Ashton Scott

Chapter Two

Callie

“Where the hell did you find this guy?” Avery demands, her eyes all over my date and her tongue practically hanging out of her mouth.

I don’t blame her for drooling. The dude’s hot in every way a girl wants her guy to be hot.

Tall.

Dark, wavy, looks-like-he’s-just-been-fucked hair.

Muscles that indicate he’d be able to carry me to bed with little exertion.

Tom Hardy lips that you could kiss for hours on end.

Ian Somerhalder eyes. Seductive as hell.

There’s only one catch with this dude. When he opens his mouth and speaks, the ugly shows through. I’ve just spent the last two hours having dinner with him and within the first twenty minutes, I wanted to leave. I’m convinced he could talk about himself for days without taking a break, and that’s exactly what he did. However, when he suggested we go for a drink after dinner, I jumped at the opportunity to bring him to Luke’s bar and show him off.

To Luke.

Nobody needs to know I’m as far from attracted to him as a woman can be to a man. I’ll tell Avery the truth later, but for now, I want Luke to see me with a guy I found on a dating site. And I want him to see me smiling and having a good time with said guy.

I’ll show Luke that I can find a guy online.

God, he stirs my crazy behaviour, and as much as I know it makes me seem ridiculous, I’m unable to stop myself.

“Dwayne was one of my matches on the dating site,” I answer her as I lean against the counter and watch him talk to the guys. Luke’s face seems to be set in a permanent scowl as he listens to Dwayne. Tyler, on the other hand, appears quite animated, as if he’s interested in the conversation. And he probably is—Dwayne has hardly shut up about football all night, and Tyler loves talking footy.

I turn to catch Avery licking her lips. She grins at me and says, “I bet that man is a master in bed. Look at those muscles. I’m sure he’d have stamina to last the night through.”

She’s right, but sex is the last thing I want from him. And that’s saying something because three months without it is messing with my mind. I'm pretty sure all I think about is getting some.

Reaching for the vodka she’s just poured, I take a long sip before shaking my head. “I’m not even interested.”

Her eyes widen and her mouth gapes. “Huh?”

I throw some more of my drink back and then let out all my frustrations. “God, why is it so damn hard to find a man these days? For fuck’s sake, I just want a guy with manners who is as interested in me as himself.” I guzzle the rest of the vodka and slam the empty glass down before raking my fingers through my hair. “No, strike that! I want a man who hangs on my every word for at least some of the date. Some attention would be nice. A guy like Dwayne is only interested in himself, and I bet sex with him would be a bust. He’d probably get off and not even make sure his woman was taken care of before turning on the damn television to catch up on sport. Ugh.” I ignore Avery’s bulging eyes and the shaking of her head. She can think I’m wrong, but she isn’t the one who had to sit through two hours of the guy.

“Shit,” she mutters as a throat clears behind me.

Spinning around, I find Dwayne staring at me. “So I take it that tonight’s not leading anywhere.” His words don’t stun me—they only confirm my suspicions.

Well damn. I figure there’s no saving this now. “Nope.”

His gaze lingers on me for another moment before he reaches into his pocket for his keys. “Figured as much at dinner, but I thought a drink might loosen you up a bit.”

“I think you should leave now.” Avery’s protective streak kicks in and her anger flares. She’s always looking out for me, and I love her for it.

Dwayne takes a step away from us. “Consider me gone,” he says, and a moment later, we watch him walk out of the bar.

“What a douche!” Avery exclaims, her eyes wild with indignation. “All he wanted was sex.”

I groan. “Well, to be fair, I’m pretty desperate for that, too.”

“Yeah, but at least you’re also looking for a guy to date. I’m glad you didn’t lower your standards for him.”

I catch sight of Luke staring after Dwayne and then our eyes meet for a moment.