“I mean, I can like him without liking him, liking him.” God, I sounded like I was in junior high again. Maybe I should pass Lucas (Mr. Blaine) one of those notes that was like, Do you like me? Circle one: Yes, No, Maybe.
Sloane and Chloe both laughed at my expense and I slumped in my chair.
“Shut up, both of you.”
As the day wore on, I started to get more and more nervous. It was very similar to the feeling you have before a first date. Not knowing what to expect, worried you’re going to make a fool of yourself. It had been a long, long time since I’d had first date jitters. I hadn’t even had them with Royce.
Sloane was dressing me, and I was being shoved into another one of her lingerie creations. This time it was a beautiful black bustier with sapphire flowers embroidered all over it, and a matching set of panties with little blue bows on the sides. It was nothing I’d ever dare to wear, but Sloane was insistent, so I put it on under a tank top and layered a sheer t-shirt over it so hopefully no one would guess what I was wearing underneath. I paired that with my favorite pair of dark jeans, and high-heeled black boots.
“Fabulous! I really like this real-world testing. Between you and Chlo, I’m gaining valuable insight.”
“That means we get a cut, right? Ten percent?” I said as I turned back and forth to make sure nothing was sticking out.
“Nice try, bitch.”
It was worth a shot.
An hour later we were in the bar, and I was fiddling with my first gin and tonic. Fin had texted that he was running late, but I told him it was no big deal. We’d gotten an extra chair and piled our purses on it, so we could just clear it off when he got here. So far, there had been no Lucas Blaine sightings, but that didn’t mean much.
“Terrible. That girl really should never ever sing again,” Sloane said as a girl exited the stage to a smattering of polite applause. The really mean critics hadn’t gotten here yet. It was good she went on early, or else she would have gotten ripped apart and probably left the stage crying. That happened at least once every time.
“Oh, come on. It wasn’t that bad,” Marisol said. “Okay, maybe it was. Maybe I want to bleach my eardrums so I can clean myself of that experience.”
“Good plan,” I said, finally sipping my drink. Most of the ice was melted, so it was pretty watered down.
“Calm down,” Sloane said in my ear and squeezed my knee. I was pretty good at hiding my nervousness in the boardroom, but this was completely different.
And then it happened. It was like I heard him open the door, even though that was impossible. There was way too much noise, but I knew the second he walked in. It was almost supernatural.
“He’s here,” Sloane said in my ear, but I knew that already. Slowly, I turned my head and there he was, making his way through the crowd, his eyes locked on me. It was a bit like one of those scenes in a movie when all the sounds around me went down in volume and everything slowed and all I could see was this man walking toward me. This gorgeous man who only had eyes for me.
Yeah, I liked him.
“Miss Clarke,” he said, stopping about three feet away. He was casual again in a black t-shirt with a faded emblem on the front and jeans.
“Hi,” I said, dropping any pretense of formality.
“Nice to see you again,” Sloane said, resting her head on my shoulder and smiling. Shameless. She was shameless.
“It’s nice to see all of you again. Could I buy you ladies some drinks?” Sloane kicked me under the table and I kicked her back as Lucas took everyone’s drink orders and went to the bar.
“Oh my God, he looks at you like he wants to do you right here in front of everyone. I wouldn’t mind watching him in action,” Sloane said, openly ogling him as he leaned over the bar to get the bartender’s attention.
“Those buns are fresh and hot from the bakery.” I smacked her on the arm.
“What? I’m just admiring. Don’t worry.” I wasn’t worried about Sloane and Lucas. In fact, when Sloane was really into a guy, she didn’t talk about all this stuff.
“He is pretty cute, Ror.” Even Marisol was in on the action.
“If he had a vagina, boobs and longer hair, I’d be all over that,” Chloe added.
“I don’t know you people,” I said, shaking my head.
Our ogling was interrupted by a voice behind me.
“Hey, sorry I’m late. I got held up with something,” Fin said and we all turned.
“Oh, hey Fin,” I said as he gave me a side hug. It was easier because I was almost at his level since I was sitting on a high chair.
“Everyone, this is Fin Herald. Fin, this is Sloane and Chloe and Marisol.” He shook everyone’s hand and I definitely saw Marisol blush, and Sloane kicked me under the table again. Pretty soon I was going to have bruises.
I moved our purses and Fin took the last available chair as two guys took the stage and did an awesome rendition of ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ complete with a tambourine.
“Here we are,” Lucas said, a tray in his hand with everyone’s drinks on it. Oh, this could get weird.
“Fin, this is Lucas Blaine. We work together.” Fin smiled at Lucas and extended his hand. Lucas paused and his eyes flicked from me to Fin and then he shook Fin’s hand.
“Nice to meet you,” Lucas said as everyone sipped their drinks.
“Nice to meet you as well,” Fin said and I knew he knew that this was the guy I’d been telling him about the other day.
Sometimes I wish life had an Abort button. I’d be pushing it right now to get out of this situation.
“Fin’s a friend from high school and he’s back in town for a few weeks visiting. Our parents are best friends so they tried to set us up.” No point in beating around the bush.
“Yeah, that wasn’t awkward at all, was it?” Fin said with a laugh. Lucas still looked a little tense, and I could sense he was trying to figure out what the deal was between Fin and me. Not that it was any of his business. He wasn’t my boyfriend.
“Would you like a drink, Fin? I didn’t know you were coming, or else I would have gotten you one,” Lucas said.
“No, I’m fine. I’m actually trying to cut back. I’m a bit of an all or nothing guy.” He looked down and his happy façade cracked for a moment. Hmm. There was a story there, but now wasn’t the time for it.
“Fair enough.”
“Are you going to sing?” I said, trying to save the situation.