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Bryce: Ok. I’ll be down in a few.
Not sure what makes me think this is a great idea, but I’m going. My breathing is coming out a little faster now, so I place my hand over my heart and look at what’s around me to help ground myself. I can do this. I can be normal for once. Once I get myself under control, I head to my room to change.
I’m changing into my jeans and my hoodie when I hear a knock at my door.
“Hold on a second!” I yell from my room.
I walk over to the door and pull it open to reveal a drop-dead gorgeous man. How is it possible he looks even better than he did when he was here earlier?
“Hey. Can I, uh, come in?” Bryce waves hesitantly.
Yup, I just got caught gawking at him. I can already feel the heat in my cheeks. I immediately look down and open the door wider so he can walk in.
“Yeah, sorry. Got lost in thought.” I admit shamefully.
“Sure,” He grins at me as he walks in.
“Okay, um. I’m ready,” I grab my purse and make sure I have my phone.
“Look, if you get uncomfortable, just let me know. We can always bring it back here. Just say the word. It doesn’t matter where we eat, as long as you’re good. That’s all I care about.” Bryce looks at me with sympathetic eyes. That completely throws me off guard. I’m admittedly a bit shocked that he cares enough to make sure I’m alright. That … that’s not something I’m used to.
“Thank you. That means a lot.” I give him a genuine smile and lead him out the door.
Perhaps this won’t be as bad as I initially thought. It may be nice to have someone other than Vicki to hang out with. Bryce is already accommodating me. The only person who has ever been that way up until now has been Vicki.
Bryce and I might just be good friends after all.
Chapter 6
Katrina
The driveto the restaurant is quiet. I catch him glancing over at me a couple times when we come to a stop at a light. He isn’t trying to make conversation with me, so I take the time to prepare myself. My head is feeling a little light. I need to just focus on Bryce; that might help ground me. As we pull up to Winger, he turns to me and grins. This, apparently, is the highlight of his day.
“Ready to eat? This place has the best wings.” He nearly bounces with excitement. I don’t know if it is the wings that have him this excited or that I agreed to come with him.
“Um, yeah. I’m starving, actually.” On cue, my stomach rumbles.
“Well, let’s get some food then.” He reaches over the center console and squeezes my thigh right above my knee.
I’m stunned for a moment, and I don’t move to get out, even then he removes his hand. My leg feels like it’s on fire. His touch makes my skin heat up, and all the nerve endings inside me fire off like mad. I breathe and try to gather myself. Once I finally come back down to earth, I stick my hand out to open the door only to find it’s already open.
“You alright over there?” Bryce looks down at me as he holds the door open. “Come on,” He tilts his head towards the restaurant.
“Thanks,” I reply, swallowing hard. He holds out his hand for me to grab while I climb out. As soon as I touch him, I feel a spark. It makes me jump a little from the surprise of it. I don’t know if he felt that too, but if he did, he didn’t react.
When we reach the door, he steps in front of me and holds it open for me. I walk into the restaurant, which is honestly more like a sports bar. Instantly, my skin itches. I have a sinking feeling that tonight will not end well. Bryce steps next to me and brings his arm around my shoulder to give it a reassuring squeeze. We don’t have to wait for someone to seat us, so he finds us a table.
Bryce shrugs off his leather jacket, and I can’t help but stare at his muscular body and chiseled jaw. He sits down across from me in the booth and looks at the menu. I’m still in a trance when the server comes up to the table with eyes for Bryce. If she was a cartoon, you would see little hearts where her eyes were. Gag.
And why shouldn’t she make googly eyes at Bryce? Most of the female population obviously goes gaga for him. How can you not? Even my body betrays me when I look at him.
“Hello! What can I start you off with to drink?” She only turns towards Bryce. It’s as if I don’t even exist. The server leans in closer to him, giving him the biggest smile—even licking her lips. Gross. I try to hold back a cringe of disgust.
“Kat, what would you like to drink?” Bryce instead faces me, and he seems a little uncomfortable with the server’s actions.
“Water, please.” I say directly to our flirtatious server. She doesn’t even bat an eye at me. This bitch just keeps looking at Bryce. She doesn’t even acknowledge my order. I feel a burning in my chest. This is not good.
“Same for me, please.” Bryce tells her, glancing from me to her. Now I can see he’s clearly annoyed.