Forever Kind of Guy (11 page)

Gretchen didn’t know if she would be fucking a few different men, she was pretty sure no one would measure up to him.
“It’s only been a week. I think I should be able to be sad for a little while, Laura.”

Laura
shook her head. “You knew from the start that he wasn’t in it for the long haul, he told you that he wasn’t what was it…oh yeah, a forever kind of guy. I know you are hurting, I get that, I really do, but I don’t like seeing you like you were that night.”

Gretch
en nodded her head in agreement. She didn’t like to feel like that. “I know and I do agree with you. I want to be happy, but I’m not ready to settle down again anytime soon.” She would have fun, but Stefan will always be the one she’d never forget.

Laura stood up, grinning. “I’ll be right back.”

Panicking, Gretchen looked around for Stefan, but thankfully she didn’t see him. She turned to watch her friend walk up to the DJ. He handed her a large black book and Gretchen knew what was happing.

Five minutes later Gretchen was almost done with her first long island, and Laura was just sitting down, grinning. “So we are singing Pat Benatar
’s,
Hit Me with Your Best Shot
. There are a couple of people in front of us, but I want you to take the lead.”

With one long island in her
, she didn’t feel too nervous to sing and with Laura ordering her another one she would be good to go. She prayed she wouldn’t fall when she was up there. With the red dress, she’d put her on black six inch heels. Laura had told her they made her ass look happy; now that thought made her giggle. Her friend looked up at her and smiled, she was right about her needing to have fun. She did. She didn’t want to become the cat lady because of one man, even if that one man was perfect for her.

Gretchen drank half of her second drink and felt a strong buzz coming on, an
d then she heard their names being called. She grabbed her friend’s hand and smiled as they walked to the well lite stage. Glancing out into the faces, her heart practically stopped, Stefan Romano was staring at her.

She felt as if
the room was moving without her, and she closed her eyes as the music started. When it was time for her to sing she took a deep steading breath and started the song, when she got to the chorus Laura joined her. She knew she didn’t sound bad when she sang, but the long island ice tea helped her. She tried like hell to keep her eyes away from Stefan, he was with an attractive woman with long straight dark hair, and she felt her eyes burn with unshed tears as the woman rubbed his bare arm.

He was already over her, and what she
’d thought they had. Maybe they hadn’t had anything besides sex, but she knew in her heart of hearts that it was more to her. When she and Laura finished the song the DJ came over to them with a microphone in his hand grinning at her.

“Wow,
give it up for Gretchen Miller!”

She still
wasn’t used to hearing her maiden name. He winked at her and she giggled into the microphone in front of her. The crowd, including Laura cheered loudly for her, someone screamed her name, but her attention went back to the DJ. He was handsome with his short dark hair, and his dark eyes. He was wearing a black tank-top that showed of well-muscled arms that were tattooed down each arm. He was the type of guy she would normally run from, but after seeing Stefan with another woman she wanted to take chances.

She turned to walk off of stage, but she felt a warm large hand grab hers. She looked over her
shoulder knowing it was the DJ. He grinned a half sexy smile at her, the kind that always made her weak in the knees. He kept his grin as he leaned into her. His lips grazed her earlobe and she shivered. “I’m Ben Zelevansky, please tell me you aren’t here with anyone.” He slowly pulled away from her to look her in the face.

She shook her head. “No,
I’m not here with anyone.”

H
is smile widened. “Good. Can I buy you a drink?”

S
he smiled and nodded. “Sure, but I’m here with my friend.”

He nodded because he already knew that, and she felt like a dumb ass.
“I’ll buy both of you drinks, but Gretchen, it’s you that I want to talk to. Let me set up some songs, and I’ll come and find you.” He leaned in to kiss her on the cheek and she hoped for spark or something, but when his warm lips met her hot cheek nothing happened.

Disappointment ran through her, but she smiled weakly at him. “Okay
, see you soon.”

Chapter Eleven

Gretchen sat back down across from Laura with a frown on her face.

“Oh no, none of that
! You have a sexy ass man that wants you,” she said and pointed a finger at her.

She shrugged
. He was extremely sexy, but she felt nothing for him. “I felt nothing when he kissed my cheek.” She took a drink from her watered down long island.

“Well
, I’m pretty sure you would feel something if he was kissing between your legs.”

Gretchen choked on her drink and started coughing so hard her eyes were watering.

“Great. Just what we need, Claus,
” Laura said and Gretchen felt her body react to him.

“Hello, Laura.
Gretchen.” His smell wrapped around her, and she wanted to throw herself at him. “Do you mind if I join you all for a little while?”

Gretchen could tell that her friend was about to say no, and she didn’t want that. She wanted him
there right now, she wanted to touch him, to get his scent in her head and remember it forever. “It’s fine,” she said and Laura scowled at her, but she moved over to allow him to next to her.

Stefan turned his head to look at her, and she didn’t miss the darkness under his eyes
or that he looked like shit. The stubble on his jaw and cheeks was thicker than it had been a week ago. “I didn’t know you could sing, you sounded incredible.”

She truly smiled at him, and felt her blush heat up her cheeks. “Thanks
. I used to sing more, but I’m shy.”

L
aura made a noise causing both her and Stefan to look at her. “Sweetie, you aren’t shy. Your ex-husband was an ass and didn’t like you to sing because men would look at you.”

That was true, he
’d hated when other men would look at her. He would start accusing her of cheating on him. Gretchen reached for her glass, and took the last sip, she looked at Stefan and he was staring at her. “Thank you, I haven’t sung in public in a long time.”

“I’m getting us another round,
” Laura said and Gretchen shook her head.

She needed to drive home, and with her drinking what she had
been, she needed to stop. “Laura I need to drive, can you just get me some water?”

Her
friend rolled her eyes and got up, leaving her and Stefan alone. She looked down at her hands on the table. She didn’t know what to say to him besides that she missed him.

* * *

Stefan wanted to take Gretchen away from the cop bar, he wanted her away from the horny DJ that wanted into her panties. “How are you doing?”

She tucked her hair behind her ears and glanced at him through her black eyelashes. “I’
m…good.”

He knew she was lying, and he wanted to be the one to make her smile like she was when she was on stage. “I stopped by your work a few days ago and your boss told me you wouldn’t be in for the rest of the week.”

That got her to look at him, but not with the loving smile he wanted, nope she was glaring at him. “Why would you be checking on me?” she asked and sounded annoyed.

H
e had to hold back his grin. She was so freaking beautiful, but when she was mad he wanted to do things to her that would make her whole body blush. He tore his gaze from her lips to look in her eyes. “I wanted to know you were doing well, I wanted to see you again.”

Her eyes soften
ed a little and he moved closer to her, but she scooted until her back hit the wall. “Well…I’m good, now you don’t need to check on me. And you got to see me so we are done.”

There it was again
. The same ache in his chest, it had been there since she’d walked out of his apartment. His sister was right. He should have gone after her, he should have told her he wanted her anyway he could get her. He just hoped it wasn’t too late to get her back, she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

He saw that she was ripping up a napkin into tiny pieces on the table, he reached over to h
er and put his hand top of hers. She jerked in response to his touch, but he didn’t pull away. “I miss you.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and took her hand away from his. “If you missed me
, you wouldn’t be here with someone else.”

What!
He hadn’t come here with anyone. His partner had forced him out tonight because she’d said he was too depressing. “I didn’t come here with anyone besides my partner,” he said and wanted to kick himself when he saw the expression on her face, she was more hurt than before.

“You mean your ex-girlfriend?”

Crap, I forgot that she knew that.
“Yes, but you have to know that I want you and not her.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear like she had.

* * *

Gretchen wanted to scream at Stefan, he kept touching her in some way. “We want different things, and like you said, you aren’t a forever kind of guy. Truth is I don’t want to be in a relationship.” She knew she was lying, but hoped that he believed her.

He narrowed his eyes. “But what if I want forever with you?”

She didn’t get to respond to him because Laura came back with Ben Zelevansky, and he was looking between her and Stefan. She smiled at him trying to calm her nerves down.

“Look who I found,
Gretchen! He said he was looking for you!” Laura said with a smile, but when she looked at Stefan she glared. “Claus, you and I need to talk.”

Gretchen could tell by the way he turned to look at her that he didn’t want to leave her
alone, but he got up from the table and followed Laura.

Ben sat next to her and grinned at her. “Boyfriend?” he asked and she shook her head. “Good, so your friend told me you were done drinking tonight
, so I got you a coke.”

“Thank yo
u, so do you DJ here a lot?” She couldn’t believe how stupid she sounded. She had never been good with men and her mind was on the man that had just told her he missed her.

He laughed, and nodded. “Yes
, I’m here every night. Maybe when I’m off in thirty minutes we can…go somewhere quieter?”

She smiled weakly at him, and nodded. “Sure.”

He grinned and leaned in to kiss her, his lips roughly seeking hers. She nearly gagged because his lips didn’t taste like the peppermint she was accustomed to, instead they tasted like whisky.

He pulled away and placed a hand over his heart. “I will see you later
, beautiful.” He winked as he stood up. She knew that later would never come for them. She was thankful when Laura came back alone without Stefan. Laura sat on her side and put her arm around Gretchen’s shoulders.

“I am so sorry
. I really didn’t know he would be here.” Gretchen laid her head on her friend’s shoulder. “But damn that DJ is hot, please tell me you at least got his number.”

She lifted her head and shook it.
“No, he isn’t who I want,” she said and her eyes wandered to the man that had been what she’d wanted since Christmas. He was drinking a beer from the bottle and talking to some other men with
her
standing next to him, a little too close if you asked Gretchen.

“Fine but I’m staying
here, I think you should too,” she said as she moved over to let Gretchen out.

“I know you meant well, but I just want to think about some things.” She hugged her best friend. “Thank you for not letting me drown
ed in my sorrows.”

As she walked away
, she felt eyes on her, but she held her head high and continued to her car. When she pulled into her apartment’s parking lot, she parked and walked toward her apartment.

All she wanted to do was get inside and be alone. Something nee
ded to be done about finding a new place since she’d had an amazing lawyer that got her money that she hadn’t wanted. But now with it, she could afford something better, maybe a little house of her own.

When she saw Stefan leaning against her door she wasn’t surprised.
He looked up at her and she wanted to throw herself into his arms, but she didn’t. She just stopped, standing in the hallway about ten feet from him. Slowly he lifted his head to look at her, he wasn’t smiling he looked broken.

“I
wanted to make sure you made it home okay…since this is a bad neighborhood,” he said but she noticed he had something in his hands.

“Well I made it in one piece.” She bit her bottom li
p as he took a few steps toward her.