Alex had gone for something a little more subtle. He’d picked out a red and black plaid shirt, which he was currently cooking in, and a pair of faded jeans with no labels.
“Holy shit, man, that’s her?” Jay didn’t point, but he might as well have. He stared down Muffy and her roommate as they slowly scanned the place, looking for them.
Muffy finally spotted them near the back. She leaned in towards the tall dark-haired woman beside her and said something that made the brunette smile. Alex couldn’t remember what Muffy had said her name was and he wasn’t about to pull out his phone and check his text. Why was he so shit with names?
Why was he so shit at all of this?
Muffy’s smile lit up the pub when her eyes met his and he felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. His cock, because it was an asshole, also responded and the motion it made was the straight-up kind. No sinking or deflating involved for it.
I’m a terrible fucking person.
Jay didn’t have the same qualms. “Okay, I get it, man. Or maybe I don’t. She’s pretty. And god, who is her friend? I guess I get why she’s single if she walks around with her all the time. No doubt that she’s been passed over every single time in favor of that goddess. She looks like she’s six feet tall.”
“It’s not just her looks,” Alex muttered under his breath. He was currently disgusted with Jay and even worse, disgusted with himself because none of them would even be there if he wasn’t such a piece of stinking poo. “It’s her confidence.”
“Confi- what?” Jay jabbed Alex in the side and Alex barely managed to keep himself from smashing a fist up into his friend’s face in response.
“Remind me why we’re even friends again.”
“Well, technically you have me to thank for this.”
“Technically, you aren’t going to do anything to ruin this or I’ll kill you myself.”
Jay shrugged. He picked up his pint of beer and chugged a good quarter of it back before Muffy and her friend even reached the table.
“Hey,” Muffy said. She tried to be confident, her shoulders pushed forward and her hands clasped in front of her, but the sweet touch of pink on her cheeks gave her away. She quickly motioned to her friend. “This is Carla.”
Right. Carla. God, I’m an asshole.
“And this is Jay. Jay, Muffy, Muffy, Jay.” Alex stuck out his hand and Carla stepped forward and grasped it. “Alex.”
“Carla.”
Jay gaped at Carla while she slid into the booth across from him. She was tall. Probably almost six feet, if not right on the mark. She had curves, but none of them were fake. She was a brunette, so that alone should have crossed her off Jay’s list. She was also intelligent, a fire burning in her light green eyes, and Alex knew that Muffy had mentioned in the text that her roommate was single. She was likely nearing thirty, which meant she was independent and supported herself if she was single. All strikes on Jay’s list, but he didn’t look like he had a damn list at the moment. He practically had to wipe drool from the corner of his mouth.
Muffy slid in beside Carla. She glanced at the menu for a second. “What’s good?” she asked, looking up.
Alex’s entire body did the strange clench, shiver, grasp, stomach whirl, icy cold, burning hot thing when those beautiful eyes met his. It didn’t help that he could still remember just the way Muffy tasted on the back of his tongue. He took a long sip of his beer to try and focus himself. He imagined her naked, spread out on his bed while he went to the fridge for a fresh can of whipped cream.
“Uh, so what’s good?”
Alex was momentarily at a loss. He’d texted that the place was an old favorite, when in reality, he’d never actually even been there before.
“Go for the fish and chips. Can never go wrong with that.” Jay piped in. “If you like beer, the dark stuff is the best. Otherwise, whatever else they have on top is excellent.”
Carla frowned as she set her menu aside. Her eyes swept up to Jay’s face and it was clear from her expression that she was the kind of person who took no prisoners. “Yeah? You look like the kind of guy who never met a beer you didn’t like.”
“Probably true,” Jay admitted, far too casually.
It surprised Alex that his unflappable friend actually seemed nervous.
“Well, then your opinion can hardly be trusted.”
Jay sputtered. “Well, the fish and chips really are the best thing on the menu. If you’re fussy about beer, that can’t be helped.”
Obviously, he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t resist rising to a challenge. Carla’s frown deepened and Alex noticed Muffy go rigid beside her.