Page 27 of The Bet
“Let’s find something else to do now, shall we?”
“Lemme go and get Iron Man.” He ran off, leaving the two of them standing awkwardly.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked, tapping her on the back.
She turned to face him. “I don’t think so.”
“Have I done something to offend you?” His gaze raked over her face, but she didn’t say anything. “I mean, I’ve barely said anything to you, I don’t see how I could have pissed you off.”
“No,” she said, and wandered away.
No, what?
For some reason her walking away after giving him a one word answer irritated him more than if she’d said something he could at least work with, if she had at least given him a reason for her frostiness.
Defeated, he returned to the bar to find Luke eyeing him expectantly. “What happened? I thought you had the Midas touch with women.” He placed his palms on the countertop and leaned over. “Seems to me you’re losing your touch.”
Losing his touch?
Never.
“Don’t say a word,” he growled, easing himself onto the stool and wondering what the hell had happened. “Do I smell?” He sniffed under his armpits.
Luke wrinkled his nose. “I can’t smell anything.” He leaned over, resting his forearms on the table. “Looks like you’ve lost your touch.”
“It’s a glitch,” he replied, refusing to believe Luke’s conclusion. He never had problems hitting on women before.Onewoman,he could understand, and Kay wasn’t exactly his kind of woman. And if the second one was into women, it washerloss, and besides, she didn’t count.
Butthree?LimeGreen Bikini hadn’t even given him the time of day.
This was definitely a glitch, or, as Gisele would have said, ‘Mercury is retrograde’. Her astrobabble used to make him facepalm.
“A glitch. Sure.” Luke slid a shot glass towards him.
He picked it up and downed it in one. The sharp tang of the tequila hit the back of his neck. He didn’t need that salt and lime shit. He liked his tequila neat. But it was starting to hit home. “Gimme another,” he demanded.
“I think you’ve had enough alrea—”
“Another one,” he ordered. Luke reluctantly obliged, and he downed that in one as well. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he looked at his friend’s curious face. “I bet you I can win her over.”
“Win who over?” Luke asked.
“Lime Green Bikini.”
“Who?”
“Jacob’s babysitter.”
“Izzy?”
“You know her?” he asked, suspiciously.
“I was talking to her last night. I know everyone, pal. The bar is the social hub of any place.”
“I can win her over,” Xavier insisted.
Luke didn’t look so sure. “What if she’s not interested?”
“She will be.” He hadn’t lost his touch, or had a glitch. Xavier-The-Stud-Stone still had it. Besides, Jacob’s babysitter seemed to hate him more than Kay did, which made her an even bigger challenge. Not that he needed to prove anything to anyone. “Bet you.”
