Blindfold

Dammit!

I pushed gently against Fi

“I think I should go.” I adjusted my clothes and stood.

“All right.” Fi

Relief flooded me. He wasn't angry.

“Should I call you?” he asked as he walked with me to the door. “Or would you prefer we stick with small talk in the elevator?”

I raised an eyebrow as I looked up at him.

He shrugged. “I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me.”

“You really are a nice guy, Fi

“See you around.”

As I walked towards the stairs, my head was spi

I knew why. I just didn't want to say it. I had to though. I had to admit it.

I wasn't ready to move on.

I wasn't over Cade.

Chapter 2

When I went to school on Friday, I'd completely forgotten that Mindy had mentioned that we were all going to go out to a club after di

When I showed up at L20, I knew I'd chosen my outfit well. Adelle let out a low whistle and I felt eyes following me as I walked by. Mindy's eyebrows shot up when she saw me and I just smiled.

“Damn, Bree,” Mindy said. “If you weren't my friend, I'd be all over you right now.”

“What about your guy?” I teased as I sat down.

“Oh, I'm sure he'd be very interested in joining us,” Mindy shot back.

“Man, Cade did an amazing job with you,” Adelle said.

My smile tightened and I looked down as I put my napkin on my lap. I didn't want her to see how hearing his name bothered me.

“Mindy said you and Cade are done,” Adelle said.

Her casual tone didn't fool me though. I could see the interest in her eyes.

I nodded. “We ended our contract. I'm ready to go out on my own.”

“So.” Adelle leaned across the table, a smile playing across her lips. “Did he spank you?”

“Adelle!”

Mindy sounded horrified so I didn't have to say anything. That was good, because I wasn't entirely sure I could trust myself not to be rude.

“Sorry,” Adelle said, though she didn't sound sorry. “Come on, Mindy, you can't tell me you're not interested in knowing what kind of kinky stuff our girl learned.”

Mindy gave Adelle a stern look while I took a sip of the wine that had already been poured for me. I was starting to regret having agreed to this. I changed the subject. “So, Mindy, how are things going with your guy?”

She smiled at me and I could see that she knew what I was doing. She immediately went along with it. For the rest of the meal, she steered the conversation, purposefully keeping it away from my sex life. I knew she thought it was just because I wasn't comfortable telling them about the things Cade and I had done together, but whatever worked.

By the time we were ready to head to the club, I was feeling much more relaxed, though that might've had more to do with the extra glass of wine I'd had with di

When the taxi dropped us off, the line to get in to the club was down to the corner. I looked doubtfully at Adelle and Mindy, but neither of them seemed bothered by it so I followed them in silence. They walked to the front of the line where a massive man stood, arms folded and a forbidding expression on his face.

“Nolan McAllister put my friends and I on the list,” Adelle said as she smiled sweetly at the man. “Adelle Merriman-Dane.”

His expression didn't soften, but he did unfold his arms and look at a list. After a moment, he looked at the three of us, then shrugged. He gestured towards the door. “Go on.”

I waited until we were inside before I asked the question. “Nolan McAllister?” I had to practically shout to be heard over the music.

“He's the owner,” Adelle shouted back. “We had a thing for a while.”

I didn't push for details, but instead focused on my surroundings. Flashing lights pulsed in time with the music and the bodies on the dance floor below writhed to the beat. The DJ was good, keeping things riding that knife's edge between just enough and too much. Where we'd entered was like a balcony of sorts, a raised area where tables and chairs lined the space next to a metal railing. On the far side was the bar and at regular intervals were staircases that led down to the dance floor.

“Drinks first?” Mindy asked.

I nodded. As we walked, I felt eyes on us and, for the first time, I knew they were looking at me as much as they were my friends. I put a little extra swing in my hips and resisted the urge to look around. I was curious to see who was watching, wondering if any of them would be someone I'd want to take home, but I didn't turn my attention from my friends until we had our drinks and were all three turning to survey the crowd.

“He's cute.” Mindy pointed to a tall blond man with practically no neck and arms bigger around than my thighs.

I shook my head. “Not my type.”

She gave me a look.

“I like muscles,” I said. “But that's a bit extreme.”

She shrugged. Mindy's taste in partners was wide and varied for both sexes.

“What about him?” Adelle nudged me and gestured towards a tall man with dark curls. I couldn't tell under the lights if they were brown or black, but I immediately shook my head. I didn't want anyone who could remotely remind me of...him. I didn't even want to think his name tonight.

After getting another suggestion from each of them, I wanted to snap at them both that I was perfectly capable of doing this myself. Instead, I decided that words weren't going to do any good. I needed action. At the end of the bar, I spotted a guy with reddish hair downing the last of a beer. He was ruggedly handsome, only an inch or two taller than me and lean. All things that were nothing like Cade, which made him perfect.

I threw back the rest of my drink and started towards the other end of the bar without a word to either of my friends. I didn't have to look behind me to know that they were watching. I ignored the butterflies in my stomach as I approached my target. He saw me coming a few feet before I reached him and flashed a smile. He was definitely attractive.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he shouted the question when I was close enough and I appreciated that he hadn't automatically leaned close to speak in my ear. Too many guys used loud music as an excuse to invade personal space.

I shook my head and held out a hand. “I want to dance.”

His smile widened and he let me lead him down the stairs to the dance floor. I put just a few inches between us and began to move to the music. He did the same and if his dancing was any indication of how well he moved in bed, he was definitely a candidate for my first one-night stand.

We danced well together, and my body was definitely into it, but my heart wasn't. I kept remembering what it had felt like to move with Cade, our bodies more like a single entity than two separate people. I closed my eyes and forced myself to focus on the music. When I opened them again, the guy had taken a step forward, but he still wasn't touching me. He leaned down so that he was closer to my ear, but kept our bodies a respectful distance apart.