“Okay. Remember to keep the door locked.”
“I will,” she promised. “Cole?”
“Yes?”
“Where are you going?”
He hesitated only a second. He wouldn’t lie to Savannah. Besides he was free to go on dates. “My sister set me up on a blind date.”
“Oh.” Her bottom lip jutted out just slightly. “But I’ll see you later, when you get home?”
“Yes,” he reassured her. “I’ll be back later tonight.”
It remained unspoken between them, but both knew they’d be sleeping together in his bed later.
***
He set off to meet Sali at the pub. He’d have preferred to pick her up, but as Marissa reminded him, girls don’t let men they don’t know pick them up. He could be some creepy stalker, and then he’d have her address. He assured her he wasn’t going to begin stalking her friend from yoga, but that had only started Marissa on a whole other rant that he obviously didn’t date enough if he didn’t know the simplest of rules.
When Cole entered the pub he searched out Liam first. A lot of times he could be found behind the bar, providing a second set of hands for the bartender rather than sit alone in his office in the back. And tonight proved no different. Liam nodded once, spotting Cole across the room. Liam was his last single friend, but he certainly didn’t lack for female companionship being the owner of a popular bar. It was meeting quality girls that he found difficult. Cole knew that if Liam met the right girl, he wouldn’t be opposed to settling down. He and Liam had been friends for over twenty years. In college, they had often tricked girls into thinking they were brothers. They were both a few inches over six feet, with dark hair and when neither had shaved for a few days, which Liam often neglected to do, they took on an uncanny resemblance.
Cole took a frustrated breath. He wasn’t sure how he was going to find her. He saw two single women at either end of the bar. One was a knockout blonde, beautiful with legs up to her tits. His sister didn’t love him that much. The other woman was plain brunette, a few pounds overweight and glasses so big, they belonged in another decade. He shook his head, wondering if he could just slip out before she noticed him. Damn Marissa. She’d roped him into shit like this before, always using the phrase, ‘Well I thought she was cute,’ to clear her conscience.
He took a deep breath. One drink. He could do this. One stiff as f**k drink. He took one last wistful look at the gorgeous blonde and approached the brunette instead. “Hi, you must be Sali.”
Her face pinched in confusion. “No, sorry.”
His head swung around and he met the blonde’s eyes as a slow grin spread across his face. Marissa loved him after all.
He left the brunette staring after him and approached the blonde. “Please tell me you’re Sali.”
She smiled. “Cole, I presume?”
Dear God, she had an Australian accent. His sister really loved him.
He slid in next to her and they each ordered a drink. Sali knew his sister from yoga, but Marissa hadn’t mentioned that Sali was the instructor. They shared some laughs about Marissa’s clumsy mishaps in yoga, talked about where she grew up in Australia, and he made her laugh with his poor attempt at an Aussie accent.
One drink turned into two, and then three. She was easygoing, flirty and sexy as hell. That accent had him half hard all night. At first he felt guilty about leaving Savannah alone, but as the alcohol softened his mood, he figured perhaps some time apart may do them both good. She needed to gain some independence from him, and Lord knew he needed to get her off his mind.
When Sali excused herself for the restroom, Cole took stock of how the night was going. They were getting along well, and she’d begun leaning in towards him, placing her hand on his thigh as she laughed, or finding other ways to brush up against him, like pressing her breast into his arm when she reached across the bar for her drink. Cole wondered if she’d be game for continuing things back at her place.
Sali returned with a fresh coat of pink gloss on her lips and a seductive smile. Finding that his patience and manners had disappeared along with that last drink, Cole stood and pulled her against him. “Let’s go somewhere,” he whispered low, near her ear.
She smiled a little, her eyes dancing on his. “What did you have in mind?” A playful smirk tugged on her mouth.
“Somewhere we can be alone.” Without waiting for her to answer, Cole took her hand and pulled her outside of the club. They waited on the sidewalk, Sali’s arms wrapped around his middle.
“And here I thought you were a nice guy. Your sister had you pegged to be some saint. I thought tonight was going to be totally dull.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss on her mouth, testing her. She wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him even closer. Fuck he needed this, needed the distraction before he did something with Savannah he’d regret.
“I have roommates. We can’t go my place,” she whispered.
“It’s okay, we’ll be quiet,” he said between kisses. Well he would, he couldn’t say the same for her, since he was hoping to make her scream.
She pressed a hand against his chest. “I can’t, sexy. I share a room with Jenny. She’ll kill me if I bring a guy home again.”
Again? He wondered how often she did this, but let it go. Cole supposed he had a roommate too, though he had no idea how to explain Savannah.