The stranger’s eyes darken. “As a matter of fact, I have.” His voice drops low as he leans in. “Although I much prefer giving them.”
Oh, shit.
He’s good.
Really good.
He’s better than most by a long shot, but I realized that the last time I met him, which is why I quickly ran away.
His eyes drop, a grin tugging at his lips.
“I’m going to pretend you’re staring at my breasts and not my penis,” I say, managing to keep a straight face and not feeling so bad that JJ failed to keep his promise.
His smile grows as he lifts his eyes to mine. “There are so many things wrong with that statement. But I can’t help it. It’s a great looking penis. Very…colorful.”
I bust up laughing, shaking my head. “Quick, compliment my breasts.”
The handsome stranger scoots closer. My heart stutters to a stop as I wait for him to respond. He opens his mouth at the same time the bartender slides my drinks in front of me, and then as if the world has it out for me, Erin slams into my back.
“There you are.” Draping an arm around my s
houlders, she plants a kiss against the side of my face. “Oooooh…alcohol.” She grabs two of the shots, and I take the others. “Come on. We’ve got a table,” she tells me. Peeking over my shoulder, she grins at my stranger. “Nice of you to finally show up.”
His eyes soften. “Some of us have to work.” Erin sticks out her tongue, and he laughs.
Wait. What?
“You know him?” I ask, dragging my eyes from Tall Dark and Handsome to Erin.
“Of course,” she says, nudging me into the crowd. “That’s Rex. He owns the place. I don’t know him that well, but he and his brother grew up with Jacob.”
I manage to crane my neck just enough to get one last glimpse of Rex.
Rex.
Goddamn, even his name is sexy.
He’s still watching me, his dark eyes smiling as though he just won a prize. Winking, he gives me a parting smile before I’m sucked into a sea of people.
“Shae met a guy,” Erin sings, setting the shots on the table. A chorus of voices rings loud, but it’s JJ’s I hear, and there’s the tiniest hint of a slur to his words—a reminder that I need to cut myself off to make sure we both make it home in one piece.
“No penises in your mouth or between your legs,” he reminds, putting an arm around my shoulders.
Erin’s friend Chelsie wrinkles her nose. “Well, that’s no fun.”
“Don’t blame me,” JJ says. “She made me promise to protect her.” He kisses my cheek, and his lips linger a little too long, allowing him the chance to say, “I tried.”
I shove his chest. “You failed.” Pulling my flashing penis necklace off, I drape it over Erin’s head. The bright red penis blends in with the purple and blue ones she’s already wearing.
“A toast.” Erin raises her shot glass, and we all follow suit. “To great friends and fairytale love.” Her eyes go all dopey as she looks at Jacob two tables over.
“To penises in your mouth and between your legs,” Chelsie adds, nudging JJ.
He nudges her back. “To drunk bridesmaids who wear really short skirts.”
I tap my glass to Erin’s. “To handsome strangers.”
Emma, Erin’s soon-to-be sister-in-law tosses her head back, downing her shot. Wiping an arm across her mouth, she laughs. “And to screaming orgasms!”