“Get lost,” he demands, using a tone of voice that unmistakably conveys the message not to test him on this.
I whirl around to face him, pissed off that he thinks he can come here, interrupt my dance, and try to ruin my night. I’m about to tell him to go fuck off when he grabs my hand and drags me across the dance floor and out the side door into the cool night.
I try to yank my hand out of his once we get outside, but I’m suddenly pushed up against the wall. I’m about to say something when I see the look he is giving me and snap my mouth shut.
“Don’t push me, Lauren, not now,” he warns me, and I look at him.
He is dressed in low-slung, tight blue jeans that mold to him. A baby blue button-down, tight-fit, tailored shirt has two buttons open at his neck. His sleeves are rolled halfway up to his elbows, and his silver Rolex is on his wrist.
“Don’t push you?” I question, pushing off the wall and squaring my shoulders. “Don’t push you? You have some nerve, Austin.” The alcohol is giving me a little bit more courage. “You called me uptight, and I was in there enjoying my night when you charged over there like…like…I don’t even know what the hell that was all about, except for the fact that I wasn’t the uptight one in that scenario. Hmm, who needs to loosen up now, Austin?” I taunt.
“You drive me nuts! I can’t sleep! I can’t think! I can’t even fucking get anything done at work without thinking about you!” He roughly runs his hand through his hair, his shirt tightening across his chest with the movement.
“So, I come out tonight. I’m going to kick back, have a few drinks, and not think about you. But of all the places, you’re here, looking like this.” He gestures to my outfit, his eyes running up my body from my shoes to my face.
“What’s wrong with how I look? I look good!” I cross my arms under my breasts and cock my hip to the side.
“No, Lauren. No, you don’t look good. You look fucking amazing. As usual. I tried to ignore you. I turned my back. I wasn’t going to pay you any attention at all. But when I turn around, there you are on the dance floor, swinging your ass with that douche all over you,” he grates out angrily.
“So? I’m here to have fun, too, Austin. And I was! Until you marched over there like some crazy man and dragged me out here. What the hell was that, huh?” My voice rises as my anger ratchets up a few notches.
He steps further into my space, and I’m now sandwiched between the wall and Austin. He tips his face down so we are nose-to-nose. I can’t see the rest of his expression, but his eyes are blazing.
“I didn’t like it, Lauren,” he rumbles in a quietly angry voice.
“Why, Austin? Why did it bother you?” I whisper, completely mesmerized by that look in his eyes. I should have paid attention, though, because instead of answering me, his lips come crashing down on mine.
Chapter Eighteen
AUSTIN
I spend the whole day Saturday running a 5K through the park and rearranging my emails in alphabetical order. Fucking Carmen.
Noah picks me up at seven, when we hit up a pub and watch the Yankees kill it again. At the end of the ninth inning, he suggests going to Light Night Club.
Shaking the doorman’s hand, I make my way over to the corner bar. We have spent many nights closing this place down. This is one of the first clubs to hold our names. I look around, taking in the beauty of it.
The minute I scan the booths, I see her. The woman who has been a thorn in my side. Tonight, she looks like she just walked off the red carpet. Her hands rise to the sky, taking her skirt up to dangerous levels.
I stand up straight, draining the bourbon in my glass in one gulp. I make eye contact with the bartender and raise my glass to get another shot.
He pours my shot and passes it to me, and I shoot it down in one gulp, signaling for another. When I look back over to the dance floor, I see some douche with his hands all over Lauren, while she shakes her ass.
She turns around to put her back to his front, and her eyes scan the area around her. The minute they land on me, it’s like I’ve been lit up from the inside.
I take the last shot and make my way over to her. I know exactly when she feels me, because her body goes stiff.
I look at the idiot she’s dancing with and motion with my head for him to move on.