The Scheme

***

BRIAN

I rested against the brick, checking out the group in front of me. Saturday nights were bumping in Kendy’s area. The amount of people out and about, all dressed up and ready go out, seemed electrified tonight. It would be tough to get a cab.

I was debating trying to get one while I waited, when saw a drop-dead bombshell stroll out the door. She was so damn gorgeous I had to do a double take. My eyes raked in all of her ensemble. Her black skintight dress accentuated every curve, and she must’ve been five-eight in her heels, which made her look like a runway model. Her hair was half up, blonde curls draping down her back.

Holy shit. Kendy had transformed from short and cute small town girl to bombshell babe.

I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Every guy’s head slowly turned, their eyes following her as she made her way toward me.

“Hey,” she said, going up on her tiptoes to give me a half hug.

As I hugged her back, I took in the intoxicating smell of her shampoo and breathed in deeper, hoping she didn’t notice. She released me too quickly, and I took a slight step back to admire the view once again.

“You look great,” I said, embarrassingly breathless.

“I know, don’t I?” She fluttered her eyelashes in an exaggerated way. “Just kidding. But seriously, we gotta go.” She reached for my hand, lacing our fingers, and led us through the crowd.

I flexed my fingers and rewrapped them, tightening my hand around hers as I pulled us in the other direction. There was no way we were going to catch a cab in this herd of people.

“This way,” I commanded.

She complied and smiled as we walked half a block and stopped in front of an apartment building, where another couple was waiting for a cab.

I couldn’t stop staring. She was strikingly beautiful, her makeup not overdone, but perfect. Her pouty lip shined with whatever lipstick she had on, almost tempting me to bite it.

She fidgeted in her dress, tapping her heels against the sidewalk. “I’m so glad you picked me up.”

“Of course.” I smirked. “Good boy and all,” I said, pulling at my shirt. “Would you expect any less?”

“Of course not.” Her laughter floated toward me.

When a cab pulled up, I opened the door to let her in and scooted in beside her, our knees touching. I leaned in as an overwhelming need to be even closer took over, like a magnet, forcing me toward her.

“The Bartlett,” I called out to the driver.

She looked my way, her turn to take in my ensemble. She cast an appreciative glance, her focus moving from my button down shirt, then to my dark jeans. “I never commented on how good you look.”

“I know, don’t I?” I repeated the line she’d thrown my way, and we both laughed.

“Brian, you start hanging out with me and you’ll turn fu

Was I not already?

I was about to give her a comeback for that when the cab swerved left and she fell into me. I caught her with both arms, our eyes locking. A dizzying current raced through me, a tingling sensation traveling up my arm.

She peered up at me, glanced down at my lips, and then her eyes flickered back to mine. Her breathing slowed as my fingers caressed her skin.

She shifted from my hold and released a nervous laugh. “Getting frisky already? We haven’t even hit the club.”

Car horns blaring outside redirected our focus to the back-to-back traffic ahead of us, and she angled her knees away from me. “I just wanted to go over our game plan one more time.” She clasped her hands together as her eyes danced with excitement.

“We’ve been through your ‘game plan’ five times already.” Little did she know I had a plan of my own, which included exposing this guy for the loser he truly was.

Her laughter was marvelous, catching. “Well, I just want to make sure you know what you’re doing.” When she pulled down her skirt, my gaze traveled down the length of her legs. Hell, she looked so edible.

With a painted fingernail, she lifted my chin to meet her eyes, blatantly catching me gawking. Now it was my turn to laugh.

“Up here, lover boy,” she commanded good-naturedly. “We’re going to walk in separately. First you, and then five minutes later, I’m going to stroll in and you’re going to hit on me. You’re going to come on to me so strong. Everyone in the whole entire bar will know you only want me. It’ll be dark, so we’ll need an over exaggeration of normal body language, okay?”

“Don’t worry. I got this.” My voice was totally calm, but I sensed a little nervousness in her as she wrung her hands together in her lap. A strong urge to calm her came over me. “Don’t worry,” I repeated, placing one hand on top of hers to keep her fidgeting to a minimum.

When her stiff posture didn’t let up, I scooted over and threw one hand to her other side, by the window, caging her in.

Her breath caught in her throat, and I whispered, “What’s your name, beautiful?” I meant it as a joke, to break her from her mood, but my pulse was spiking from being so close to her.

Her lips parted as her eyes flickered to my mouth again. Her scent was making my head spin.

“Your name?” I commanded, my tone husky.

Goose bumps spread on her neck. “Kendall.” Her voice was barely audible as her breathing turned shallow, her hands falling to my waist.

She bit down on her lower lip seductively, and I had an undeniable urge to claim her, to crash my mouth against hers. The air between us was charged, a gravitational pull tugging me closer, so strong that I couldn’t resist as I dropped my arms and aligned my lips with hers.

“What’re you drinking?” I asked, playing the part. I knew what I wanted to drink—her . . . all of her, take her mouth and suckle the tender part of her bottom lip.

She tilted her head back, the light from the moon catching the blue in her irises. As her eyes turned lustful, giving me permission, I closed the gap between us, about to quench the desire inside of me.

Then the car jerked to a stop, and I flew backward against the seat, which broke the tension between us. Moment gone.

I blinked a couple of times like I’d been shocked by the impact. She let out a nervous laugh.

“Is that enough body language for you?” I rubbed my neck and took a huge breath and blew it out slowly.

She nodded as she averted her eyes and stared out her window. “Perfect.”

“We’re here,” I said, observing our surroundings.

I paid our cab driver, stepped out, and extended my hand to assist her.

When she placed her hand in mine, heat spread through my fingers, but she pulled away and glanced at her watch, the round gold dial spa

“He’ll be there now. I just hope to God this isn’t another waste of a Saturday night.”

I felt a sudden sourness in the back of my throat as I remembered our arrangement.

She extended her fist and gave me the cutest smile ever. “We got this, right?”

“Yeah, we got this.” My fist co

It was fu

The next second, she surprised me again by reaching for my hand. Her eyes danced with excitement as she squeezed it. “I’m so excited. I just have this feeling, like tonight is my night.”

I smiled at her, all the while thinking, This guy—this Stiff—better not be a dick.

***

The thunderous music played on the speakers as the bass pounded in my ears. I walked straight past Stiff and his friends and sat down right where we’d be seen. After I ordered a beer, my eyes focused on the group of guys in front of me laughing. Stiff already had a blonde practically sitting on his lap. She was wearing a black fitted tee with ‘The Bartlett’ across her chest. My jaw tightened at the sight. Immediately, I wanted to rush outside and intercept Kendy before she saw this scene, to protect her in some way.