Home > Hooked(17)

Hooked(17)
Author: Brenda Rothert

Jake rolls his eyes. “Stop or I’ll whip it out right now and prove you wrong.”

My cheeks warm at the thought. I kind of want to not stop, but I do.

“It was fine, really. Helping out the occasional drunk is part of a bartender’s job.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Jake, you don’t need to take me out to dinner to thank me, okay?”

He sighs softly. “You’re not making this easy.”

“I just made it super easy. We’re square, okay? Just hold back some of your bitching when I clean your room and I’ll be forever grateful.”

“I want to take you out to dinner,” he says, his eyes holding mine in a serious way that makes my stomach flip. “And I want to show you my place. It’s not about repaying anything. I want you to see that I’m not just an asshole.”

“So you admit that you are, in part, an asshole?”

He grins sheepishly. “I do.”

God, I want to say yes. I want to fix my hair and have a reason to wear Paige’s Dior perfume that I love. I want to feel pretty—maybe even sexy for the first time in forever. I want to talk to Jake while I’m not cleaning his suite and feel like we have more than a guest-maid flirtation happening.

But I swore off dating. I promised myself I’d focus on school and work free from the distractions and emotional ups and downs caused by men.

“Just say yes, Miranda.”

“I really can’t.”

“Sure you can.”

Reluctantly, I meet his cloudy-sky eyes across the room. “Jake…”

“You want me to end up with shitty floors? I’ll think of you every time I look at them, you know. About how you couldn’t spare one evening for your favorite drunken neurotic.”

He can be so charming when he wants to. Dangerously charming. And really, what’s one evening?

“Okay,” I say softly.

“Okay.” He grins and picks his car keys up from the coffee table. “I have to go, but I’ll pick you up at six tomorrow night. Text me your address.”

“I’m not sleeping with you.”

He quirks a brow, looking amused. “Did I ask you to?”

“I just want to be clear.”

“Noted. Now send me your address.”

He walks back to the bedroom and returns with a pair of worn socks. I wrinkle my nose.

“Those are going to smell so gross, Jake.”

“Not today they won’t. Trust me, you can’t smell anything over hockey funk.”

“Hockey funk?”

“Yeah, our gloves and pads get sweaty and it’s not a pleasant smell.”

“Well, good luck at your game,” I say, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “May the socks be with you.”

His lopsided grin is both boyish and sexy. “Thanks. I’ve got an early meeting in the morning so I won’t be here when you come, but I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Okay.”

With a slight nod, he turns and leaves. I clean the suite on autopilot, thinking about tomorrow night.

It’s not really a date. At least, I don’t think so. But it’s definitely the closest thing I’ve had to a date in a very long time.

Since Nick.

I was in a relationship with Nick for almost six months when I found out, through Facebook, that he was also seeing someone else.

It sucked so hard, seeing him tagged in a status update from the woman he’d sent roses to. Especially since he’d told me he wasn’t “a flowers kind of guy.”

Liars gonna lie, though, right? I broke up with him nearly a year ago and haven’t even considered going on a date since. Dating is just a dance we all do to get laid until we figure out the nature of the other person’s crazy.

Now that I’m in a committed, monogamous relationship with my Magic Wand, I don’t have to worry about that stuff anymore.

Is he a cheater? Does he live in his mom’s basement? Does he have a fetish involving blow-up dolls? Let some other woman worry about it. I don’t need a man.

Occasionally I want one, like when I saw a guy give his girlfriend his coat on the train this morning. But when that happens, I repeat Nick’s name in my head until the urge passes.

And now, not only am I going out with a man, I’m going out with a hot, narcissistic NHL player who likes to bang strippers and not call them after.

Great idea, Miranda. What could go wrong?

At least I know what I’m getting into. I can’t get attached to Jake. It’s just one dinner, after which he probably thinks I’m going to come back to his room for sex.

I’m not, though. I can’t go there. There’s a strong possibility I’ll have to empty his trash can of used condoms from a night spent screwing some other woman’s brains out very soon. That would hurt if I was attached to him.

I’ll just see tomorrow night for what it is—a chance to dress up a little and have a nice dinner. Any place Jake takes me will beat the hell out of the frozen dinners and peanut butter sandwiches I’m used to eating at home.

I hear the beep of a key card being scanned through the door and I smile. Jake must’ve forgotten something.

But when I look through the bedroom doorway, it’s Tony I see standing in the suite. He’s scanning the room like a hawk, probably trying to bust me for missing something.

“What’s going on, Tony?” I ask, walking into the living area.

“Just looking in on you. I’m told Mr. Birch is often in the room while you’re cleaning. You know that’s against policy, Miranda.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s often,” I say with a shrug. “He’s not here now, as you can see.”

Tony arches a dark brow skeptically. “There is no personal relationship between yourself and Mr. Birch, correct?”

“No, there isn’t. Do you need anything else?”

Tony walks back to the bedroom and looks around, then comes back out to the living area and gives me a pointed look. “The sconces need dusting and the wood furniture needs a coat of polish.”

He walks out of the suite without another word. I mutter a few choice words I wish I could say to his face, and then dig through the supplies on my cart until I find furniture polish.

Karma takes care of us all, and when it gets to Tony, I only hope I’m there to watch and laugh.

   
Most Popular
» Nothing But Trouble (Malibu University #1)
» Kill Switch (Devil's Night #3)
» Hold Me Today (Put A Ring On It #1)
» Spinning Silver
» Birthday Girl
» A Nordic King (Royal Romance #3)
» The Wild Heir (Royal Romance #2)
» The Swedish Prince (Royal Romance #1)
» Nothing Personal (Karina Halle)
» My Life in Shambles
» The Warrior Queen (The Hundredth Queen #4)
» The Rogue Queen (The Hundredth Queen #3)
romance.readsbookonline.com Copyright 2016 - 2024