know. I was just trying to make friends with your friends. Was that wrong?”
I grabbed the darts from the dartboard on the wall, stood back, and started to throw. Every one of my throws was way off. No shock there, considering how tense I felt. “They’re football players, you know. Like me? Like your dad? We’re all assholes, right? Didn’t seem to stop you from getting pretty chummy with them.”
After I’d thrown all the darts, I glanced over at her. She was looking at me like I had an alien coming out of my mouth.
“This whole thing was your idea. I thought as long as I was pretending to be your girlfriend, I should pretend to like football players, too,” she snapped. “You know, since you are one.”
She had me there. But I guess I hadn’t known she would be so good at pretending to be something she wasn’t. I didn’t like it one bit. The thing I’d liked most about her in the first place was how genuine she was. What you saw was what you got. And now--
“I do it all the time, with my dad,” she said softly, cutting off my train of thought.
“Pretend to like him. Mostly for my mom’s sake.” She started to bite on that cherry red lip of hers, and one look at that familiar gesture made all the rage inside me evaporate.
She’d literally done nothing wrong. I was pissed because I wasn’t used to these feelings bubbling up inside me and I was taking it out on her.
I blew out a sigh and nodded. “I’m sorry you feel like you have to do that. And I’m even more sorry for acting like a dick. You were doing exactly right, it just surprised me is all. And you look so great…”
I trailed off, not wanting to reveal too much. I’d told myself this was just supposed to be a way to keep Renee off my back. Spending a little more time with Bee was a bonus. But now? I knew I’d been fooling myself. It had always been about Bee and how I felt when I was around her. And it scared the shit out of me.
“Anyway, I really appreciate you doing this. We cool?”
“Sure, yeah.” She nodded and tucked a stray lock of dark hair behind one ear. She looked as confused as I felt and just when I thought I’d blown the whole evening with my macho-asshole routine, she stepped back and cracked her knuckles like she meant business. “Now move out of the way and let me show you how that’s done.”
She strolled over to the dartboard, mesmerizing me with the sway of her hips, and pulled the darts out one by one. I watched as she stood on the yellow line and cocked her arm before letting loose. Three in a row, all pretty close to the bull’s eye.
Then she turned and grinned at me. “Okay, so maybe darts is a bad idea for you.”
“Nice,” I said, returning her grin.
We played darts for an hour or so, but my game was garbage. Every time I tried to focus on the board, I could see her in my periphery, that sexy cleavage just begging for my mouth. I’d already embarrassed myself and couldn’t imagine my playing was going to improve, so I admitted defeat with a grimace.
“Okay. Clearly, you got me at darts. Let’s find something I’m better at to make it a real competition then.”
I considered trying pool again but the guys were all huddled around the table and I wanted Bee to myself for a while longer. I spied an empty Trivia Master game at the bar and led her over.
We climbed into the worn leather stools and I slid two dollars into the machine before tapping on the screen to select Sex Trivia.
“Oh, lord,” she mumbled. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” It was a chance to make Bee blush, and I couldn’t pass that up.
The first question flickered onto the screen and I read it out loud in my best newscaster voice.
“According to a 2007 survey, approximately what percentage of U.S. women claim to have never experienced an orgasm? Five percent, ten percent, fifteen percent, or twenty percent?”
I studied the screen and rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
“You’re a woman. What do you think,
I grabbed the darts from the dartboard on the wall, stood back, and started to throw. Every one of my throws was way off. No shock there, considering how tense I felt. “They’re football players, you know. Like me? Like your dad? We’re all assholes, right? Didn’t seem to stop you from getting pretty chummy with them.”
After I’d thrown all the darts, I glanced over at her. She was looking at me like I had an alien coming out of my mouth.
“This whole thing was your idea. I thought as long as I was pretending to be your girlfriend, I should pretend to like football players, too,” she snapped. “You know, since you are one.”
She had me there. But I guess I hadn’t known she would be so good at pretending to be something she wasn’t. I didn’t like it one bit. The thing I’d liked most about her in the first place was how genuine she was. What you saw was what you got. And now--
“I do it all the time, with my dad,” she said softly, cutting off my train of thought.
“Pretend to like him. Mostly for my mom’s sake.” She started to bite on that cherry red lip of hers, and one look at that familiar gesture made all the rage inside me evaporate.
She’d literally done nothing wrong. I was pissed because I wasn’t used to these feelings bubbling up inside me and I was taking it out on her.
I blew out a sigh and nodded. “I’m sorry you feel like you have to do that. And I’m even more sorry for acting like a dick. You were doing exactly right, it just surprised me is all. And you look so great…”
I trailed off, not wanting to reveal too much. I’d told myself this was just supposed to be a way to keep Renee off my back. Spending a little more time with Bee was a bonus. But now? I knew I’d been fooling myself. It had always been about Bee and how I felt when I was around her. And it scared the shit out of me.
“Anyway, I really appreciate you doing this. We cool?”
“Sure, yeah.” She nodded and tucked a stray lock of dark hair behind one ear. She looked as confused as I felt and just when I thought I’d blown the whole evening with my macho-asshole routine, she stepped back and cracked her knuckles like she meant business. “Now move out of the way and let me show you how that’s done.”
She strolled over to the dartboard, mesmerizing me with the sway of her hips, and pulled the darts out one by one. I watched as she stood on the yellow line and cocked her arm before letting loose. Three in a row, all pretty close to the bull’s eye.
Then she turned and grinned at me. “Okay, so maybe darts is a bad idea for you.”
“Nice,” I said, returning her grin.
We played darts for an hour or so, but my game was garbage. Every time I tried to focus on the board, I could see her in my periphery, that sexy cleavage just begging for my mouth. I’d already embarrassed myself and couldn’t imagine my playing was going to improve, so I admitted defeat with a grimace.
“Okay. Clearly, you got me at darts. Let’s find something I’m better at to make it a real competition then.”
I considered trying pool again but the guys were all huddled around the table and I wanted Bee to myself for a while longer. I spied an empty Trivia Master game at the bar and led her over.
We climbed into the worn leather stools and I slid two dollars into the machine before tapping on the screen to select Sex Trivia.
“Oh, lord,” she mumbled. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” It was a chance to make Bee blush, and I couldn’t pass that up.
The first question flickered onto the screen and I read it out loud in my best newscaster voice.
“According to a 2007 survey, approximately what percentage of U.S. women claim to have never experienced an orgasm? Five percent, ten percent, fifteen percent, or twenty percent?”
I studied the screen and rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
“You’re a woman. What do you think,
Similar Books
