Free Sex Snob by Elizabeth Hayley Page B

I wanted was for him to leave me and go talk to her. But, I didn’t want to cock block him either. He had no shot with me, but he probably had a great one with her.
    He shook his head. “I don’t see her that way. We’re friends, but she’s more like a sister to me. And why are you sending me over to her? Trying to get rid of me?” Amusement played on his face, but there was something else in his eyes. Something darker. More carnal.
    I shuddered involuntarily as I found myself getting lost in those eyes. My body inched closer to him: a subconscious movement caused by the magnetic pull that existed between us. My eyes moved to his lips, pink and full and so utterly kissable.
    “Hey, guys, how’s it going?”
    The trance broke and I looked over to see Kate.
    Shane cleared his throat. “We’re good. Just shootin’ the shit. How about you? Having fun?” he asked, smiling broadly.
    How the hell had he regained his composure so quickly? Hadn’t he been lost in that moment with me? Maybe. Maybe not.
    “Yeah, I’m having a great time.”
    Kate shot me a brief look, but quickly looked away. She seemed to be trying to ignore me. Her eyes flitted over to me again, but they locked on Shane. “A few of us decided to head over to Tonic. They have a DJ. Are you in?”
    “Uh, sure,” he said. “Coming, Amanda?”
    I watched Kate’s face fall slightly, but she recovered quickly and looked at me sweetly.
    “No, I’m getting tired. I’m just gonna head home.” There’s your birthday present, ya big baby.
    “Oh,” Shane seemed momentarily at a loss for words, like he was caught between whether he should attempt to change my mind or just let it go. Ultimately, he made the right choice. “Let me walk you to your car.”
    “No," I replied harshly. "That's okay. I’m right across the street,” I added to try and temper my initial response.
    “Well, let’s all walk out together, and then I can make sure your ex doesn’t pop out of the bushes and kidnap you,” he said, clearly only slightly kidding.
    “If you must,” I muttered, shaking my head for Kate’s benefit. I didn’t want to ruin her night and figured reverting to smartass Amanda was the best way to do that.
    Shane paused and looked at me briefly, wondering where my shift in tone had come from. I didn’t look back at him. Instead, I put my hand on Kate’s arm and thanked her for inviting me.
    “Oh, no, thank you for coming,” she said, completely devoid of emotion. She made no attempt to return my touch in any way. I guess Kate has some claws. Maybe she should piss on him to mark her territory.
    It took a few minutes to gather everyone who was left, but eventually we were making our way toward the door. I waved goodbye to no one in particular as I made my way across the street. Once I reached the sidewalk, I chanced a quick look over.
    Kate was already leading everyone down the street toward their next destination. Everyone except Shane. He stood stock still, watching me all the way to my car. As I opened the door, I started to give him a slight wave, but he had already started following the crowd, his head bowed slightly downward and his hands in his pockets. He never looked back in my direction.
    I climbed in my car and started her up. And as I pulled out of the parking lot, I wondered if this qualified as a good or bad night from hell.
    ***
    Unfortunately, my dream of Master Bader being arrested for murder or bleeding to death from a severed appendage hadn’t come true after all. So when the Tuesday after Labor Day rolled around, he was back. And after being out for a day, he was more of a dick than usual. I guess he figured he was just making up for lost time when he handed me some accounts that an intern had fucked up. Now I had to do those in addition to my own responsibilities. It almost made me wish I had done more Friday so I wouldn’t have to work late. Almost.
    I considered delegating some of the workload to Hot Rod, as I contemplated