The Reality of You Read Free Page B

“Let’s go say hello.”
    I tried to dig my
feet into the wood floor. Too bad I was wearing a pair of Kara’s flats. She
easily dragged me.
    “No! Are you nuts?
Stop it,” I said as she yanked me and I slid with her toward the bar. “Kara!” I
hissed.
    Luckily, with his
attention on the woman across from him, he didn’t notice us arguing ten feet
from him. Yet he seemed slightly bored, with his elbow on the back of the chair
and two fingers at his temple. At least that was how I interpreted his body language.
    “Then should we go
back to our table?” Kara innocently asked.
    My eyes flashed
annoyance at her, but I let her drag me across the bar while he leaned forward,
dark hair brushing over his forehead. He said something near the woman’s ear,
and I imagined his voice sounding deep and seductive.
    The three jackasses
had ordered another round of drinks while we were gone. I sipped my beer and
tried not to keep glancing toward the bar. From this angle, I couldn’t see much
except their elbows and his carved profile now and then. Being confronted with
my obsession on a night out I didn’t want to be on just made me more
uncomfortable. My gaze kept roaming toward the bar. Annoyed with my roommate, I
pretty much ignored her and the three men at our table.
    Reese Jordon . I wanted to say the name aloud, feel
how it rolled off my tongue, how it sounded in my mouth. Ridiculous. Now I’d
become more obsessed. On the other hand, now my fantasies would have a name.
    Finally, after
giving me several dirty looks from across the table, Kara declined the offer of
another round. I about jumped off my stool. My goodbye was quick. I rushed
toward the exit, with Kara following and hissing about how rude I was. After
slipping on our coats, we stepped out into the cold night. Two strides out into
the winter air, we both stopped.  
    The light from the
bar casting them in half shadows, Mr. Jordon and his leggy date waited at the
curb. With him in a long wool coat and her in a short fur one, they appeared
rich and beautiful. People from another world. She leaned toward him, pushing
her hands into his open coat. Gazing up at him, she fluttered her lashes. His
mouth tightened into a flat smile. She wiggled closer. His brows lowered, but
his hand slid from her waist and cupped her ass. He lifted her up and pressed
her against him, bending until his mouth was mere inches from hers. And
although they weren’t kissing, the leggy woman let out a pant. Both the pant
and the position were quite sexual.
    My mouth dropped
open, like to the point of a cavern.
    Kara let out a loud
laugh.
    They both started
turning toward the cackling sound, but I dragged Kara away, refusing to look at
them.
    Halfway down the
block, Kara quit laughing. “You should have seen your face. You were about to
vomit or scream.”
    I marched ahead of
her. “Zip it.”
    She caught up with
me far too quickly. “Really, if you think the guys we had drinks with tonight
were egotistical, Reese Jordon is the king of egotistical.”
    “Oh yeah?” I said,
getting angry as we came to the corner. She kept trying to shred my fantasy to
bits. But come on. I needed something to look forward to each day. “Do you
personally know the man?”
    She went to the curb
and raised a hand for a coming cab. “Everyone, and I mean everyone, who knows
anything about him knows he thinks he’s God’s gift to women and that none of
them are good enough for him.”
    I frowned. “How
cliché.”
    “Sometimes cliché is
true.”
    Feeling stubborn, I
glanced down the block. Reese was helping legs into a limo. “There’s another
cliché saying. If the shoe fits…”
    Kara whipped open
the door of the cab that had stopped. “Trust me, Naomi. Give up the daydreams.
I would say he’s out of your league. However, the truth is, the shallow ass
isn’t good enough for you. The man goes through women like I go through shoes.
Three weeks tops—that’s the extent of his dating window. Wine,