One Night Love (Whiskey Run Sugar 1)

“What’s her name?” I ask.

“April.”

“Yeah, brother. I can find her. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her,” I tell him before hanging up. I step back into line at the entrance. I know I could bypass it, but I’m not that guy. As soon as I get to the door, I make a beeline for the woman in yellow and don’t stop until I’m hovering next to her at the table.

I put my hand on her shoulder, because how could I not touch her? “April.”

She looks up at me, and a mixture of reactions cross her face. Surprise, attraction, and then relief. She quickly looks away and at the man sitting across from her. “See, here’s my boyfriend now,” she says to him, gesturing to me. Her hand goes to mine that is still fitted on her shoulder.

The man is staring at me open-mouthed before closing it and looking at April. “Your boyfriend is Matt Adams? Center for the Jasper Eagles?”

She opens her mouth in surprise, and all I can think is what a perfect opportunity to kiss her. I lean down and press my lips to hers. She gasps, and because I can’t resist, I swipe my tongue across her lower lip. She moans, and I force myself to pull away. I look into her eyes, and she’s looking back at me with shock. Fuck, I just met her. Hell, I haven’t really even met her yet, and already I’m manhandling her. I pull back and try to keep my cool. I reach my hand out to the other man. “Yeah, I’m Matt. It’s nice to meet you.”

The man starts to stutter. “She said she had a boyfriend, but I had no idea. I’m sorry,” he says, looking between me and April.

I look at her, wondering what he has to say sorry for. Do I need to take care of this or what? Did he disrespect her?

April shakes her head. “No, really, it’s fine. I appreciate you keeping me company. It was nice meeting you, Thomas.”

He nods and gets up to leave but stops quickly. “Uh, do you think? I mean... would it be okay?”

He’s looking at me, and I know where this is going even though it’s taking a while to get it out. “What is it, Thomas?” I ask him, urging him to spit it out. I’m never rude. At least I try not to be, but my patience is running thin. I want to talk to April... alone.

“Can I get a picture with you?”

“Sure.” I squeeze April’s shoulder before letting it go. I move around to the other side of the table, and Thomas is holding his phone up to get the selfie. He’s quite a bit shorter than me, and his hand is shaking, so I take the phone and snap a few selfies of us real quick before handing him the phone back. “There you go. It was nice meeting you. Thanks for looking out for my girl,” I tell him, but the whole time my eyes are on April.

She’s watching me, and her eyes widen when I call her my girl. That’s right, sweetness. You’re going to be mine.

Thomas walks away, staring at the pictures on his phone, and I sit down in the chair he vacated. “Hey, April.”

She takes a deep breath. “Hey.”

I slide my chair around the table to get closer to her. “It’s loud in here, huh?”

She nods, and I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s beautiful, and I know I can’t fuck this up. I reach my hand across the table between us. “I guess I should formally introduce myself. I’m Matt.”

She looks at my outstretched hand for just a minute before finally putting hers in it. I should shake it and let it go, but I don’t. I hold on to it, stroking my thumb across her wrists. Her skin is soft against mine.

“I’m April,” she says.

“Josh asked me to check in on you,” I explain.

Instantly she pulls her hand back. “Oh right, you were going to make sure I made it to my car safely. But I promise it wasn’t my idea. I can make it to my car. I know you have a party to get to, so I’ll...”

She’s rambling, and when she stands up as if she’s going to leave, I stand up too. “Wait.”

She stops but doesn’t sit back down. “Hear me out? Hang out for a minute. I’m not in any rush.”

Her eyes are telling me she wants to, but she shakes her head. “No, I don’t want to keep you.”

I reach for her, tugging her to me. She lets her body melt to mine, and my first thought is she’s going to know exactly what I’m thinking because there’s no hiding my desire for her. Not after feeling her curvy, thick body against mine. “You’re not. Come on, have a drink with me before you go.”