She takes my hand, the smallest of grins splitting her lips.
Standing, I pull her to her feet. She isn’t dressed like the other women in the
club. Her jeans fit her like a glove and show off her curves, but they aren’t
designer threads. Her tank top barely reveals any cleavage, but it does show
off her toned arms.
“I bet I looked ridiculous,” she states, brushing the hair out
of her face.
Words flow from my mouth before I can even stop them. “Someone
as beautiful as you could never look ridiculous.” Nice line, cheese dick.
Blushing, she shoves her phone and her charger cord back in her
purse. “That’s really nice of you to let me use your phone. If you’re sure you don’t
mind, I’ll just send my sister a text.”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I minded,” I reply, holding her gaze
until she shyly glances away. “Here.” I offer her my phone.
She takes the phone and grimaces. “Just one message,” she says
before quickly typing a message and then handing it back. “Oh, wait. I should
probably delete that.” She snatches my phone back giving me a wicked grin.
I’m lost in her bright, blue eyes as her fingers slide over the
screen, doing God knows what in my phone.
Between the booze and this woman, there are no fucks left to
give. She could steal the damn thing and I’m not sure I’d be able to protest.
“Thanks again.” She tucks the phone in my hand before turning to
leave.
I catch her arm at the elbow. “Hey. Where ya goin’? You didn’t
tell me your name.”
She glances up through her lashes while tucking a stray hair
behind her ear. “It’s Sidney.”
Sidney.
Sidney.
Fucking remember that, you
drunk douchebag.
Sid…ney.
“Sidney. That’s a gorgeous name. It fits you. Are you here
alone?” I rush out, doing my best to hide my drunken slur. I pray that she says
yes, not only because I’m interested in her, but also because what kind of an
asshole lets her crawl around on the ground?
Her gaze shifts from side to side while she smirks. “Are you trying
to pick me up?”
“Well, technically, I just did,” I tell her, gesturing to the
spot she was just in on the floor.
“Touché.” Her smile grows. “I’m here with some friends,
actually”
Glad she didn’t mention a boyfriend, I offer, “Let me buy you a
drink.”
She shakes her head. “Thanks, but no, thanks. I’m not drinking.
I was actually about to head home.”
“Well, then let me get you a soda. A water? I hear the bartender
makes a mean Shirley Temple,” I counter, determined not to let her leave yet.
She laughs, and the magical sound spurs me on.
“What’s the rush? Husband waiting at home?”
Shaking her head again, she responds, “Nope. Just my couch and
Netflix.”
I dramatically clutch my heart then shoot her my best smile.
“You’re too beautiful to waste it on your couch. Come have one nonalcoholic beverage with me.” I stick my bottom lip out in an
attempt to look pathetic enough that she’ll say yes.
Fuck. Am I really doing
this?
I’m rewarded for my efforts with a big smile and a quick nod.
Yes. Yes. I fucking am.
“How can I resist the puppy-dog face?” she laughs.
Pumping my arms in the air, I shout, “She said yes!” Gripping
her around the waist, I lift her off her feet and jokingly spin us both around
in a circle. “She said yes!”
Wiggling out of my arms, she shrieks, “Oh my god, put me down!
Jesus, how drunk are you?”
Grinning from ear to ear, I tell her, “I’ve only had three
drinks.” I hold up five fingers and wink.
Shaking her head, she mumbles, “Multiply that by two at least.”
Ready to continue this conversation with a drink in my hand, I
place my hand on the small of her back and guide her to the bar.
Knocking on the bar with my knuckles, I get the bartender’s
attention. “I’ll have a Crown and Coke. And the hottest chick in the club here
wants a Shirley Temple.”
Gripping my bicep, she interjects, “I’ll just take a water,
please.”
Normally, I’d throw in a flex for good measure.
For this chick? I throw in three.
A few minutes of fighting not to stare at her cleavage later, he
sets the drinks in front of us. I hand hers over and offer my glass up in a
toast.
Raising one eyebrow at me, she smirks, “This ought to be good.”
I clear my throat before saying, “To cell phones. May yours
always be dead, sockets be missing, and heroes be plentiful.” I pause when I
realize what I said. Then I correct myself. “And, by heroes, I mean me. May I
be plentiful.” I clink her cup with mine.
She giggles before taking a small sip. “Hear, hear.”
Alexis Riddley spends her day’s knee deep in the grind of corporate America, but her love of reading is what pushed her to put pen to paper. Bringing to life the stories that once existed only in her head. Alexis loves the outdoors, adventures, and music. Oftentimes music is the catalyst or the trigger for memories, and emotions that she uses in her writing. Alexis rarely watches television, but is a total comic book freak, superheroes, the whole lot of them. She is obsessed. Alexis is willing to try anything, at least once, as long as it keeps the soul free and the mind open. She is a kid at heart who refuses to let age define her and limitations contain her. Alexis is a romantic, with a twisted mind and sexy imagination. She still believes that happy endings exist, just that sometimes they do not come in the pretty packaging you may have expected.
