Page 32 of Stay With Me

But it all probably wasn’t as big a deal as he was making it out to be. This weekend would change things. Because this weekend he would lay on his game so thick that he was positive she’d change her mind, give him what he wanted, and then he could get “really busy at the restaurant”. So busy that he wouldn’t have time to see her, and then he figured she’d move on after a while. He’d already laid the groundwork for his out on Sunday so this particular challenge would be in his past soon enough.

Not that Samantha wasn’t awesome. She was. And he did like her. She was good,and cute, and funny. Easy to converse with and nice to look at. She was a great girl. But he would never want what he knew she probably wanted—something serious. And she should be with someone who wanted that too.

So, truthfully, he was doing her a favor by keeping things superficial and super physical.

A favor. Exactly.

“Chapman!”

Nick’s gaze darted up from the dish to see an exasperated Chase leaning into the stainless steel prep table.

“Sorry,” Nick apologized. “It’s perfection. You’ve outdone yourself, Chase.”

Chase made a big show of rolling his eyes. “You didn’t pick anything yet.”

“Oh.” Nick glanced over the spread of dishes. “Right.”

He paused as he leaned against the table, then rattled off the procession of dishes.

“The zucchini salad; macadamia crusted chicken; coconut lime sauce; the shredded kale—the one with the pine nuts—and the acai rice; the pears.”

“Are you sure you want to go with chicken? Chicken is kinda basic.”

Nick shook his head. “Chicken is only basic if it’s not special,” he explained, a bit overzealously. He grasped Chase’s shoulder. “Yourchicken is special.”

Chase roared with laughter and shoved a small towel into Nick’s chest. “Get the fuck out of here.”

Nick chuckled as he tossed the towel into a sink.

“So,” Chase went on. “Are you distracted because of Annabelle or because your girlfriend won’t put out?”

“Shut the hell up,” Nick fired back. “There is no girlfriend and there never will be. There’s only a three-day fling starting tomorrow and then I go back to the hot Saturday night pickings.”

“I thought you liked the challenge,” Chase zinged.

“That type of challenge is not as fulfilling as I hoped it would be. I’ll be glad when it’s all over and done with.”

“Then why not break it off now?”

“Because. Then I’d be an obvious asshole and I’m trying to remain a discreet one.”

“You should quit worrying so much about what people think of you. Especially chicks you’re just trying to nail.”

Something about hearing that caused Nick to involuntarily wince, and he didn’t say anything.

Chase groaned as he began clearing the plates. “Oh for fuck’s sake, man. She totally fucking got to you.”

Nick shot him a look as he started to head out of the room. “Nope. I’m impervious.”

* * *

Nick quickly straightened his tie and slipped on a jacket before hastily making his way to the hostess stand.

“Is she—”

“Table nineteen,” Kimberly, the hostess, interrupted. “Good luck, Nick.”

He shot back a quick grin. “Thanks.”