"You from around here, Chloe?" He smiled down at me and I turned my attention back to him, not really wanting to see Cindy put her moves on the only guy around that had caused my blood to boil in the worst sort of way.
"I'm from Los Angeles. Just here for a few weeks." I smiled, enjoying the kindness I found in Brian's eyes.
"Oh, nice. You look like a beach girl. A good tan and a great smile. I'm surprised you're not beating the guys off around here." He smiled and then looked ill. "I meant... I didn't mean like literally beating the guys off. I meant like..."
I laughed. "Stop. You're digging a hole you're not going to get out of."
He smiled. "I do that often. I keep telling my friend Finn over there that he's going to have to teach me how to talk to women or I'll forever be alone."
"The more you do it, the easier it gets." I shrugged and took a glance toward Finn.
Cindy was tucked up against him, whispering something in his ear, but his eyes were on me and Brian. The anger in his gaze told me that maybe there was something more than a silly challenge sitting between the two of us. If that was the case, then it was better that he and Cindy leave together.
"I actually don't want it to get too easy." He glanced down at me and I turned back to him.
"Why is that?"
"I don't know. I've seen Finn go through a lot of shit because he can talk to women so easily. Seems like it would be any guy’s dream to live as a bachelor with women throwing their panties at you, but I think he wants something more. He's lonely. I don't ever want to experience that." He shrugged and I stiffened in his hold.
"Did he tell you to talk to me?" I lifted an eyebrow and pulled back.
"What? No. He doesn't even know you, right?" Brian studied me as I fumbled for the right thing to say.
"No. Of course not. Never mind." I slid my arms back around him and turned us so I could find the twins. They were dancing with the other three guys in Finn's group, having far too much fun.
The dance ended and I was ready to head home, but it would seem that the party was just getting started.
We gathered back at the bar and I nodded toward Cindy. "I'm getting tired and my stomach's hurting. You guys ready to go?"
"Go? Hell no. We just got here," Kinsey laughed and wrapped her arm around me tightly from the side.
"Yeah, Chloe. Don't go yet." Finn turned his face from Cindy as she moved up to kiss him.
Bile rose in my throat and I knew I had to get out of there. I didn't believe in love at first sight, but something buzzed with excitement inside of me at the very thought of the handsome guy before me. I couldn't handle the pressure of wanting to pull him from my friend and subsequently punch her in the face. I wasn't a violent person, but something about the way she draped herself across Finn left my blood boiling.
"Right, well, get another ride. I'm ready to go." I moved from the bar and started for the door before someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to the dance floor.
"Not until you tell me where I'm dropping these lovely girls off." Finn tugged me toward him and caught me as I tripped over the edge of the dance floor.
"I'm not dancing with you. I'm going home," I barked at him and tried to pull back, but he held me tighter.
"You're not leaving me with this crazy bitch. I've sworn off women for a month because I need to remember how to breathe. If you leave her here, I'll have no choice but to take her home or turn her over onto Brian. He's far too much of a gentleman to tell her no. Don't do that to him. Don't do it to me."
He smelled so good and the strength of his arms around me left me dizzy. "What? I'm not doing anything to anyone."
"Yeah, you are, and you know it." He moved us to the middle of the floor and slid his hands over the top of my ass, squeezing softly as I pressed my forehead to his shoulder and let out a groan.
"I need to go," I whispered roughly.
"Why are you running from me? I'm a good guy. I just want to see you again, Chloe. No commitment, no promises, just a date." His voice was gravelly and filled with untapped lust.
I wanted to drown in it, to be consumed by the heat I felt pulsing between us.
My relationship with Seth had been good, but not great. Warm, but not hot. This, on the other hand, was intense and I could lose myself in the man holding me. Fear raced through me and I pulled back a little.
"I need to go. Spend the night with Cindy. She's a noncommittal kinda gal. You know..." I looked up at him and lost my breath for a minute, "No commitment. No promises. Just one night."
He released me and nodded. "Right. My kind of woman?"