7
When I arrived at the club, Harrison was standing outside near the entrance waiting for me, wearing brown slacks and a light orange dress shirt. He was tall, wore his thick hair in dreadlocks, and sported a full beard and glasses. I could almost feel his nervousness in the air as I approached, but once I smiled at him, he returned it with a warm one of his own, taking my hand and leading me into the building.
Inside, we took our seats, ordered drinks, and chatted about little benign things like the ridiculously high pollen count and a recent storm system that had swept through the southern half of the nation. Once our drinks were delivered and we’d placed our food orders, we delved a little deeper with our conversation. I shared the ins and out of YouTuber life, and he told me all about graphic design and his love of typography. The evening was going well, and it honestly felt fantastic to just be spending time with a man whose goal in life wasn’t to rip my soul from me and leave me lying in the middle of the busiest street in the city writhing in pain.
But as pleasantly as the evening was progressing, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. I could feel eyes on me, damn near gazing through me. I wanted to turn and see who it was, but didn’t for fear that it was Benny or Khalil, because I was in such a good mood, I didn’t want one of them to ruin it for me. Hell, they’d ruined enough, more than enough. I’d let them ruin enough, had spent years running from having a real life because of them, so no, I wouldn’t even toss a glance at whichever one of them was searing a hole into the exposed skin of my shoulders. As a matter of fact, I smiled and grinned and laughed like Harrison was the most charming and enigmatic man I’d ever met. I mean, I put on a real live show in that club. When the evening ended, as we were leaving, I finally chanced a glance around the dim room, seeing no familiar faces.
I saw her when she entered the club. From my vantage point at the bar, I actually had a perfect view of the patrons trickling into the place. I was waiting for Alexis, hoping for a repeat of what we shared the first night we met, but it was Ms. Strickland who captured and held my attention from the moment she entered the room and took a seat maybe ten feet away from me. She was with a man who looked like the thought of an all-night Minecraft tournament would be the highlight of his year—clean-cut, nice, and boring as hell.
She could do so much better, I thought.
She was gorgeous, and the uncovered cinnamon-brown skin of her shoulders and upper back looked soft, silken, and made me lick my lips and smile. Up until that point, I’d only ever seen her in jeans and t-shirts. Tonight, she was stunning.
“I bet Urkel’s ass has no clue what to do with her,” I mumbled. But I did. Images of what I could do to her flashed before me, and I thought, damn shame she’s my landlord.
Truly a damn shame.
Poindexter said something, and she threw her head back in laughter. I smirked. I supposed she liked him. Maybe she was just into geeks. I shrugged and raised my glass to get the bartender’s attention. Seconds later, I was throwing back my whiskey, my eyes still on Ms. Strickland’s back, traveling up to the thick hair that covered her head. I imagined sinking my fingers in it while she—
“Hey, you been waiting long?”
I looked up and smiled at Alexis, relieved she’d finally made it, because my landlord had me hard as a brick, and admittedly, a little frustrated, but rules were rules. Touching her would complicate my life. I didn’t deal well with complications, so I just avoided them. And from the looks of things, I wasn’t her type anyway. Wait a minute. Of course I was her type. I was every woman’s type.
“No, not long,” I replied, giving Alexis my full attention.
“Good. My babysitter was late.”
“I see. Well, I’m glad you still made it. Ready to go? I know I am.” I leaned in close to her and nuzzled her neck. She smelled good enough to eat. If she plays her cards right, that just might happen, too.
She giggled. “Mm, let me get one drink and then we can head out.”
“Great, already got us a room at the Kingston Inn.”
“You know, we could just go to your place, save some money…”
Shit, she moved faster than I anticipated. I had hoped she wouldn’t try to find out where I lived until we’d been together at least twice. See, another one of my rules was to never divulge my address. This was going to have to be my last night with Alexis.
Another damn shame.
I watched her sip on a drink, and when she finally indicated she was ready to leave, I smiled and took her hand, letting my eyes shift back to Ms. Strickland and her shoulders for only a second as I exited the club.