Flight

“Yes, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Any particular reason why?”

“None that I wish to explain.”

“She thinks it’s because she has bad luck with relationships, but really it’s because no one is good enough for her,” Jess said all in one breath.

Ouch. I knew Jess could be a mean drunk, but this was harsh even for her.

I was angry and in no mood to continue hanging out with Levi, but Jess was way too out of it to leave her by herself. I took the next best option. “I think I need another drink.”

“My pleasure,” Levi said quickly, “What can I get you?”

“Surprise me.”

“I will.” He winked. “I’m good at surprises.”

Once Levi was fixated on getting the bartender’s attention, I grabbed Jess’s arm. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What do you mean? I’m just being honest.”

“No, you’re being obnoxious.”

“You would only care if you liked him. Do you?” she pressed.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Levi returned holding two drinks and gestured with his arm toward a table in the corner where two guys were seated. “A few of my friends are sitting over there, care to join us?”

Jess shrugged. “Why not?”

Levi looked at me and I nodded, too annoyed at the situation to care.

The two guys stopped their conversation as we reached the table. Both were as broad as Levi, one had black hair and the other was blond.

“Girls, this is Jared and Owen.” He gestured to the two. “And this is Allie and Jess.”

“Well, hello there,” Jared said with a grin as he looked us over.

The blond, Owen, nodded. “Hey.”

Jess sat down next to Jared who lost no time turning to talk to her. Levi put our drinks down in front of two empty chairs, and he pulled out the one closest to the wall for me. I took the seat, grateful that it was far away from Jess. I was starting to second-guess my decision to invite her down.

Levi took a swig from his drink. “You can’t really mean to punish the entire male gender for the errors of a few.” I picked up my own and sipped it slowly, completely unsure of what I was drinking, but enjoying the sweet distraction.

“Because it would be really unfair to do that,” Levi said playfully.

“Um, can we please talk about something else?” I turned away, but thanks to my seat next to the wall the only other place to look was straight ahead at Owen. He watched us with an amused expression.

“Sure, for now. What made you decide to take the job at the hotel?” he asked, pulling my attention away from Owen.

“Oh, I needed a job and my dad was able to get it for me.”

“Because Allie’s dad is super rich and bought the place,” Jess butted in. I didn’t even realize she was listening to us. I shot her a dirty look. I may not have wanted to get involved with Levi, but I didn’t want him thinking I was a spoiled rich girl. I was tired of getting thrown in with the stereotype.

“What? It’s true.”

“Your dad bought the Crescent City Hotel?” Jared asked, really looking at me for the first time.

“Yeah. The deal went through earlier this year.” I picked up my drink again and downed it.

“I guess you liked it?” Levi asked as I replaced my empty cup.

“Maybe a little. What was it?”

“Want another?” Levi asked without answering the question.

“No, don’t worry about it; I can get one for myself if you’ll tell me what it is.” I didn’t want Levi to think I was indebted to him for buying me drinks.

“I’m getting up anyway,” he said as he stood. I grumbled. “Besides, if you don’t know what it is you will have to let me keep buying them for you.” He grinned before walking away.

“You want anything?” Jared asked Jess.

“Definitely, but I’ll come with you, I want some shots.” Jess and Jared walked off leaving me alone at the table with Owen.

“Wow, there is a first time for everything,” Owen said, breaking the silence.

“Hmm?”

“Usually Levi has girls eating out of his hand by now but you keep trying to blow him off.”

“Yeah, I’m not interested.”

Owen laughed. “I don’t think that Levi understands uninterested.”

“Well, then this can be a learning experience for him.”

“Something tells me this is going to be fun to watch.” He grinned.

We sat awkwardly for a moment before Levi returned with the drinks. I felt a tiny twinge of guilt accepting another drink from him when I wasn’t interested in getting involved with him, but he had already bought it so I decided to drink it anyway.

“It looked like you two were having a good conversation, did I miss anything?” Levi asked.

“Nothing worth repeating,” I said quickly.

Owen smiled. “Well, Allie was telling me that she isn’t interested in you.”

Damn, could no one keep their mouth shut? I figured the fact that I didn’t give him my number at the end of the night would have been straightforward enough.

Levi leaned in closer to me but spoke to Owen. “It’s because she’s sworn off men. But I think I’ll just have to be the exception.”

By this point, I had already had quite a few sips of my new drink. The combination of the late night and alcohol made me a little tipsy. “What in the world would make you think that you would be an exception?”

“One, you’re attracted to me and two, I can be very persistent.”

“I am not attracted to you!” I said rather loudly right as Jess and Jared arrived back at the table.

“Like hell you’re not,” Jess said before bursting into laughter. Jared looked from Jess, to me, to Levi.

“You know there could be a few females alive that are not into you Levi,” Jared mocked.

“It’s always a possibility, but that’s not the case this time. She likes me, she just won’t admit it.” Levi scooted his seat closer to me, effectively pinning me against the wall. Between my buzz and the heat of his body, I was starting to get a little dizzy.

I sighed and closed my eyes. As angry as I was at Jess, I couldn’t leave her alone with these guys. I had to wait her out. My eyes were still closed when I felt Levi’s arm move around my shoulder. “Relax.”

I opened my eyes and his face was right next to mine. I tried to look away but he wouldn’t let me break the gaze. With a hand under my chin, he forced me to look up at him.