Fall From Grace(9)

He smiled at me with what I guessed was the smile he used to make most girls act as if they’d suddenly dropped fifty IQ points. I felt nothing.  Truthfully, I felt bad for the blonde.

The muscles of his chest flexed, but I pretended not to notice it.  He wore his sex appeal like a medal, mentally undressing me.  I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head.  “Hey, thanks for the shirt before.  Would have been cold walking home like that.”

Blondie stomped her foot again to get his attention, but he didn’t seem to notice.  “This is the one you gave your shirt to?  I want a shirt too!”

I looked to Lea and gave her the let’s get outta this bad soap opera signal and stood up.  I turned to blondie and smiled.  “Just think of it like this, I got him half-naked for you already.  Try to enjoy yourself. He looks like someone who has a land mine in his pants.”

“Huh?” She gave me a really confused look.

“You know a land mine; small, hidden, and explodes on contact.”

Shane’s eyes widened for a split second, and then he stood up and leaned against the table blocking my way past.  “So you must be Lea’s best friend, the one she grew up with and talks about all the time, huh?”

“Must be,” I snapped.

His grin became wider.  “Do you have a name?”

“Yes, I do,” I replied, but not telling him.

Lea started laughing at our standoff.  She folded her arms and watched.  “Conner, watch her outwit him, just watch.”  Her slurred words made her sound like a cartoon character.

Shane glared at Lea and back to me and smiled devilishly.  Ice cold eyes.  “I’ll just call you Red then, since I can’t get my mind off that sexy little bra I saw you in before.” His smile lifted up in one corner challenging me.

I leaned in really close to him and slowly lifted my eyes to meet his.  “Why not Lacy?  Or, did you miss out on the soft silk and lace material it was made from? Too bad, you’ll only get to see the color.  You know, if you’re going to be a smart ass you should start with being smart, otherwise, you’re really just an ass.  Enjoy the rest of your night.”

I held my palm up to his face when he tried to talk.  “Please, save your breath, because you might need it to blow up your date later.”  I walked past him and out the front door.

Lea was giggling behind me.  “Gray, I think you made history in there, as the first girl ever not to jump into bed with Shane Maxton after he gave one of his Coochie Award winning smiles.”




Chapter 3

Conner and Tucker walked Lea and me back to our apartment like gentlemen.  The conversation between the four of us never strayed from Shane’s antics of the night or the fact that he paid an interest in me.  The warnings to stay away from him from the two guys made me feel like a sixteen year old.

When we reached our apartment, I wasn’t surprised that Tucker and Conner came inside with us.

Conner draped himself over the couch as if he owned the place, and Lea curled up next to him, moaning about the room spinning.  That left Tucker and me on opposite sides of the couch sitting in our two side chairs.  Tucker leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and hands dangling between them, watching me.

Tucker had a young boyish face - and he was attractive, very attractive.  His dark copper colored hair matched the exact shade of his eyes, which were still staring at me.   “Can’t say I blame Shane though,” he smiled.  “Grace was the prettiest girl in that whole bar.”