Speakeasy (True North #5)(34)

Even though I was trying for nonchalance, three heads swivel in my direction.

“Really?” Mom asks. “It’s almost nine thirty.”

“I know,” I say, brushing invisible dust off my jeans. “A friend wants to see the ten-fifteen movie at Merrill’s. So I’d better run.” It’s a ridiculous distance to drive for a late movie.

“What friend?” my mother asks just as Dylan says, “What movie?”

Good lord. “Selena from the law school. That’s the friend, not the movie.” I turn my back on them. There is no Selena from law school, but that name just popped out.

I’m twenty-seven but right now I feel like a seventeen-year-old again. Lying to my family is stupid. On the other hand, it’s none of their business where I’m going right now. And I’m not doing anything wrong.

“You’re driving to Burlington in a snowstorm?” Grandpa asks.

Now that’s a better point. “Well…” I turn to face four concerned people. “I’ll text Selena and see if she wants to watch a movie at home instead. And if we get dumped on, I’ll crash on her couch. But I really need to be with friends tonight.”

There’s a silence while they scrutinize me. I let their stares linger for a long moment, then I turn and get the heck out of there.

As I drive to Alec’s, the snow begins to fall. And by the time I’m keying his niece’s birthday into the downstairs security system, fat flakes are falling from the sky.

I climb the steps to his third-floor apartment with a flutter of anticipation in my belly. What the hell am I doing here? I’m still a little baffled. One sexual encounter with Alec could be written off as a fluke. But two?

I’ve been thinking about you all week, he’d said. Once wasn’t enough. I can’t believe Alec Rossi is attracted to me. He could have anyone. And he probably does.

One of my mother’s platitudes floats into my brain. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. So I climb the rest of the way to Alec’s door.

There’s a sticky note on it. Come in, it says. It’s unlocked.

Well, then.

I open the door to a gorgeous open-plan living space. The exposed brick walls give everything a rosy hue. There’s a double-height ceiling with exposed wooden beams. The windows stretch nearly the height of the room.

It’s a freaking glorious space, with comfortable furniture around a giant coffee table. I just stand there and gape for a long minute. Living here would feel like living in an architecture magazine.

Alec has hung a massive TV on the wall. In the dictionary, under “party pad,” there’s a photo of this room. There’s even a hip-hop tune playing at low volume on hidden speakers.

When we were teenagers, Alec was known as the guy who arranged the bonfires in the woods on the weekends. He always knew somebody who could be convinced to buy a pony keg for the high school kids to drink in the meadow. I’m five years younger, but his reputation precedes him.

It gives me a thrill to know that I’m the girl who caught his eye, if only for a night. And that he thinks I’m fun.

This apartment perfectly accommodates the grown-up version of his partying lifestyle. The only thing missing is the party boy himself.

When I glance down to admire the polished wooden floors, I spot another sticky note. It reads: Right… And there are two more leading toward a set of sliding glass doors. This… And Way…

Alec is on his terrace? In the snow?

When I slide the door open, I hear the burble of water before I see the Jacuzzi.

The snow is falling softly onto the deck boards. But Alec looks toasty warm in his hot tub on the terrace, casually devastating and probably naked in the hot water. He’s frowning at something on his phone—holding it over the edge of the tub where it’s not in peril, his forehead creased with irritation.

He doesn’t see me. “Hi,” I say, hoping not to startle him too badly.

Big, dark eyes lift to mine. “Hi! Sorry. I didn’t hear you over the jets.”

“Nice spread you’ve got here,” I say to the man in the tub. Just like his apartment, the terrace is gorgeous. “The only thing I know about you is that you like to party. Now I can see how you earned your rep.”

“Ah, well. Apparently I’m typecast.” His face shutters, and I wish I hadn’t said anything. “Care for a soak? It’s nice in here.”

I hesitate because it’s cold. I mean—I came here knowing I’d get naked. But performing a strip tease in the snow wasn’t really part of my plans.

He grins up at me. “Here, take this inside if you don’t mind?” He offers his phone. “Then change into the robe on the back of the bedroom door. I promise it’ll be worth it.”

As his smile widens, I feel a riffle of excitement. I want this, I remind myself. We’re here to have fun. “Be right back,” I tell him. Inside, I locate his bedroom down the only corridor. Alec has a king-sized bed, and it looks freshly made. Ready for a night with me.

Good lord. He must be the king of hookups. I’m out of my element. I’m also flattered. There was a time in my life—in college—when I ran a little wild. I like thinking that Alec can see the fun girl in me. Maybe she isn’t totally gone.

When I set his phone down on his dresser, it’s still lit. Alec had been reading a news article. “Giltmaker Looks to Expand, Scouting Locations for a Brew Pub.”