Blame it on the Vodka (Blame it on the Alcohol)

I just needed to get him inside so he could do something about it.

“You coming in, or did you want to watch from the hall?”

He blinked, shaking his head. “Sorry. Where do you want me to put this?”

“Where you always do,” I laughed.

Austin and I had done about a million pizza nights. There was no reason, other than maybe all the blood rushing south, for him to not know where to put things.

“Yeah, yeah.” He brushed past me and headed to the kitchen.

I hadn’t been sure what to expect tonight, but I’d braced for it all. Would we kiss? Not that we had since the morning I walked up to him, but a girl could dream. Would we act normal? Did we know what normal was? Neither option seemed more possible than the other. Especially since he hadn’t given me any hints to what was on his mind since that night.

Hell, I’d even asked him to come up when he dropped me off, only for him to turn me down. Part of me wondered if I was the only one hoping for more, even if I wouldn’t say it. I shoved the possibility aside, ignoring the way it sank to the pit of my stomach.

Instead, I opted for business as usual. Just like any other time we hung out. Sure. Super easy.

“So, how was work?” I asked, following behind, already failing my plan when I stared at his ass.

He set the pizza down and grabbed a wine glass from the top shelf. “Good. Just wrapping up a project.”

I grabbed the beer mug I kept in the freezer for him and a beer from the fridge. “The focus app?”

He pulled out the bottle opener and opened the bottle of wine and beer. “Yeah. It’s pretty cool. They offer up monetary rewards for accomplishing tasks.”

I poured the beer and wine while he got the plates. “Oh, that is fun. What kind of design did they go with?”

He put a slice of meat lovers and a slice of veggie on my plate and piled an obscene amount of meat lovers slices on his own. “A really unique design. I got to have some artistic freedom with it.”

I added one more slice to his pile because I knew he would want more eventually. He always did. “That’s amazing. I bet they loved it. Do you have a picture?”

He took the napkins and plates over to the couch, and I grabbed the glasses. “Yeah. Let me pull it up.”

He tugged his phone free before plopping back. I curled up in the corner and stretched my legs out just enough to tuck my feet under his warm thigh.

My jaw dropped when he passed me his phone. “Wow, Austin. That’s amazing.”

A black and white blend of geometric shapes formed a mountain range with the company’s name written across the front in white. The real treat was when you looked closer and saw each shape held an image of a usual day-to-day task.

“I thought it represented how the app creates a way for you to focus on the big picture even with everything going on in the background. It just quiets it all down.”

“It’s perfect.” I handed his phone back, giving him a proud smile.

“Thanks.”

“You’re so cute when you blush.”

“Whatever. Let’s get this chick show going.”

“Oh, please. You love it.”

He gave a noncommittal shrug and stuffed a huge bite in his mouth, but I could still see the smile twitching his cheeks.

I spent about half the show watching him, looking for any hint of something more. Then berating myself because more sex probably wasn’t the best answer to fixing our situation. Even though it sure as hell felt like the right answer. Then I’d wondered what it could hurt since we’d already slept together. Then I wondered if his head was as much a mess as mine or if he was really into which one of these girls was getting picked for the one-on-one. That thought—along with the other seven-hundred-seventy-two million—made me nauseous.

“Could you imagine being one of these contestants?” he asked, pulling me out of the tornado of thoughts.

I took in the girls mingling and glaring with champagne in their sparkling gowns. “I’d walk in, and they’d take one look at me and know I was the winner.”

“Really?” he deadpanned.

“Oh, yeah. I’m just that awesome. But they’d all concede because they’d want to be my friend. Except Layla,” I sneered at the leggy brunette with crazy eyes on the screen. “She sucks. No one wants a fake, bitchy friend.”

He nodded sagely. “I’d just keep them all—like a harem.”

I poked him with my foot, laughing. “Slut.”

He laughed. “Nah. I’m just a total giver.”

“That you are,” I said before thinking of the consequences.

He was mid-drink and coughed, sputtering some of the golden liquid back into the glass.

A spark ignited in my chest. Maybe Austin wasn’t as composed as he seemed. Once he got his drink under control, I pushed a little more. “And you sure have a lot to give,” I said, looking pointedly at his crotch.