After all, I was only being polite. I hit send before I chickened out. Then I waited, practically holding my breath, for a response. It was probably too loud at the club to hear his phone. No message. He probably forgot all about me. No message.
I checked my phone for the hundredth time, ninety minutes later before I shut off my lights and climbed into bed. Trying to ignore the disappointment settling over me, I repeated the litany of reasons why a guy like Tommy was so wrong for me. I closed my eyes and banished the image of him from my head. But I'm pretty sure he showed up in my dreams anyway.
Chapter 2
I shuffled slowly out of my bedroom and towards the kitchen, following the beckoning aroma of fresh coffee.
My roommate, Emily, was checking her watch. "Ten o'clock. You're up early."
"We left the club early. All that effort and I think we only spent about an hour there." I headed into the kitchen. "Where's Mike?"
Emily closed her laptop and got up from the couch stretching. "Oh, he had stuff to do. We're going to meet up for dinner later if you want to catch a bite with us."
I retrieved a mug from the cabinet and began filling it with the dark brew. "Hmm. Thanks for the offer. I'll let you know."
Mike and Emily had been dating seriously for a few years now. I was so comfortable around them that I never felt like a third wheel. Still, I felt pathetic glomming onto their plans every weekend.
Emily sauntered into the kitchen, looking way too awake and way too interested in my lame night. "So what happened? You looked gorgeous last night. I thought for sure you'd be bringing home a hot guy."
Sometimes I was certain that Emily enjoyed living vicariously through my clumsy man adventures. She definitely needed to find someone more exciting than me. It was ironic that I often wistfully daydreamed about having a steady comfortable relationship like she had. Sexing every night? I'll take it. Awkward sex once in a blue moon. Blah.
I rolled my eyes. "What happened was Cora."
Emily settled into the kitchen chair eagerly waiting for details on the latest drama. "I don’t know why you keep going out with her. What did she do this time?"
I sat down at the table with my mug. "About five minutes after getting into the club, she hooks up with some asshole guy. And get this, it's the lead singer for the rock band, Cold Fusion. So, typical Cora, she gives him a blowjob. Right in front of everyone. And then she wonders why she gets kicked to the curb and treated like dirt. She was hiding out in the restroom and I had to sneak her out of there."
Emily's eyes couldn't have gotten any wider. "Oh my God. She never learns! She needs to take some lessons from you and learn to play hard to get. It so much more alluring."
I snorted inelegantly. "You mean, impossible to get? At least she gets laid every once in awhile. I'm beginning to think my technique is off. No man seems to make it through my screening process."
"You are pretty picky." Emily tapped her fingers on the table. "You know, Livvy, you're young and single. You should be enjoying yourself more. Stop trying to tie yourself down to one man. Do some experimenting. Have some wild sex."
I gave her a doubtful look. "Are you feeling okay?"
Emily laughed. "I know. Right? Mike and I are getting pretty serious. Well, of course we've been serious for a while, but I have a feeling that he's going to propose soon. And while I'm way beyond excited about it, a part of me is thinking that I didn't sow my wild oats, so to speak. And now it's too late. So damn, lighten up a bit, Livvy! Every guy you screw doesn't have to be your perfect life-long mate."
"Jesus, Em." Coming from her, the speech was pretty stunning. "Maybe I should have given that rock star, Tyler Matthews, a blowjob."
Emily stood up. "Only if it were reciprocated. And stay away from rock stars. They're nothing but trouble."
She turned on her heel and headed over to the couch where she scooped up her laptop. She made it into her room before I burst out laughing. Right.
My stomach growled loudly, but I knew there wasn't anything great to eat in the cupboards. I had put off grocery shopping for weeks, existing on weird combinations of food that I could gather from the corners of the cabinet or take-out. It was time to do what I dreaded whole-heartedly, drag my butt out to the food store.
I put my empty mug into the dishwasher and then headed into my room, preparing to shower. I checked my phone out of habit and froze in my tracks when I saw the new message. It was from Tommy. Meet me out for lunch in an hour. Avanti on W. Grove
My heart was beating double time. A million thoughts ran through my head crowding out any logical reasoning skills I had available at that moment. There were so many reasons not to go out with him. But I wanted to. There it was. Plain as day. I couldn't deny that I was thrilled that he had texted me. My pulse quickened just thinking about seeing him again. Emily's words echoed in my head: lighten up, Livvy.
Screw it. I was hungry and he was hot. I squealed as I made up my mind. I typed in my message: Sure! I'll see you soon!
I hesitated before hitting send. I sounded way too excited. Too many exclamation points. I deleted the text and tried again: Ok, but I need more time. I'll be there at 11:30
There, I bought myself some more time and sounded much more casual. I started stripping out of my pajamas. I didn't have much time to get ready…
***
Tommy leaned back against the soft vinyl of the booth. He was starving, but it was a bit rude to order before Livvy even showed up. Assuming she did show up, that is. After she skipped out on him last night, he wasn't so sure.
The night before he had already been imagining a night of wild sex with her, but then he had gotten her brush off text. Frowning at his phone, he had shaken off his disappointment within seconds. You win some, you lose some. There were plenty of hot chicks at the club. He had headed back up to the VIP section.
The party was in full swing. Half the chicks were already topless. Most of them were stumbling drunk or high on their drug of choice. Few of them could form a coherent sentence at that point, but when the ones sober enough to notice him did so, they moved in masse, surrounding him.
They groped him and whispered promises outrageous enough to make a sailor blush. But, nothing shocked him anymore. He put his arms around the two closest girls, draping his right arm over the blonde girl's shoulder and fondling her huge exposed tits. Who the hell needed Livvy?
He squeezed the blonde girl's nipple just as he tried to squeeze the image of Livvy out of his mind. Sure, he'd rather be fucking her tonight, but if he closed his eyes, it'd all feel the same.
Even though his dick was throbbing with excitement, he couldn't help but shake the slightly tawdry feeling of these girls surrounding him. Since when the fuck did he give a shit? A hand slipped inside of his shorts, and he forgot all about Livvy. That is until he woke up this morning and again saw her text from the night before.
So, here he was waiting for her to show up. He had been nearly sober when he had met her; still he was dubious that she was as sexy as he remembered her. The flashes of anger she had directed at him for spilling her drink all over her phone and at her friend for ditching her, intrigued him. She was definitely spunky.
Tommy suspected that part of the reason he felt so attracted to her was because she didn't know who he was. In fact, she seemed pretty unimpressed by him. Except for when he brushed up against her breast with his arm. He shifted in his seat as he remembered her reaction. Oh, she had definitely responded to that.
What would she do when she found out who he was? Would she gush all over him, suddenly impressed? When he thought about it, he didn't think so. She hadn't seemed too awestruck by Tyler. A smile curved his lips as he recalled the insults she had thrown at him. If only Tyler could have heard her saying that shit…
He was grinning like a dope when she approached the booth and sat across from him.
"Hi Tommy."
Holy Shit! He was wrong. She was way beyond sexy. Sure her body was as amazing as he remembered it. B
ut, stripped of the glittery and sexy club clothing and the extravagant makeup, this girl shined with natural beauty.
Her hair had looked a dark brown in the subdued lighting of the club, but now he could see the rich auburn color with strands of gleaming coppery highlights. Her eyes, a bright blue, were fringed with thick eyelashes and her lips were shiny and extremely kissable.
Jesus. Stop staring at her lips and say something. "Hey. I was beginning to think you were blowing me off again."
She raised an eyebrow innocently. "I don’t recall ever blowing you off…"
Where did that come from? Geez, he needed to be cool. Luckily the waitress came to interrupt the awkward silence that he couldn't seem to fill.
"I hope you're ready to order, because I'm starving." He frowned when his words came out harsher than he meant.
Livvy glanced up at him, her brows scrunched in annoyance. "Um, okay. Give me a sec, you order first."
The young bouncy waitress that had been bothering him every two minutes as he waited for Livvy, came giggling up to their booth. Tommy cringed. God, he hoped the waitress didn't give away who he was.
Normally, Tommy wouldn't even have registered the waitress fawning all over him while she took his order. But as it became more obvious, Tommy was practically blushing with embarrassment. He couldn't get rid of the annoying waitress fast enough.
He glanced up at Livvy when he finished ordering. She was watching him with narrowed eyes, chewing slightly at her lip.
She remained silent as she studied him, so Tommy prompted her, "Are you ready to order, Livvy?"
She nodded and began ordering a lunch as big as his own. He could see the growing frustration on her face when the waitress barely listened and instead kept stealing side-long glances Tommy's way.
When the waitress read back Livvy's order incorrectly for the second time, Tommy was getting aggravated himself. He repeated the order back to the girl and this time she listened. She skipped off promising to be right back.
Tommy waived off Livvy's shrewdly questioning look with a shrug of his shoulders. "So, you found your friend last night?"
"Argh. What a mess!" Livvy shook her head. "She managed to get screwed over by that dipshit in the sunglasses. And you were right, he's a member of that rock band you mentioned."
Tommy couldn't help but smile. "Dipshit?"
Livvy's laugh warmed his insides. "Yeah, dipshit. My friends tease me all the time about my choice of bad words. I never, ever drop the f-bomb, so it leads to some other creative expressions."
"You never say it?" Tommy raised an eyebrow.
"Not once in over six years. But some of my friends say it all the time and I think it in my head plenty. But, I haven't slipped up yet." She smiled proudly.
Tommy felt his cock stirring. "I bet I can make you say it."
"What?" Livvy laughed. "No way. It'll never happen."
"Maybe not today, but I'll make it happen." Tommy tapped his fingers against the table.
He watched her eyes widen slightly. He surprised himself at the declaration of seeing her again. He hadn't even realized it until he said it, but she was so much more interesting than the obsessed fan girls he usually had falling all over him. And she had called Tyler a dipshit.
He let out a pent up breath when she didn't challenge his assertion. There was a lot of time until the next leg of his tour started and he'd love to fill some of his nights playing with this sexy girl.
The waitress came by with their drinks. She set them down and then stood staring at Tommy, twirling strands of her hair around her finger. "Can I get you anything else? Anything?"
Tommy kept his eyes on his drink, mentally willing the waitress to leave. "No, we're great. Thanks."
She hovered a few moments longer, but finally, she slinked off. Tommy busied himself sipping his drink while Livvy stared at him curiously.
She swirled the straw in her glass. "It seems as if our waitress has taken a special interest in you."
"I hadn't noticed." Wanting to quickly change topics, Tommy blurted out the first question that came to mind. "So, Livvy, what to you do when you're not hanging out in trendy nightclubs?"
She raised an eyebrow, but allowed him to change the subject. "I work in HR - Human Resources - for a Fortune 500 company. So, I can read people pretty well. In fact, I can spot a bullshitter a mile away. How about you? What do you do?"
Tommy had left himself wide open for that one. No way he was going to tell her that her was the drummer in dipshit's band. "I, um- well, I'm kind of in between things right now. I've got some time on my hands."
Tommy could see the judgment and disappointment cross over her face.
Livvy smiled, almost too brightly. "I see. Well, if you ever need help with a resume or anything, just let me know. I'm an expert."
Way to go. Now she thinks I'm an unemployed slacker. A fleeting thought passed through his mind. She's way too classy for me.
His only hope might be to pull out the Cold Fusion card and hope that she was more of a fan girl type than he thought. But that also just might be the final nail in his coffin.
Livvy startled him by suddenly standing up. "I'll be right back. I know you're starving, but don't touch my food if it comes out before I get back."
Tommy nodded. Jesus, he had thought she was about to walk out the door. His chuckle of relief quickly turned to a groan. Two girls, young teenagers, were giggling and elbowing each other on their way over to his table. He immediately looked away, but he had already seen the fierce determination in their eyes. Shit.
"Hi." First came the high-pitched greeting and then more giggles. "Sheena swears you're the drummer for Cold Fusion. Is it true?"
Tommy kept his expression neutral. "Sorry. I've never played the drums. But I've heard that I look a lot like that guy."
Sheena's face fell. "Are you sure? You even have the same tattoos on your arms."
Geez. "No, my tattoos are different. See? That guy doesn't have this tattoo." Tommy pointed to the markings on his right forearm.
The first girl elbowed Sheena. "See! I told you."
Tommy cringed. Sheena had a stubborn glint in her eye. "I don't believe you. I know everything about Cold Fusion. You're just trying to get rid of us."
God, he needed to get rid of them before Livvy came back. "Look, I'm not the guy from that band. Sorry. But my girlfriend is going to get back soon and she's a real crazy bitch. And she hates Cold Fusion. She'll go psycho on you if she sees you with me."
The first girl looked nervous, but Sheena still wasn't budging. "If you let me take a picture with you, I'll leave."
Holy crap. "Okay, real quick and then you have to leave and not bother me again."
Sheena gave her phone to her friend and slid into the booth with him, practically on top of his lap. The flash went off just as she slid a hand over his junk, thankfully blocked from the camera's view by the table.
Tommy started nudging her away. "Great. Okay, time to beat it out of here."
Sheena finally took the hint and stood. She snatched her phone from her friend's hand and looked at the photo. Both girls broke into a fit of excited giggles again as they walked off.
Tommy didn't even have time to collect his breath when Livvy slid back into the booth across from him.
She eyed him curiously. "Why do I feel like I'm the only one here not in on some kind of secret?"
Damn. How much of that did she see? "Yeah, I'm getting weird vibes from this place today, too."
The waitress arrived with their dishes, interrupting the awkward moment. Again, she was falling all over herself trying to please him, but Tommy valiantly tried to keep up a conversation with Livvy, effectively cutting out the waitress.
"So what does a human resources person do exactly?"
Livvy began explaining her job and it turned out to be far more involved than he had assumed. In fact, her obvious success and intelligence was pretty intimidating. He couldn't even remember the last time he had hung out with
a brainy chick.
The waitress threw Livvy a few disgusted looks, but she didn't seem to notice, she was so engrossed in her description. Finally, the waitress left. Tommy sighed and began digging into the food on his plate as he listened to Livvy talk about her work.
They were nearly finished eating when Livvy suddenly stopped talking. "Sorry, I got carried away. I must be really boring you."
Tommy shook his head. "No. Your job sounds really impressive. And I can tell that you like it. It's cool."
Livvy blushed. "So what do you do? Er, I mean, for fun and stuff."
Tommy leaned back and stretched his long legs under the table. "I love any outdoor activity. Surfing and kiteboarding are definitely my favorites, but I like rock climbing, repelling, cycling. That kind of stuff."
Livvy's eyes lit up. "I thought 'surfer' the second I saw you. I always wanted to try surfing- it looks like fun. I used to watch Gidget reruns non-stop. I always wanted to try to surf Gidget-style."
Tommy blinked in surprise. "What the fuck is Gidget-style?"
Livvy laughed. "Gidget used to always ride on the surfboard with her boyfriend. They always looked so cute."
"Tandem surfing? Like competition with lifts and tricks and stuff?" That was something that Tommy had no real interest in.
Livvy crinkled her nose. "Lifts? Um, no. I didn't even know you could do that. I just meant two people on a surfboard at once. I guess that's kind of boring. I just liked the whole beach party atmosphere of that show. Probably because we never went to the beach when I was growing up. Where do you surf around here, anyway?"
Tommy sat back as he finished eating. "Galveston. Yeah, it's still pretty far. I'll be heading down to South Padre Island for a week or so during Thanksgiving."
She looked off into the distance wistfully. "That sounds like fun."
There was nothing Tommy liked more than beach babes. He could just imagine Livvy in a teeny bikini.
He shook the image from his mind. "You should come surfing with me sometime, Livvy. Everyone should try surfing at least once in their life. And if you don't like it, you'll definitely like the laid back party culture if your show, Gidget, was close to accurate."
Crazy Page 2