Free The Impostor, A Love Story by Tiffany Carmouche Page B

so
beautiful ? I caught myself staring and quickly looked at the
bar, ironing the crumpled dollars on the counter with the palm of
my hand to try and distract me.
    “Hey, thanks for all the drinks tonight.” He
grinned.
    Those annoying butterflies tickled the walls
of my abdomen. I breathed in, trying not to say anything dumb. “Oh,
it wasn’t me. It was my customers. They were great. They were
buying me drinks all night, so I thought I’d share the wealth.” I
leaned over and lightly touched his arm to imply don’t worry about
it. Holy crap, it was a rock .
    “Well, we all appreciated it.” He smiled that
incredible smile again. “So what do you like to do after work?” I
was still thinking about how hard his bicep was. It took me a
moment to realize I was supposed to respond.
    “Truth is I really am kinda boring. I usually
just go home to bed.”
    “Well, that sounds fun.” He winked.
    “It’s not an invitation. I’m sorry. I go
alone. Well, not really alone, but with Emily.”
    “That really does sound fun.” He cocked his
eyebrow. I turned away embarrassed. How do I respond ?
    It was so hard to pretend I wasn’t
interested, especially since I was tipsy.
    “Why don’t you all come to my place for a
while?” Brad asked.
    “How does that sound?” The chiseled god
focused back on me. He tucked the hair that hung in my face behind
my ear and stared into my eyes. “What would you like to do
tonight?”
    Was it obvious that I found him incredibly
delicious? I had to break eye contact and glance down. Because of
the alcohol, I fixated on his attributes: an incredible musician
with an Olympian body, a great sense of humor, and did I mention
his chocolate-brown eyes? As he leaned on the bar, his biceps
bulged out even more, and his chest almost broke through the tiny
tank top he had painted on.
    I imagined his muscular arms wrapped around
me as I lay on his chest. Mmm, the warmth of his hot muscular body
as he serenaded me to sleep, I sighed. I shook my head to get
myself out of my dreamlike state, but when I came to he was still
perfect, and he was still looking deep into my eyes. I playfully
glanced down and then back into his eyes as if that would break the
spell. It’s got to be all those drinks I had .
    “Come on, Nicole. It’ll be fun. Bring your
friend if you like.”
    My name seemed to sing from his lips. I
exhaled.
    “Why don’t you come with us? I promise I will
behave.”
    I just blushed again. “I really can’t.” I
grabbed my purse from behind the bar to leave.
    “Goodnight, Brad. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Then I turned to the Greek god, “Goodnight, Dylan.” I smiled
bashfully.
    “I hope you change your mind. Here’s my
number in case you do. I can pick you up if you need a ride.” He
cornered me on the bar. His fingertips gently ran over my forehead,
brushing the hair that had fallen, out of my eyes. Leaning over, he
cradled my face in his hands and kissed me on the cheek.
    I froze in his grasp, unable to move away.
His lips were so soft, warm, moist; his hands, so gentle. I felt
fragile, desperate to collapse in his arms and have him whisk me
away. Kiss me , I silently pleaded but blinked and slowly
pulled my face away from his, trying to break the captivity of his
almost-ebony eyes.
    “Goodnight, Dylan. Sweet dreams.” My
heartbeat almost rang in my ears. What just happened ? Am
I dreaming ? It was just a kiss on the cheek, but it might as
well have been a wedding proposal.
    I almost stumbled as I walked toward the
door, even more intoxicated by his beauty than all the shots. Emily
was in the corner of the bar waiting to see what I would decide to
do.
    Somehow, I was able to muster the strength to
walk away. Of course, I’d dream about him for the next . . .
forever. But at least I didn’t do anything stupid.
    Emily and I jumped into one of the cabs
waiting out back. Once the door closed, I began almost shaking.
Thinking about him made chills go up my spine and made me