"Sit down," I say, motioning to the empty barstool. "And talk to me. Let me grab you a drink. It's on me."
"Thanks, I could use one," she says. "No, scratch that. Make it a double."
"That bad, huh?"
"It's Sienna and … Trevor." Her voice seems to hitch at the mention of her boyfriend. "They've been fucking behind my back."
As she says this, a tear zigzags down her cheek.
I slam an empty glass down on the bar.
"What?" I say, feeling a new anger burn at the edges of my mind. "What an asshole. That guy doesn't deserve a woman like you. I'm ready to go put my fist through his mouth. Is he at Sienna's office? I swear, I'm gonna go find that guy right now."
I start pulling my car keys from my pocket, but Cara stops me.
No, Derek, please," she says. "Could you please just stay with me? I need you."
Her eyes are so soft. So tender. And so … broken.
It hurts me to see her like this. It feels like someone's pushing a white-hot poker into my chest.
How could Trevor fuck her over this bad?
"Look," I say, slowly placing my hand on top of hers. "I don't want to take advantage of your fragile emotional state."
Cara laughs and wipes a tear from her eye. "I'm anything but fragile."
"But," I continue, "by Trevor cheating on you, and getting you out of a bad relationship, he did you a favor. That's just what you needed, you know?"
She thinks about this. "You're right," she says. "Now I get to do what I've always wanted to do."
She says this with a smile, as if she's holding something back.
But I don't want to prod her further, and I return the smile, sliding a cocktail across the bar.
"Here, try this."
"It's practically neon green," she laughs. "It looks like nuclear waste. What is this stuff?"
"It's a Mountain Dew Me."
She laughs and then pauses for a moment, looking me up and down, and then grins. "Do you, huh?"
"Sure," I say, leaning closer to her over the bar. I didn't expect her to play along so quickly, but now that she is, I'm all in. "You know … I can make you forget Trevor faster than a 16-digit password."
Her gold earrings catch a sliver of sun and cast a heart-shaped pattern of light on her neck. I want nothing more than to press my lips over that spot.
"What did you mean earlier when you said that I now get to do what I want to do?" I ask.
She doesn't answer me, and instead takes a sip of the drink that I made her. As soon as she swallows, she looks up at me, and motions for me to come closer with her finger. I lean in, and as soon as I do, she presses her lips to mine.
I feel my entire body flush with desire. Even my cock twitches.
Then she pulls back and smiles. "That's what I meant."
Chapter 3
Cara