Page 44 of Hollywood Undercover
Chapter 19
SEBASTIAN hadmajor doubts about asking Alexandra out as ‘Alex’. They were going out to the speed dating event with Rodrick and Nate, two of the most accepting guys he knew. He took one look at Alexandra in her masculine clothes. Rodrick and Nate would know she was female in two seconds flat. They would have to be drunk as hell to believe she was just another one of theguys.
He thought maybe it was the fact that he knew what was underneath that blazer and those slacks—a woman he found sexy assin.
A woman Iwant.
“Looking good,” he said lightly, hoping to hide the heat in his eyes and keep his hands tohimself.
He grabbed his jacket and locked the door. She followed him out to his Jeep, and Sebastian almost walked around to the passenger side to open herdoor.
Shit. This playing along is gonna be hardtonight.
The drive over was uneventful. On the way to the restaurant, they picked up the guys from the firehouse. Introducing Nate and Rod was a breeze—neither of them acted strange when he told them Alex was Maxwell Storme’syoung nephew. He took control of the radio and blasted it to avoid conversation. The walk from the parking lot into the restaurant wasn’t as easy to keep awkward-free. With her tiny frame, the rest of them looked likegiants.
The place was a lively little spot. It shattered Sebastian’s expectations when he walked through the door and surveyed the crowded room. A folding sidewalk sign at the entrance announced ‘Speed Date Night’. He thought the place would be a seedy hole in the wall where the desperate few crawled in, licking the wounds from romantic failure, cradling broken hearts and praying for a love match. There were women and men mingling ahead of the official start time. The group looked no different from the average twenty-something crowd he would see at the bars when he went out with theguys.
Once inside, each of them put their names on the sign-in sheet at the door, like everyone else was doing. He couldn’t believe he was out on a Friday night trolling this event for women, when he was standing right next to the woman he was actually interested in. Then again, the woman he was interested in was standing beside him in character—as a guy. He never thought she would have kept it up this long. Now it was seriously screwed up, but as weird as it already felt, an innocent night of speed dating couldn’t be allbad.
“Hey, Bash, don’t try to leave without getting a date. This night is for you, okay? Not us,” Rod reiterated for about the fifth time. “I had to talk Keisha off a ledge before I left the house. She was sure I was up to no good with you twobums.”
“Man, you make relationships sound better and better,” Sebastian joked. Rod jabbed him in theshoulder.
“There’s enough benefits to make up for her crazy, if you know what Imean.”
Sebastian slapped a hand down on Nate’s and Rod’s shoulders, and looked back and forth at each of their smiling faces. “Tell you what, fellas. Don’t bust my balls about getting a date. I made it here. That’s more thanenough.”
They grumbled, but what the hell could they do? No one was going to force him to start anything off with a woman from this crowd. He locked eyes with Alexandra. He was in awe that his normally astute friends didn’t make out that ‘Alex’ wasfemale.
“Let’s check out the prospects,” she said, scanning the patrons of therestaurant.
There weren’t any obvious cat ladies in training, or socially-impaired gamer dudes. A lot of the men wore golf shirts, and women were in stylish dresses. It set him at ease. He wouldn’t have shown up at all if Alexandra didn’t come along. He nudged Nate, and discreetly pointed out a woman who looked like one of Nate’s exes. Nate grinned, and acknowledged that the woman was, in fact, his ex-girlfriend.
“Wow, she still looks damn fine,” he said, and whistled low. “Shit, I better warn whoever tries to take her home that she’s a very special kind ofcrazy.”
The three of them shared a laugh, and Alexandra joined in late. She was trying too hard. She laughed way too loudly. She didn’t quite fit in as one of the guys, but she was more or less holding herown.
As aguy.
“Get used to it, dude. All women are crazy,” she chimedin.
“Hey, Alex. Pick your poison,” he told her, pointing at the bar. Alcohol was a good idea. It could help Alexandra cut past herawkwardness.
“I’ll have a raspberrytwist.”
Or maybenot.
Sebastian’s firefighter cohorts fell silent, and stared at her. Sebastian hid a smile as Alexandra looked from Nate to Rod, realizing she had picked the girliest drink on the menu. “I mean, give me…uh…Scotch andsoda.”
“Whiskey sour,” Natesaid.
Rod asked for a beer, and Sebastian ordered a soda, as he was designated driver for the night. He got their drinks and slid in the seat next to Alexandra. She looked skittish. She could bolt anytime now. Her eyes skated around the room, darting from face to face. Oblivious to her discomfort, Nate and Rod launched into a conversation about some argument Rod and Keisha had the night before, relating in full detail how their fight ended with what Rod called “hot as hell” make-up sex. Alexandra blushed like a school girl. Sebastian swallowed the laughter that threatened to boil up at the decidedly male talk that probably offended her to noend.
It was time to pull her away. “Hey, we’re going to go find a table, guys. You and Nate come find us when things get started.” He whispered to Alexandra while walking away, “Is everythingokay?”
She nodded, dropping her head. “Your friends arenice.”
“Thanks. I think they’re enjoying having you along. You just need to loosen up,man.”
