Exposed (Exposed 1)

Suddenly, they all quiet. There are faint whispers and I know that he must be standing at the table. "Sadie? Sadie Lockwood?" A deep voice breaks through the low hum in the room.

I pull my gaze up to see Hunter Reynolds standing right next to Mr. Gorgeous.

Chapter 5

I can feel everyone's eyes on me as I struggle to respond. "Hey," I say. Hey? Really? That's all I can come up with? All of these girls I've secretly envied for years are now staring at me because one of the two hot guys standing in front of our table actually knows me.

"Sadie. I didn't know you'd be here." His eyes scan the faces of the other girls before they settle on me again. "Which of these lovely ladies is celebrating her birthday?"

"That's me." Kayla bounces from her seat. Her hand pops out and reaches towards Hunter. I have no idea whether she's about to shake his hand or grab his crotch.

"Happy birthday to you." Hunter takes her hand in his and brings it gently to his lips.

Kayla giggles and flashes us all a look that screams this one is mine.

"Sadie, aren't you going to introduce us to your friends?" Christie snarls.

I shake my head slightly at the irony of the situation. How did I suddenly become the one with hot male friends? What alternate universe existed inside Axel? It's no wonder everyone is scrambling to get a table here.

"This is Hunter Reynolds." I motion towards him. "And this is..." my voice trails. I have no idea who the man with Hunter is.

"Jax Walker," Hunter interjects. "He's a business associate from Manhattan and an old friend."

Jax nods and locks eyes with me. "It's great to meet you, Sadie." His voice is warm and calm.

"You could join us." Alexa is standing now too. "We can make room." She motions for all of us to scoot our chairs over. The other girls gleefully comply and I'm suddenly shoulder-to-shoulder with two very ample chested friends of Kayla's.

"Thanks for the invitation." Hunter motions for a waiter. "But we've got some business to discuss."

"What is it, Mr. Reynolds?" The waiter taps his foot anxiously. "What do you need?"

"Whatever these beautiful women want is on me." He waves his hand over the lot of us.

"That's kind of you." Kayla reaches for him. I think she's about to kiss him. I stare in stunned silence as Jax steps aside to give Kayla uninhibited access to Hunter. The grin on his face mirrors the one on mine.

"Any friend of Sadie's is a friend of mine." He skillfully steps aside skirting Kayla's roaming lips. "Now, if you'll excuse us. We have business to discuss."

I swear I hear Kayla moan in utter disappointment as they both turn to leave.

"Sadie." Hunter stops and turns back around. His eyes latch onto mine. "Come see me at my table before you leave."

I nod and smile. The sheer delight of imagining what these girls are thinking is going on between Hunter and me has given me a huge appetite.

"You heard the man. It's on him." I reach one of the menus in the center of the table. "Let's eat."

Chapter 6

"That was incredibly generous of you." I say over my shoulder as Hunter pulls out a chair at his table for me to sit in. "Thank you for that."

"It was my pleasure." He pats my hand as he sits down next to me.

"It was also unnecessary." I frown. "You barely know me and you don't know Kayla at all."

"I know you're college students," he says with a grin. "I remember my limited budget back then. Did you enjoy your dinner?"

"It was delicious," I say the words with a sigh. "It may be the best food I've ever had in Boston."

"I'd agree with that." Jax pushes the plate containing the remnants of his dinner away from him. "Hunter tells me you're a student at Harvard."