Page 22 of Click
“Hi.” She clears her throat. “Leah, meet Carson the photographer. Carson, this is my best friend, Leah.”
“Ohhhh the photographer,” Leah says in a teasing way, leaning across Mak to shake my hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Mak’s cheeks blaze crimson. “Do you come here a lot?” She squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head. “Wow, that sounded dumb. I mean, do you like the food here? This is our first time. I saw it had great reviews online and that it was new. There’s never anything new in this town, you know? So boring. And since I had my hair and makeup done, I didn’t want to waste it by sitting at home all night, so we decided to come here and grab some drinks. Didn’t know it was line-dancing night, though. Do you line-dance?”
“Slow down, Mak truck.” Leah says, sliding a drink towards her.
Mak blows out a long breath, snatches her drink, and takes several gulps. It’s water with a lemon. Slamming it back on the bar, she peers up at me again. “You look nice.”
She’s adorable. All flustered and rambling, and out of her element. “Thanks,” I say, and flick my hair to the side. “I didn’t want to waste my hair and makeup either tonight.”
The bad joke earns me a laugh from both of them.
“Oh, he’s good. I like this one.” Leah points at the open seat next to Mak. “Want to sit with us?”
“Actually…” I glance at the bartender, who’s putting my food down by where I was originally sitting. “I’m going to let you two lovely ladies enjoy your night. I don’t want to intrude, I just wanted to say hi.”
“Oh.” Leah sounds disappointed.
Mak, however, looks relieved. That cuts my pride a little, but it’s okay. I took her off guard for the second time today. I couldn’t just ignore her and pretend I didn’t notice her here. In fact, ever since my gaze landed on her, it’s like she’s the only person I can see. Everyone else, including Leah, is noise and blurs. But Mak? She’s a showstopper.
She’s changed her outfit since this afternoon and looks mouth-watering in her olive-green t-shirt, black jeans, and combat boots. If I don’t back off now, I might even ask her to dance. “Have fun, ladies.”
I make my way back to where I belong and dig into my wings and nachos. I have every intention of leaving them alone so they can enjoy their girl’s night out together, but halfway through my meal, something happens that I don’t like.
And all my plans change.
Chapter 8
Mak
Holy crap. I can’t believe Carson is here. When I first saw him sitting across from us, my initial thought was that he followed me here. But then my more logical side figured this was the only hopping place in town tonight, and for all I know, he comes here every week for wing night. I wasn’t the special chosen target. I’m just in the right place at the right time to see him again. Shit, maybe he thinks I stalked him.
It makes me question my stalker fantasies now.
And ugh. Why did I have to ramble like that? Damnit, I hate when I get nervous and start spouting off every single thought that flies through my head. It’s stupid, annoying, and awkward. Carson didn’t seem bothered by it, which is kind of a relief. He just threw me off guard and I panicked when he came over to us and I couldn’t shut the fuck up.
Is it terrible that I almost stopped him from walking away, too? If Leah wasn’t with me, I totally would have begged him to sit with me. But Leah was making things worse instead of better because she knows all… and has had three drinks already, which means she’ll tell all too. My blood pressure skyrocketed when she said, “Ohhh the photographer.” Thank God she didn’t follow that up with, “Mak says you’re super-hot and have a really great ass and she cannot wait to fuck you.”
Because that’s exactly what I said to her. Among many, many other things.
But he walked away before she had a chance to spill those beans. I keep sneaking glances at him. It’s like I can’t look away long enough to focus on anything else. So far, I haven’t caught him looking back, but I think he’s keeping an eye on us. I don’t know, it’s just a feeling. Probably another fantasy my mind’s already conjuring up to replace the stalker one.
Christ, I need a drink that’s stronger than water.
“He has really big hands.” Leah takes a sip of her martini. “Bet they’d make a really nice necklace.”
Tell me about it. Sighing, I shake my head and look away from him. “I’m in so much trouble, aren’t I?”
“Mmm depends.” Leah dips her fry in ketchup. “If he’s proportionate, you better get the ice pack ready, because his cock will destroy your pussy. But if he’s stumpy…” Leah shrugs with a frown and chews on another fry. “I mean… he can probably still fuck you up in a nice way. Look how he eats.”
I am looking. Carson is devouring his wings with precision. Is that even a thing? He’s literally twisting the bones, pulling them out, then dunking the entire thing into sauce before popping the whole thing in his mouth in one bit. He chews nicely too. Swallows sexy.
Ooookkkkaaayyyy, I need to stop. Holy shit, this is getting worrisome. I’m legit getting hot and bothered watching a man eat a basket of hot wings. This is a new level of sexually deprived I never saw coming.
“Shit, shit, shit.” Leah smacks my thigh. “Two o’clock.”
I swing my gaze in the direction she’s referring to. Oh shit. My stomach drops immediately. “Fuck my life.”