Free Friends With Benefits by Kelly Jamieson

He was the tallest, so he stood out, but he was also completely unaware of the interest in him. Kerri watched as he accepted the beer from the female bartender with a smile and tipped it up to his lips, turning to survey the room. Unerringly, like a heat-seeking missile, his eyes immediately met hers across the room. Her body tightened.
    It was as if he’d reached out and touched her. For a long moment they just looked at each other. Then she lifted a hand.
    While Mitch spoke to the others and gestured to the girls, Kerri put her hands to her hot cheeks. “Why did they come here of all places?”
    Hailey glanced at her. “Hey, it’s okay. I don’t mind that much.” They all shifted around the table to make room for more chairs so the guys could join them.
    Mitch ended up sitting beside Kerri.
    “Hey,” he said. “How was your date?”
    “It wasn’t a date,” she answered shortly. “What are you guys doing here? I thought you were going to watch the game.”
    “We did.” He shrugged. “Dodgers lost. Nothing was going on there so we came here.”
    “But why did you come here ? It’s supposed to be Hailey’s night out.”
    He raised his brows and looked at her.
    “How is she supposed to have fun with her fiancé here?” Kerri continued heatedly.
    “What exactly was she planning to do?” He lifted one brow, giving him that goddamn devilish charming look. Damn him.
    Kerri scowled. “Nothing, of course. I’m just saying.”
    He smiled, then deliberately turned away from her to talk to Hailey.
    Kerri fumed sulkily. Although she’d protested on Hailey’s behalf, she was the one who didn’t want Mitch there tonight. Damn him again.
    She finished her wine and searched the bar for a waiter so she could order another drink. While she waited, she gazed around the room and tapped her fingers on the table. Then, one of the guys she’d danced with earlier appeared and asked her to dance again.
    She jumped to her feet and shot Mitch a glance as she took the man’s hand and followed him onto the dance floor. Mitch was busy talking to Hailey but she knew he’d noticed her leave.
    The guy, whose name she’d forgotten, was okay-looking and pleasant and thankfully a good dancer, and he seemed surprised that this time Kerri was so much more animated. She laughed and flirted her way through that song and another one, tossing her hair back and smiling into his eyes. Oh yeah, his name was Paul. As they moved around the dance floor, she glanced back at her table.
    Mitch wasn’t there.
    She pressed her lips together, then smiled at Paul again. The music changed to a slow song and she let him pull her close for the next dance.
    Where was he, damn it?
    Letting her eyes move around, she spotted Mitch on the dance floor. With Laurel.
    Well. Mitch and Laurel were friends, too. It was totally okay if they danced together. She forced herself not to look at them. What did she care if two of her friends danced together?
    After the slow dance, she excused herself from Paul. She really wasn’t interested in him, and she didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. With a smile and thanks, she returned to the table and the full glass of wine that had appeared there while she was dancing.
    She gulped back some of the drink, unable to stop her eyes from seeking and finding Mitch and Laurel still dancing. She forced herself to join in the conversation between Hailey, Miguel and his best man, Jason. Moments later, Mitch and Laurel returned and joined in too.
    “Are you mad that we came here?” Miguel asked his fiancée.
    She laughed. “Of course not.” She put her arms around his neck and kissed his mouth. “I love it that you’re here.”
    Mitch shot a glance at Kerri and she shifted in her seat.

Chapter Eleven
    Mitch leaned over to Kerri. “Something wrong? Didn’t things go well with Liam?”
    She smiled tightly. “Things went fine, actually. We’re going out for dinner.”
    “Great,” he lied. “He’s a pretty