Free Tempting Me: A Bad Boy Romance by Roxy Sinclaire, Natasha Tanner Page A

Even if it is just a friendly dinner with friends and absolutely nothing will ever happen between us.
    Ryan is leaning against the bar and his eyes rake over me as I approach, causing a delicious shudder to course through my body. I’m glad I took the time to brush my hair and freshen up my make-up.
    “Alright kids, lets cool it,” Theresa says. “It’s a PG-rated night for the three of us.”
    I pretend to search through my bag to hide the fact that I’m blushing and Ryan says he doesn’t know what PG is.
    We take the subway a couple of stops to a neighborhood I have never been to before. It’s not that I’ve never been on the subway before, but it was rare and usually with Ella, who spent the trip mocking the other people on the train. With Ryan and Theresa, we are part of the crowd and no one is judging anyone, or under the impression that they are better than anyone else. However, both Theresa and Ryan tease me for not knowing how to use the turnstile.
    Outside of the restaurant, a group of kids are drumming on turned over buckets. Ryan praises their skills and drops what looks to be a twenty into a hat that is partially filled with singles and spare change.
    “Oh man,” one of the kids says. “You’re here with two ladies, Ryan? Good for you.”
    “Watch it, Jamie. These ladies are good friends of mine. Show them some respect.”
    “Hi,” I say. “I’m Aria! Your music is wonderful.”
    The other kids start ribbing him about falling in love with me. Theresa rolls her eyes and tells us she is starving and it’s time to stop playing charity and come inside and eat.
    “Ignore her,” Ryan tells me. “She talks tough but she’s got the biggest heart of anyone in this city.”
    “Trust me, I know. I am a firsthand recipient of that big heart. If it weren’t for Theresa, I don’t know where I would be right now.”
    “She told me you’re staying with her. It sounds like a big change from that ranch you told me about,” he says with an irresistible grin.
    I want to be offended on Theresa’s behalf and my own but I know it’s meant in good humor.
    “Change is good,” I say with an air of confidence I don’t quite feel.
    The pub is filled with the after-bar crowd and all of the food is deep fried and covered in cheese. I usually wouldn’t eat this kind of food if my life depended on it but this is the new me, I worked hard all day, and deserve a carb or two or ten.
    “Why are you tending bar?” Ryan asks.
    No beating around the bush here.
    “I need a job and I need the money, New York is expensive,” I say knowingly. At the same time, I do my whole nervous smoothing down my hair thing. So I know I just gave away my insecurity about the situation.
    “Whoa there, girl. I know you need a job and money but don’t you have a degree? There has to be something better you could be doing. Theresa and I are working there because it’s our best option, not because it’s desirable.”
    “Speak for yourself, asshole,” Theresa says.
    I’ve only known them a few days, but I feel a level of camaraderie with them that I never felt with Ella or my other girlfriends. I know that I can be honest with both of them and while they may tease me, they aren’t going to hurt me.
    I can’t let myself be distracted by romantic notions of living paycheck-to-paycheck in the city and experiencing the real world . I have a degree from a great university and it would be unfair to both myself and my parents who paid for it to let it go to waste. And now that I know Ryan and Theresa, I would feel guilty about not using a degree that they never had the opportunity to get.
    On the other hand, right now, this is exactly where I want to be. I have been doing what other people want and expect for as long as I can remember and it feels so good to do what I want for a change.
    I realize that Theresa is the kind of friend I have always wanted. She is there for me in a way I could only pretend my other friends were. To stay