Right before Comic-Con, he’d come into my office unannounced. Plopping himself down on a chair with hands in his pockets and eyes on the floor, he’d asked me what my secret was for getting all the women.
If I hadn’t known any better, I would have thought that Adam was punking me. I’d tried not to laugh. William was a great guy, but I’d been at a loss to explain to him ‘when you’ve got it, you’ve got it’ or the concept of mojo. William was autistic, and thus did not do well with abstract concepts like that.
So I’d promised him a demonstration when I had more time. And tonight, apparently, would be that night. He hadn’t seemed too thrilled about going to a bar, but it was more of a lounge than a bar, I’d reasoned. It took some time to talk him into it, saying that this was how I met women—which was not exactly the truth. The women I dated I’d met at much classier places than this one.
Le Chat Noir was not a dive by any stretch. It actually tried its hardest to be a level above the typical meat market type of places these tended to be—especially in a college town like Irvine. The décor was muted purples and black. Jazzy music played over a sound system, though it appeared as if they had live music regularly.
William and I sat at a small table nursing drinks. William had ordered a beer and I had a rum and coke, minus the rum. I flicked a glance at my introverted companion; I hadn’t accounted for his reserve to make this situation awkward. Oh well, we hadn’t come for him, anyway.
After asking a few questions, I finally found out that there was a particular woman he’d had an eye on—one of Mia’s girlfriends. I’d met her once—the blonde—pretty girl. He’d known her for over a year and still hadn’t asked her out. Christ. This poor guy was probably almost crippled from blue balls syndrome.
Twenty minutes after we arrived, a group of young women from Draco—April among them—entered the room. No sign of that creep Charles. Good. However, I did notice a lot of male heads turn as they walked past. I knew what was going through their minds. They were categorizing each woman based on coloring, body style, height and looks. Some women had gorgeous bodies but so-called “butter face”—meaning she was hot, “but her face.”
April was most definitely not in that category. She was shorter with a more petite build than her friends—the shortest one in the crowd. She trailed behind the other three, most noticeable because of her long, dark hair, which she wore down and to the middle of her back. I’d spent more time than I should looking at that hair, wondering if it was black or dark brown, studying how it reflected the light, wanting to smell it. It was silky, shiny and I wanted to run my fingers through it. Wanted to wrap it around my hands while I fucked her.
I jerked my eyes away, taking another sip of my unleaded drink. William was sulking, watching me with his dark eyes. As usual, he was dressed in mismatched clothing. He didn’t have a knack for fashion—nor did he have a stylish haircut. Nevertheless, half the women on this side of the bar were checking him out and he was completely unaware. Figured. Although Adam had a better sense of style, the family resemblance was unmistakable and my best friend had a similar effect on women. What was it with that family, anyway, that made them women-magnets?
The group of Draco interns took a table near the other side of the bar from us, but in clear line of sight. Sometime after work, April had changed into a short purple dress that accentuated her pale complexion and her curves perfectly. Eyes followed her as she walked by, and I wanted to stab out every one of them for looking at her and thinking the same dirty thoughts that were going through my mind at this moment.
“I still don’t understand the point of us being here,” William said in his usual blunt monotone.
“Well, when you asked me how I talked to women, I told you it was hard to explain—that I’d have to show you. I figured I had the time tonight. I could show you.”
He frowned. “I don’t like this at all.”
Over his shoulder, a blonde about thirty years old had not stopped staring at him. It was clear she was waiting for him to look up so she could meet his gaze and give him a ‘come-hither’ smile. Good luck with that, lady.
“Consider this practice. I have acquired our first target. There’s a blonde on the other side of you who appears…interested.”
William scowled. “This isn’t what I meant when I said I wanted to learn how to talk to women. I already have the woman in mind that I want to talk to. I told you. I want Jenna.”
“Women, William. Plural. You know what they say, there are a lot of fish in the sea.”