I remember him being tall, but last time, I was on a bar stool. This time around, that normal height of this chair I am on makes his height is even more intense. His eyes never leave mine.
I probably should reply. Elliott would have replied by now.
“Here.” He chuckles in amusement, placing his glass in my hand. He takes my shitty drink into his other. “You can drink mine.”
“Kameron, right?” I tease.
Another laugh falls out of his lips, and that familiar sense of satisfaction heats up my chest and groin. I want to make him do that again.
“Elliott, right?”
He plays me at my own game.
“Depends who’s asking.” I sip from his drink.
If only he knew how true that statement was. The flavor coats my tongue so much easier than mine did. My taste buds savor the flavor a moment longer before swallowingand letting the dull burn move down my throat and warm my core. My eyes flutter at the taste, bringing back the memory of our first encounter.
“You like that, don’t you?”
His words are low, voice deep.
“Well! On that note, I’m gonna go check on my song list.” Lianne is up within seconds.
Kameron takes her seat next to me.
I stare at him, taking him all in.
He looks at my drink, shrugging before taking a gulp. “Fuck. They served you this?” He coughs once, turns his expression from sour to amused in a blink of an eye, and sets the glass on the table. “Thought I lost you forever, gorgeous.”
“Elliott.” I cross my legs, sitting back in the chair.
“Elliott—sorry.” He dips his head in apology.
“You live here or something?”
“Or something,” he replies, those honey-brown eyes still looking at me intensely.
“Care to elaborate?”
I am only asking because I want to know if I will see more of him when I come into town.
“I’m here on... business. Work has me cooped up here until my project is complete.” He takes another sip of the harsh, low-grade scotch and winces.
“So, it’s temporary, you being here.”
He nods.
“Yes. It is. Once the”—he pauses, looking up as if trying to find the right words—“the company I’m helping, finds the right products we are looking for. My project will be done.”
“And you have used the temporary time to look for me in every bar?”
I don’t know if he even is looking for me, but I hope my words are true.
“You act like I had to look through so many. There are only about six bars in this town.” Laughing, he scoots his chair closer to me, his legs widening so mine fits in between him like a puzzle piece. “It was worth it.” He places an elbow on each of his knees.
As he leans in farther to me, I have to remind my lungs to relax with how shaky my breaths have become.
Inhaling slow and deep, I let his aroma of rosewood and a hint of peppermint fill my head.
