CHAPTER EIGHT
KATE
“I’m the worst flirt in the world.”
That was an overstatement, maybe, and I didn’t even know why I was saying it out loud like it was the biggest news in the world. Perhaps it was the alcohol talking I wasn’t a big drinker.
Gray certainly didn’t think it was the biggest news, with how he was eyeing me in amusement. I tried glaring at him—something I’d been doing too much lately—but I ended up remembering how I botched up that scene earlier, and all I could do was groan all over again.
“Cut it out,” he said. “You’re sounding like a cat with stomach pain.”
This time, I did glare at him. The man chuckled, then lifted his dark brown drink in an air cheer before he sipped at it. I didn’t know how we grew this comfortable with each other in the span of an hour, but it probably had a lot to do with the shared connection of not wanting to meet anyone new tonight—me because I was the worst flirt ever, and Gray because…well, I didn’t know, actually. But he didn’t seem as interested in that woman who was flirting with him as I’d first thought.
“And you are too smug for your own good,” I said. One thing I learned about Gray in my observations was that he wasn’t the type to get too offended easily, which was a good thing because I often spoke my mind.
“So how come you’re the worst flirt in the world?” he asked, and I could sense the curiosity in his approach. It wasn’t mocking, which was why I found myself shrugging and actually responding.
“There wasn’t really a need to flirt because I was with someone for three years,” I said. “He was my first serious boyfriend.”
“What about after? I thought it had been almost a year since you broke up with him.”
I shrugged again. “I wasn’t interested in anyone.”
“So you weren’t into that guy earlier?”
“No. I just thought I’d give it a try. Obviously, that back fired.”
“Well that happens,” Gray replied, eyeing my empty glass. He signaled the waiter and ordered a fifth one, then continued watching me. It wasn’t the seductive kind of gaze, but more like an analytical one—almost like I was a fascinating specimen to him. “Your ex is a bastard.”
He said it with such feeling, I couldn’t help but agree. “Tell me about it.” Not really wanting to talk about the topic any longer, I met his gaze. “What about you? What’s your deal? You come here to pick up women?”
“Maybe,” he replied. “Maybe not. It depends, really.”
“Depends on what?”
Gray smirked, his eyes positively twinkling. “If I’m in the mood.”
I coughed into my drink and wrinkled my nose. “That’s so…”
“Confident?” he suggested.
Instead of getting offended, I found myself laughing. I wasn’t wrong. The man was arrogant, though it wasn’t necessarily bad. “That’s one way of putting it.”
He chuckled, then opened his mouth as if to say more. But the words were interrupted when a female voice floated in the air, and our attention was suddenly on her.
“Excuse me…aren’t you Gray Denton?”
The woman was tall, willowy and had a cloud of hair that looked fluffy and silky at the same time. She was dressed to impress in a sparkly silver dress, and her eyes practically devoured Gray from head to foot. Fascinated, I watched as Gray glanced at her face first, meeting her eyes and giving her a charming, almost polite smile.
“That would be me,” he replied.
“Oh, great!” the woman practically purred. “My name’s Valerie, and I’m such a big fan.”
I inwardly scoffed. If she was such a big fan, then why did she have to ask who he was? Gray seemed to buy it, though, smiling wider.
“Thanks.”
“I actually wanted to ask you some…tips,” she murmured. “About the car and all.” The woman glanced at me, eyeing me subtly. “You’re not on a date, are you?”
Smooth. Deciding not to…interrupt whatever this was, I shook my head. “No. We’re friends.”
Gray glanced at me in surprise at the word. Then a smile broke out as if he were pleased that we were friends. I was surprised myself. But there was just something about him that had me opening up and becoming comfortable. Maybe it was the fact that he was obviously not attracted to me and trying to get in my pants, giving me more freedom to be myself and not put up an act in front of him.
The woman, Valerie, eyed his smile like some kind of predator, and I had to stifle a snicker and hide my knowing smile in my drink. She flirted as boldly as she could until Gray finally relented and let her take him to see to that car tip she needed—a lame ploy if I did say so myself, though it obviously worked. I watched as they excused themselves, with Gray telling me he’d be back in a bit and not to drink too much. Right. Valerie gave me the evil eye, and I knew what she had in mind—that Gray coming back here would be over her dead body.
God. He really was popular with the ladies.
Once they were gone, I nursed my drink and decided to order some fries. Then I looked around the bar, watching as the same kind of flirting that happened between Gray and Valerie also went on around, especially on the couches in the dark corners. This appeared to be the place to go for gorgeous mature adults to come to hook up. Something that felt like envy went through me, wishing I could be as sophisticated as these women and not stumble all over my words whenever some cute guy approached me. But then again, college had been all about studies, and then Kyle came into the picture to blow me away with his kind words and charming, boyish personality.
What a lie that had been.
A flash of irritation hit me that I was thinking about it again. Shaking my head, I decided to distract myself with the fresh fries in front of me as well as the conversation and music going on around me. Gray’s name suddenly caught my ear, and I kept my gaze focused on my drink as I listened. It was faint at first, the voices barely a murmur, but after a few seconds, the music lowered down enough for me to hear what the two females were saying.
“Valerie is so lucky,” the first woman said, sighing. She was standing right behind me, and I could tell she was trying to whisper—but with the noise going on around, she pretty much had to shout to whoever she was talking to. “I mean, that was Gray Denton. He’s such a hot piece of bod.”
“He’s yummy,” the other woman agreed. “I just wonder if all the rumors are true about him.”
“Oh, I bet they’re true,” the first woman said. “I mean, why would it be all over online if it isn’t true?”
What was all over online?
Their topic switched to Valerie, again talking about how lucky she was. My ears strained as Gray was mentioned yet again.
“He’s filthy rich, he’s hot as candy, and he has women lining up for him—literally. But he never brags about it, and it’s the media who always catches the pictures. Or the ladies who brag about how they gave him such a good time.”
“Yeah. But who could resist riding in that car? I heard it’s the only place he ever has sex with a woman, and all of them can’t wait to ride him in the backseat.”
“Or the front seat.”
The women giggled. My hand froze on a fry.
“He must be really good with fucking if they keep coming back for more. Valerie certainly wants to test that theory.”
“You know what I heard, though?”
“What?”
“That he doesn’t even have sex. He just has women giving him blowjobs and pleasures them in return using his tongue.”
I choked on my drink and had to hide the sound with my hand. The women either didn’t hear me or just didn’t care as they continued to talk about stuff that had my eyes widening—Gray’s sexual conquest, his car preference, his rumored large cock.
Oh, my, God.
My neck felt hot as they began to talk about sexual techniques and all the things they wanted to do with Gray. By the time they were gone, my ears were ringing and my heart was pounding loudly. I had sex with Kyle, of course—we were together for three years, after all. My first time with him had been less than enjoyable, as I hadn’t been prepared and hadn’t really gotten wet during the foreplay. The next few times were better, as we learned about each other’s bodies and explored what felt good. But it was nothing to write home about, as the pleasure was fleeting and quick. I never climaxed. It was something that, in the beginning, would bother Kyle and had him trying again to no avail. The last few months, though, were just painful, as I was half-afraid of doing something that would offend him and he’d end up just forcing me to do something I didn’t want. He never did, but there were times when he was on the verge, and I just had to convince him not to and please him first.
God. It was such a stupid cycle, and I’d been so stupid for sticking with him for so long without realizing the warning signs. But that was a lesson learned—and like Paul always reminded me, I should move forward instead of looking back.
The way these women described sex made it sound like it was the best thing on the planet and the one thing to look forward to when flirting with a hot, sexy man. It had me wondering what I was missing out on and what else there was to explore. I’d always been curious, but that curiosity died with my relationship with Kyle.
Or maybe I just hadn’t found a man I wanted to do it with again.
I knew that time would come soon enough.
Suddenly curious, I took out my phone. Unable to resist, I searched around until I found exactly what the women were talking about: photos of Gray splashed all over the tabloids, each photo with a different woman in his arm. There were some that were innocent enough, but there were others that were more than racy, with some women’s faces blurred but their body language showing their ecstasy.
And it was always inside his car—the car he used to take us to the bar.
Oh. My. God.
So he really only did it in the car?
That was weird. In fact, it was so weird that I didn’t know what to say or how to react. But in the end, it was none of my business, so I decided to leave it alone and let him have his fun. Like he said before, he didn’t have to seek out women. With how they were throwing themselves at him, he was not short of options. Plus we were getting along well, so there was that.
Because there was nothing to do and I was getting pretty lonely, I decided to order more margaritas for myself, along with a cheeseburger.
Gray could have his fun.
I was going to do my own version.