Page 64 of Broken

I’m not ready to go over yet, so find a small table out of the way and sit down to gather my shit. Coming here was a big step, hiding in the corner is stupid. A couple of women a table over keep shooting what they assume are surreptitious looks my way.

Making eye contact will only bring them over here. That doesn’t work though because one of them sidles along the bench seat, so she is closer to me.

“What is a guy like you doing all alone on a Friday night?” she asks.

“A guy like me?” I question.

She’s taken aback by the gruffness of my tone but undeterred, apparently.

“Would you like to join us?” her voice is suggestive.

I know what she’s implying. If the way her eyes roam over my arms and chest are anything to go by. Her friend uncrosses her legs, showing off more of her thighs as her skirt rides up.

Over the top of her head, I spot Calli. She is walking from the direction of the bathrooms, brushing her long hair back over her shoulder. I don’t know whether she feels my stare, or she is just glancing around but her eyes lock on mine and she grounds to a halt.

The woman beside me is saying something but I don’t give a fuck about what it is. Calli spares the woman a brief glance, but her focus comes back to me almost immediately.

She looks sexy as hell in skin-tight black jeans and a loose silk top that dips low between her breasts. Now that she is over the shock, she is watching me like I’m some kind of weird science experiment.

This could go one of two ways. I know which one I’m hoping for, but I’ll never let that show on my face. Instead, I lift the glass to my mouth and take a sip, never taking my eyes off her.

Indecision creases her brow but after a brief hesitation, she changes direction and heads toward my table.

The two women watch her as she steps around them to stand in front of me. I kind of like how she towers over me, and I make no attempt to hide my perusal of her body.

“I didn’t expect to see you in here,” she says, a little crease forming between her eyebrows.

“It’s not that big of a surprise,” I tell her.

She mutters something I don’t hear, glances around, then takes the chair opposite me.

“Why are you hiding in the corner?”

“I’m not hiding. I’m having a quiet drink.”

Her head tilts and the expression on her face says that is a load of bullshit. Before she can respond, we’re interrupted.

“Excuse me,” the snarky voice comes from beside me.

Calli eyes the woman, but mine never leave her gorgeous face. The two women are inconsequential to me. All I give a shit about is her.

“We were talking to him first.”

I scoff out a quiet laugh, drawing Calli’s attention. There is no mistaking the understanding on her face. She knows I’m not with these women. Sitting back, I wait to see what she is going to do.

“Is that right?” she asks. It’s aimed at the women, but she is still watching me.

Keeping my mouth shut is hard, especially when the woman makes a comment about Calli walking away.

“Sorry to disappoint you ladies, but take it from someone with experience, he isn’t with you. And I’m not walking away.”

“What the hell?” the woman in the short skirt starts to back up her friend.

She is about to say something else, but I’m done with this shit. Downing the drink, I get to my feet and step around the table, blocking them from Calli. Her head tilts and I lift a brow. Without losing eye contact, Calli gets to her feet.

She might be expecting me to lead her back to the others but that isn’t what I have in mind. Reaching out, I grab her hand and pull her toward me. This is her one chance to back out and walk away. It isn’t what I was planning, but I’d be a fucking idiot to pass up on it.

Calli wastes no time making her choice, and she steps around me, heading for the door.

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