Chapter 3: He's Still Sexy

Liv

His lips linger by the shell of my ear and as he slowly pulls away, his stubbly cheek brushing against mine. A shiver rolls through my spine, for the third time since I made an ass out of myself and acted like a jealous girlfriend when the annoying woman wouldn’t leave him alone.

I couldn’t stop myself, though. I’d been sitting there, listening to the trio of boobs giggle about how they knew he was going to give in and I lost all sense of reason.

I had been under the assumption they were joking around but the more I heard them talk, I realized they were completely serious. And it drove me nuts. All night long, I’ve watched women strut over to the bar, vying for his or the other bartender’s attention. Not that I could blame them. They’re both ridiculously sexy but Ethan is even more so.

And he doesn’t even remember me. Of course, we only met the one time and it was over ten years ago, but still. My little seventeen-year-old heart hasn’t forgotten him. Over the years, I have wondered if I had exaggerated his good looks but tonight was proof I hadn’t. Actually, he’s even sexier than I remember. He still keeps his hair cropped short which I love and that dimple. Damn. Not to mention his smile.

My eyes continually strayed in the direction of the bar so often, my friends eventually noticed and started giving me shit about it.

"Just go talk to him," my friend Lily tells me. She’s also the birthday girl and I’m praying she doesn’t use that particular status to make me do what she wants.

"He’s an old friend of Owen’s."

"What?"

"I met him only once when I was seventeen. He lived across the hall from Owen but he doesn’t remember me."

I explain how we met and she listens carefully then nods.

"I’m not sure he doesn’t remember you. For every time you’ve looked in his direction, he’s looked in yours. I think he’s trying to place you, like he knows he knows you from somewhere but can’t figure out where."

Trying not to look hopeful, I roll my eyes. She laughs at me and shoves me out of my chair. As soon he notices I’m walking toward him, he quickly finishes up working with his current customer and hustles over to where I stand. A few other customers call bullshit that I basically jumped in line, but he doesn’t seem concerned.

"My friend kept trying to steal my drink." I lift my empty glass like that helps prove my point. I don’t know why I even told him that but my nerves got the best of me.

A dimple in his left cheek pops when he smiles. Damn. Dimples are a weakness of mine.

He wipes his hands on a white towel then drapes it over his shoulder, crossing his arms over his chest. "Did she, now?"

"Yup."

"I’ll have to make two then, huh?"

I nod as he takes my glass from my hands, his fingers brush against mine and the contact sends sparks of electricity shooting up my arm.

And that’s all it takes. For the rest of the night, I can’t resist being close to him as often as I can.

"You think I’m jealous?" I ask, working to keep my voice even.

"I don’t think so, I know so."

He’s close enough I can see the small mole next to his right eye. It’s unbelievably sexy. I want to reach out and touch it. Kiss it. That’s weird, yeah. But wowza he’s handsome. His dark hair is shaved close to his scalp, skin the color of a rich caramel, deep chocolate brown eyes. The light gray t-shirt shows off his muscular biceps and strong forearms. There’s a hint of a tattoo on the underside of his forearm that I want to explore and one that peeks out from under the hem of his right shirt sleeve. Even from behind the bar, I can tell he’s quite a bit taller than my five-and-a-half-foot stature and don’t even get me started on his ass. The dark jeans he’s wearing mold to it perfectly and the hem of his t-shirt hits just below the waistband of his jeans, showing off every inch and makes my mouth water. Every time he reaches for a bottle, his abs play a game of peek-a-boo and I’m definitely peeking.

It’s no wonder the women in the bar can’t stop themselves from lingering here, asking for drink after drink so he has to turn his back on them to reach for more liquor bottles.

"And you think you know this, how?" I whisper, knowing he can probably hear the desire laced in my tone and hoping he can’t hear the thumping of my heartbeat.

His eyes darken he stares intently into mine and his voice drops an octave. He crooks a finger and I raise up slightly out of my chair, meeting him halfway. "Because when I saw that douche with the shaggy blond hair talking to you earlier, I was jealous as fuck." The last word comes out harsh and bold; my breath catches and he leans impossibly closer. I can feel his breath fan against my skin and I have to clench my legs together. "I wanted to do a lot of things I don’t have the right to do in order to get him to stop flirting with you. Why do you think that is?"

"Um."

Lily clears her throat next to me and I couldn’t be more grateful for the distraction. I was about one second away from jumping over the counter and having my way with Ethan.

It’s crazy how strong my attraction is to this guy. Sure, I’ve seen men who I thought were good looking but this level of desire is new for me. Confusing, even. I’m drawn to his presence and something inside is screaming at me to get to know him better. Know what makes him happy and angry and annoyed.

"Hi, I’m Lily."

Ethan’s eyes stay focused on me for a few more breaths before he turns his body, extending a hand to my friend. "Ethan. Your birthday?" he asks, nodding to the birthday tiara she’s wearing. It’s so out of character for her because she hates to draw attention to herself but I told her she had to wear it if I was going to come to her party. Just to mess with her.

"It is. Well, two days ago, actually."

"But it’s no fun partying on a Wednesday."

She closes one eye and points at him. "Exactly."

A server comes over, orders a handful of drinks. He glances in her direction quickly, nods once, and returns his talking to Lily. "Well, happy birthday. Have you had a good night here?"

"I have. This isn’t my first time here, though. I’ve been here before when you’ve had live bands."

"Wait, you’ve been here before?" he asks me surprised.

I point to myself. "Me? No. This is my first time."

"Ahh. Shoot. I was hoping that explained it," he mumbles. Ethan reaches down and grabs a glass then steps over and pulls the spigot to pour a draft beer.

"Explained what?" I turn my head to the side and I know my eyebrows bunch together, not following along.

He pulls the cork out of a bottle of wine with a pop and fills two glasses just a little over halfway with a deep red. Looking at me out of the corner of his eye, he answers, "You look familiar and thought maybe you’d been in here before."

The server grabs the tray after he’s filled it with her order and turns to deliver it to her customers. And then his focus returns to us. Or, me, rather.

I rub my lips together then lick them. His eyes drop to my mouth and my chest heaves as I suck in a breath. Why do I like hearing that he’d have noticed me? Why do I want him to keep his attention on me?

"You think I look familiar?"

He studies me. "We have met, haven’t we?" he pauses when I nod then his eyes widen. He stands up straight, not taking his eyes off me. He sounds shocked when he says, "Holy fuck! Olivia? Owen’s sister Olivia?"

"Guilty."

He plants his hands on the bartop and does a side jump to hurdle over it. Then he’s right in front of me, pulling me off my barstool, squats down and wraps me up in his arms for a much-too-short hug. "Look at you, girl! I wish I’d have known you were going to be here. I feel like a giant douche. I knew you looked familiar! It was what, ten years ago when we met? Maybe more? I remember Owen telling me you were seventeen, probably to warn me off from trying to date you." He grins and winks.

I duck my head, still a little embarrassed over that encounter. "Probably. He was kind of protective back then."

"But he isn’t anymore?"

"Eh. Not really. We’re adults."

"Yeah, you are. Wow, Liv, you’ve," he scrubs a hand over his face, taking me in head to toe. "I think I called you gorgeous that night, didn’t I?" He does remember. He snaps his fingers as if the night we met just came back to him. "In fact, I know I did. And you’re even more so now." Just like his words affected me so many years ago, they do right now, too. "You know, Owen and I have kept in touch over the years. He came here once, actually, when he was on his way to see you. I think you were living in Chicago at the time. Is that where you still live?"

"Yeah, I’m still living in Chicago. I didn’t know that he stopped here, though."

He points a finger to the other bartender. "Rex spent almost two weeks up at his resort last summer, actually. Fished a bunch. Relaxed. Hung out with him. Forgot a coat or something and Owen dropped it off on his way to your place so he stayed with me a night."

A few years ago, Owen bought a crumbling lakeside resort and has been slowly renovating all the cabins. His goal for the resort is that families can reconnect without being connected. Wi-Fi is limited. Electricity, running water and plumbing are considered luxuries in the cabins. No TV’s or gaming systems. When families are at The Escape Resort & Lodge, he does everything he can to encourage time to be spent outside, building memories together.

Might sound weird for a single guy to have that kind of interest in families, but we grew up that way and he sees the benefits. I think he’d go completely off the grid if we wouldn’t go crazy not being able to talk to him.

"This the peach whiskey girl?" the other bartender asks, interrupting our stare down.

"Peach whiskey girl, huh?"

Ethan looks a little sheepish when he answers, "I told him about your request when he saw me cutting up the peach for your drink."

I don’t miss the threatening look Ethan gives his friend. One that goes completely ignored.

"What’s your name?" he asks me, leaning on the bar.

I glance at Ethan; his eyes are narrowed on his co-worker. "Um," I hesitate.

The glare doesn’t go unnoticed, but it’s also doesn’t seem to bother him in the least. He simply chuckles. "Oh relax, boss man. I’m not trying to take your girl." He winks at me and I can immediately see why he, too, has had a lineup of women customers in front of him tonight. Also, uh, boss man? His girl? Why does that thought make me blush but also let lose the butterfly farm that was asleep in my stomach?

"Boss man?" Lily asks.

"Ethan here’s the owner of this fine establishment."

What? He is? "You are?" I ask, directing my attention on Ethan.

He nods once. "I am." Hitches a thumb over his shoulder, pointing to his friend. "And this dipshit is Rex."

Rex sticks out his hand. "I’m Rex."

"See? He’s a dipshit. I just told them that, moron."

Rex clutches his chest in mock-hurt. "What’s with the name calling? See the abuse I take from this guy? I should report you to HR."

"I’ll take your complaint into consideration and do an investigation into the situation."

Lily and I laugh at their ridiculousness and I reach out my hand to Rex. "I’m Liv. This is Lily. The birthday girl."

"Ahh. Happy birthday. Nice to meet you both."

Ethan tips his chin in my direction. "Rex, take a wild guess who Liv’s brother is."

He crosses his arms and widens his stance. Smirks. Damn he’s cute, too. Not Ethan cute but wow. They should rename this to The Flying Hot Guys or something. "Owen."

We all look at him, confused and he explains, "I’m not deaf. I heard you guys talking about it. How’s he doing? He texted me from the Keys a few weeks ago to brag about some deep sea fishing he was doing to escape the snow."

"Yeah. He was a total dick and didn’t invite me. I told him we weren’t speaking until he was back in the land of living where it makes your face hurt."

Ethan and Rex roar with laughter. Ethan leans an elbow on the bar and faces me. "So rude of him not to invite his little sister along on vacation."

"Right? I totally thought so, too!"

"I gotta get back to work. Him being such a slave driver and all. I just wanted to meet the woman who’s kept my guy’s interest all night." Rex smiles wolfishly at Ethan and dodges his playful shove. "And I’m glad I did.

Then he reaches up and rings an old school bell above him and shouts, "Last call!"

I look at Lily with wide eyes. How the hell did it get so late? She giggles. "Didn’t you wonder why I was the only one hanging out with you for the last few hours? Everyone left around midnight, you dork."

My head whips around, trying to spot any of our friends and come up completely empty. "Huh? Why didn’t anyone say goodbye?"

"They did but you were uh, preoccupied," she says quietly, eyes darting to Ethan.

I blush, embarrassed that it’s so obvious that I’ve been staring at Ethan all night. "Oh."

She tries to hide her smile. "Yeah."

Ethan is back behind the bar, busy cleaning up but must feel my eyes on him because he turns his head and smiles, winks. Lily scrambles for my hand, squeezes it.

Completely conspicuously, she rests her head on her hand, elbow bent and resting on the bar, turns her face toward me. "Holy crap," she whispers. "His smile is freaking amazing."

"Shut. Up." I shoot daggers in her direction. "You know, you aren’t as quiet as you think you are."

"Liv’s right." Ethan says, placing two glasses of water in front of us. "You’re not quiet at all. But, thank you." He flashes her a bright smile to drive home her point and my stomach clenches.

I take a sip of water. "Thanks for the water."

"You’re welcome. Will you do something for me?"

"Um, sure?"

"I’d love for you to have breakfast with me."

I blanche. That’s pretty forward and presumptuous for him to ask. He must notice my reaction because the expression on his face turns from easy-going to worried in seconds.

His eyes widen and he waves a hand in the air. "No! Holy shit. No. Ah, hell, your brother would kill me if he heard me just now. That’s not what I meant! I mean, I guess if you wanted? No. What am I thinking? Okay can I start over?" He’s adorably flustered and embarrassed. I think I see a tinge of pink touch his cheeks.

"I’m honestly not sure you can."

Ethan’s smirk just makes him look sexier than he already did. And that’s saying something. "Still a smart ass," he murmurs. "What I meant was actually breakfast. Nothing before."

"Man down. Man down." Rex makes a crash and burn sound behind him. "Quit while you’re ahead, man."

"Shut up," he growls at Rex then without pause continues on whatever he was trying to say. "I would really like to get to know you and wondered if you’d be interested in meeting me for breakfast tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, I’d definitely be interested." I don’t even have it in me to pretend otherwise or try to be coy. My head is nodding like it’s a damn bobble head and my smile is so wide my cheeks hurt. Obviously he knows I’m interested. I’ve been sitting here staring at him for hours now, staking my claim, calling him my boyfriend, even though I had no right to.

Thankfully, his smile matches mine and Lily was so right. He does have a freaking amazing smile. Panty dropping, actually.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He once again rests his elbows on the bar top, his fingers reach toward me, the tips grazing against my forearm. I swallow hard, goosebumps peppering my skin. Gah, his lips are sexy. Especially when he licks them and bites the bottom one, releasing it slowly. "Cool. Breakfast then."

More nodding. I’m twenty-seven-years-old and I’m acting like I’ve just been asked to the dance by my crush. I want to smack myself in the face for how eager I must seem. In my defense, though, I’ve never felt this way about a guy before. This unexplainable connection that’s deeper than physical attraction. Something about him calls to me. Maybe it’s just lust but it feels like more. "Yes. Definitely breakfast."

His thumb grazes the underside of my forearm. "Tomorrow morning."

"Oh my gosh you two!" Lily groans. "Just freaking stop already! You’re going to make me throw up. You’re like middle schoolers arguing over who’s going to hang up the phone first."

My lips press together and Ethan grins, sliding his phone over to me. I put my number in, he lifts it up, winks at me then turns to get back to work.

"Well tonight’s been interesting," Lily muses, reaching for my hand. We make our way to the door together but not without one last glance over my shoulder. Ethan’s watching me, lifts a hand to wave.

"I am in soooo much trouble," I murmur.