Damian (8 page)

I laughed at Kelly’s comment, though on the inside, even through the happy buzz from dinner, I wasn’t so sure I would say I had lucked out. It had been over two weeks since I’d seen
him
. And truth be told, I had been avoiding him ever since I’d turned down his invitation to be one of his casual female friends. So when Kelly suggested heading over to Damian’s during dinner, I had already tried to think of an excuse to get out of going. But after several bottles of wine among the three of us, by nine p.m., going to Damian’s hadn’t seemed like a bad idea after all.

The DJ was blasting the latest Katy Perry song when we walked through the double doors of Damian’s. And even in the packed crowd of people around us, I saw him the second we walked into the bar. It was almost as if there were a magnetic pull between us, and my eyes zoned in on him whenever he was near.

He was talking to a drop-dead gorgeous redhead, and I could tell from her body language that she was flirting with him.

“Okay, girls. First round’s on me,” Kelly said excitedly as we looked around. As we crossed the room toward the bar, my eyes never left Damian. To both my relief and disappointment, he hadn’t seen me as we approached the bar.

“How about a round of Mind Eraser shots?” suggested Kelly.

“Sure,” I agreed absentmindedly.

“God, these bartenders are all hot!” exclaimed Jen.

I didn’t respond. Not because I didn’t agree, but because I didn’t even hear her. I was in utter shock, at both what I saw a few feet away where Damian stood and how my insides were reacting to what was happening. The hot redhead had just taken a shot from Damian’s mouth, and I watched with a mixture of jealousy and despair as the she then shoved her tongue deep down Damian’s throat. The worst part was, he began to kiss her back. I felt my stomach twist uncomfortably as I watched their passionate kiss. When they broke away from each other, Damian was smiling at the girl and I knew he had enjoyed it.

Then, without warning, he looked over at me from behind the bar, as if he knew someone had been watching him. The smile and lust in his eyes disappeared the moment he saw me, and for a second, we both seemed to freeze as we stared at each other like deer caught in the headlights.

“Shit, he’s hot,” Jen whispered from behind me, breaking my moment of paralysis.

Damian blinked and his surprised expression completely disappeared. He cleared his throat and smiled at me. It was his signature I-know-I’m-fucking-hot smile, and I couldn’t help but fall for it like every other girl around me near the bar.

“Hey, you,” he said to me. I flinched at his words.
Does he not remember my name?

“Hi,” I said flatly. I refused to let him know that his words had upset me.

He looked at me for a second without saying another word, and the awkward silence seemed to grow and become dense between us. I saw the confusion in his eyes and wondered what he was thinking.

I didn’t have to wonder about that for long, because he finally looked away as the redhead pulled his face into hers for another kiss. I felt a stab of pain in my chest as I saw him grab the nape of her neck to kiss her back.

As much as I wanted to look away, I couldn’t seem to pull my eyes off of them. It was almost like driving past a horrible car wreck—you know you won’t be happy with what you will see, but you can’t help yourself from slowing down and looking to see what happened.

Then, to my utter surprise, I saw the redhead move her hand down his chest, under his shirt, and then into his pants. I felt my body radiate with irritation and shock at her boldness. What made it worse was that Damian made no efforts to stop her. Instead, he smiled seductively at her and slowly closed his eyes in pleasure.

“Damn, I love this bar,” came a voice from behind me. I turned around and saw Kelly as she handed me and Jen our shots.

I feigned a laugh.

“Cheers, girls,” Jen said as we raised our shot glasses.

I downed my Mind Eraser and hoped it would do just that—erase my thoughts of him.

“Wow, I wish I was that redhead right now,” Kelly exclaimed. I didn’t have to follow her gaze to know who she was talking about. But much like that car accident, I couldn’t help but to turn around and look over at the redhead, who was still talking to Damian.

He then shot a glance at me and smiled again. I felt my heart respond by skipping a beat, and a part of me hated my body for betraying me and giving in to him like that.

“Hey, let’s go dance,” I suggested. I needed to get away from the bar area.

“But I think that guy was looking at you,” said Kelly.

“Oh I doubt it,” I said dismissively.

“No, he totally was,” Jen agreed. “That was the second time he’s looked over at you, Alexis.”

“Yup, he was totally eye-fucking you, girl!” Kelly exclaimed.

I laughed. “What? What does that even mean?”

“It means that he was staring at you so hard that he may as well have been inside you,” Jen explained.

“He probably wants to be inside every girl,” I said with a snort. But I couldn’t help but blush at her words and was thankful that I could blame my flushed cheeks on the alcohol.

“I know
that
look.” Kelly looked at me suspiciously. “What haven’t you told us? Did you have something with him?”

“No!” I said immediately.

“Then what? I’m with Kelly. There’s something going on between you two!” Jen squealed.

“I …” I looked over at Damian again and the two girls followed my gaze.

Then I turned back to the girls, who both looked at me expectantly.

“It’s really nothing. We just had a brief encounter when I first moved in, but I haven’t seen him in weeks. He doesn’t even remember my name.”

“Oh shut up. Don’t think like that,” Kelly barked. “Hey, that redhead just got up. Looks like she’s about to leave. Let’s go over.”

I looked over again at Damian’s direction.

“Call me,” I heard the redhead say to Damian with a wink as she slipped him a piece of paper. She finished her cocktail and slowly pulled out a knotted cherry stem from her mouth, giving it a flirtatious flick with her tongue. “I told you I can double-knot it.” She pursed her lips seductively as she dropped the stem into the empty cocktail glass.

“Slut,” Kelly hissed under her breath.

Damian looked down at the cherry stem and raised an eyebrow. He looked up, gave the redhead a smoldering look, and smiled. “I had no doubt,” he said seductively.

I looked around and noticed that we weren’t the only girls who were seeing this. I noticed that all the girls near the bar were gazing lustfully at Damian. I felt a rush of anger flood through me, and I wasn’t sure why I was so upset.

To my surprise, when the redhead turned to leave, Damian looked directly at me and smiled. And immediately, my anger disappeared. I hated myself again for allowing him to affect me so easily.

“Hey, beautiful. What can I get for you and your friends?” I felt Kelly nudge me hard from behind, motioning me to move closer towards him.

“Hi,” I said and avoided his gaze. There was so much I wanted to say to him, but I knew I shouldn’t. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He was single and free to do whatever and whomever he wanted. And it was I who chose not to be a part of that.

“Sex on the Beach?”

I immediately looked up at him. “You remembered?” I was surprised that he’d remembered my favorite drink.

There was a split-second pause before he said, “Lucky guess.” He flashed me a smile.

“Oh.” I felt a little disappointed, but I didn’t let it show. “Yes, that would be great.” Then I turned to Kelly and Jen, who were both staring at Damian in silent awe. “What do you guys want? I’ll take care of this round.”

“Captain Morgan and Coke,” Kelly said.

“Vodka tonic,” Jen said.

“Coming right up, ladies,” Damian said. He then leaned across the bar toward me. I thought he was about to kiss my cheek, but he didn’t. Instead, he whispered in my ear, “Have you missed me?”

I was stunned by his words and the rasp of his voice. The heat of his breath against my ear sent shivers down my body.

I turned to look at him and he gave me a wink. “Because I’ve missed you, beautiful.” With that, he leaned back and walked off to make our drinks.

“What did he say?” Kelly and Jen asked as soon as he was out of earshot.

“Uh…he asked if I missed him,” I admitted, still unable to process his words. Something stopped me from telling them what he had said next.

“Ohmygod, he’s totally interested!” Jen shrieked with delight.

“He’s just a cocky player, guys,” I tried to say convincingly. But even I was not convinced. As much as I had tried to resist it, I felt a flood of joy course through me at the idea that he was interested in me.

“Oh come on. He didn’t say a thing to us! He is definitely interested!” Kelly reassured.

“I think he just wants to sleep around.”

“And what’s so wrong with that?” Kelly asked as she looked over at Damian. “I would do anything he wanted with me if I were you.”

Maybe she’s right
, a part of me thought. But then I realized that I wouldn’t be happy with just that. I wasn’t sure I could let Damian have his way with me and nothing else.

“I just don’t know that it would be a good idea,” I said honestly.

“Girl, just take it day by day. See what happens. What do you have to lose?” Jen asked.

My heart.

Before I could respond, Damian returned with our drinks.

“Hey, Alexis. Jill and I are going to go dance for a bit,” Kelly said. Then she leaned toward my ear and whispered, “Stay and talk to him.”

Before I could protest, they had grabbed their drinks and left me alone with Damian, who was looking at me with amusement.

“So I saw you watching me earlier,” he said with a sinful smile.

I knew what he was talking about, but I didn’t want him to know that. I frowned and cocked my head to the side. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, don’t be coy with me,” he teased.

I rolled my eyes and handed him my credit card for the drinks.

He laughed and walked over to the cash register to ring me up. I sipped my drink as I watched his every movement. As the wine and the Mind Eraser shot worked their way through my system, everything seemed to slow down and the voices around us disappeared into the background as my entire being—my eyes, my thoughts, and every inch of my body—was transfixed by him.

When he came back, he leaned against the bar towards me, his face only inches away. “So are you interested in a Damian style shot?” There was a twinkle in his deep blue eyes, and I found it difficult to think.

“A what?” I finally asked.

He chuckled. “Well, that’s what you claimed you didn’t see earlier. You can order whatever shot you want. When you make it Damian style, you can take the shot off of the body of the bartender you ordered it from.”

“Oh,” I said as I realized what the redhead was doing with him earlier.
But that doesn’t explain the make-out session or her hands down his pants
, a faint voice of reason said inside me.

He saw the understanding in my eyes and laughed. “That’s what that redhead got earlier. It’s all a part of the Damian’s marketing package,” he said proudly.

Why is he explaining this to me?

“So do you want to try it?” he asked and looked at me hopefully.

“I…” I wasn’t sure how to respond. I knew that the normal thing to do—the safe thing to do—would be to turn around and leave. And yet, every fiber of my body urged me to stay, to do what he’d said, to do anything to be close with him just a little longer.

And in the end, rational thought lost out to the uncontrollable desire to be near him. I felt myself glued to the barstool as he bored his intense blue eyes into me. He crooked his head slightly, as if he were studying me, as if I were some puzzle he was trying to figure out. I wondered desperately what he was thinking. What I would have given to know what that crook of the neck meant, what that sideways smile twisted on his lips meant, and what his offer meant.

“Just say yes,” he whispered, and for a brief moment, I saw the same warm blue eyes I had seen that other night when we were alone together.

I nodded slowly, unable to speak.

“Perfect. So what kind of shot would you like?” he asked. There was a renewed excitement in his voice, and I felt a wave a pleasure knowing that it was I who had caused that excitement.

“Uh, a tequila shot?” I suggested, unable to think of anything else with him staring at me so intensely.

“And where’d you like to take the shot?”

I looked at him in confusion.
What does he mean, where? I’m not planning on moving to a table or anything.

Then I realized what he really meant: where on his
body
would I like to take the shot from.

“Um…I don’t know,” I said. I felt my face grow hot. I knew that I’d been trying to be more adventurous when I moved to this city, but this was not what I’d had in mind.

“Well typically with the Damian Special, you can do the shot from anywhere on the body, but the alcohol stays in the shot glass and the pants for the male bartenders and the tank tops and skirts for the female bartenders stay on the whole time.” He paused and looked at me.

My breath caught as I saw the intensity in his piercing blue eyes. They were like the bluest of waters, the deepest of oceans, and I felt myself drowning in them.

“But with you,” he continued, “because you’re my neighbor, so you’re special, you can do the shot
anywhere
on me.” He licked his lips as his eyes drilled into me. He watched me and I felt like he was looking through me—not through me like he didn’t see me, but through me like he could see everything about me. I felt completely naked and exposed.

Normally, I would have felt nervous and self-conscious with this kind of forwardness, but tonight, liquid courage had empowered me and removed the nerves. What remained was a pure, unadulterated need for this beautiful man in front of me. As blood coursed faster through me, I realized that I’d never wanted someone more than I wanted this man.