Free Perfect Opposite by Zoya Tessi Page A

glittering gray eyes. Making an effort to look defiant as the bartender brought over another drink, I reached for it and emptied the glass in one dramatic gulp, throwing my head back in the process.
    “Even if that’s just what I planned, it’s not your problem,” I croaked.
    Turning my back to him to show how little I cared what he thought, I moved to face Beth and Paolo on the other side.
     
    I was pretty far gone after four hits of tequila in just one hour. Paolo was telling some story about a casting for Armani and though I couldn’t make much of it out, I laughed myself silly all the same. Meanwhile, I was distracted by the effort it took to give Alex the cold shoulder. He stayed real quiet but stuck to me like glue all the while. It’s no small thing to ignore a frowning mountain of a man when he casts a constant shadow over you. Not to mention the fact that he was giving off real negative vibes and studying every guy who even passed close to me.
    I glan ced at him covertly a few times and couldn’t help but wonder what he would have been doing that night if he didn’t have to play nanny to me. Out somewhere else with his girlfriend? Did he even have a girlfriend? If he did, I sure felt sorry for the poor thing, having to put up with him.
    The more I thought about it though, the more likely it seemed that his bad side was reserved exclusively for me. He and Beth got along fine. He never snapped at her or acted rude. I’d even seen them chatting in the mornings, shooting the breeze over the papers. So , the problem was me.
    Well, I hate you too, dickhead!
    I drained another shot glass and leaned in towards him, the scent of his cologne seeming to act like a drug on my already altered state of mind. Closing my eyes, I did my best to imagine him as the male lead in some romantic comedy, but even soaked in alcohol, my brain couldn’t make the leap. With his sharp features, slightly crooked nose and ever present dark scowl, he could only play an arch villain.
    Alex couldn’t be described as a classically handsome guy, not according to the guidelines most people measure by. He had something else, a quality that’s often mentioned but never defined well... some mysterious energy, a magnetism to set the better judgment of women off balance. The truth was - he was stunning. In the same way a huge feline predator was stunning.
    Every girl who passed us that n ight took a double take at Alex and then stared at him as if he were a perfect thanksgiving dinner. You could almost sense their mouths watering. I didn’t blame them, to be honest. His body was perfect for a life-drawing workshop, or an anatomy class. Added to this there was the heady mix of don’t-mess-with-me attitude and all those signals that screamed of danger. Then there was a certain distance to Alex, something that put him just out of reach. So there you had it; a cocktail to knock any unsuspecting girl off her feet. Luckily for me, I’d met his kind before and, as the saying goes, it’s ‘once bitten, twice shy’. Which didn’t mean I couldn’t rattle his cage just a little.
    My elbow still resting on the bar, I leaned the side of my head against my hand and watched him pointedly as he scanned the room, wisps of smoke rising around his head.
    “Aleksey ...” I pronounced his name carefully and leaned in even further “Are you having a good time?”
    “Never better.”
    “Well, I'm glad to hear that .” I sugar coated as I twisted a free strand of hair around my finger, “I've been thinking, you know... shouldn’t you have a gun with you? I mean, you are my bodyguard, aren’t you?”
    “What, and scare all these kids here?” he laughed.
    I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t like the idea that he saw me as a kid... Being careful not to lose my footing, I got up from the chair, stood in front of him and hooked two fingers inside a pocket on his jeans. Edging forward so that our bodies made contact, I held his gaze, tracing circles first