Lead Player - Alex Grayson Page 0,2

it. Terry was an asshole who has daddy issues, and he hid those issues well. He had all of us fooled for years; not just you.”

I drain my drink and crunch on a piece of ice. “And what about Luther?”

“Which one was he again?” She taps her chin with the straw. Before I can remind her, she shrugs and continues, “Oh, right. He was just a freak of nature. Seriously, Lay, the guy was perfect. There was no way you could have known he has a doll fetish.”

I shudder just thinking about Luther and his collection of dolls. We went on three dates, each of which I thought went really well. The guy was nice, funny, and a gentleman. The topping on the cake is that he was hot—like super hot. After the third date, we went back to his place to finish the evening in his bed. He’d received an urgent call he had to take, which left me to wander his house, thank goodness. I wasn’t necessarily snooping. I was just trying to get to know the guy I was going to sleep with a little better. I got to know him much more than I wanted when I opened one of the bedrooms and found it full of dolls. Not just dolls, but naked dolls. Big dolls. Little dolls. Barbie dolls. Blow up dolls. Not only that, but there was a bed with bottles of lotion and boxes of tissues on the nightstand. And if I still had any doubts—which I didn’t at this point—it was set to rest when I noticed a jumbo box of condoms in the trashcan. And yes, in case you were wondering, there were used condoms in the trashcan, too.

“And what about Kevin?”

“The guy who still lives with his parents?”

He not only lived with his parents, but his mom still cut his meat and scrubbed the skid marks from his underwear. I know this because his mom told me so when I picked him up for our second date since his car was in the shop for a repair. I couldn’t make this crap up if I tried.

I nod.

“Separation issues. No grown man wants the woman he’s hoping to date to know he’s still living with mommy and daddy. To give the guy credit, they weren’t supposed to be home when you picked him up.” I raise my brow at her reasoning. “What? Mommy dearest couldn’t leave without putting the restaurant number on the fridge where she could be reached in case of an emergency.”

I wince when I remember that awkward meeting. His mom pretended like I wasn’t even there when she breezed through the door and told Kevin she’d forgotten to leave the restaurant number. Then proceeded to remind him to put his underwear in the washer or the stain remover would eat through the material. I quickly made my excuses to leave before his parents could make it out of the driveway.

“And Jake?” I prompt Nikki to explain away that disaster.

Instead of answering my question, she asks one of her own. “You know what your problem is?”

Propping my elbow on the bar with my chin in my hand, I give her my full attention. “Do enlighten me.”

“You’re looking in the wrong places. You need to look the old fashion way and leave those dating websites alone.”

“You know I don’t have time for that,” I huff. “If not for those websites, I wouldn’t be looking at all. Besides, what the hell do you think I’m doing tonight?”

“And where exactly has it gotten you so far? We’ve been here two hours, and you’ve only come up with one guy. And you’re ready to use an excuse to ditch your efforts with him.”

I narrow my eyes. “Exactly how many guys do you expect me to bring home?”

She grins, flashing her pearly whites at me. “As many as you can handle.”

I laugh, because that’s so typical of her, and I did kind of walk right into it.

“One will do just fine.”

“Lame.” She finishes off her drink and plops the glass down. “If not that guy,” she points over her shoulder with her thumb, “find someone else. We ain’t leaving here until we find you someone to take home.”

But I want my guy, Nova pouts, and I almost mimic her words.

God, I really am pathetic.

I take a glance around the room, and of course my eyes unconsciously move back to the man across the bar. For some dumb reason, my stomach drops when I don’t