Page 74 of By Invitation Only
Just like every morning, I left my Sleeping Beauty fast asleep. Tomorrow would be a different story.
“Are you going to Peyton’s after work?”
I looked up from my computer screen to see Randy in my doorway. “Don’t say her bloody name,” I hissed.
He held up his hands and walked forward. “Dude, sorry. Chill.”
“You know you can’t go walking around here saying her name.”
“No one is here,” he stated, waving an arm behind him to indicate the office was empty.
I glared. “Someone could be around the corner, and it’s not like she has a common name.”
“She could be a dude.” He laughed.
“Just don’t say her name again.”
“Well, what do you want me to call her?”
I set my pen down, leaned back in my chair and thought about his question. What could we call Peyton? Randy was one of my best mates, so it was a given that we’d talk about my love life—or my life in general.
“Call her Manning.”
“Manning?” he questioned.
“Yeah,” I confirmed. “Like Peyton Manning.” The only Peyton I knew besides my girl was the famous quarterback.
“All right. Are you going over to Manning’s place after work?”
I looked at my watch. It was only seven, but after the week I had, I was ready to call it a night. “Actually, you want to grab a drink at Rick’s?”
He smiled. “Is Manning there?”
My mate knew me all too well.I grinned. “Maybe.”
“Cool, let’s go.”
Ten minutes later, Randy and I were walking into the swanky bar. We went straight to get a drink, and I scanned the area until my gaze landed on Peyton. She was with Lorelei.
I wanted to walk over to the high-top table they were sitting at, but a lot of our colleagues frequented Rick’s. It was close to the courthouse, and therefore, people spent a lot of time blowing off steam with drinks.
Instead, I pulled out my mobile just as her friend stood and walked toward the loo.
Me:Having fun?
I watched as she looked at her mobile on the table, picked it up and typed back.
Peyton:Yes, though Lorelei’s trying to get me drunk so I’ll tell her all my secrets.
I smiled.
Me:What secrets?
Peyton:Our secrets.
Me:Like what?
The bartender stepped in front of me, and I ordered a vodka and water. It’s the easiest drink to order without sugar and other crap that would fuck with my body.
