Honestly, it wasn't my favorite place to hang out. It was dark and crowded, and because it was a basement bar it was a little claustrophobic. The furniture was sparse and uncomfortably modern, and the dance floor was the size of my tiny kitchen. There was a hint of pretention to Club 39 that turned me off, and frankly I was worried I wouldn't be able to find someone here that I actually wanted to flirt with badly enough to pass Nate's latest test and win myself a phone number.
If the thought of this evening's goal wasn't enough to make me want to upchuck, what I was wearing and the admiring looks I was getting from guys definitely did.
Nate was right. I did feel sexy in this outfit. I had a goodly amount of cleavage on show, my waist looked tiny, and my hips über curvy. The top and skirt accentuated all the positive aspects of my figure and hid the negative. I'd also spent a lot longer on my makeup than usual, highlighting my pale eyes with smoky eye shadow and plumping my lips with dewy lip gloss. My hair was easy because I actually had good hair. It fell down my back in sultry dark waves that were perfect for the outfit.
Altogether I was feeling very Marilyn Monroe in it. That didn't mean I knew how to handle going from conservative to super vixen.
I ignored the attention my outfit was getting – something Nate would be pissed at, considering I was supposed to be throwing flirty smiles around – and my hand tightened on my new clutch as I searched the bar for my friends.
I found them in the corner, already sitting on the strange leather cuboid that was supposed to be a couch. Ellie was her usual sophisticated chic in a pale pink shift and silver stilettos, and Jo was her usual sexy glamour in a figure-hugging electric blue dress and matching high-heeled sandals. They were sitting with their fiancés, laughing at something Nate was saying as he leaned his elbows on his knees, cradling a beer in his hands. Adam was wearing a designer suit that fit him perfectly, while Cam wore dark jeans and a Ramones T-shirt. Nate was wearing a blue dress shirt and black slacks.
All three of them were droolworthy.
As I approached the table I kept expecting them to look up and smile and welcome me. Instead, Ellie, Jo, and Cam looked up, stared right through me, and glanced away before sharply turning back to me with sudden recognition. Adam's and Nate's eyes soon followed.
Jo's stunning face broke into a massive grin. 'Oh, my God, Olivia, you look … amazing.'
I fidgeted, completely uncomfortable under their perusal. 'Uh, thanks. Moving on.' I grinned goofily and was about to make my way to Ellie's side to sit down when Nate grabbed my hand and maneuvered me beside him. I smiled at him and then instantly shivered at the way he was checking me out. Finally our eyes met.
'You look insanely fuckable.'
I laughed, trying not to flush. 'As always, I'm charmed by you, Nathaniel.'
'You have such a way with words, Nate,' Ellie agreed dryly.
Adam grunted. 'He's worse than Braden.'
Nate shrugged and took a swig of beer before replying lazily, 'I say it how I see it.'
Attempting to let Nate's blunt compliment bolster my nerves, I began to search the bar for my victim.
Target?
Okay, that didn't sound any better.
I need a drink.
I gestured to their glasses. 'Another round?'
Adam immediately stood up and edged past the small table we were crowded around. 'I'm buying. Corona and lime?'
Usually that was my drink, but tonight I decided I needed something a wee bit stronger. 'Talisker and ginger ale. On the rocks.'
He set off to the bar, and I felt Jo's eyes on me.
'You okay?' I asked.
'Aye. Are you? Whisky?'
'I just feel like something a little different tonight.' I looked away again, searching. There had to be a guy who elicited some kind of visceral reaction in me. Enough of one anyway that I'd want to strike up a flirtation with him.
The smell of Nate's cologne drifted over me as he leaned in to murmur in my ear, 'See anything you like?'
It took a lot of self-control to stop myself from turning to him, raking my eyes over him pointedly, and purring back, 'Definitely, baby.'
However, I wasn't ballsy enough or cool enough to do that. Maybe later, with a few fingers of whisky in my bloodstream, I'd be ballsier.
'I'm looking,' I told him quietly. 'I feel like I'm going to throw up all over my new shoes.'
'Please don't. I know how much they cost.'
I grinned, my eyes roaming the bar. 'I'll try not to, for your sake.'
'Appreciated.'
For the life of me I couldn't see anyone, but I wasn't actually concentrating too greatly. With Nate's thigh pressed alongside mine, and his cologne lingering in the air around me, I found myself distracted by how aware I was of him. Of course, I was always aware of him, but now I was aware of him in a way I was always aware of someone I was attracted to.