“No way.” Rafe’s sexy eyebrows lifted. “Of course, now I’m desperately curious.”
“What do I win if I’m right?” I had a few excellent ideas, of course.
He touched his glass to mine and took a sip. “I’m sharing my champagne either way.” He touched his glass to mine and took a sip. “Tell me your tale of woe.”
“You first,” I demanded, just to see what he’d do.
“Dios.” He rolled his shoulders and undid the top button of his dress shirt, exposing a V of bronzed skin. “You only get the short version. I was dating a girl since last spring. But she spent the summer at a program in South America.”
“Wait!” I grabbed the bottle off my desk to top up his glass. “I remember her. That snooty blonde? Alison with one L.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Yeah. That’s the one.”
“Go on.”
He sighed. “She’s back from the summer, right? I thought everything was good…”
I picked up the condoms off the bed. “They must have been good.”
Rafe dropped his gaze. “Tonight we were having a birthday celebration.”
“Whose?”
He lifted those espresso-colored eyes. “Both of ours, if you can believe it.”
“Get out of town! You two have the same birthday?” This story kept getting better and better. And I hadn’t even heard the punchline. “And happy birthday, Rafe.”
“Thanks. But before you decide that she and I were meant to be, let me get to the part where her boy toy from the overseas program abroad shows up tonight with flowers at the same time I walk in.”
Jesus. “Seriously? She’s two-timing you?”
He nodded, miserable. “He’s all, ‘Hi baby! Surprise!’ And I’m, like, ‘Who are you? I’m the boyfriend.’ And he says, not in so many words, that he’s the fuck buddy.”
“Oh, Rafe!” I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “You poor thing. What did you do?”
He just shook his head. “Got the hell out of there. Good riddance.”
“Well…” I hated to see my hook-up prospect go up in smoke. But it was a rule of mine never to hook up with someone who was already involved. And maybe all was not lost with Rafe and his little preppy queen. “Maybe she thought you weren’t supposed to be exclusive while she was away. Could it be a misunderstanding?”
Rafe’s expression darkened. “Not a chance. Things were very clear that we were waiting for each other. And she let me believe that she had.”
“What a bitch!” I said with a little too much glee.
“That’s exactly right. I mean… she knew exactly what it would mean to me. She knew. And the guy she cheated with…” He gave his head a violent shake. “She could have slapped me in the face and it wouldn’t have been any clearer.”
“Why? Who was he?”
“Never met him before. But some rich dude in a fancy suit. Your basic nightmare.”
I let out a hoot of laughter. “Rafe? Did you just quote When Harry Met Sally to me?”
His gaze slid into mine, and a slow smile began to overtake his face. “I might have. My mom really likes the chick flicks.”
Aw. “And a good son watches them with his mother once in a while, right? Just to be nice. Not because they’re funny as hell.”
His smile grew, and I felt more than a flutter. Because that smile? It was blindingly hot. “That’s right. Just doing my duty.” We just sat there, taking each other in for a minute longer. And I couldn’t help but fixate on his lips, which were a dark, rosy red. I wondered what they’d feel like sliding against mine.
That’s how it always was with me. I loved men and their variety. The texture of their hair made me want to run my hands through it. Rafe’s hair was coal black and shiny. I imagined it would feel soft as it slid through my fingers. And that muscular chest was calling to me. Last week I’d seen him out jogging shirtless, and he had a set of abs that was tight enough to bounce quarters off of.
Just thinking about it now made me wonder about the scent of his skin and whether those abs would clench when I touched him.
I liked men, and I liked sex. A lot. I gave Rafe’s hand one more squeeze. “I’m sorry your girl was cheating.”
“I am such an idiota.”
“Betrayal always makes you feel like that.” And I should know.
“This just pushes so many buttons for me, though. My mom, for one, will not be surprised.”