Blurred Lines (Love Unexpectedly 1)

Nobody responds, and Lori gives me a perky smile. “See? He’s at lunch. Nobody around to hear about how lonely your nether regions are.”

“I’m so leaving now. No more talk of my female bits until I’m at least three drinks in.”

“Fine. But wear your good panties!” she calls after me. “Just in case!”

I smile as I walk away. Since tonight is more an opportunity to warm up my flirting skills than it is a full-blown sexcapade, I’m pretty sure nobody’s going to be seeing my panties.

Still. The fact that it’s even an option makes me feel…tingly.

Chapter 6

Ben

In theory, spending a random Monday night at a trendy bar with two hot girls is every twenty-something guy’s dream.

But when one of those women is my untouchable best friend, and the other is her equally untouchable work friend, the reality isn’t exactly my best-case scenario.

Especially since they’re also dressed to kill, which means the women I can touch are likely to keep their distance.

Still, no way am I going to let Parker do this weird sex-stalking thing alone. Her wide smile and loud laugh aren’t fooling me for a second. The girl’s two days off a breakup from a relationship that lasted years. She’s fragile.

And she needs tonight. I get that. Needs to rock the tight black dress and high heels and sexy makeup to shake off the sting of rejection. But she’s out of practice with this, and I’m not convinced she’ll be able to weed out the total douchebags.

That’s where I come in.

And if I happen to take a hot girl home in the process…bonus.

“Another drink?” I ask Lori and Parker.

“What about that one?” Parker asks, ignoring my question as she takes a sip of her vodka tonic. “The guy in the blue shirt.”

I follow her line of vision. “That blue shirt is denim. So that’s a no.”

“I second Ben’s assessment,” Lori says. “Denim shirts work on a Texan cowboy, but in Portland it’s just wrong.”

“What, so I can’t even talk with him because you two don’t like his shirt?” Parker asks.

“What about that one?” Lori says, pointing. “Black shirt, six o’clock. Great shoulders.”

Parker and I both turn our heads to look.

“But he’s already with someone,” Parker says.

Lori and I exchange a puzzled glance.

“The redhead he’s talking to?” Parker says, looking at us like we’re dense.

“Oh, they’re not together,” Lori says.

Parker frowns in confusion. “How do you know?”

“Because he came in with his guy friends just a few minutes after we got here,” Lori explains patiently.

“And Redhead was here before we arrived,” I add.

Parker gives us a baffled look. “How do you two know this?”

Lori reaches across and pats Parker’s hand. “This is why you brought us, sweetie.”