Page 19 of My Turn

“I don’t want to see your dick.”

Chewing on his lip, he narrowed his eyes. “That’s what you think I meant by the worst parts of me? You, Alana, have more sass than I expected.”

“Have you changed your mind already?”

“Not a chance. How else am I going to convince you to trade classrooms willingly?”

“Oh, that’s how it is. Alright, Mr. Everhart. This has turned into a challenge.”

When he grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the area where others were dancing, I tried to resist. He raised a taunting brow, so obviously, I couldn’t back down.

*****

Was I drunk? A little bit. Maybe a lot. It was hard to tell after a while, when you were surrounded by others who felt the same way and there were things going on in every direction. I couldn’t take a moment to evaluate how I felt, but I was having a good time, so I didn’t care all that much.

Adult parties weren’t all that different from college ones, surprisingly. Once everyone started getting tipsy, the music got louder and the hard liquor was brought out.

“Do you want a shot?” I called as I poured myself one.

Mike shook his head. “I have to drive in a little bit. My babysitter can’t stay all night.”

“Oh, shit. You have a kid?”

“Yeah. A daughter.”

“That’s, uh, cool. Are you divorced, then?”

He rolled his lips a few times, then looked at me again. “No. She died, actually. Two years ago.”

“I’m so sorry.”

I put a hand on his arm and squeezed it. Being on this side of things was unfamiliar to me, but I knew from experience that the more you said about it, the more awkward things felt for the other person. At least, that’s how it was for me.

“My fiancé died almost a year ago.”

“I heard about it. Actually, I thought about talking to you a few times, but I know how overwhelming it can be. Condolences, condolences, condolences.”

“I’m surprised you said that three times without stumbling.”

He chuckled. “We should get some air.”

I nodded and followed him out the front door. On the porch, it was significantly quieter. As I adjusted to it, I started torecognize that I was pretty damn tipsy. After the morose turn of conversation, I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just leaned back against the railing.

Mike watched me curiously as if he was looking for something. Maybe he was perceiving something. Neither of those were ideal, but I guess it was part of pursuing someone. It had been so long since I got to know someone. Did it still work the same? I didn’t know if it was one of those social things that changed with the times. Online dating was one example. The idea of that made me wonder if being alone forever wasn’t as bad as it sounded.

When he stepped closer, I sucked in a breath. There was hardly any space between us and I felt simultaneously excited and terrified. There was a little bit of guilt there too, which was my biggest deterrent. Jake was dead but somehow, it still felt like I was doing something wrong.

“How about that dinner tomorrow?” he asked. His voice was soft and deep. It made my brain feel a little scrambled.

“I guess I can stomach being around you again.”

“This might make me sound like an asshole, but I just want to throw it out there. If you want to come to my place tonight, I guess I could stomach that.”

A nervous laugh left me. “That might be taking it further than I can handle right now.”

“Then, dinner tomorrow. Nothing more than that, even if you try to jump my bones.”

“I’d like that.”