Love Unexpected (12 page)

Duncan added, "Zhe was kinda much. I vvouldn't vvant to be ztuck on a date
vid zomeone who was zecking odder guys zout." He noticed Blondie eyeing him and Kieran.
 

"She still did not deserve that," I was defendin
g Ms. Blondie.
 

Zander took a long look at me, his eyes burning, "Our server also did not deserve her whininess. She complained from the time we got to our table to when Peter saw us. Thank God
you saw us, man.” He smiled at Peter. 
 

The server came back to our table with our drinks. I almost inhaled my margarita. God, I needed this.

Zander asked the server to bring Blondie's tequila to the bar area where she was at and to put
it on his tab.
 

"How is she going to get home?" I wonde
red to myself.
 

I must have spoken my thoughts out loud because Duncan answered, "Zhe lookz like zhe haz a ride home.” He pointed to the dire
ction of the bar with his eyes. I saw Blondie cozying up to an older-looking gentleman. How was I going to continue defending her yet-to-be established honor if she acted like a slut? I rested my case and sipped on my margarita.
 

The guys got to talking about sports
and I got to ordering more margaritas. They included me in the conversation; but, I had no interest in it whatsoever. I was, however, very interested in Zander's dark hair, the way his lips curved into a smile, his broad shoulders encased in a blue shirt, the stubbles forming on his jaw, and his eyes, oh, if his eyes were any more molten every time he glanced my way, I would be completely incinerated! I forgot all the reasons why he was a bad idea for me. Mango margaritas clouded my judgment,
did they not
?
 

In the middle of the conversation about baseball statistics, I excused myself to go to the restroom. Duncan and Kieran got out of the booth to let me pass. As soon as I stood up, I felt my head spinning. Probably from all the crazy events of the evening. I almost lost my balance. Kieran caught my hand
, "You ok, Ace?"
             

Zander now stood
by Kieran.
 

I slowly regained my balance and in a convincing voice, "Yeah, thank you. I guess I just stood up
way too fast."
 

Kieran slowly let go, testi
ng if I was ok.
 

I managed to stay upright. He offered to walk me to the restroom but I shushed him and told him I was fine. He must have been convinced because he slowly sat back dow
n on the booth.
 

"I'll walk with you. I have to
stop by the bar anyways." Zander announced.
 

I nodded my head and walked towards the restroom. He walked behind me.

I felt his gaze sear
through me, from the top of my head to my spine and all the way down. I was a few steps away from the women’s restroom when I heard someone call out, "Sedona...." My name on his lips ignited the embers of fire inside me.

I turned slowly. He didn't stop by the bar.

His hands were on my face in an instant. His lips were on mine before I could even react. The look on his eyes was the final straw. His eyes were looking at me in a way I've never been looked at before. As if he wanted to devour me right on this spot. He pulled me into a corner, slight right from where the bathroom was.
 

I found myself eagerly responding to him. My hands were on his hair. Molding, caressing. His lips swallowed me and his tongue teased, flared, and played inside my
mouth. A dam broke loose, the moment he touched me.
 

"Mmmm," I moaned. My hands were now feeling the silky stran
ds of his hair.
 

My cheeks felt the rough stubble on his chin. It f
elt so delicious!
 

A throat cleared. At first, I thought it was Zander but he was kissing me, so it couldn't be him. I slowly pulled away from him and turned around. I
t was Kieran.
 

His face was
in a teasing smirk, "You found your way to the bathroom, huh?"
 

I averted my eyes; I was not even going to answer
that question.
 

Zander spoke, his voice slightly hoarse, "Yeah, I wanted to make sur
e she was ok."
 

"Sure. Alrighty then, I'll, um, see you guys at the booth." Was that a chuckle
in his voice?
 

As he was leaving, he gave a quick glance to Zander and said, "Man, lip gloss
looks good on you. I just don’t think girls dig that look."
 

If there was a time when I needed to desperately teleport to another planet, it would be now. Kieran catching us like a bunch of horn dogs was awkward. What was even more awkward was me pawing at Zander. His hair was messed up from my hand massage, his lips were glistening from my lip gloss, and his eyes were still burning into mine. I've never seen a man look sexier than he did at this moment. 
 

If a boy kissed me like that, I should never let him go.

He held my cheek and whispered, "I'll see you back there." His breath smelled of beer mixed with his own scent. I didn't want to pull away. I took my time wiping
the lip gloss from his lips. His blue-green gaze smoldered as I traced his lips with my fingers.
 

I nodded at his words and s
lowly followed command.
 

Inside the restroom, I saw my well-kissed lips in the mirror. My eyes were glazed with hot desire, and thank god, my hair was respectably intact.
 

I ran cool water on a tissue paper
and dabbed it on my neck and chest to cool off. The fog of lust did not fade; it was only restrained for the moment. My lust for Zander was only intensified by all the events leading up to tonight. I might be a virgin, but my body was not immune to these intense emotions. Especially when it came to him.
 

The guys were busy arguing on who was going to take the college bowl this year when I returned to my seat. It was hard to look at Zander and not remember what happened a few minutes ago. They all tried to include me in the conversation but I
wasn’t familiar with college football, even if my ex-boyfriend was a college football player. I knew a lot about the National Football Association (NFA) though. My dad and I had Sunday football popcorn nights. 
 

Zander did not even bother hiding his interest in me. Peter had to elbow him a couple of times every time Zander’s gaze landed on me. I feigned a wild fascination with the nachos on our table. I could not look at him and n
ot feel the burn in my cheeks.
 

"So, Ace, who are rooting for this year?" Kieran's attempt at including me in
the conversation was evident.
 

"Rooting for what?" I asked.
 

"The NFA. Which team's going to take the crown?" Now, the
y were talking about the NFA.
 

The guys quiete
d and waited for me to answer.
 

"I haven't been watching a lot of football but, I have a sof
t spot for New York."
 

"New York? Zorry Zedona, they really zzzuck this zeazon!" Duncan’s bias against New York was distinct. Why I even found Duncan cute before was beyond me. He was maddeningly annoyi
ng!
 

"Really?" Peter said, "I wouldn't have taken you for a
New York fan."

Zander's eyes grinned, "Interesting choice."

Guys! I told them about my team and now they were shutting down my choice. I shrugged, "I like New York. The last time I saw them play, they were good."

              A chuckle came out of Duncan, "Maybe in pre-zeazzon."
 

             
Zander brushed Duncan off, "Why New York?"

"They're good," I responded and started sipping more of my margarita.
 

Kieran snorted. Snorted?! What kind of 23 year-old, s
upposedly mature guy did that!
 

"Come on, Ace. Be a sport. Tell them why you ‘love’ New York Liberty Football. The

real reason why you ‘think’ they're good."

Argh! Kieran was also extremely annoying tonight. The air quotes while he was talking irritated me more.
 

I continued to sip on my margarita and decided that silence was the ke
y to change the topic.
 

Wrong.
 

Duncan egged me on, "Now you got uz curiouz, Zedona. Vhy vvould you like New York? Zzo out of char
acter for you."
 

What was he talking about? He must be drunk. It was out of character for me to like New York? How did he know what was in character for m
e, in the first place?
 

Duncan prattled on, "I'd guezz you'd be an L.A. fan or even a Zan Francisco
Oceanerz fan."
 

Kieran answered, "Let me tell you why Ace thinks New Yor
k is so good."
 

I reached across from Duncan so I could put my palm against Kieran’s mouth to shush him. He slowly pushed it away. If cheeks could burn from embarrassment, mine would be disintegrated when Kieran told them the real reason I li
ked New York.
 

Hoping that this would change the topic, I asked, "So what about those drinks huh? They're great here." Abso-freakin-lutely lame
, nothing else came to mind.
 

Three pairs of eyes were
waiting for Kieran to go on. I wanted to sink under the table.
 

"Ace thinks New Yor
k is soooo good because of-"
 

I managed to slap his left arm fro
m where I was sitting. Hard.
 

"Aww, Ace! Stop the violence," his
voice was anything but hurt.
 

Peter encouraged him to go on, "Continue. No more suspense."
 

Kieran looked at me with teasing eyes, "Got to spill the beans, Ace. New York really sucks this year and this is the only way I can defend your honor."
 

He was so going to get his beloved Nintendo DS soaked in the tub.

The glaring look in my eyes must have had no effect on him whatsoever, he ratted me out, "Ace has an unhealthy obsession for Aaron Miller."

In my mind, Kieran's DS was happily floating in the tub, with the box, and all the games that came with it.
 

Peter and Duncan guffawed, "No vvay! That panzzy-azz Miller?! He'z your type?" Duncan's booming voice must have echoed in the room because a few of the customers were
now stealing glances at us.
 

"Shhh!" I quieted them to defend my honor by mysel
f, "Miller's not pansy ass."
 

Zander's eyes darkened as he asked, "So y
ou got a thing for Miller?"
 

My cheeks were incinerated, I said, "Not
even going to answer that."
 

Kieran answered for me again, "Dude, a thing for Miller is putting it mildly. She has a couple of his jerseys, which she got for Christmas 2 years straight because they were at the top of her wish list. And his face was her screensaver all throughout her senior year in high school!"
 

Add the WII console to the already dead Nintendo DS. Kieran was so going to pay for this!
 

Peter was downing his beer and trying to speak at the same time, "Aaron Miller's got to be the poster boy for pansiness. Have you seen his interviews? Not a hair out place. He must have a stylist on the sidelines waiting after each game."

If Peter's drink went into the wrong pipe, I was just going to look away and pretend I did not know CPR.
 

Duncan added, "Oh, and he always zztarts an interview with, ‘You know guyz...’," as he imitated Aaron’s ‘cool’ hair fixing gestures, before interviews.

If Duncan choked on the handful of fries he was stuffing in his mouth, I would say, "Heimlich what?"
 

I mustered up the courage to defend Aaron Miller, my all-time QB, the reason why I stayed up later than usual if their team happened to be playing on a S
unday night.