To the Steadfast (27 page)

Don’t they know
that girls talk?

As I eat my
burger—which is the best burger I’ve ever eaten before, and I eat In-N-Out all
the time—my gaze drifts to Flynn as he continues to flirt and make drinks for
other people. He doesn’t get back on stage, which disappoints me. I finish my
food and decide it’s time for me to leave anyway.

I reach down to
grab my purse—which isn’t there. In my haste to leave the house, I hadn’t
brought anything with me besides my phone and earbuds. Suddenly in freak-out
mode, I’m not sure what I should do. If I dine and dash, my guess is someone
would catch me. This is a pretty small pub and I bet I’m the only outsider in
the room. That isn’t an option. I could call my mom and have her come down here
with some money, but I’d rather get caught dining and dashing than talk to her
again tonight. Unsure what I should do, I just sit there contemplating.

“Refill?”

I jump, unaware he
was standing there. Should I tell him the predicament I’m in? Honestly, the
worst thing that could happen is he laughs in my face, and I have to call my
mom. Either that or he could make me do dishes. Is that something that happens
in real life? Or is it just something that happens in the movies? I don’t know
but I figure I could give it a shot.

“No, thanks, I
don’t need another one. I’m actually done. But…umm…I kind of have a problem.”

I’m surprised when
his face shows legitimate concern. “Oh, what’s the problem?”

I try to avoid his
face but ultimately my eyes make it back to his. This is humiliating. My eyes
drop back to my feet before I admit, “I don’t know how to say this but my mom
and I got into a huge fight earlier. I went for a walk to blow off steam. Since
I hadn’t eaten all day I stopped in here for some food.”

I look up at him as
he waits for me to continue. I don’t get embarrassed easily but even my normal
self would be flustered in a situation like this.

“The problem is, I
left the house so quickly, I forgot to grab my purse. I already had my phone on
me so I didn’t even think twice about it until I reached down for my purse just
now. I can call my mom to bring me some money, but I don’t want to talk with
her right now.”

“Well, I can think
of a way for you to work off your dinner.”

I wrinkle my nose.
“Are you going to make me do dishes or something gross like that?”

“Nope, no dishes.”

“Okay, then what?”

He just gives me
another one of those panty-dropping grins, and I immediately figure out where
his mind went.

“Gross! I’m not a
prostitute. I won’t have sex with you to pay for a ten dollar burger.”

I may have yelled
that a little too loudly because I get a few looks from the people around us. I
choose to ignore them because if I start to pay attention, I’ll become even
more embarrassed. He leans over and busts up laughing. He has the sexiest
laugh, very gravelly and husky like his singing voice. I’m not sure why he
finds this so funny. He’s being a pig and that’s not the way he’ll get me into
his bed.

“I’m sorry but that
was hilarious. Get your mind out of the gutter. I get off work in about an hour
so if you want to hang around and then hang out with me afterward, I’ll pay for
your food.”

I’m skeptical.
“Seriously? Just hang out. No sex? No expectations?”

“I sinceriously
swear, no sex. Although if you want to throw that option on the table, I
wouldn’t turn it down.”

“Sorry to bruise
your ego but that won’t be happening. I guess I can stick around a bit longer.
Thanks for being so nice about it.”

He winks at me and
then walks back to the other end of the bar where more of his fan club is
waving him down for another drink. From where I’m sitting, I would guess that
the very red cocktails are cosmos but the girls drinking them are not a Carrie,
Samantha, or Miranda, and very far from a Charlotte.

They are way too
trashy for that. They give off a groupie vibe, which makes sense since Flynn is
a musician. I don’t understand dressing that way. Don’t they have any
self-respect? I like to have my fun but I don’t dress like a whore or throw
myself at random guys just because they’re hot and can carry a tune.

It’s kind of
comical. These girls are wasting their breath because all he has done in the
short time I’ve been in here is brush them off. He’s been shameless with his
flirting but anytime a girl comes in physical contact, he ignores it. Maybe he
isn’t a typical guy after all.

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