“Yeah, Gage is a real Martha Stewart in the kitchen.” Skyler broke out in a grin. “But in the bedroom he’s anything but.” She paused. “Unless Martha is a secret porn star or something. In that case, he’s like her in all areas of life.”
Jayani picked up her glass of Merlot and took a dainty sip. “Boyfriends are overrated. Me, I’m having way too much fun playing the field to even think about settling down.” She winked at Darcy. “Now we can play the field together. And you’re in luck—I make a damn good wingman, if I do say so myself.”
“I might take you up on that in the future, but right now I’m thinking I want to be alone for a bit, at least until I figure out what I really need from a relationship,” Darcy said with a sigh.
Their regular waiter walked up to the table, greeting the four women with a smile. His dark eyes twinkled playfully as he gestured to their menus. “I don’t know why you bother looking at those. You ladies always order the same thing.”
He was right—none of them were very adventurous when it came to food. As every single woman ordered the exact same dish as last time, the dark-haired man laughed in delight, then wandered away without writing a single thing down.
Skyler leaned close and poked Darcy in the arm, her gaze fixed on their waiter’s retreating back. “Why don’t you ask Tony out? He’s so cute. And he’s single, right?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Those slick Italian good looks don’t do it for me. I like ‘em a little more scruffy.”
Skyler rolled her eyes. “Says the woman who was dating AJ. Doesn’t get much more clean-cut than that.”
“I know some scruffy guys,” Jayani said helpfully. Then she made a face. “Most of them are total douche bags, though.”
“It’s not just the scruffy ones,” Shannon said sadly. “If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say 50% of the male population is all douche.”
Well, wasn’t that a disheartening thought. Darcy knew the dating pool could get pretty grim, and now that she was single again, she wasn’t looking forward to sifting through a whole lot of muddy water in search of that one sparkling diamond.
Crap. She was mixing metaphors again. Good thing none of her students were there to witness it.
“I guess it’s good that I’m taking a break from men then,” she said lightly. “Honestly, I’m looking forward to being on my own for a while.”
“And hey, if you’re ever feeling lonely, just pull Bob out of the drawer and put him to good use. You still have big green Bob, right?” Shannon teased, referring to the enormous vibrator Darcy had won as a door prize at Shannon’s bachelorette party the previous year.
“Oh, I still have him.” She decided not to mention that she’d used the toy more than once this week.
Or that she’d pretended it wasn’t Big Green Bob who was fucking her senseless, but Reed Miller.
Okay, enough. She really needed to stop thinking about that man.
Except the universe clearly didn’t want her to stop, because the second she banished his gorgeous face from her mind, her cell phone buzzed with an incoming text message.
From Reed.
She knew she shouldn’t read it, but the temptation to do so was too darn strong. It lured her in like a siren’s song.
Then again, was it the sirens’ fault that all those sailors were too weak and stupid to resist it? So really, weakness and stupidity was what pushed her to swipe her finger over the screen.
The message was short and sweet: Can I see u 2nite? Need 2 talk.
Wow. She couldn’t believe the request had come from him and not the other way around. Weren’t women the ones who usually demanded to have the uncomfortable post-hookup talk?
But she knew she couldn’t say no. The memory of fooling around with Reed had haunted her for days, gnawing at her like a dog trying to chew the last bit of marrow out of a bone. The sooner they spoke and put their transgression behind them, the sooner she could stop feeling like the worst human being on the planet.
Trying to be discreet, Darcy typed a short response, letting him know she was out but could see him afterward. They arranged to meet at the front stoop of her building, and after she’d tucked the phone away and lifted her head, she found her friends grinning at her.
“I thought you were taking a break from men,” Skyler chided.
Darcy’s cheeks grew warm, and she felt like strangling her English heritage for cursing her with a blush she could never hide. “Who says I was talking to a man?”
Shannon chortled. “You are the worst liar on the planet.”
“Will you at least tell us his name?” Jayani teased.
Darcy averted her gaze, staring at the crisp white tablecloth as if it was the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen. “It’s nobody. Trust me.”
“Uh-huh,” Shannon said in a singsong voice. “If you say so.”
Fortunately, her friends didn’t press for more details, and Skyler changed the subject to tell them about her first week at work. The younger woman had just finished her Masters and was now practicing under the supervision of a licensed psychologist, thrilled to finally be able to put her skills to good use.
Darcy was grateful for the reprieve, but although she made an effort to participate in the discussion, her mind was elsewhere.
With two short sentences, Reed had succeeded in ruining girls’ night for her. Now, thanks to him, all she’d be able to think about for the next two hours was their impending meeting.
Chapter Five
Reed didn’t get nervous often, but his hands were embarrassingly shaky as he parked his car at the curb a few steps from Darcy’s building. Through the windshield, he saw her sitting on the bottom step of her stoop, the light fixture above her head bringing out the reddish highlights in her wavy hair.
He reluctantly slid out of the car and walked toward her, trying not to dwell on the appealing picture she made. Other than the night at the Krib, he’d never seen her in anything dressy. Usually she wore jeans and colorful tops, and he had to admit he preferred her casual style to the too fancy, too made up women he encountered at Sin on a nightly basis.
It was funny—before he’d met Darcy, he hadn’t been drawn to the girl-next-door type. He’d preferred bold, confident woman who didn’t mind taking a walk on the wild side. A nice rack didn’t hurt, either.
Darcy was confident, sure, but she also radiated goodness. A sweet, compassionate side he tended to shy away from. But although she was sweet, she certainly wasn’t meek. The woman challenged him like nobody ever had, and that only added to her appeal.
“Hey,” he said gruffly, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“Hey.” She rose from her perch, her hands dangling awkwardly at her sides, one of them clutching a folded piece of paper.
“What’s that?” he asked.
She glanced at the sheet as if she’d forgotten she was holding it. “Oh, just a memo from my landlord about some fire alarm and carbon monoxide inspection the building is doing next week. It was stuffed in my mailbox.”
“Ah.”
They both went quiet for a second.
“Um.” Darcy fidgeted. “I’d invite you up, but…”