Free Perfectly Flawed by Emily Jane Trent

her, Sean wasn’t sure what he would do. The guy was Mister College Preppy if he’d ever seen him.
    Lean and athletic, with conservatively cut and styled hair, the guy was from Adrianna’s social crowd. Sean had no doubt about that. None of his friends would wear slacks and a dress shirt to a club. Nor had any of them ever groomed their hair like they were going to shoot a commercial. Yet Adrianna was with this guy.
    Was that what she wanted? Some rich, boring, goody-goody guy that fit in and made her parents proud? Mister Preppy had it written all over him. The guy you take to meet the parents, the guy who goes to college and graduates into a respectable career, the guy you marry and… Sean couldn’t bear the thought. Somehow, envisioning Adrianna with this creep was just wrong.
    He decided to go over. Sauntering, accentuating his tough-guy swagger, Sean eased over to the table where the four were seated. Standing next to Adrianna, he waited. The others at the table looked up, and Adrianna turned to see who was behind her. Surprise registered in her beautiful features.
    “Sean,” she said.
    “Adrianna.” Sean nodded, giving her his coolest smile. He didn’t want her to know the effect she had on him, but he couldn’t resist seeing the guy she was with up closer.
    “Uh, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Adrianna looked flustered. After a moment, she looked back at her friends. “This is Sean Reid. We’re working together on a project. Sean, this is Cari, Samuel, and Kevin.” She used her hand to indicate the faces that went with each name as she introduced them.
    “Nice to meet you,” Sean said, nodding in their direction. “I just thought I’d try this place out. Do you come here often?”
    “Sure…well, sometimes.” Adrianna looked up at Sean and then away.
    “We like the music here,” Cari offered.
    “Care to sit down?” Samuel asked.
    “Ah, no, thanks. I’m with some friends,” Sean said. “Just thought I’d come over to say hello.”
    “Thanks for stopping by,” Kevin said tersely, leaving no doubt that he was glad to see Sean leave.
    Come to think of it, Adrianna was acting sort of flustered. Sean liked the idea that he was getting to her. There was hope after all. The satisfaction he got at seeing the preppy date try to defend his territory muted the loss Sean felt over having to walk away from Adrianna. That happened too often, him leaving her, and he was going to have to change that.
    Sean lifted his hand in acknowledgement as he started walking away. “Catch you later.” He didn’t need to look back to know that Adrianna was watching him; her eyes were burning into him. In a rasher moment, or with a little more alcohol in his system, Sean might have grabbed her and dragged her away from the table. Her other friends seemed okay. But she was with the wrong guy.
    “Is that who I think it is?” Tomas said when Sean returned and sat down.
    His friends were guzzling their drinks, their shirts soaked with sweat. “Yes, it is. And I can’t believe she’s here. All of a sudden she just walks in with that idiot sitting next to her,” Sean said.
    “The beauty queen…what do you know.” Nic looked over at the table where Adrianna sat.
    Sean glared.
    “Sorry. No offense. But it is a title she’s earned, you know. The woman’s been in more beauty contests than we’ve been in fights,” Nic said.
    “I doubt that,” Sean said but looked across the room at the woman he’d like to go rescue. Even from that far away he could tell she was uncomfortable. If she was with that guy, why didn’t she look like it? Adrianna sat stiffly in her chair, not holding the guy’s hand or even looking at him.
    Actually, that was good. It looked like the preppy wouldn’t be much competition. All the better.
    “I’m working on a new project, and you won’t believe this. Who shows up today to do the graphics? Adrianna . I couldn’t believe my luck.” Sean gazed at her. Adrianna glanced in his