"So what are you doing at Charlie's Pub all by yourself on your birthday?"
I glare back at him. Guess nothing is too personal with this guy. "Maybe I like Charlie's Pub. Maybe it's my favorite place with my favorite wings, and I chose it for my birthday." I raise my eyebrows at him in challenge.
His smile grows further at my snarky remark, but he just raises the bar by continuing to push the subject. "Charlie's isn't exactly known for their wings."
"I guess not. What exactly are they known for? Must just be sexy strangers who insinuate you have nobody to love you so you have to spend your birthday alone getting hammered?" I snap back at him.
He completely ignores the second half of my sentence. "You think I'm sexy?"
"Oh my god." I roll my eyes at him, but because I am feeling buzzed and I don’t actually know this man, I decide to spill all the dirty details.
"If you must know, my friends are out of town this week, my family isn't in the area, and my boyfriend is probably over at his ex's comforting her because her boyfriend who she may have just made up dumped her and she needed her best friend." I do air quotes with my fingers when I say best friend. “But I’m not sure because he hasn’t tried to contact me all day.”
When I look over to Dean, the smile has dropped from his face, but then it quickly returns as he gives me a sarcastic "Ouch."
"Gee, thanks."
Craig comes back with our drinks, and Dean does a cheers motion with his glass and clinks it against mine. "Well, at least you have a sexy stranger to buy you drinks."
I laugh at that. "Asshole." I smirk and sip my drink. It actually does go down my throat so smooth. The peach makes it taste like juice, so I drink it faster than a normal drink.
"So how about you? Want to tell me what a fancy-schmancy guy like you is doing in a dive bar on the southside. Downtown seems more like your scene."
He tips his glass up to his lips and his eyes look into mine from above the glass. He raises an eyebrow "Is that right?"
"Yup. I bet my whole apartment is the size of your entryway closet."
He laughs and almost chokes on his drink. "Oh, so we are playing the assumption game are we?"
"Yes. Just like you assumed I was a lonely girl at the bar who needed saving by blessing me with your manly company." I mock as I exaggeratedly flutter my eyelashes at him and take another sip of my drink.
He smirks as he takes another sip of his drink. "Pretty sure you're the one who eye fucked me when I got here."
This does make me choke on my drink, and I start coughing uncontrollably. Did he just say I eye fucked him? I mean I did. But did he really say that?
"Oh really? And you just thought you'd take me up on that offer?" I say jokingly.
"Yes."
My breath stops in the middle of an inhale and my eyes widen. Again, I was not expecting that response. Are guys always this forward?
No. The answer is no. It is just this arrogant, cocky, sexy...wait where was I going with this?
I try to brush off what he said by changing the subject. "So, you never answered my question. What are you doing here?"
He doesn't seem disappointed I didn't respond to his advance and just shrugs "I know the owner."
"Oh really? So every once and while you step down from your extravagant lifestyle to spend time with us lowly folk because of the perks of knowing the owner of a dive bar?" I wink at him.
He scoffs and turns to me. "Look who's talking. You’re the one who is wearing a hot as sin, teeny-tiny dress to a bar with a bunch of middle aged men with beer guts."
His eyes skim down my body slowly, and I feel chills run up my arms. When his eyes finally make their way back up to mine, he adds "And yes. I do come here for the perks."
My mouth goes dry
, and I know I need to level the playing field or this man is going to make me do something I regret. I narrow my eyes at him and then act like I’ve come to a realization.
"Oh, I guess you do fit in then. You know? With all the other middle aged men." I use my hand to motion around us.