Page 8 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
"It's always nice to meet a fan," Lowen said easily. Damn. Why wasn'theaffected by whatever it was that was screwing with my head? Derick must have been wrong. This guy wasn't interested in me at all. Or hewas,but he simply wasn't as much of a tool as I was. I'd been on dates before. I wasn't a virgin. I didn't have any experience with men, no, but that alone shouldn't be enough to make me lose my cool like this.
Determined not to look like a total fool, I inched a little closer to Lowen, which was enough to appease that drunk and horny part of me for now. "I own all your LPs," I said. There, a complete sentence, and I got it out without stuttering. I was so proud of myself I was about to preen. "Even the early ones," I added, feeling more confident and wanting to impress.
"Really? That first album was horrible." Lowen laughed a little. A nice sound—it seemed to reverberate within me.
"It wasn't all bad. Besides, I really liked the album cover art." Oh God, why had I said that? The album cover art for that first album was basically a close up shot of the band members. Saying I liked it was just another way to say I liked how the guys looked. Which wasn't alie, but maybe not something I should bring up if I didn't want to flirt.
Lowen only raised an eyebrow at me. "It was a rather basic cover."
He was probably right about that. It was a rather basic cover, if you didn't have the hots for the subject matter. But I couldn't tell him that, could I? Maybe he already knew. He seemed to be looking at me with renewed interest. The way his gaze went up and down my body made me shiver. At the same time, though, I felt like the bar had cranked the heating up.
Maybe it was just the alcohol going to my head. And I still couldn't come up with anything to say. When Zed came back with our drinks, I grabbed mine immediately. "Thanks," I muttered.
"You're welcome," Zed said.
"He owns our first album," Lowen told his friend in a way that made me sound like some super fan. I wasn't that obsessed. I felt like I had to make that clear.
"I only bought that album because I like the cover." Yeah, that made me sound much better, didn't it?Well done, Zim, I congratulated myself inside my head. Awkwardly I took another sip of my beer while everyone stared at me. I could just hear the question they weren't asking. What part of the album's cover did I like the most? Who of the guys? I shrank back in my seat, wishing I could take back my words. But what happened instead, was that I spewed out even more words. "You don't have to look at me like that. It's not my fault all dragons look so damn hot."
Had I really just used the word hot? Out loud? In public? Regarding to dragons?
I clutched the bottle in my hand so hard I thought I was going to break it. That was, if I didn't die of embarrassment first.
And then Zed burst out laughing and everyone else joined in. Everyone except for Lowen. Lowen slipped me a piece of paper under the table. As he did so, his fingers touched mine and I nearly jumped at the spark. It was almost like getting an electric shock, but in a pleasant rather than painful way. Definitely jolting, though.
I couldn't look at the paper while I had everyone's attention on me, but I got the feeling I knew what it was, anyway. Dear God, what would I do if Lowen had really just passed me his phone number? I should tell him that I was straight.
But you aren't, are you? Not really.
How could I know for sure? Sex with women wasn't super bad. Maybe I was just expecting too much from the whole experience.
"I think you've had enough to drink," Derick said, taking my bottle from me. He shot me a sharp look I wasn't sure how to interpret, and then he turned to the dragons. "Sorry guys, didn't know my friend was such a lightweight."
"It's cool," Finn said. "I think he's funny."
I cleared my throat and got up from the table, clutching the piece of paper in my hand. "Gotta go... um... bathroom." Smooth. Shoulders hunched, I turned and walked before anyone could comment. Once I reached the rest room, I let myself breathe. The air reeked a bit of too sharp cleaning solution, but it was better than the usual bathroom smell. Besides, I had no time to worry about how offended my nose felt by the odors around me. I had to figure out what was going on with me and that drummer.
Forcing myself to unclench my fist, I stared at the piece of paper Lowen had passed me. It wasn't a phone number after all. No, it was something a little more immediate than that.Room 215. Swing by later if you want to.
Had he... pre-prepared this? Had he done it for me or just whoever might strike his fancy? Did he do this kind of thing a lot? I had so many questions. But did any of them even matter if I wasn't going to take him up on his offer? How Lowen lived his life shouldn't concern me. Even if he slipped me paper notes I didn't know what to do with.
After a moment, while I was still standing around in the middle of the men's room, trying to decide what life choices to make tonight, Derick entered the room. I turned around to my friend, pretty sure he hadn't come here to pee.
"What's up with you?" he asked, still frustratingly sober.
"Nothing's going on with me," I lied, even though it was pointless. Derick and I had been friends for a long time. Even if we hadn't seen much of each other for the past two or three years, he had to know that my behavior tonight was beyond odd.
"What's that you're holding in your hand?"
"Nothing," I said, quickly hiding my hand behind my back. Derick did not need to see the invitation I'd received from Lowen.
My friend shook his head at me. "You're only making me more curious, you know?"
I shrugged. "Maybe I should just go home." That might just be the best course of action for me. I was only going to embarrass myself further if I stayed any longer.
"Is anything wrong?" Derick actually looked concerned now. He took a step toward me while I looked around the restroom to make sure the two of us were alone in here. "Is there anything I should know?" he asked. "I mean you just told a bunch of guys that you thought they were hot."
I chewed my lower lip. Derick was so close to uncovering my secret I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest. "You have to promise me you're gonna keep that to yourself."
