Page 106 of Unharmed

When I returned my attention to Jeremy, I started eating a couple more peanuts as he revealed, “His girlfriend just broke up with him, and he’s been really bummed out. This was the first time I managed to convince him to come out in three weeks. I was kind of hoping I could get you to make him want to drink a little less and see that there are still good women out there.”

I cocked a brow. “What exactly would you like me to do?”

He shrugged. “That’s entirely up to you, but I think a bit of attention and maybe a kiss from a beautiful woman like yourself would go a long way in cheering a man up.”

I felt for Jeremy’s friend. Breakups were tough. But while I thought I’d been forming a connection with Jeremy, he really wasn’t interested in me. It sucked, but at least I knew the truth now.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, recognizing that it was harmless and would help the guy feel better, I said, “What’s his name?”

“Mike.”

I took one last sip of my drink, noting I wouldn’t be drinking any more of it, and grabbed the second cherry out of it. Then I made my way over to Mike.

“Hey,” I said when I made it over to where he was.

Mike smiled. “Hi.”

“Have you ever seen a girl tie a cherry stem using only her mouth?” I asked.

His face lit up, even if the scent of alcohol was overpowering him. He really was drowning his sorrows. “Even if I have, I’ve never seen you do it, so it would be like the first time, wouldn’t it?”

“Fair point.”

I closed my mouth around the cherry, ate the fruit, anddisposed of the pit. Then, I worked my magic with the stem. When I pulled it out of my mouth and showed off the knot, it was clear Mike had enjoyed the show. “Impressive.”

I took a step closer, placed my hand on his chest, and leaned into him. “That’s not all I can do.”

“Is that so?”

With a smile on my face, I nodded.

He lowered his mouth to mine. “What’s your name?”

“Daisy,” I whispered, closing the remaining distance and kissing him.

It wasn’t bad. I mean, it wasn’t anything I’d remember in the morning, but if it helped to lift the guy’s spirits, I was okay with it. But kissing was as far as it was going to go.

Mike and I were in the middle of the kiss when I suddenly felt an excruciating pain at the back of my head as my hair was yanked and a woman shouted, “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Stacy,” Mike said, horrified.

Oh, no.

Oh, God.

The ex-girlfriend was here.

“I asked you a question, bitch!”

Blinking my eyes, my hands in my hair as I attempted to alleviate the pain from the hold she had on me, I couldn’t formulate a response.

“You think you can just walk up to someone else’s man and start kissing him?” she shouted, yanking harder.

“No. I… I didn’t know he had a girlfriend,” I rasped. “I thought you broke up with him.”

We were stumbling back and forth. I was desperately hoping Jeremy was going to come over and clear up the confusion.

“Broke up? Bitch, we’re engaged.”