Game On(22)

I grinned. I knew that dress had been the right choice. Now the ball was in Chris’ court, and I looked over to see how he was handling all the attention she was getting.

He still seemed a little dumbfounded and I couldn’t really blame him. Mandy looked stunning. I glanced over at Nathan, who seemed to be trying to get Chris to go over to Mandy, but the guy seemed totally frozen. Clearly he needed some help.

“Hey Chris.” I walked up to them.

“Hey,” he said, his eyes still on Mandy.

“She looks great, doesn’t she?” I caught Nathan’s eye. He just shrugged, as if to say, “I’ve been trying.”

“Yeah,” Chris echoed. “Great.”

“I think I heard someone ask if she came by herself,” I said, not very casually. I got the feeling that subtlety wasn’t the best way to approach Chris. “And I think she was looking for you.”

“She was?” Chris finally looked over at me.

“Yep,” I told him. “I mean, you did invite her, right? So you could spend time with her?”

“Right,” Chris responded, the realization perking him up. “Right. I did ask her here.” But still, he didn’t move. I was starting to wonder what I was going to have to do to get him over to her. Literally throw him there?

“Well, she’s probably looking for you.” I mentally applauded Mandy for paying attention to the crowd of guys surrounding her instead of scanning the room for her slow-moving date. “And she looks a little thirsty,” I hinted. “Like, for a beer or something.”

“Dude,” Nathan finally interrupted, sounding exasperated. “Go get her a beer before someone else asks her out.”

Chris blinked up at his friend.

“Now,” Nathan said.

“Right.” Chris made a beeline for Mandy, who welcomed him with a huge smile she hadn’t given to any of the guys around her. Immediately, all her attention was on him. The poor guys who had been vying for her attention were shit out of luck now. Offers of drinks and dancing were politely declined and it didn’t take long for them to scatter.

Now that Chris and Mandy had settled in to a conversation, I turned my attention to Nathan, surprised to discover that we too were alone, everyone around us at a respectful distance, though all eyes were on us. If Nathan noticed the staring, he seemed to ignore it, focused primarily on his beer. It was weird and I could only imagine how frustrating it was to Nathan, who had to deal with it all the time.

But at the moment he didn’t seem especially frustrated as he looked up and caught my eye. He looked around, seeming to notice that we had been given some semblance of privacy and smiled. He then leaned towards me.

“So,” Nathan’s voice was warm in my ear. “Now that you have me alone, what are you going to do with me?”





Chapter Nine


Any clever comeback I might have thought of disappeared from my throat as I turned to face Nathan. He smiled at me, a sexy, pleased smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back. I got a fluttery feeling in my stomach and my knees seemed a little less stable than they had been a few minutes ago.

“It was a nice try,” Nathan said, nodding towards Chris and Mandy, who were talking at the other side of the room. He smelled so good. “But Chris isn’t much for gentle prodding. He needs a bulldozer.”

“And you’re his personal bulldozer?” I asked, looking back over my shoulder. I gave him a once-over, trying to ignore how close he was. God, I would love him to drive his bulldozer in my direction. “You don’t seem the type.”

“I like a subtler touch personally,” he said, putting his hand on my arm. I tried not to shiver but failed miserably. He smiled and ran his thumb down to the soft skin on the inside of my arm. “But I can also tell when situations call for a firmer hand.”

“I can see that,” I said, thinking of exactly what I would do with that firm hand of his, starting with it tangled it my hair and working it down. Way down. It took everything in my power to keep from leaning into his touch. It felt so good and he was standing so close. All I had to do was turn and lean forward and—

Umm. Shit. No banging the subject. Topics…uhh. “I’m surprised you know Titanic,” I finally said and stepped away. I had to clear my head. But then of course, I thought of the scene in the car, with the wet handprint and the steam, and I was pretty sure my panties were about to burst into flames. Dammit.

“Well,” he said, taking another drink. “Three sisters. Some things you just can’t shake, no matter how hard you try. The guys made fun of me when they—” He stopped, clearly feeling that he had said too much.

I was surprised. “You told them about it?” I had gotten to him. Hopefully in a good way.

“Well.” He looked a little sheepish. “Chris overheard the joke. He’s a thickhead 90% of the time, but the one time you hope he’ll miss something…” Nathan snapped his fingers. “That, of course, is going to be the one he catches.”

“Of course,” I said with a smile. I liked this Nathan. Relaxed, smiling, and having a good time. “How long will they tease you about it for?”

“Eh,” he shrugged. “It’s hard to get me riled up.”

Somehow I didn’t believe that at all. And he quickly amended it with a wicked grin.