she points at. I swallow. Hard. My cock twitches. One look and it’s already got plans. Big ones.
The woman sitting alone there is too damn gorgeous to be by herself. “I’m in,” I say, taking my beer and heading toward a night that just got a hell of a lot more exciting.
Kourtney
It was a dumb idea.
I knew even as I agreed to it, but I thought maybe… finally… it was time. Time to take a leap of faith and take a chance on love. A chance on me.
For the first time in my life, I swiped right and made a match. Not wanting to text this possibility into the ground, I insisted on a date. My first date in ages. Years?
And here I am. Waiting.
He’s an hour late. And I’ve eaten a basket of chips and guac.
When I look at my phone, I see his text:
I came. I saw. I left. No offense, but you’re not my type.
I blink back tears. What an asshole.
And how is my dick-o-meter so wrong? Why would I choose a jerk like him in the first place?
I know why. It was self-sabotage in the worst way. Even his profile pic screamed douchebag. Yet I went for it.
Am I that desperate for a man?
The waitress brings me a margarita — I didn’t even need to place the order. It’s like the girl code told her I needed a pick-me-up. I take a sip, trying to breathe through the humiliation.
I’ve always felt confident in my skin, even if my curves are more ample than the girls on the covers of magazines have. But now? I exhale. This stings.
By my third sip, I’m in recovery mode. I’m not going to let a lame guy determine my state of mind. That’s on me to control.
“Welcome to the First Monthly Tacos and Trivia Night! Everyone have a partner?” a guy says into a microphone, walking to the center of the bar.
I groan. This is my cue to go. The whole point of coming here for this was that it was my idea for a low-key date. But sitting here at a two-top alone?
“Can I join you?” a man asks from behind me, his voice low.
I turn on my stool, spinning to face him. One look and I feel weak in the knees, and I’m not even standing. Maybe drunk? No. This is just my second margarita and it’s still mostly full. I don’t know what I’m feeling — I’ve never felt this before. Flushed. Famished. Faint.
Like I’m falling.
But where?
“So, what do you say?” he asks. “The first round is about to start.”
I nod feebly, wondering why this man — this hunk of a hottie with clear blue eyes and dark black hair, who towers above me with a muscular physique — wants to be my partner.
I mean, there are men. And then there are men.
He’s next level.
“Um, sure… of course,” I say, biting my bottom lip, and he gives me a warm smile and sits across from me. “But I have to warn you.”
He lifts his eyebrows. I take him in. All of him. And I feel him sizing me up too. I’m suddenly glad I came here for a date that ditched me. I look as cute as ever in a purple dress, my hair is curled and I feel pretty. I feel like myself.
“What’s the warning?” he asks, his voice rough and rugged.
“I’m really good at trivia,” I tell him with a smile.
He chuckles. “Well, maybe tonight you’ll have met your match.”
Chapter Two
Kaden
“I’m Kaden,” I tell her after ordering guacamole and tortilla chips, along with a plate of tacos. She tells me her name is Kourtney. “I’ve never seen you here before.”
She brings her margarita to her lips, licks the salt. Fuck, it looks sexy.
“I don’t usually come here. But my boss mentioned a trivia night and I thought it would be a good first date.”
I frown. “You’re on a date?” Her cheeks turn red as Sylvia brings me my food. “Oh, thanks Syl,” I say. Kourtney’s eyes trail after Sylvia as she walks away.
“I was. Or was going to be. It doesn’t matter.” Kourtney shakes her head, flustered. Telling me it does matter.
“What happened?” I ask, but before she can answer, Tim, the manager, is back out with his microphone starting the trivia night. We’re each given an iPad and a buzzer. He explains that he will read each question aloud and four multiple choice answers will pop up on our devices. Whoever buzzes in first with