The Hazards of a One Night Stand (9 page)

“Yeah? Then what happened with Ryan?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you.”

“Come on.” He leaned across the table slightly. “No secrets.”

“You really want to know?”

“Yes. I definitely want to know.”

“We were going to hook up when he suddenly missed his ex and broke down crying.”

Tanner laughed. “For real? Ryan bawled on you before sex?”

“Pathetic, huh?”

“For him, yeah. Not for you.”

“I’d like to think I’m enough to distract a guy from his ex.”

He picked up my hand that was resting on the table. “Mallory, you could distract a man from just about anything.” There was something about the way he said it that made things far less awkward.

“Is that so?”

“Absolutely.” He moistened his lips, and I wondered if he was thinking about kissing me.

“Interesting.” I took a long sip of my tea.

We finished eating and set aside our silverware. If I’d been wearing a watch, I’d have been subtly looking at it. I was definitely ready to go.

“Would you like dessert?” he asked as soon as the waiter collected our plates.

“I’m all right, but feel free.”

“I might get coffee.”

“Oh. I could do that.” If I was going to have to wait for him anyway, I might as well get something.

“Are you sure that’s it? You don’t have a sweet tooth?”

“I do. But I’m full.”

“That salad filled you up that much?” He made a noise that might be considered a snort.

“Yes.”

“If you say so.” He ordered us both a coffee.

“Do you like arguing with me?” I shifted my legs under the table and inadvertently brushed mine against Tanner’s. He didn’t seem to mind.

“Yes. You get really animated when you’re annoyed.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.” He grinned. “You’re doing it right now.”

The waiter came over with our coffees, and I added my sweetener and cream.

“Well, I don’t like arguing.”

“Yes, you do. What is it about you and denying things?” He sipped his coffee.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your first instinct is to deny.” He set down his cup.

“No, it’s not.”

He laughed. “There it is. And when Colt outed your hook up, you immediately denied it.”

I blanched. “First Ryan, and now Colt? Are you purposely trying to sabotage this date?”

He leaned back in his chair. “No. Not at all. I’m just curious about what makes you tick.”

“I’m not that hard of a girl to understand.”

“No. You’re not. Except that you’re hiding something, or more than one thing.”

“What do you think I’m hiding?” I shifted in my chair nervously.

“I haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Phew. At least I have time to distract you.” I threw him my most dazzling smile.

He laughed. “You’re something else, Mallory.”

“I know.”

“So what else should I know about you? You don’t seem to like my questions, so why not decide for yourself what I learn?”

“You want to know about me?”

“Yeah.” He pulled out his wallet when the waiter dropped off the bill. I didn’t bother offering to split it. I always let the guy pay. It fed their ego. Arguing just made it seem like you didn’t think they could afford you, or that you were a cheap date. You don’t want a guy thinking either.

“My middle name is Alice. My favorite color is blue. I love nice boys and fast cars.”

He laughed. “Is that so? What about fast boys and nice cars?”

“Fast boys? Shouldn’t you say bad boys?”

He shrugged. “Do you want me to say that?” He lowered his voice. “Do you want me to be a bad boy?”

“I already told you I like nice boys.”

“What does
nice
entail?”

“If you don’t know, then you’re not one.”

He laughed dryly. “I know.”

“Good. Then don’t waste your time asking.” I pushed back my chair.

I headed toward the front of the restaurant, and Tanner’s hand settled on the small of my back. He opened my car door for me, and waited until I was buckled before pulling away from the curb. Each time he did something gentleman-like, he glanced at me.

“Are you trying to make sure I noticed how nice you are?”

“Maybe.”

“You’re a goof ball.”

“Goof ball? That’s a new one. Usually girls call me something else.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Maybe later we’ll find out if you do too.”

“Later?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Later.”

He parked by his house. I assumed he planned on drinking since the party was still a few blocks away. I appreciated him thinking ahead, but I wasn’t exactly looking forward to walking home in heels.

He must have noticed my reaction. “Don’t worry, I can carry you home.”

“Not to your place.” I closed the car door.

“Oh? You sure about that?” He wrapped his hand around mine as we walked.

“Absolutely.”

“We’ll see about that.”

The mixer was in full swing when we arrived. I glanced around the crowded bar, looking for my friends. I’d learned it was easier to find their boyfriends. Both guys, especially Reed, were huge. The first face I noticed wasn’t any of them. Colt smiled when he caught my eye. Unable to resist, I smiled back.

“What’s your drink?” Tanner asked.

“You don’t already know?” I said sarcastically.

“You want me to guess?”

“Sure. Surprise me.”

“All right. Be right back.” He walked over to the bar. I wandered into the crowd, determined to find someone I knew.

Colt found me first. “Hey, pumpkin.” He stopped inches in front of me.

“Hey.” I didn’t bother pretending I was unhappy to see him. He wouldn’t have bought it for a second. I didn’t want to lead him on, but I really wanted us to go back to being friends.

“How was dinner?”

“Oh.” I felt a wave of guilt but tried to shrug it off. I’d never pretended to have an interest in dating Colt. In fact, I’d been doing the opposite. Well, besides sleeping with him once.

“Oh?” He took a sip of his beer. “Is that all you have to say?”

“It was great.” I tried to smile to add believability.

“Great, huh?” He raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean you’re going out with him again?” The unmistakable look of jealousy crossed his face.

“Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.”

“Decided what?” Tanner returned, slipping an arm around my waist as he handed me a glass with a clear liquid and mint leaves.

“Nothing.”

“Whether you’re getting another date.” Colt spoke at the same time as me.

I glared at him.

“Oh? And what did you decide?” Tanner’s arm tightened around me.

“Jury’s still out,” Colt filled in before I could.

“I wasn’t asking you,
pledge
.” Tanner turned to me. “What do you say?”

“I didn’t hear you ask me out again, so there’s no reason to think about it yet.” Our first date definitely hadn’t been amazing, but a second wasn’t ruled out completely.

“Oh yeah? Okay.” He grinned. “Want to go out again?”

“That depends.” I’d walked into the trap myself.

“On?”

I made my decision. I’d give him another chance, but I wasn’t going to outright admit it yet. “Whether you picked out a good drink.”

“Then take a sip. Don’t leave me hanging.”

I sipped the cool, refreshing liquid. “A mojito. Nice. I think I’ll see you again.”

“Glad I passed the test.” His lips tickled my earlobe as he leaned in.

Tanner looked up, like he’d just remembered Colt. “This is a mixer, pledge. Why don’t you go mix?”

“Yeah. Sure. See you later, Mal.” Colt didn’t appear interested in mixing.

“I wouldn’t wait up for her.” Tanner used his hand to lead me away.

“Getting cocky, huh?” I teased. “Anyway, what happened to you wanting meaningful sex?”

“Sex with you would be very meaningful.” His fingers gently stroked my hip.

“For who?”

“Both of us. I mean I already know your favorite color and middle name. What else do I need to know?”

I laughed. “Yeah, if you’re looking to get lucky, you should probably do some mixing of your own.”

“Trying to ditch me already? We just got here.”

“I need to find my friends.”

“And we can’t find them together?”

Man, he was clingy. I always complained about going to parties alone, but at least I didn’t have to worry about a guy following me around. I caught sight of Juliet talking to another one of my sorority sisters, Claire. “I’ll catch up with you later.” I tried to slip away.

His hand tightened slightly. “Is that a promise?”

“Maybe.” I pulled away and rushed off. Either he was hard up or we had very different definitions of how casual couples acted at these things.

“Mallory, hey!” Juliet waved.

“Hey, girls.”

“How was dinner?” Claire asked. Pretty much my entire house knew about the date. I guess Tanner’s return had been noticed by a lot of people.

“It was all right.”

Juliet made a strange face, and I was prepared to explain when I heard Colt’s voice from behind me. “All right? What happened to great?”

I groaned. “Eavesdropping on other people’s conversations isn’t cool.”

“Yeah? Well, neither is listening to you flirt with a jack ass.”

All three of us looked at him with surprise. Claire spoke first. “Are you really saying that about an active?”

“Like you girls never complained about actives when you were pledging?”

“Not in public.” In private, we did it tons. Especially when it came to our pledge mom, Amanda. That was one senior I was glad to see graduate.

“This isn’t public.”

“A bar isn’t public?” I gave him a disbelieving look.

“No. It’s a fascinating conversation with three beautiful women.”

Claire giggled. A wave of jealousy hit me, and I didn’t like it.

“Aside from the jack asses, how’s the pledging life going?” Juliet asked.

“Your boyfriend isn’t a jack ass, by the way.”

“No, only the ones who hit on Mallory are, right?”

Colt smiled. “Exactly. But it’s been okay. Keeping me busy.”

“I bet. It’s only for a few months though.” There went Juliet with all the glass half-full stuff again.

“Yeah, and it’s nice that I still have time to see my favorite girl.” He winked at me.

“See me? If you mean bother then sure.”

“I’m not bothering you.” He took a half step toward me. “I notice the way your eyes light up when you see me.”

“Are you sure they’re not lighting up with anger?”

Juliet and Claire both laughed.

“Nah, they light up the same way during sex.”

I took in a sharp breath. “It happened once, Colt. You’re not an expert on how I am during sex.”

“On that note, we’re leaving.” Juliet tugged on Claire’s arm and walked away. She was in so much trouble.

I turned to follow, but Colt put a hand on my shoulder. “Afraid to talk to me alone?”

I shook my head.

“You sure?”

“Why would I be afraid?” I crossed my arms.

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re afraid you can’t control yourself around me.”

I cough-laughed. “Ah, no. That’s not an issue.”

“Oh?”

“Are we really going to do this?”

“Do what?”

“Play this game.” I dropped my arms to my sides. “I’d like to stay friends with you.”

“Stay friends?”

“Yeah. I don’t want us to end up hating each other.”

“I could never hate you, but I promise you we’re already a hell of a lot more than friends. I have some amazing memories to prove it.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek before I could react. “Have fun, pumpkin.” He walked off into the crowd.

“Grrrr.”

“Doing all right, hun?” Cara put a hand on my shoulder. She had her blonde curls tied up for once. She usually wore her hair down.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” I downed the rest of my drink.

“Where’s your date?”

“I’m not sure. I needed some air.”

She laughed. “You complain about being single, yet you can’t handle a date for a night?”

“I just like my independence.”

“He had a good time at dinner, by the way.” She sipped her drink.

“Oh yeah?” I looked down at my empty glass. I hoped my fake ID worked just as well this year, because I wasn’t hunting Tanner down just to get another drink.

“He’s smitten.”

“Smitten, huh? I haven’t heard that word lately.”

“What word should I use?”

“Maybe just he’s into me?”

“I like smitten.”

“Of course you do.”

“Dare I ask what you’re implying?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Nothing my English major love.”

“Being an English major somehow defines my vocabulary choices?”

“No, but it makes you nerdy about words.” I set my glass down on a table.

“Whatever that means.”

“Hey, ladies.” Aaron joined us.

“Hey.”

“Has Tanner found you?”

“Was he looking for me?”

“Why does that surprise you? A guy’s supposed to look for his date. Cara was supposed to be going to the bathroom, not sure how she got lost.”

“I didn’t get lost.” She put a hand on her hip. “I found Mallory.”

“I was kidding, babe.” He kissed her, and she smiled up at him with that sickeningly sweet smile she only gave him.

“I’ll catch you guys later.” I half waved, but before I could leave, Tanner found us.

“Why hello there.” He grinned.

“Hey.”

“You finished your drink.” He gestured to my empty hand.

“Great observation.”

“Want another of the same?”

I figured it couldn’t hurt. Besides, it meant I didn’t have to take a chance with my ID. “Sure.”

“You’re coming with me.”

“Am I?”

“You’re not wandering off on me again.”

“Are you trying to buy my company through drinks, Tanner?”

“No. I already got the promise of another date. I’m just saving myself the time of hunting you down.”

“You don’t like the hunt?” I needed to stay friendly, even if his clinginess was annoying me.

“I do, but I like the catch better.” He ran his fingers over my cheek. “And I’ve already caught you.”

“That’s what you think.”