*****
“Wanna dance?” Justin leaned over to shout. Sam, pleasantly buzzed from consuming a steady supply of alcohol, glanced around the deserted table.
Dee was on the dance floor with Erin, and Kim had slunk off upstairs with some guy she'd met during one of the trips to the bar for fresh drinks. It was just her and Justin at the table, and they'd spent the past hour flirting and getting to know each other.
A Marine, recently returned from a four year tour in Afghanistan. From their talks, she'd gleaned he was a divorcee, having married and split up with his highschool sweetheart and wife of three years, just before heading off to the Middle East.
Like her, he wasn't looking for a serious relationship, but at the same time, wasn't into random hookups and one night stands.
Sam found she liked his open, easygoing manner, and his great sense of humor. He hadn't talked to her to the exclusion of her friends, he chatted with the other three ladies, his raunchy, but funny jokes had them all in stitches. However, he reserved his flirting exclusively for Sam.
Sam nodded, and he took her hand, helping her stand up. With an arm around her waist, he steered them to the dancefloor. Just then, the DJ put on a song that Sam liked, and she threw herself enthusiastically into the dance.
Justin whooped in delight when she playfully twerked against him, and pretended to swoon, causing Sam to collapse in a fit of laughter, his arms around her waist.
Her skin prickled, and she got the feeling she was being watched. A glance around however, showed no one particularly interested in her.
Shaking off the feeling, she smiled up at Justin, who still had his arms around her. He returned the smile, one hand coming up to gently push a lock of hair off her face, the heat in his eyes saying more than a thousand words.
"Do you want to go somewhere?" He leaned close, to say the words in her ear. "My place isn't too far from here, or we could go to yours if you prefer."
Oh sweet mother of hook ups.
A part of her that screamed 'yes, please', wanted to throw every bit of caution to the wind and experience the novelty of a good, old no strings sex with a handsome man. It was something she'd always imagined doing, but had never worked up the nerve to do.
But, on the other hand, Sam bit her lip, filled with indecision. He was a stranger, even though he'd told her a lot about himself. What if he turned out to be a serial killer? He didn't look the type, but still.
Dee, Kim and Erin appeared next to them, and Sam could have wept in relief when Erin announced she had to leave.
"My flight leaves at 8 tomorrow -" she glanced at her phone screen and amended "today, actually. I need go home and get some sleep so I can be at the airport on time.
Dee had been studying Sam's face and must have picked up on her dilemma.
"We should go too, Sam. Remember you have that doctor's appointment at 7." She lied, not batting an eyelash.
"Yes, I completely forgot about that," Sam exclaimed, relief pulsing through her veins.
She shot Justin an apologetic look, guilt pricking her chest at his disappointed expression.
"I really enjoyed myself tonight," she told him, and meant it. "Maybe we can meet up some other time?"
He gave her a wry smile that made her feel ten times worse. "Sure, how about I give you my number, and you can call if you want."
She nodded, and Dee handed over her phone. He entered his digits, and handed it back to Sam.
"Enjoy your appointment." He winked and walked away,not in the least fooled by that steaming pile of bull crap.
Erin laughed, shaking her head. "A doctor's appointment? That's the best you could come up with?"
Her teasing broke the tension.
"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Dee grinned, unrepentant.
Kim scoffed and smiled. "That was just him being too much of a gentleman to call you both out on your shit."
Mortified, Sam merely shook her head. The prickly feeling of being watched came again and she looked around again, seeing no one.
"Anyway, since we're all heading home, my driver can drop you girls off at your place on the way to the hotel." Erin said.
Feeling her bladder make itself known, Sam nodded., and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "Okay, but I need to pee first. Go on, and I'll catch up with you guys outside."
"I'll come with," Dee announced, linking her arm through Sam's.
The line for the restroom was mercifully nonexistent, and they were in and out in minutes. Dee's phone rang as she washed up, and she glanced at the screen and smiled.
"Hey baby," she crooned into the receiver, eyes lighting up.
'Yash', she mouthed at Sam, as though there was someone else she called baby.
"Yeah, we are, but we're on our way to my place. Did you have a nice rest?"
Sam leaned close and whispered. "Tell him I'm crashing at your place."
At Dee's nod, she finished drying her hands and stepped out the restroom, Dee trailing behind, talking in low tones.
As they neared the main room, Sam noticed a man leaning against the wall just ahead, his face in shadows from the dim lighting overhead. He caught sight of them and straightened, his profile looking oddly familiar.
Then he moved towards her, and Sam felt her jaw drop as he came into view.
"Ryan?"
His gaze fixed on her, and her skin prickled at the intensity in them, and from the hunger that lit up his expression as he ran his eyes over her body.
"Sam," his voice lowered an octave, her toes curling at the deep husky timbre.
"What are you doing here?" As soon as she asked the question, she realized how patronizing it sounded. "Umm...I mean,"
"A friend owns the place. He invited me and I needed an excuse to get things off my mind."
"Oh," Sam was pretty sure she knew what things he wanted to forget. She pursed her lips as irritation surfaced again. "I see."
"You're Ryan?" Finished with her call, Dee came up beside Sam, her eyes raking over Ryan from head to toe.
Then she grinned and looked at Sam, her eyes sparkling with humor and mischief as she whispered in her ear. "Wow, he's yummy."
Sam flushed, especially when an amused smile curved his lips, telling her he'd overhead, much to her eternal mortification.
Still, her smarmy brain was busily registering how hot he looked in biker jacket and jeans, his hair sticking up as though he'd been combing it with his fingers, the heat in his eyes when he looked at her, as though he were seriously considering picking up where they'd left off this morning.
She pushed the thought away, schooling her features to show indifference at Dee's comment.
"Yeah." He stepped forward, holding out his hand to Dee. When she placed hers in his, he shook it.
Sam reluctantly performed the introductions. "Ryan, this is my friend, Dee. Dee, meet Ryan, my coworker."
"I've heard a lot about you, Ryan," Dee said, flicking her hair over her shoulder.
"Good things, I hope?" Ryan shot Sam a teasing look, and she struggled to keep her expression stern.
"Mmm, depends on your definition of good." Dee replied, and the two of them shared a laugh.
Okay, time to get going before they became fast friends.
"We should get going, the others are waiting." She grabbed Dee's arm and made to brush past Ryan.
"Sam, wait."
Ryan's fingers closed over her wrist, the heat of his skin seeping into hers. His touch brought to mind the way those same fingers had stroked her thighs and her pulse quickened.
Stay calm, don't let him affect you like this.
"Yes?" She was proud of her cool she sounded.
He raked a hand through his hair, and sighed. "Can we talk? Please?"
"My friends are waiting outside, sorry." She was in no mood to talk, all she wanted was away from him and his effect on her body.
He looked disappointed, and dropped her hand. "How about later today? I could drop by your place or if you prefer, we can meet somewhere."
She shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea."
Dee, who had been watching the exchange in silence, chipped in. "Me neither."
Sam shot her a grateful smile.
The smile rapidly turned to disbelief at her friend's next words.
"I'm a firm believer in clearing the air before going to bed." Dee continued, oblivious to the glare Sam was currently directing her way. "I think it's best to talk now, than wait for resentment to build later."
Ryan leveled a panty melting smile at her, while Sam silently promised to kill her friend later. What the hell was with the philosophical pile of crap Dee had just unloaded?
"I'm a believer too." Ryan told Dee, his voice laced with approval.
"Well, I'm not." She snapped at them both. "Let's go, Dee. Goodnight Ryan."
She tugged at Dee but to her consternation, her friend wouldn't budge and ignored the pleading look Sam shot her, the fires of matchmaking having taken hold of her senses.
"Talk to him, Darling," she said instead, and tugged her arm from Sam's crushing grip. She smiled like a fond mama at both of them. "I'll tell the girls to go on without us."