Free Sex Snob by Elizabeth Hayley

genuinely. “I’d love one.”
    “What’s your poison?” he called over his shoulder as he made his way toward the bar.
    “Stoli and cran,” I yelled after him.
    He was back fairly quickly, considering how packed this place was. He handed me my drink and then placed his hand on the small of my back and ushered me to a few stools that lined the wall.
    “Thanks,” I said sincerely, hoping it covered more than just the drink.
    “No problem,” he said, staring intently at me, letting me know that he understood.
    I needed to lighten the mood and reassert myself in my body. “So, is that how you pick up chicks? You just saunter up to them, refer to yourself as their boyfriend and hope it sticks?” I said lightly, my smile wide.
    “It’s probably more effective than your tactic of staring at the floor and letting all the color drain from your face,” he smirked.
    Embarrassment crept through me at his words and I worked hard to keep my eyes trained on his. “It’s the damsel in distress technique. I feel it worked quite well. Got you to buy me a drink, didn’t it? Sucker,” I said with a laugh that was only partially forced.
    “That it did. So, are you insinuating that it was me you were trying to pick up in that situation?” He lifted an eyebrow and gawked at me in that annoying, cocky way he has.
    “No, I was just trying to give you some pointers. Show you how it’s done,” I quipped. I was a bundle of nerves and emotions. Are we flirting right now? Do I like it? Fuck.
    “Oh, was that what that was? A lesson for me. How kind of you.” He rolled his eyes playfully, and I had a sudden urge to tell him the truth about Nate. I can’t explain why, but I wanted him to know it. To know me.
    But at the same time, I didn’t want those things. I had made it my mission in life to never be vulnerable again, especially in front of Shane Reed. There was something about him that I just couldn’t put my finger on. He caused me to feel a gamut of emotions, and I hated most of the ones he elicited. But I didn’t hate him. Weird.
    “Your boy and his posse moved closer.”
    I looked up and saw Nate and his crew congregating not ten feet away from where we sat. He really is a piece of shit.
    I tried to seem unfazed, but clearly failed, because Shane leaned into me and whispered in my ear. “Let’s give him something to watch.”
    Before I was able to reply, S hane pulled me off my stool, positioning me so that I was standing between his legs, my back to his chest. He then slipped his arms around my waist and pressed his mouth to my ear. I had to resist the urge to nuzzle into him as his breath grazed my ear. “Watch. He’s going to glance back in five, four, three, two, one . . .”
    As if on cue, Nate whipped his head toward us briefly, and then turned back to his friends.
    “Wow, how’d you know he’d do that?” I asked, allowing Shane to hear how impressed I was with him for the first time, well, probably ever.
    “He wasn’t going to be able to resist. He moved closer so that he could watch you. And when I noticed his shoulders tense, I knew he wasn’t going to be able to hold off much longer.”
    “You’re like Yoda,” I mused, turning my head to look at him. Then, we both burst out laughing.
    This was quite a change: Shane and I playing on the same team for once, trying to take down the dark overlord of pain and misery. I felt myself relax and my mood brighten.
    Shane and I continued to play the game, laughing and putting our hands freely on each other. Nate either left or moved to a different part of the bar about fifteen minutes into our charade, but by that point, I had barely remembered he was there to begin with.
    Finall y, Shane called attention to it. “Well, I think we chased him away.” I had turned toward Shane a while ago and my hands were resting on his shoulders, though my arms were slightly extended to provide us with some distance. I cast a look behind me, acting like I hadn’t