Gaslight (Crossbreed #4)(41)

“Aww. I’ll be your friend, Simone. Cross my heart and hope to die that if I get married, she’ll just have to deal with it.”

I laughed and tapped my finger against my clutch. Boomer was probably listening in, so I decided to keep the conversation going since sitting alone looked suspicious. “Would you like me to buy you a beer? I’ve got a running tab.”

Chase reached inside his lightweight jacket and pulled out a flask. “Not necessary. I came prepared.”

I chuckled. “You sure that’s enough?”

He unscrewed the cap. “It’s pure moonshine. Ever had any?”

“Can’t say I have.”

He held it out. “Try some. It’ll make you feel all warm and tingly inside. Just don’t drink it all. I don’t always get lucky with free drinks around here, so this is my last resort.”

“How do I know it’s not poison?”

“Do I look like a murderer?”

“No, you look like an anime character.”

Chase gave an exasperated sigh and took a swig. He grimaced afterward and passed it over. “Smooth,” he rasped.

After a casual glance around, it came to my attention that Boomer was checking me out. He was sitting like most cocky men do—legs wide apart and one arm over the back of his chair. Something had certainly caught his attention over here, and it wasn’t the décor. Maybe the prospect of competition. Or maybe he was curious how easily influenced I was—a quality that probably made his job easier.

I lifted the drink. “I was born for adventure.” When I tilted the flask, the moonshine shot down the wrong pipe. Either that or it burned a hole through my esophagus. After a fit of coughing, I shoved it back in his hands. “That’s awful!”

“Yeah,” he agreed, screwing the cap back on. “My uncle makes decent money from his friends, and I get a free jug whenever I want.”

“What the hell would you want with a whole jug?”

He grinned. “Strips the paint right off my brushes.”

“That’s a bottle of bad life choices.”

“I don’t believe in bad decisions,” he said matter-of-factly.

Intrigued, I swiveled toward him with my feet anchored on the footrest of my stool. “If you danced naked on the bar and went to jail, you don’t think that would be a bad decision?”

He screwed the lid onto his flask and tucked it back in his coat. “What if I met my soul mate because of it? She might be one of the guards at the jail, and it’s love at first sight.”

I snorted. “Maybe in a porno, but not real life.”

“Okay then. What if dancing naked on the bar influences someone to stop drinking before they end up out of control like me, and as a result, they don’t drive home drunk and kill someone?”

“That’s too deep for a Wednesday.”

Chase slid off his stool and winked. “All in good fun. There’s a brunette inviting me over with her eyes, so I better check it out before she changes her mind. I hope the right guy comes along, Simone. But if not, maybe you need to grow a pair and go get what you want. See you when I see you.”

Chase swaggered off, disappearing through a sea of people. Maybe he had a point about choices. Sometimes bad choices led to good things. What if I was being too passive about this whole approach?

I shot out of my seat and strutted toward Boomer’s table, slow and sultry. Even though I couldn’t see his eyes beneath those damn shades, he shifted his hips as if he thought I might actually sit on his lap.

Dream on, buddy.

I swept my black tresses back, and when I reached the table, I circled my finger around the lip of his beer bottle. “Are you just going to sit there all night, or are you going to talk to me? I’m about to leave, so let me know if there’s a reason I should stay.”

He patted his thigh. “Come here, sweetie, and have a seat.”

I shuddered inside.

The other woman sitting at his table just stared between us, and I decided to rein it back a little in case she was one of those girls who liked to pull hair and fight over worthless men.

“I better not,” I said, noticing the woman beside him and quickly looking down as if embarrassed. “I didn’t realize you already had company. I’m not usually so forward—this was such a mistake.”

As I walked away with my tail between my legs, the music switched over to a slow-thumping beat that had people who weren’t even on the dance floor moving sexily.

“Hey, wait a minute,” he called out from behind me.

Excited I’d finally gotten a bite, I kept moving until I was outside. The frosty air against my flushed skin was a welcome reprieve from the stuffy club. The open space gave me plenty of room to flash if things got out of hand, but revealing I wasn’t human was a last resort.

Boomer appeared and took my arm. “Where are you going so fast?”

“My ride should be here any minute. Look, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot in there. I had too much to drink.”

Wasn’t that the truth? I widened my eyes to put him in focus.

He circled in front of me and rested his gloved hands on my bare shoulders. “I noticed you.”

A chill ran down my spine, and I forced a smile.

“I remember you. A few nights ago, you were sitting at the bar, weren’t you?”