I might stop by later.

Ugh, I was such an awkward loser. Sadly, that was far from the worst of my awkwardness. Getting Tapped? Yeah, that was probably the worst. It was a freaking miracle he even texted me...and that was how I responded. But leave it to me not to quit while I was ahead. No, I had to keep going.

You want me for the beer stuff right? Like bringing contracts and such?

Mitch was going to change his stupid number, probably already regretting giving it to me as I failed to have any self-control over my texting fingers.

It might not be so bad if I hadn't rushed out on him the way I had on our date...or date-like eating…or whatever it was. This was why I didn’t date. I sucked at it. Big time.

And I couldn’t even be mad at my brother for forcing me to meet Mitch. Ike legit needed me while he dealt with a possible paternity situation from one of his golfing trips. Worst part was, I still didn’t know the whole story even though he told it to me. My mind was so wrapped up in Mitch and possibly ruining all things with him by fleeing the way I had.

I stared at my phone, waiting for a reply. Gah, I was worse than a kid checking to see if Santa had arrived yet.

No answer. No little bubbly things indicating he was attempting to answer. No nothing other than delivered. I stood there staring at the blasted screen, willing for a text. Instead, it began to vibrate.

Fumbling to answer it, I almost dropped the thing. That would’ve been awesome. “Hello?”

“I thought this would be easier.” The sound of his voice stilled my nerves, low and calm even with the abundant noise in the background.

“Okay.” Because I was smooth like that. I bit my lip, trying to prevent myself from saying something else stupid.

“Yes, we need to do some business things.” Someone hollered what I thought was his name in the background, but the sound was extra muffled. “Just a second.”

That was all I needed. More time to second guess all things. The phone went mute, and for half a second, I thought he might have disconnected the call.

“Sorry.” He came back on the line after the longest fifteen seconds I could remember. “The bartender wanted something from the office.”

“That’s fine. I know you’re busy. I can bring the paperwork by.” Or at least the folder Ike handed me when he begged me to take care of the business while he went to figure things out with his paternity issue. I needed to call him and see what I could do for him. I’d been a crappy brother, not fully listening to his crisis even if it was in rant form as he ran out the door.

“What I meant was—yes, we need to do that, but I would like to see you.”

Yes!

A soft and sexy chuckle filled my ear. Crap, I’d said it out loud.

“Excellent. It should be slow tonight. If you want, maybe we could sneak away and finish our date.”

How I loved the sound of that. After we said our goodbyes, I showered and changed—three times—before settling on my ratty jeans and fitted TARDIS tee. I went back and forth on the jeans, but this pair looked best walking away, and damn if I wasn’t in full-on peacock mode when it came to Mitch.

Circling the public parking lot several times, I finally snagged a spot and walked the two blocks to the bar. They had limited parking, but it was a nice enough night for a walk, and in all likelihood, I’d have ended up in the same exact spot anyways. Before I even got to the bar, I heard people laughing on the sidewalk in front of it as they had their smokes or chatted with friends who did.

I stopped at the front door and forced myself to stand tall. Mitch was interested, I was just letting my insecurities get in the way. I needed to take that first step. Turned out that step was helped along by a person tripping and falling into me so that I had to take a step just to stabilize myself.

I wove my way in through the group of people clustered at the entryway and into the dark room. There was music booming in the backdrop—a live band. I walked aimlessly as I tried to find the man who had stolen my every thought. Eventually, I gave up and walked to the bar to ask…like a normal person would.

“In the office,” the bartender called to me from his spot at the tap.

“Me?” I asked, pointing to myself like a moron.

“No, your alpha. He’s in his office. You’re standing at the bar.” He broke into a huge smile, obviously finding himself more amusing than I did.

“Thanks,” I hollered back and headed down the hallway, my cock filling with every step from just thinking about our last time in the room.

Reaching up, I knocked twice before Mitch swung the door open mid-knock. He let out a growl, all sexy and deep, before yanking me in by my belt hoops. He kicked the door closed with his foot, holding me against the now closed door with his muscular body, his cock already thick and hard as it pressed against mine through our jeans.

“Kiss me,” I begged, not even caring about the desperation pouring off me.

He wanted this too, even with my bumbling awkwardness and mid-date departure.

His lips slammed into mine, no need for the pretense of sweet and tender. He moved his lips against my mouth, grabbing my bottom lip between his teeth only long enough for me to open up so he could insert his tongue. Our kiss deepened, our tongues dancing together, exploring each other’s mouths as our bodies ground together. If it weren’t for the knock against the door behind me, I’d have stayed like that all night.

“Fucking better be important,” he grumbled as he pressed his forehead against mine, catching his breath.

“What?” he finally called out as he gently guided me away from the door and opened it.