Chapter Two

I relented. Alice what right. I'd sworn off flirting for too long and she was right, they were hot. We all sat down together and began talking and it was then I was able to take a better look at Ryan and Bentley. They both looked similar but also vastly different. I could tell from Alice's body language that she definitely preferred Bentley, which was fine by me because I defintely found Ryan to be the more attractive of the two. 

"You two have been making some good money tonight, maybe it should be you thats buying us drinks," Bentley jested with a giant grin stuck to his face.

My body immediately tensed. So they had been watching us. I looked at Alice who seemed entirely unbothered. "You wanna play?" she asked. 

"Sure, but not for money," Ryan said. At that, Alice immediately said to count her out, but I was so enamored with him and wanted any excuse to be around him longer that I asked if he didn't want to play for money, what did he have in mind. 

His eyes met mine and he held my gaze for a long moment before he smirked and said, "If I win, you go on a date with me and if you win...well, you can decide your own prize."

I was stunned. Did he really just say that? We only just met 15 minutes ago. I think for the first time in my life I wanted to lose a game of cards and I never ever wanted to lose. This isn't good. I glanced at Alice as if to say help me!

"If she wins you have to take off your shirt right here," she said. 

Oh my God I cannot believe she just said that, but I could tell he had a great body under that shirt and I was interested in seeing his tattoos considering I had once aspired to be a tattoo artist and much of my skin was also convered in ink. 

"Deal," he said. And with that, my desire to win was renewed. "But no counting," he added. Shit. How did he know? I could feel my cheeks immediately turn red and I was about to say I didn't know what he was talking about but his smirk said he knew and there was no denying it. He could count too. 

"Fine," I said. "But you can't count either." He glanced at Bentley who laughed and nodded and with that the game was on. We played several hands and on the last one I was down and about to lose. Ryan was sitting to my left and leaned over and whispered in my ear, "where would you like to go on our date?" His breath was hot on my neck and almost sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't figure out why I found him so intoxicating. I had a sudden urge to touch him and I didn't care where. I wanted to feel him. He's intelligent, sexy and can play a mean game of cards. Even without counting I'm generally pretty savvy and don't often lose so this was new terrifory for me. 

I hadn't felt this attracted to someone since Jacob. He used to send shivers up my spine when he'd whisper sweet nothings in my ear and trail his fingers down my neck. I felt electricity everytime Jacob touched me and I had a sneaking suspiction it would be the same with Ryan. I hated that I was thinking of Jacob with Ryan sitting right here. It had been nearly four years since he and I split yet I missed him even though I knew he would never forgive me for waht I did. Which is why I ran away and why I stayed away from men for so long. 

There was something abouy Ryan that made me think that maybe I was deserving of love again, or at the very least a short, passionate romance. What started as just another night at the bar with Alice turned into something more. 

I was scarcely able to concentrate on the game anymore because Ryan adjusted his position in his chair and his thigh rubbed up against mine. I'm almost positve he did it on purpose because the sexual tension was real. He wanted to feel me just as much as I wanted to feel him. Soon he stretched and rolled his sleeves up slightly and I was able to see some of the tattoos he had on his arm. I realized the lines I saw on his hand extended up his forearms in a cloud of smoke design that encompassed what looked like a palmestry hand on his forearm. I was curious what the story was behind that or if he was like me and got tattoos simply because he liked them withouth some deeper meaning. 

I watched as his arms flexed as he dealt the next hand and I got a strong wiff of his cologne. It smelled of sandalwood and vanilla, two of my favorite scents. Suddently my mind was overcome with thoughts of sex. I wanted to sleep with him, I wanted to see what other artwork lie hidden beneath his clothes. Almost as if he could sense my thoughts he looked at me. His gaze penetrated me and I swear my brain momentarily disconnected from my body because I my leg pressed into his and I started leaning towards him ever so slightly. He smirked and said "checkmate" and flipped his cards and I realized it was official. I had lost the game. 

"Would you like to have our date now or later?" he asked. I had almost forogot Alice and Bentley were even here, but by the looks of it, they felt the same because they were too busy huddling together and snickering. 

I shrugged and he said he'd like to have a proper date which could wait for another day but offered to walk me home if I lived near-by. I didn't. I said we had gotten and Uber here so he offered to wait outside while the car arrived. 

I asked Alice if she was coming and she said she was going to close down the bar and she would catch a ride home and call me when she was on the way. I almost thought about inviting Ryan in the Uber with me but thought better of it. I tapped my phone and scheduled the ride home and Ryan followed me out, placing his hand on the small of my back as if he was guiding my way through the masses of people but it also felt protective. I felt the gaze of many women eyeing us during the game, their jealousy was almost palpable. I could almost hear them thinking why someone as attractive as Ryan was leaving with me. 

I'm not ugly, but not stunning like Alice either. I'd consider myself quite average. I'm 5'6 and 125 pounds of flat board. My hair is long, curly and naturally aburn and my eyes are green. I think that is what draws people to me, my eyes. I definitely think thats the most attractive part of me simply because of the color. The bridge of my nose is full of freckles, although I dislike them and almost always cover them with make up.

The car arrived almost as soon as we made it out the door. Ryan opened the door for me, his eyes never leaving mine. Once I was seated in the back seat he leaned over. His face close to mine and he said, "So about that date. When works for you?"

I hesitated because honestly, I wasn't sure. He smiled and said he would pick me up at seven o'clock on Sunay and quickly handed me his phone so I could add my phone number. I handed him his phone back and then he leaned down and presssed his lips tenderly against mine. 

"I can't wait." he said as he closed the car door.