like there were magnets inside us that I simply couldn’t ignore. Too bad she didn’t seem to feel their pull towards each other.
She was so lovely and unique. Quite honestly, I didn’t understand how every male in here wasn’t staring at her, but I was glad they weren’t.
Her deep red hair was like a ring of burning fire haloing her head. It attracted me like a beacon, but I didn’t dare approach her. It wouldn’t be right.
Her expression was clearly distressed as her brows pinched together. My guess was that her bold friend was trying to convince her to do something that made her uncomfortable.
When I saw her chin tip up in a classic stubborn gesture, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Perhaps some of the purported fieriness of redheads burned bright within her. I wanted to find out for myself.
Damn, I ached for her to dart those challenging green eyes in my direction. Bickering with her was bound to be exciting, and making up with her would probably knock both of our worlds off kilter––in a good way.
I shook my head in an attempt to clear it. There was no reason for me to be so consumed by this one woman. A woman that I didn’t even know. She could be bat-shit crazy.
After flagging down the waitress and ordering another beer, I forced my eyes to look up at the flat-screen television hanging high on the wall across from me. Although I wasn’t interested in the football game playing on the screen, I couldn’t keep staring at the redhead. If she caught me, my gawking would most definitely frighten her.
When I heard some raucous female laughter, it was all I could do to keep from turning my head to see if it was her and her friend.
The waitress delivered my fresh beer, so I took a generous swig of it.
The high-pitched, screechy voice behind my shoulder caught my attention as I set my glass back down on the table. “You pig!”
I didn’t want to turn around. Although there were plenty of other males in the busy establishment and many of them were probably players, I sensed that she was talking to me. They almost always were.
Sure enough, after I slowly angled my head around to see who was causing the scene, I discovered a tiny, blonde, and angry fireball.
“Ma’am,” I said, tipping my head and trying to diffuse the situation with politeness.
“I can’t believe you!” she yelled. Her volume was loud enough that the people at the tables around us quieted down to get the scoop on what was happening.
“Would you like to have a seat?” I offered her the empty chair opposite me, hoping that sitting down would help calm her and keep her voice from echoing around the room.
“No, I will not sit down with you! You… You… You…”
I waited for it, knowing exactly what was coming next––even if it took her a minute to come up with it.
“Heartless bastard,” she finally finished.
“Oh, bastard… That’s a new one,” I mumbled as I turned away from the crazy woman and looked back up at the televised game. I had learned from experience that fighting back did nothing to help diffuse these types of situations.
Although my eyes longed to look in the redhead’s direction, I didn’t dare to glance at her for fear that she would be gaping at me.
Not willing to be so easily dismissed, the tiny spitfire marched right up beside my chair. Poking her pointer finger into my chest, she said, “What they’re saying about you online is all absolutely true. You are a womanizing jerk. Your shirt should have a big, red warning label on it that tells all women to stay far away.”
“You’re taking care of that notification for everyone right now, aren’t you?” I asked her, hoping that her outburst hadn’t yet caught the attention of the redhead and her companion.
“I sure am,” she seethed as if I had personally affronted her, even though I had never met her… that I remembered.
Whirling around to face the room at large, the she-devil yelled, “Did you hear that, ladies? This man right here is the heartless hunk. Stay away from him––far away.”
She accentuated her rant by picking up my nearly-full, very cold beer and tossing it at me before flouncing away.
The shock of the chilly liquid had me standing up and trying to swipe it away with my cloth napkin. Once I realized it was a bigger job than the napkin could possibly handle, I put