Taming Lo: A You and I Novel (8 page)

“
Not
your type?” I freeze mid-drink when Lo's voice washes over me
from behind, her breath hot on the back of my neck.

“
Well
look at this.” I smirk at her as she slides into the stool next
to me. “Are you stalking me now?” I laugh, nudging her
shoulder when she gives me no reaction, signaling the bartender who
is more than happy to bounce back over my way.

“
Tequila.”
Lo says, her voice seeming off. “You know what, make it a
double.” She says, turning towards me the moment the bartender
walks away.

The second her eyes land on mine, I can tell something
is wrong. I mean, she looks fine, beautiful, but there is something
behind her eyes. The light from earlier is gone and I can tell just
by the stiffness in her shoulders that something isn't right.

“
Everything
okay?” I ask, not missing the way she cringes slightly at my
question.

“
That
obvious?” She groans, falling silent when the bartender
reappears and slides two shots across the bar to her.

“
You
just seem off. What could have possibly happened between thirty
minutes ago and now?” I ask, watching her pour the first shot
down without so much as a flinch.

“
My
sister is what happened.” She pours the second shot down and
then immediately signals the bartender for more.

“
You
have a sister?” I ask, just trying to keep her talking.

“
A
twin actually.” She snorts. “Pain in the ass really.”
She waits until the bartender refills her shot glasses and then pours
down the third shot.

“
Wait....
Are you telling me there are two of you?” I ask playfully.

“
Don't
get your hopes up. She's not nearly as fun as I am. And apparently
now she's getting married.” She says, aggravation lacing her
voice. Throwing back her fourth shot, she turns her eyes towards me,
swaying slightly in her stool.

“
Is
that a bad thing?” I ask.

“
It's
a
you don't need
to hear the stupid details
thing.”
She shrugs. “I appreciate the effort, but you don't have to
pretend to care about my stupid problems.” She laughs lightly
at herself but there's an air of sadness behind it.

“
Hey.”
I say, nudging her with my shoulder. “We're friends now
remember? What good is having friends if you can't lay your problems
on them?”

“
You're
cute.” She says, staring at me with this silly smile stretched
across her face.

“
And
you're drunk.” I observe, laughing.

“
Not
drunk. Buzzed. But I will be.” She holds up her index finger
signaling for me to hang on and then turns, grabbing the attention of
the bartender once more. “He'll have another.” She says,
pointing to my near empty scotch. “And I will have two more.”
She scoots her empty glasses to the end of the bar.

“
Are
you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?” I
joke, the moment the bartender walks away to retrieve our order.

“
Don't
pretend like I would have to get you drunk for that. We both know you
would be more than willing.” She says, not an ounce of
uncertainty in her voice.

“
Is
that so?” I ask, wanting to see how far I can push her.

“
It
is. But that doesn't mean that it's going to happen.” She waves
her finger at me. “Here.” She grabs one of her shots off
of the bar and turns towards me, holding it up for me to take.

“
Oh
no. One of us should stay sober enough to ensure that we both get
home safely.” I say, shaking my head at her.

“
Fine.
Be a fuddy dud.” She quips, downing the shot without another
thought.

“
You're
going to feel that tomorrow.” I laugh, watching her take her
sixth shot.

“
Meh.”
She waves her hand through the air. “Better to be hungover
tomorrow.....”

“
Better
to be hungover tomorrow than what?” I ask, when she makes no
attempt to finish her sentence.

“
Then
to dwell on how shitty I feel tonight.” She says, her chin
quivering slightly. “And how alone.” She adds.

I don't know why but looking at her like this, so
vulnerable and clearly upset, makes me feel like someone has suddenly
punched me directly in the gut. All the air leaves my body and it
takes everything I have not to pull her into my arms.

“
What
am I, chopped liver?” I ask playfully, trying to pull her out
of her own mind and distract her.

“
No.
You are arguably the sexiest man I have ever seen and yet, I can't
have you. So, let's refer to my previous statement.
Alone
.”
She slurs over the word, reaching across the space between us to pick
up my full glass of scotch.

“
You
don't mind do you?” She smiles, clearly more than feeling the
effects of the shots. Without waiting for an answer, she takes a long
gulp of my scotch and then resurfaces from the glass sputtering and
choking. “How in the hell do you drink that?” She grabs a
napkin off of the bar and starts wiping it across her tongue.

I can't help the laughter that bursts from my throat.
Her eyes widen at the sound and then like a light switch, she
realizes what she's doing. Her cheeks heat crimson and she looks down
at the napkin and then back up to my face.

“
Pretend
you didn't see that.” She laughs, dropping the napkin on the
bar.

“
It
will be our little secret.” I lean forward, fighting against
every fiber that is begging me to close the distance between us and
pull her bottom lip into my mouth.

“
I
should go.” She says abruptly, swaying the moment her feet hit
the floor as she slides out of her stool. Fumbling through her purse,
I immediately stop her.

“
I
got this.” I say, dropping more than enough cash on the bar to
cover the tab before grabbing her coat from the back of her chair and
helping her into it. Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I lead her
out of the bar, wishing it didn't feel so good to be so close to her
again.

“
Stop
being so nice to me.” She slurs, wrapping her arm around my
waist and securing her body to my side.

“
Why
would I do that?” I ask, nuzzling the top of her head with my
cheek.

“
Because.
You make it extremely hard for me to resist you when you're so
fucking nice.” She hiccups, which causes me laugh out again.

“
Maybe
that's why I do it.” I tease, tightening my grip on her
shoulder.

We reach her apartment building in next to no time, only
this time I insist on walking her up. The moment we step inside the
elevator, she hits the five button and then turns, stepping into my
body. She wraps her arms around my waist and then nuzzles her face
against my chest. I wish it didn't feel so good. I wish I could stop
myself from dropping my face into her hair and inhaling her scent,
but I can't. It's useless.

When the elevator doors slide open, Lo makes no attempt
to move. I can't help but smile to myself as I hoist her into my arms
and cradle her to my chest as I carry her out into the hall.

“
Which
room is yours?” I ask, smiling when she lifts her face and hits
me with tired eyes.

“
5G.”
She gets out weakly before letting her head rest against my chest
again.

“
Keys.”
I say, stepping up in front of her door.

“
I
got it.” She pushes up, forcing me to set her to her feet.
Digging into her coat pocket, she pulls out her keys and then almost
immediately drops them trying to get the door unlocked.

“
Fucking
keys.” She curses, leaning over to retrieve them, only I beat
her to it. Snatching them up, I manage to get her door unlocked
before she even processes that her keys are no longer on the floor.

I follow her inside, not wanting to leave her alone
until I know she is okay. Her apartment is a smaller floor plan than
mine but screams her style. Everything is modernly decorated in teals
and browns, and has just the right amount of wild colors in her
accent pieces to show off her flare.

She slides her coat off the moment she reaches the large
wrap around couch and then proceeds to collapse down on top of it
without even removing her shoes. Shaking my head, I cross the room
towards her. Grabbing her under the arms, I pull her further up the
couch so that her legs aren't hanging over the arm rest and then slip
off her heels.

Making my way down the hall, I find the only bedroom and
push my way inside, grabbing the purple comforter from the top of her
bed without really looking around. Making my way back out into the
living room, by the time I reach her, she is already fast asleep.
Breathing lightly, her lips slightly parted, she looks every bit of
what I would imagine an angel looks like.

Laying the blanket over her small frame, I push a few
strands of hair away from her face. She looks so peaceful right now.
Taking a step back, I know I need to get out of here. The urge to
stay here and watch her sleep is so strong, it takes everything I
have to turn around and walk out of her apartment.

The moment the wood of the front door separates us, I
lean back against it, dropping my head into my hands. Fuck me.

This girl is under my skin. And I have no fucking
idea what the hell I am going to do about it.

Chapter
Twelve

Lo

“
Welcome to
Allure.” I say, leaning against the door frame of the front
office where Dax appears to have every client folder in front of him,
clearly trying to familiarize himself with all of club's clientele.

“
Hey. Yeah
thanks.” He says, barely glancing up from the paperwork in
front of him.

“
I just wanted
to thank you for last night and apologize. I can't imagine that is
how you wanted to spend your evening.” I say, still having
trouble piecing together exactly what happened after I decided to
down more shots than I should have even attempted at the bar.

I do however, know what didn't happen. He didn't try
anything with me. I woke up on my couch, tucked in with a blanket and
completely untouched. Not many guys would have the decency not to
take advantage of a girl in my situation. Especially a girl like me.
Or at least, not many that I’ve met.

“
Yeah, no
problem. Don't mention it.” Again he doesn't look up at me as
he speaks. I wish I could say that him blowing me off doesn't bother
me, but the truth is, it more than bothers me, it infuriates me.

“
Okay. Well I
guess I will see you around.” I say, pushing away from the door
when all he does is nod and continue reading.

What the fuck is his problem? I mean, I get that last
night was probably a less than ideal situation but does it really
justify him acting like I am the last person he wants to talk to
right now? I was actually looking forward to seeing him today and
now, well I will be okay if I don't have to see him again for quite
some time.

“
Get a grip Lo.”
I shake my head, making my way back towards my dressing room. Since
when do I get all worked up over a guy blowing me off? Fuck that.

Pushing my way inside
of my small dressing area, I immediately flop down on my cushioned
vanity chair and turn to look at myself in the mirror. My eyes look
tired and there are dark bags underneath them. Stupid man. Stupid
shots.
Stupid me.

I drop my elbows to the top of the vanity and sink my
head into my hands. If I could just sleep for a few more hours, maybe
I would feel more like myself. I hear a knock on my door, followed by
the creak of the wood as it is pushed open.

Glancing up, I catch sight of Anna just as she steps
inside and closes the door behind her. “Hey.” She says,
smiling widely at me.

Turning to face her, I try my best to push my issues to
the back of my mind and take a deep breath. “Hey. What are you
doing here?” I ask. “And what is that?” I tack on,
pointing at what appears to be a long piece of paper hanging loosely
between her fingers.