Hotel O

After some searching, I find him sitting on a circular red couch in the back of the room, far away from the lights and music. “Here you go,” I say, putting down his drink.

“Thanks,” he replies, but he doesn’t move to pick it up.

“You don’t have to drive,” I say. “We can get a cab and pick up your car tomorrow.”

“Nah, I just wanna get us both home safe,” he says, scooting the drink back to me. “That’s all.”

I shrug. “Fine, more alcohol for me then.” I chug back the first glass and start on the next.

“Kat,” Flynn says. “Take it easy.”

“Why?” I take another sip.

“You’re only trying to get drunk.”

“So?”

“Tell me why.” When I ignore him, he continues talking. “Was it a guy?”

I close my eyes and let out a breath.

He grabs my hand. “You can’t lie to me.”

Why does he see through me so easily? “Fine, yes. An asshole I don’t wanna talk about.”

“What happened?” The way he raises his brow reminds me of my mom when she’s ready to scold me.

I roll my eyes. “I had this thing with a guy … We met online.”

“Oh … boy,” he says.

“Well, I tried to only make it a one-time thing. But it was just too good, you know?” I say. “The thing is … we didn’t know each other by name. Or looks.”

Flynn makes a face. “What do you mean?”

“We had masks on,” I explain.

“Okay … sounds kinky.” He grins, so I poke him in the side.

“The guy’s an asshole, remember?”

“Right,” he says. “Why exactly? If you had fun and all.”

“Because I wanted to contact him afterward, but he wasn’t online at all anymore, so I went to see him …”

“And then shit went down.”

I lean back and nod, sipping my Bacardi. “Yup. He didn’t know it was me, and I went about it the wrong way. Things went bad. And then it turns out he was a major douche.”

“He told you off?”

“Not just that,” I reply. “He shoved his fingers down my panties and into my hoo-ha.”

“TMI, Kat,” he says, raising his hand.

“What? You asked.” I shrug, taking another sip. “Point is, after that blunder, I needed a drink.”

“What you need is to find yourself an actual man. Not one of them oversexed bastards who are just out for a hump.”

I snort. “Like you’re the one to talk.”

“Hey now, I treat ladies with respect.”

“Right. But only before the fuck.”

“And after,” he adds, winking again. “And we’re not talking about me right now. We’re talking about your choice in men. It’s bad.”

“Thanks, dude,” I say, slurping down the remainder of my Bacardi. “Think I’m gonna need another drink.”

I get up before he can say more. I don’t wanna hear it even though I know he’s right. It’s just that I don’t want to think about it right now. So I go to the bar and order a tequila. I like trying out lots of different things while I’m partying. Makes for a fun evening, especially because you never know which drink is going to be the last. And the drink the bartender gives me makes my mouth water just by looking at it. Taking a sip, I grin from delight. God, I wish I could drown myself in alcohol tonight. Maybe it would make the memories of today disappear into the nether.

Except, the moment I turn my head, I come face to face with him. Mr. Rocket Fingers himself … Declan.

His face immediately darkens the moment he sets his eyes on me.

I really do not want to speak to him right now, so I quickly turn around.

“Well, hello there. What a coincidence. Out too?”

Crap. Just his voice makes me want to dissolve into a puddle. Guess he noticed me too. Too late to pretend I never saw him.

Mustering up the biggest resting bitch face I can, I glance over my shoulder and say, “Oh … didn’t know you were here.”

“Of course you did. I saw you looking,” he replies, and he orders a rum and Coke from the bartender.

Great. Now I’m going to have to talk to him.

“If I’d known you would show up, I would’ve picked another place to hang,” I sneer.

“Right,” he scoffs as if he doesn’t believe me.

I roll my eyes. “Whatever.” I’m done with this.

As I walk off, he suddenly grabs my hand. “Wait …”

I pause and throw him a look. “What?”

His lips part, but it takes him a couple of seconds to gather his thoughts and put them into words. “Look. We had something fun. For a moment. That was it.”

I frown. “Is that everything you want to say to me?”

“I just wanted to make sure you understand …”

“Oh, I understand all right,” I reply. “You’re a dick, and I don’t know why I’m still talking to you.”

As I try to walk away, he tightens his grip on my wrist. “Hey, I get that I wasn’t fair to you, but this was a mutual agreement. You knew that going into it.”