Enjoying the Chase (5 page)

After another hour, Ashton bailed out. He
actually lasted longer than I thought he would. “I
’
m leaving. Have a good night, and happy birthday, Seth,” he said,
smiling apologetically.

“Taylor, you
’
re a lightweight!” Seth scolded, shaking his head in disapproval.

Ashton shrugged unashamedly. “Maybe, but
when you have a little hottie waiting for you at home and a baby that you know
is going to wake you up early in the morning, you
’
ll be a lightweight too.” He turned to me and gave me a quick
man-hug. “See you in the week, yeah?”

“Sure, buddy. Maybe I
’
ll pop by tomorrow. I
’
m
not working so I could come hang out or something,” I suggested, trying to look
innocent so he wouldn
’
t know I was
going there to see Rosie.

He saw straight through me though, a
knowing smile on his lips as he rolled his eyes. “Right, well then I
’
ll see you tomorrow.”

As soon as he walked off, my whole body was
trying to force me to go and find
Rosie
. I was fighting
it the best I could though. I knew he was right; this was Anna
’
s friend, and I would probably see her a lot
so I couldn
’
t exactly ruin
everything and make it awkward for us to be in the same room.

After a few more drinks though, I
completely forgot the reason I was supposed to be staying away from her. As she
walked past me with one of her friends and headed to the bar, leaning on it and
waiting to be served, I grinned and followed. My eyes were glued to her behind
the whole time.

I leant on the bar next to her. “
Hey, muffin,
” I greeted.  

She smiled. “Nate, we meet again.”

“So, are you gonna let me buy you a drink?”

Her friend was completely checking me out.
If I wanted to, I could have her, I knew that, but the annoying thing was, I
didn
’
t want her. The one I wanted
was smirking back at me looking so sexy in her little skirt that I could barely
suppress the urge to wrap my arm around her and crush her body against mine.

“Why
’
s that? Gonna put some Rohypnol in there to help your chances of
this latest flirting session working out in your favour?” Rosie replied
cockily, playfully bumping my side with hers.

“It does look like drugging you is the only
way I
’
m going to get you into
bed,” I confirmed, playing along.

When the barman stopped in front of her,
checking her out while she rattled off her order, she didn
’
t even seem to notice his flirting. I puffed out my chest, happy
that it wasn
’
t just my flirting
that she was immune to.

“So, you moved in alright then?” I asked,
wanting to keep her talking as long as possible.

She scrunched her nose up and nodded.
“Yeah, it was a pain in the butt, but it
’
s done now. I
’
d better
go take these drinks to the girls.” She motioned to the tray the barman put
down in front of her. I couldn
’
t
help but feel disappointed that I didn
’
t get to speak to her for longer.

“Want a hand?” I offered, reaching for the
tray.

She smiled and shook her head, slapping the
back of my hand teasingly. “If you think I
’
m letting you anywhere near my drink, then you
’
ve got another thing coming,” she joked, winking at me as she picked
up the tray and walked off without another word. I laughed and just watched her
walk away. She didn
’
t even look
over her shoulder at me. 

“Well, shit,” I mumbled. How was I going to
get this girl interested in me? I walked over to a confused
-looking
Seth.

“Did you just get rejected?” he asked,
clearly shocked as I stopped at his side.

“Yep,” I confirmed.

His mouth popped open and he looked over at
Rosie with wide eyes. “Seriously? What did she say?”

I shrugged. “I met her the other day
.
That
’
s about the
twentieth time she
’
s brushed me
off.”

One of his eyebrows rose, obviously
interested in a challenge. “I
’
m
going to try.”

As he strutted away from me, I barely
managed to stop myself from grabbing him and punching him in the face. I
watched as he stopped at her side.
Please don
’
t get it on with my friend, please, please, please!
He had his game face on as he put his arm around her shoulder,
smirking
at her cockily. I could see his mouth
moving, but I couldn
’
t hear what
he was saying. After he finished talking she said something in return, which
made him lift his arm from her shoulder and hold up his hands innocently. He
backed away a step and shook his head, saying something else. My whole body
relaxed.

A frown resided on Seth
’
s face as he stalked back over to me. “She
’
s a lesbian,” he stated, picking up his beer
and downing the rest quickly.

I burst out laughing. “That
’
s exactly what I said.”

A while later, Ryan came back from the
bathroom with a smug smile plastered on his face. “Nate, your girl doesn
’
t bat for the other team. I
’
ve just heard her and her friends talking.
They
’
re all trying to get her to
give someone a chance tonight. She just gave in and said that, to shut them up,
she
’
ll dance with the tenth guy
that hits on her. Apparently there
’
s already been four guys try tonight,” he reported.

Ten guys? I looked at my watch; it was
almost midnight. She probably said that knowing that she wouldn
’
t get another six guys to hit on her before
she left for the night!
Damn, that
’
s crafty. Okay, I can make this work to my advantage, I just need
another five guys to hit on her then I
’
ll make sure I
’
m
number ten.

“Yeah? Awesome! Ryan, go hit on her.” I nodded
towards her.

Ryan recoiled and his eyebrows knitted
together. He wasn
’
t the type to
walk up to a girl and try his luck. “What? No way!” he cried, shaking his head
fiercely.

“Oh, come on, please? You
’
ll be number five. Wayne, you can be number
six, and I
’
ll have to find another
three guys to hit on her so I can be number ten
.
”

He frowned and shook his head; he wasn
’
t going for it at all.

“I
’
ll tell you what to say; I just need her to reject you so I can be
number ten. Please?” I begged excitedly.

He sighed and closed his eyes in defeat. “
Fine, give me a damn line,
” he muttered.

I smiled, thinking of a line he could use.
I didn
’
t want to give him one that
was too good; after all, I didn
’
t
actually want her to fall for it. “Okay, how about you say; do you mind if I
hang out here until it
’
s safe back
where I farted?” I joked, knowing he wouldn
’
t ever say that to a girl. He
looked
at me
in disbelief. Seth and Wayne both burst out laughing. I grinned and shook my
head at his gullibility when he
’
d
had a few drinks. “I was kidding. Okay here, say this; do you have sunburn or
are you always this hot? That
’
s an
oldie but a goodie.” I shrugged;
believe it or not,
that
corny line had worked for me in the past.

He groaned and looked back over to her
nervously. “She
’
s going to shoot
me down
.
”

“That
’
s the point, I
want
her to shoot you down.”

He rolled his eyes. “You owe me for this,
Nate.”

He turned and walked off, and we watched as
she laughed and shook her head. He was back within a minute.

Seth had already hit on her, so I sent
Wayne in next while I went to go find three others. A group of five guys caught
my attention, so I headed over to them. “Hey guys, can I ask a favour?” I
asked, not sure how to approach the subject.

They all looked at me curiously. “What
favour?”

“I need three of you to go hit on a girl
and let her reject you. I have a bet on with her that she
’
ll get hit on ten times tonight. I really want to win the bet.”

As they laughed, one of them looked over my
shoulder. “Which girl?”

I turned around and pointed at Rosie. “The
hottie in the blue shirt.”

“Nice,” he purred instantly.

I silently wished I
’
d chosen someone else because now it looked like I had some
competition.

“So I need three guys to go and hit on her
so I can win the bet. You up for it?” I asked hopefully, looking at them each
in turn. 

“What
’
s in it for us?” the same guy asked.

“
I don’
t know, how about fifty bucks?” I offered. 

“Fifty bucks for three of us hitting on
her?” he questioned. “How much do you stand to win?”

“
Pride and bragging
rights.
” I shrugged.

“Okay, I
’
ll go for it.” He shook his head in amusement.

I grinned and pulled out my wallet,
grabbing the spare fifty that I always kept in the back of my wallet for emergencies.
In my opinion, this definitely qualified as one of those!

I left them deciding which three would hit
on Rosie, and went back to my friends. I sipped my drink, watching as, one by
one, she rejected them all,
increasingly
shocked at the
attention. Nerves built in my stomach. I really wanted this to work so I could
win that dance. Sweat coated my palms making them slick, so I wiped them on my
jeans. After the final guy had his turn, I ordered myself to calm down and take
a couple of deep breaths. She was just another girl, a bit of fun that I could
forget about in the morning.

“Wish me luck” I muttered, slapping Seth in
the stomach with the back of my hand on the way past. As I stepped up close to
her side, I reached for her hand, engulfing it in mine. She frowned and looked
up at me.

I smiled happily. “Hey there, pumpkin. So,
are you originally from Tennessee? Because you
’
re the only ten I see.” I
smirked at her.
“No wait,
I
’
m
number ten. You owe me a dance.”

She rolled her eyes. “Again, player? Are
you gonna give up soon because, seriously, it
’
s not working.”

I smiled smugly. “You
’
re misunderstanding me, I
’
m
number ten.” I pointed to Ryan. “He was the fifth guy to hit on you, the guy
next to him was sixth, and those three guys that just came up to you were
seven, eight and nine. That means you owe me a dance, sweetheart.”

Her friends were all watching with wide
eyes and even wider smiles.

Rosie
’
s smirk fell from her face as she realised what I was talking about.

“No,” she muttered. “
How did you...?
Seriously? No way, you can
’
t be number ten because you were number three.” She brightened as if
she suddenly had a get out clause.

I should have known she
’
d come up with some way of getting out of it.
Okay,
if she wants to play it like that, fine.

“Okay, beautiful, you asked for this. I
know the guy that has the power to stop the music playing. When I raise my hand
the music
’
s going to stop, and I
’
m going to propose to you in front of
everyone. Do you have a ring I could borrow, or should I just wing it without
one?” I asked, trying to keep a straight face.

She
looked
sceptica
l
, obviously trying to work out if I was serious or not. After a
couple of seconds, she
’
d clearly
made up her mind. Her eyes narrowed and she folded her arms over her chest.