”

“What if somebody at my job sees that?”

“What’s the big deal,” I asked. “Are people at your job not allowed to get married?”

She kind of stuttered and I could see she was a bit flustered.

“Okay, okay,” I relented. “I get it. You’re a private girl. Tell you what, if anyone else asks we’re just friends. And if anybody tries to get a picture of us together I’ll break their camera or their neck.”

That got a chuckle out of her and she started to loosen back up.

“That’s a plan. I need a drink.” She proclaimed.

“Off to the bar we go then. Follow me.” I waited for her to step to the side so I could lead.

Patrons were looking from all directions. I guess I was used to it by now, so it didn’t bother me. Bria, on the other hand, looked like she might have a panic attack.

A bus boy had stopped clearing the table he was working on to watch us. I motioned for him to come over.

“Yessir?” he said, enthusiastically.

“Hey, bud. Go tell that nervous little guy to make sure he puts us in a spot with a little privacy, okay?”

“Oh no problem, Mr. Greer. I’m a big fan.” He was a bit stars struck and still standing there.

“Alright man, thanks.” I said. “Now go ahead and get that done for me would ya? And next week be sure to come by my gym. I’ll get you set up with a couple of months of free training.”

He beamed with excitement and hurried away to make sure I would get what I wanted.

Bria settled into a stool at the end of the bar. I took the seat next to her. The place wasn’t half bad, actually. There looked to be a good selection of craft beers on tap and the top shelf stuff was front and center.

The bartender was a man in his late fifties with a tightly quaffed salt and peppered beard. He looked like the kind who might be mixing drinks for the city elites. It was not often you got an old guy for a bartender, and it made me believe he knew his stuff. Most places went with a girl with huge tits whether she could mix a drink or not.

“Good evening, folks,” he said. “What will you both be having?”

It seemed like he didn’t recognize me and I think I sensed a bit of relief from Bria.

“She’ll have a vodka martini,” I said. “And I’ll go with an old fashioned.”

“Excellent choice. We do a very good blackberry martini; would you like to try?”

Bria looked at me and I raised my eyebrows.

“That’ll be great,” she said.

The bartender hurried away to make our drinks.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to think. Isn’t it weird when people you’ve never met before know your name?”

“At first it was, but like anything else you get used to it. Sometimes I wish people would mind their own business. I’m not gonna lie to you, most of the time I love it.”

She cracked a smile and I knew I had her.

Our drinks came shortly after. We fell into an easy conversation.

Bria wrapped a strand of her pretty brown hair around two fingers. The way she twirled it made me dig my fingertips into the top of the bar. She was such a sexy little thing and she had no idea.

Her martini was empty in the blink of an eye. The bartender was all over it like a good soldier, swooping in with a fresh glass.

Somewhere into that second drink, I noticed the Maître D’ hanging around the far end of the bar. After we made eye contact, he hurried over.

“Your table is ready. I’m sorry it took so long but we wanted for you to have the perfect location.”

I sighed, annoyed for no other reason than we would have to put the flirting on hold to go to the table.

“You know what…” Bria piped up from behind me. “We’ve decided to drink our dinner tonight. We won’t be needing that table after all.”

I was more than surprised at her assertiveness. “Really?” I asked. “What about my steak?”

“I don’t think you’ll be missing it. No need to worry.” She hid her smile behind the back of her hand.

The Maître D’ looked mildly disappointed. “Well, maybe next time,” he said as he shuffled away.

For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t sure what to say. Bria took another long, slow drink from her glass. She wiggled her butt back and forth on the seat and puckered her mouth when the alcohol stung her taste buds.

“Ready to go?” she asked.