by Anne Leigh
Their eyes roamed around the bar, looking for a target. Duncan was still scoping out the area when Peter’s gaze stopped on a corner, five tables away from ours.
“Well, I'll be damned. If it isn't my buddy, Z," he stated. I followed his gaze. Surely, there are other Z's in the world. Maybe Zafiro? Zane? Zach?
No way! There was no way fate could be this cruel.
I noticed his dark hair first. My gut clenched. His dark head was attached to a blonde head. From my seat, it looked like they were speaking intimately to each other. He must have sensed that someone was looking at them. His head bobbed up and looked around. I quickly turned towards Duncan before he noticed me.
I had no right to be annoyed but I was. How dare he ruin my one night out! Evidently, Peter and Zander were more than acquaintances because in about 2 minutes, Zander and his blonde friend were walking towards us.
"Hey, Z!" Peter rose up and was making room for Zander and his friend in our booth.
Ohnononono!
Left with no choice, I stole a quick glance at Zander and his model-thin, heavily made-up, Blonde Barbie look-alike companion. In her skimpy, blue mini dress and 3-inches stilettos, she looked out of place in this casual bar atmosphere. This blonde friend was another notch to the already filled up bedpost.
"...these are my friends, Duncan and Sedona." Duncan was already reaching up to shake Zander's hand. I stayed sitting and not exactly doing anything else.
“Zander and I have met, Peter," I addressed Peter. I still haven't looked at Zander directly.
Peter nodded at me and invited to Zander and his gal pal to join us. I wished I could say that the booth was small; it could actually fit 7 people. Maybe Zander would say no. He might not have wanted to be interrupted on his date.
"Sounds like a great idea. By the way, this is Mia," his masculine voice agreed with Peter's suggestion.
Great! Just effing great!
Ms. Model Barbie's mouth twitched and voted against it, "But, Zander, we have our table over there...."
Exactly. Why don't you both go back to your table?
Zander turned his head towards their table, "I can just let our server know. I'm sure it will be ok."
Without waiting for his date's response, he went back to their table.
Peter motioned for Ms. Blondie to sit beside him. She was a pretty girl, I could honestly say. She just had too much make-up going on. I noticed that she kept stealing glances at Duncan.
You're with Zander and you're checking Duncan out?! Duncan had his own charms - he had a great smile and nice, green eyes. Zander was totally hotter! Plus, he was your date. I didn't know what hit me or what dimension I was pushed into but my inner bitch was unleashed!
I leaned closer to Duncan.
"So, we were talking about pick-up lines...if I was the girl in the bar you'd like to pick up, what would you say to me?"
Peter and Ms. Barbie (yes, I knew her name was Mia), waited on his response.
Duncan fully turned his attention on me, "Zedona, I would say, 'Exzuse me miz, can you help me find my vvay? I got lost ztaring at your beautiful faze and I can't remember anything beffoore I met you.'"
A throat cleared and said, "I don't think her boyfriend will be happy with you putting the moves on her, Duncan."
Zander was back. My eyes met his. His blue-green gaze was piercing, searing. His mouth was fixed in a clenched, tight line. He looked so handsome! My heart was beating so fast and my throat was dry. I was about to ask him who my boyfriend was, Peter beat me to it; "You’re dating someone? I thought you were done with that Brennan dude, at least that's what Kieran said," his voice permeated the booth. When the hell did Kieran get the permission to gossip about my love life?
Zander looked utterly confused. His dark gaze flew to Peter,
With frost in his voice, he asked, "Isn't Kieran, the Swimming Guy, her boyfriend?"
Ms. Model was looking extremely bored. The attention was not on her, I heard her mutter, "Who cares?"
Duncan and Peter guffawed. They barely held themselves. Peter spoke first. It was a wonder how he managed to do this, in between their manly bellows, "Dude, you're funny! Sedona is Kieran's Ace, not his girlfriend!"
Zander’s mouth opened to say something when Kieran's rushed voice came in, "I'm so hungry. Ace, did you order my burger?"
I was about to say “Not yet.” Kieran’s eyes flashed recognition when he saw Zander at our table.
Ms. I-Need-to-Eat-10,000 Calories-To-Look-Normal's eyes lit up at Kieran.
Kieran apologized, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize we had more company. Hey Zander-” his eyes drifted from Zander to Ms. I-Know-I'm-Pretty-and-So-Should-You, she responded, "Mia, you must be Kieran," her eyes twinkled and her voice sounded hoarser. Kieran offered his hand to her and she reached for it.
Seriously! What was going on?!
Zander was on a date with Blondie. Blondie was checking Duncan out and now Blondie was making googley eyes at my best friend. Oh, and Zander thought Kieran was my boyfriend!
This night was turning out to be exhaustingly challenging! I needed a drink, a stiff one.
I signaled our server and he approached our table. I needed something stronger than my lemonade. I ordered a mango margarita. I usually ordered an apple mojito. Margaritas meant tough night. Kieran's eyebrows were raised as I gave my order to the server.
The server must not have heard my order correctly, he asked, “Virgin?”
“Yes…No, not a virgin. Real mango margarita, with alcohol,” My face suffused with heat.
Ms. Blondie’s gaze sharpened on me, “You’re not even 21.” What was her deal?
The server asked for my I.D. I pulled it out of my wallet as I said, “I am 21.” I just turned 21 two and a half months ago.
Kieran reached behind Duncan's head and mussed my hair, what he usually did when he teased me. He knew I was getting extremely annoyed. He was acting like a kid. My mind was all jumbled and my emotions were a mess!
"Not now, Kieran," I mumbled.
He barely stopped.
"So how's everyone doing?" Kieran's question was to no one in particular. Peter laughed, "Well, well, aside from realizing Sedona is not a virgin, we were just kind of telling Zander here that you're Sedona's buddy, not her bed buddy!" Gross, Peter can be irritatingly annoying! Virgin and Kieran’s bed buddy did not belong in a sentence!
Zander spoke, his voice cold, "No need to be crude. I misunderstood the situation." His eyes burned into mine as he addressed Duncan.
Ms. Blondie was getting antsy, her voice dripped with annoyance, "Zander, I thought we were on a date. I didn't think we were going to be around this many people."
I felt bad for her. Her date with Zander was being interrupted by us. Robbing the frustration out of my voice, I said, "Yes, Zander. I think you should pay more attention to your date. Maybe you guys should go somewhere private." Like back to your own table.
Zander briefly took his gaze off of me, strained the beer that he was holding, and said, "Mia, I'm sorry I'm no fun. I just happen to think that I'm right where I'm supposed to be. If you'd like, I can call a cab for you to go home and maybe you can hang out with guys who can show you a better time than me."
Mia's blonde eyebrows shot to her hairline. She seethed and struggled to get up, and before leaving the table, she spat at Zander, "What a waste of time! You are condescending and boring as hell! I am going to go to the bar and find a better hookup than you!"
The guys were all silent. Their gazes followed Mia's swaying hips as she walked towards the bar. Except Zander's. His eyes were trained on me the whole time. I felt the flush creep into my face as he sat there, openly staring at me.
Peter cleared his throat; "She looks like a winner, man," His eyes were still stuck on Ms. Blondie's butt.
Seriously?! Guys were crazy! I felt my ire rise up. Even if Ms. Blondie was annoying me (for reasons I did not dare dwell on), she did not deserve the let down that Zander gave her, in front of all o
f us.
"That was rude of you, Zander," I said, scolding.
He shrugged his shoulders. Actually, shrugged them. Unbelievable.
"Ace, I don't think we're privy to their date." Now, Kieran was defending Zander? What kind of crap was this?
Duncan added, "Zhe was kinda much. I vvouldn't vvant to be ztuck on a date vid zomeone who was zecking odder guys zout." He noticed Blondie eyeing him and Kieran.
"She still did not deserve that," I was defending Ms. Blondie.
Zander took a long look at me, his eyes burning, "Our server also did not deserve her whininess. She complained from the time we got to our table to when Peter saw us. Thank God you saw us, man.” He smiled at Peter.
The server came back to our table with our drinks. I almost inhaled my margarita. God, I needed this.
Zander asked the server to bring Blondie's tequila to the bar area where she was at and to put it on his tab.
"How is she going to get home?" I wondered to myself.
I must have spoken my thoughts out loud because Duncan answered, "Zhe lookz like zhe haz a ride home.” He pointed to the direction of the bar with his eyes. I saw Blondie cozying up to an older-looking gentleman. How was I going to continue defending her yet-to-be established honor if she acted like a slut? I rested my case and sipped on my margarita.
The guys got to talking about sports and I got to ordering more margaritas. They included me in the conversation; but, I had no interest in it whatsoever. I was, however, very interested in Zander's dark hair, the way his lips curved into a smile, his broad shoulders encased in a blue shirt, the stubbles forming on his jaw, and his eyes, oh, if his eyes were any more molten every time he glanced my way, I would be completely incinerated! I forgot all the reasons why he was a bad idea for me. Mango margaritas clouded my judgment, did they not?
In the middle of the conversation about baseball statistics, I excused myself to go to the restroom. Duncan and Kieran got out of the booth to let me pass. As soon as I stood up, I felt my head spinning. Probably from all the crazy events of the evening. I almost lost my balance. Kieran caught my hand, "You ok, Ace?"
Zander now stood by Kieran.
I slowly regained my balance and in a convincing voice, "Yeah, thank you. I guess I just stood up way too fast."
Kieran slowly let go, testing if I was ok.
I managed to stay upright. He offered to walk me to the restroom but I shushed him and told him I was fine. He must have been convinced because he slowly sat back down on the booth.
"I'll walk with you. I have to stop by the bar anyways." Zander announced.
I nodded my head and walked towards the restroom. He walked behind me.
I felt his gaze sear through me, from the top of my head to my spine and all the way down. I was a few steps away from the women’s restroom when I heard someone call out, "Sedona...." My name on his lips ignited the embers of fire inside me.
I turned slowly. He didn't stop by the bar.
His hands were on my face in an instant. His lips were on mine before I could even react. The look on his eyes was the final straw. His eyes were looking at me in a way I've never been looked at before. As if he wanted to devour me right on this spot. He pulled me into a corner, slight right from where the bathroom was.
I found myself eagerly responding to him. My hands were on his hair. Molding, caressing. His lips swallowed me and his tongue teased, flared, and played inside my mouth. A dam broke loose, the moment he touched me.
"Mmmm," I moaned. My hands were now feeling the silky strands of his hair.
My cheeks felt the rough stubble on his chin. It felt so delicious!
A throat cleared. At first, I thought it was Zander but he was kissing me, so it couldn't be him. I slowly pulled away from him and turned around. It was Kieran.
His face was in a teasing smirk, "You found your way to the bathroom, huh?"
I averted my eyes; I was not even going to answer that question.
Zander spoke, his voice slightly hoarse, "Yeah, I wanted to make sure she was ok."
"Sure. Alrighty then, I'll, um, see you guys at the booth." Was that a chuckle in his voice?
As he was leaving, he gave a quick glance to Zander and said, "Man, lip gloss looks good on you. I just don’t think girls dig that look."
If there was a time when I needed to desperately teleport to another planet, it would be now. Kieran catching us like a bunch of horn dogs was awkward. What was even more awkward was me pawing at Zander. His hair was messed up from my hand massage, his lips were glistening from my lip gloss, and his eyes were still burning into mine. I've never seen a man look sexier than he did at this moment.
If a boy kissed me like that, I should never let him go.
He held my cheek and whispered, "I'll see you back there." His breath smelled of beer mixed with his own scent. I didn't want to pull away. I took my time wiping the lip gloss from his lips. His blue-green gaze smoldered as I traced his lips with my fingers.
I nodded at his words and slowly followed command.
Inside the restroom, I saw my well-kissed lips in the mirror. My eyes were glazed with hot desire, and thank god, my hair was respectably intact.
I ran cool water on a tissue paper and dabbed it on my neck and chest to cool off. The fog of lust did not fade; it was only restrained for the moment. My lust for Zander was only intensified by all the events leading up to tonight. I might be a virgin, but my body was not immune to these intense emotions. Especially when it came to him.
The guys were busy arguing on who was going to take the college bowl this year when I returned to my seat. It was hard to look at Zander and not remember what happened a few minutes ago. They all tried to include me in the conversation but I wasn’t familiar with college football, even if my ex-boyfriend was a college football player. I knew a lot about the National Football Association (NFA) though. My dad and I had Sunday football popcorn nights.
Zander did not even bother hiding his interest in me. Peter had to elbow him a couple of times every time Zander’s gaze landed on me. I feigned a wild fascination with the nachos on our table. I could not look at him and not feel the burn in my cheeks.
"So, Ace, who are rooting for this year?" Kieran's attempt at including me in the conversation was evident.
"Rooting for what?" I asked.
"The NFA. Which team's going to take the crown?" Now, they were talking about the NFA.
The guys quieted and waited for me to answer.
"I haven't been watching a lot of football but, I have a soft spot for New York."
"New York? Zorry Zedona, they really zzzuck this zeazon!" Duncan’s bias against New York was distinct. Why I even found Duncan cute before was beyond me. He was maddeningly annoying!
"Really?" Peter said, "I wouldn't have taken you for a New York fan."
Zander's eyes grinned, "Interesting choice."
Guys! I told them about my team and now they were shutting down my choice. I shrugged, "I like New York. The last time I saw them play, they were good."
A chuckle came out of Duncan, "Maybe in pre-zeazzon."
Zander brushed Duncan off, "Why New York?"
"They're good," I responded and started sipping more of my margarita.
Kieran snorted. Snorted?! What kind of 23 year-old, supposedly mature guy did that!
"Come on, Ace. Be a sport. Tell them why you ‘love’ New York Liberty Football. The
real reason why you ‘think’ they're good."
Argh! Kieran was also extremely annoying tonight. The air quotes while he was talking irritated me more.
I continued to sip on my margarita and decided that silence was the key to change the topic.
Wrong.
Duncan egged me on, "Now you got uz curiouz, Zedona. Vhy vvould you like New York? Zzo out of character for you."
What was he talking about? He must be drunk. It was out of character for me to like New York? How did he know what was in character for me, in the first place?
>
Duncan prattled on, "I'd guezz you'd be an L.A. fan or even a Zan Francisco Oceanerz fan."
Kieran answered, "Let me tell you why Ace thinks New York is so good."
I reached across from Duncan so I could put my palm against Kieran’s mouth to shush him. He slowly pushed it away. If cheeks could burn from embarrassment, mine would be disintegrated when Kieran told them the real reason I liked New York.
