When he was finally dressed and had his wallet and keys in his pocket, he walked into the kitchen, his eyes still tired. He was a beautiful man with brown eyes and a shadow over his jawline, but it was all fake advertising. He had the kind of lips that would be perfect between my thighs, but of course, he did as little as possible to please me.
He’d totally used me.
In a deep voice, he said, “Good morning.”
Good was debatable. “Morning.” I walked to the front door and opened it promptly.
He stilled at the way I hurried him out, but then complied with my body language. He stopped in front of the door then looked down like he was going to kiss me. “Do you want to go out to dinner tomorrow night?”
I didn’t want to lead him on, and I didn’t want to waste my time either. “This was a one-time thing for me…”
“If you’re just looking for sex, that’s fine with me too.”
I was just looking for sex—but good sex. “I’m married.” It was the best way to get rid of a guy I didn’t like without hurting his feelings. I probably should tell him off for being such a shitty lover, but that seemed a bit harsh.
As if my husband would appear from the closet, he looked around like he was afraid to get caught. “Oh…gotcha.” He walked out the door and into the hallway. “Well, if anything changes…”
“Bye.” I shut the door in his face and locked it.
I sat at my vanity backstage and powdered my face.
Tracy looked at me in the reflection, wearing her leotard and skirt. “How’d it go with that guy last night?”
“Yuck.” I grabbed the eyeliner next and started to trace the bottom of my lid. “Terrible.”
Her blond hair was pulled into a tight bun, and she stood with one hand on her hip. “What happened? He was hot.”
“Let’s just say he’s one of those guys who doesn’t give a damn about you getting off, just about him getting off. It lasted, like, two minutes? And then he snored all night and slobbered on my pillow.”
Tracy cringed. “Gross…”
“So, I told him I was married to get rid of him.”
“Oldest trick in the book. Well, sorry it didn’t work out.”
I shrugged and stopped doing my makeup. “I wish guys came with a thirty-second trailer, so we would know what we’re getting into. Save us some time, you know?”
She took the seat beside me and crossed her legs. “What about the guy you were talking to at the bar last weekend?”
“What guy?” I asked. “I talked to a lot of guys.” I grabbed my brush and ran it through my hair so I could pull it into a perfect bun. It would be so tight I would have a small headache by the end of the night.
“I don’t know his name. He had really bright blue eyes, he was super tall, you were talking to him when you asked me to hold your drink.”
The Skull King? “Oh, him? No…he’s not my type.”
“What are you talking about? He’s, like, the sexiest guy I’ve ever seen.”
I was probably immune to his charms because of our history. The guy tried to assault me in the middle of the night and then threw me in a cage like I was an animal. Our conversations were always painful because we didn’t get along—at all. “I can tell he’s bad in bed. Not gonna bother.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he’s a dick.”
“I thought you said the assholes are always the best?”
“Oh yeah…” I forgot I’d said that. Unfortunately, that rule always seemed to apply, and I had a feeling it would definitely apply to him. “Well, not this guy. I can tell you that much…”
After the curtains closed and the performance was finished, I sat at my vanity and ripped that band out of my hair and let the tight bun come loose. “Oh sweet Jesus…” I ran my fingers across my scalp and massaged the area, finding instant relief once those strands were free. I closed my eyes and moaned, noticing the headache disappear instantly. I loved my job, but keeping my hair back was the one thing I despised.
Tracy appeared in my reflection again, her hair already loose and her outfit changed. “Girl.” Her eyes were wide like she had a juicy story to tell.
“Girl what?”
She glanced over her shoulder, looking for something, and then turned back to me. “I don’t know what the odds of this are, but the guy we were just talking about it is here…and he’s asking for you.”
“What guy?”
“The hot one. Blue eyes.”
“Hold my drink guy?”
She nodded.
I’d thought I would never see him again after our awkward run-in. “What does he want?”
“Don’t know. Didn’t ask. Do you want me to tell him to come back here?”