Page 4 of One Drink
I’d definitely had too much to drink.
But instead of listening to the voice screaming in my head to go home, I led Jake to a quiet booth in the back of the adjoining bar.
I’d booked a private room in one of Manhattan’s hottest new venues, L’Atelier, for our team celebration. It was a gorgeous French-style restaurant by day and a quiet, romantic hideaway by night, and it offered a wide variety of options for private parties and events. I hadn’t eaten lunch or dinner there yet, but for parties, I loved it.
One look at the small, intimate booth Jake sat down at caused my stomach to do cartwheels. There was no way to sit down without rubbing up against his rock-hard body. Yes, his body was rock-hard, with a perfectly defined chest and biceps with a luscious six pack to match. Jake took very good care of his body, and was hot enough to make any woman ache at the sight of him. I’d admired his body plenty of times in the past, but I’d never once felt the desire to actually touch him until now. Wherever my mind had gone, it was past time for me to pull it back to reality.
Come on, girl, you’ve gotten drunk countless times before with Jake, and nothing happened. You can do it again.
I slid into the booth just as the waiter stopped by to get our drink order. With my mind too clouded by my strange reaction to our closeness, Jake ordered a bottle of champagne with two glasses.
“Wait.” I grabbed hold of his wrist and immediately regretted it. He tensed under my touch, and he placed his hand over mine before I could pull away. His eyes met mine. I could feel his heart rate increase through the beating pulse in his arm. “A bottle of champagne is too much.”
“Nothing is too much for you.” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze and smiled. Even in the dimly lit bar, I could see the soft gray in his eyes. The light color was the perfect contrast to his dark, silky hair. “I know you had fun tonight, but you still considered it work. Now it’s your turn to relax and celebrate.”
I raised my brows. “What are you talking about? I’ve been relaxed and celebrating for the past several hours.”
“No.” He narrowed his eyes and frowned. “You’ve been stressing about every detail and making sure everyone else was relaxed and having a good time.”
“That’s not true.” He stared at me in that brotherly, I’m-about-to-set-you-straight way he used to do when we were in college. And I didn’t like it. I did used to love that he protected me and my girlfriends when we went out and got a little crazy, but in that moment, I didn’t want to think of Jake like a brother.
Exhaling deeply, I slipped my hand out from underneath his, thankful he didn’t resist. “Okay, fine. Maybe that is true.”
“You deserve to take a moment and celebrate your hard work as well.”
Before I could protest further, the waiter showed up and poured our champagne. Jake picked up his glass and held it up to me. When I didn’t pick up mine, he placed it in my hand and wrapped his fingers around mine to make sure I gripped the glass. Damn, his hands are soft. In all the years I’d known him, I never noticed how soft his hands were. It wasn’t like we sat around and held hands a lot, but this seemed like something I should’ve known about my best friend.
He didn’t speak, only stared at me with an intoxicating gaze, waiting for me to cave.
“Fine.” It was either give in or continue this uncomfortable battle I was having with myself. Besides, I was the one who insisted we stay and have another drink. I had no business thinking about him this way and I’d have to be careful. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin our friendship.
One drink, and then home.
I tore my eyes from his and stared at the bottle. Who am I kidding? “Just so you know, if we finish that bottle, I’m definitely not walking out of here.”
“Then I guess I’d better make sure you get home safely.” He gave me a sly grin and downed half his glass.
I held my glass to my lips and hoped it was enough to hide my blushing cheeks. Shit. I’m in trouble.