into?
The cute little waitress brings another round, even though the guys are standing at the bar. I quickly grab mine and pound it back, slamming the empty bottle on the table.
Game on.
“Ridge, this is Stephanie,” Mark says as the rest of the guys take their seats. Turning to face the music, I see a blonde with long-ass legs and nice tits staring back at me. I prefer blondes.
Maybe this isn’t going to be as bad as I thought.
Standing from my seat, I reach for her hand and pull it to my lips. “Nice to meet you, Stephanie. Can I get you a drink?”
“Hi.” She blushes. “My friends are actually at the bar.” She points over her shoulder.
I don’t pull my eyes away from her, giving her all my attention. “You can sit by me.” I wink, pulling the chair out for her.
“Thanks.” She grins.
For the rest of the night, I focus on her. She seems . . . normal, not one of the crazies. Her friends are nice and otherwise occupied by mine. Everyone is having a good time, and I feel some of the dread slip away. Maybe, just maybe, I didn’t sign myself up for three months of hell.
As the night carries on, my boys continue to drink, but I switch over to water. It’s go time, so I need to keep my wits about me, keep Miss Stephanie interested. As if she can read my thoughts, she yawns.
“I’m so sorry.” She hides her mouth behind her hands. “I’ve been up since five this morning, and I’m worn out.”
“What do you do?”
“I work in interior design. I had a final staging today for a house we just completed.”
Beautiful and holds down a job. “Let me take you home,” I whisper in her ear.
“I-I . . . um, would love to, but I have to be up again early tomorrow,” she says while looking down at her clasped hands.
“As much as I would love to share your bed with you tonight, that’s not what I meant. You’re tired and have been drinking. Let me drive you home, make sure you make it there safe.”
She hesitates. I’m sure she’s trying to gauge if she can trust me. She looks around at our friends, who are obviously paired up.
“Steph, Mark is coming home with me. You ready to go?” her friend asks. I didn’t bother to try and learn their names.
This could not have worked out better. I brought Mark, her friend brought her. She needs a ride.
“Just a ride,” I whisper against her ear.
She nods. “Ridge said he could take me,” she tells her friend, who is draped over Mark.
Mark grins.
I fight the urge to flip his ass off. Instead, I stand and offer Stephanie my hand. She takes it, any hesitation she may have had now gone. I wave to the table and lead her out to my truck.
Helping her inside, I wait until her seatbelt is on to shut the door, and then stop at the rear of the truck and take a deep breath. She seems chill, but who knows what the next three months will hold. This may be the first bet I ever lose. Shaking my head to remove that thought, I pull up my boxer briefs and make my way to the driver’s side. “So, where are we headed?”
“It’s not far from here, actually.”
I listen as she gives me general directions before pulling out of the lot. “You lived here long?” I ask.
“No. The girls and I just moved here about three months ago. Carla’s parents own the firm we work for. They’ve been planning to expand for a while, so when we all graduated, that’s what they did. The three of us had instant jobs right out of college.”
“That’s a pretty sweet deal.”
“We were lucky, that’s for sure.”
The cab of the truck grows silent. I’m pre-occupied with what I just agreed to and Stephanie . . . Well, I’m not sure what’s going through her head right now.
“Second house on the right,” she instructs, breaking the silence.
Pulling into the drive, I put the truck in park but don’t kill the engine.
“Thank you.” She reaches for the door.
Shit! I need to get with the fucking program here.
“Stephanie.” I reach out and grab her arm. “Can
Escapades Four Regency Novellas
Michael Kurland, S. W. Barton