“Hey, Lily. Not gonna run away from me this time?” His lip curves up in a half-smile.

His beard is so perfect. Just like the rest of him. I want to run my fingers through it. Stroke it. Him. I also might want to ride his face. Again. Jesus. What’s wrong with me? I realize I’m staring, and he’s made a snarky comment. I open my mouth, and all that comes out is a sigh.

His grin gets bigger. Cocky pucker. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

I take a hefty sip of my drink. It’s strong, whatever it is. I turn my head and cough. When I look back again, I’m slightly more composed. “I don’t see the point since you’ll probably follow me anyway.”

“There’s a good chance.” He skims my shoulder with a fingertip. “This is pretty.”

“Thanks.” The tags are still attached to this dress. They’re tucked inside, and the little plastic thing is poking me in the armpit. It cost more than a hundred dollars. I can’t afford to keep it, so my plan is to wear it tonight, have it dry cleaned, and return it to the store on Monday. It’s dishonest and underhanded, but I wanted to look nice tonight. The last formal-ish dress I bought was for my prom, and that was years ago.

We stand and stare at each other for a while longer, saying nothing. I wish I would have hugged him right away or something, but it seems awkward now. All the messages we’ve been sending back and forth over the past week make my skin hot. It’s so much easier to flirt and threaten sexting when I don’t have to look at his face.

“So what’s going on with Tash and Lance?” Miller asks.

“Who knows. They’re acting all weird. I’m not sure what the deal is, but Tash elbowed me in the face, and Lance misunderstood, and now they’re pissed at each other.”

“Are you okay?” Sunny asks, seeming genuinely concerned.

“It’s fine, just kinda hurt for a few minutes. Thanks for asking.” Randy directs his grin at me.

Miller takes a swig of his beer and shakes his head. “I still don’t get why she’d be interested in him. He puts his dick everywhere.”

“You used to put your dick everywhere,” Sunny pipes up. She’s not angry, just honest.

“I was never that bad.”

Randy lifts an eyebrow. Sunny does the same.

“Seriously. I wasn’t that bad.”

Sunny pats him on the cheek, then replaces her hand with her lips. “It’s okay, Miller. I’m just saying, I still gave you a chance even though you were slutty, and look how well that’s turned out? People change, or at least the things they want can change.”

Miller kisses her fingertips. “I had to work real hard to convince you I was serious about you, sweets.”

Sunny bats her lashes. “You did such a good job, too.”

Randy makes a gagging noise. “You two are worse than a chick flick. You need to take that shit somewhere else.”

“They’ve been taking it somewhere else all damn day,” I mutter into my glass.

Miller and Sunny break apart. “We have not!” Sunny’s voice is high, the way it gets when she’s lying, or embarrassed.

“It’s okay, sweets. Don’t feel bad about wanting a piece of this.” Miller motions to himself, more specifically his crotch.

“I’ll be back in a minute. I need the ladies room.” I set my glass on the counter and turn to Randy. “Keep an eye on these two; they keep disappearing.”

“And that’s a problem why?”

I roll my eyes and head for the bathroom. I need to gather myself. I don’t like how territorial I feel about Randy, and we haven’t even slept together. I remind myself that this isn’t going to be serious. He lives in Chicago. I live in Canada. We’re having some fun. I need a break from serious anyway. I deserve this, and I can totally handle it.

I lock myself inside the bathroom, surprised and a little disappointed that Randy didn’t follow me this time. I turn on the tap while I do my business, then check my reflection in the mirror. Violet and Charlene had their way with my face. I didn’t let them do much, but I’m wearing mascara and eye shadow. I drew the line at lipstick and made do with gloss.

I pull out a package of wipes from my purse and tear it open. It smells like mint and cucumber. Violet gave them to me today and told me to thank her later. I drop my panties, which are edged in lace, and give myself a little rubdown. I want to be prepared for whatever happens, or doesn’t, tonight. The mint makes everything tingle.

I toss the wipe in the garbage, wash my hands, fix my hair again, and open the door.

“Took you long enough.” Randy steps inside and locks us in.

“What’s with you and bathrooms?” I back up until I hit the wall.

He steps in close. “What’s with you and always running away from me?”

“I wasn’t running. I had to use the bathroom.” If I could dig my nails into the plaster behind me, I would. As it is I’m fighting the urge to run my hands over his very hard, very big body. If I arch my back at all, parts of me will touch parts of him.

“I think maybe you were looking for a reason to make me follow you.” He braces his forearm against the wall beside my head. His shirt stretches tight over his bicep. God, he’s ripped.

“So what if I was?”

“Is that an admission?”

“You’ve been sexting me all week; what do you need an admission for?” I slide my hands behind my ass so I don’t do something stupid, like grab his face and ram my tongue down his throat. Again.