I follow Tessa’s gaze across the room, where a man occupies a booth. He is ridiculously attractive. Dark blond hair, hard jawline, a small scar on the side of his forehead. He looks dangerous and delicious, and far more likely to choose someone like Tessa over me.
She’s not lying though. His eyes, a deep shade of green,are focused intently on me. I squeeze my legs together and snap my gaze back to Tessa.
“Oh my god, he’s beautiful,” I hiss.
“Beautiful?” she repeats, arching an eyebrow. Her attention flickers from me to him. “Heisgood looking, but I don’t know. Something seems…weird about him.”
“What? That he’s looking at me instead of you?” I snap. I immediately feel like a jerk, and a hot flush flares over my cheeks. “Sorry. I don’t know why I said that.”
“Relax,” she says, rolling her eyes. “I’m not interested in your creeper. I’m just saying…Think about it, Grace. He’s alone at a bar, just sitting there. He doesn’t even have a drink. And he’s too handsome. Like, suspiciously handsome. Why hasn’t anyone else approached him, huh? Because, Grace. Bad,badvibes.”
I’m nodding along to Tessa’s crazy words, all the while wishing he’d come do bad,badthings to me. The man holds my gaze, and the tip of his mouth tilts into a dangerous smirk.
“Just, if you’re determined to fuck him, do it at our place,” she continues. “I feel like if you go with him, I’ll never see you again.”
“I knew you liked me,” I say, grinning at her.
“I like your rent,” she corrects quickly. She casts another sideways glance across the room. “Called it.”
The mystery man is no longer in his booth. He’s partway to us, eyes locked confidently on me. An eruption of pleasure dances through my stomach. I don’t think a man’s ever looked at me like he is now. Like he doesn’t just want to sleep with me…like he wants to devour me whole.
“Act natural,” I hiss at Tessa. I snatch my empty shot glass from the table and twist it between my fingers. I stareat it, rather than the man, as if it’s the most fascinating thing in this room.
“I’m not the one being weird,” Tessa says. She grabs the shot glass from my hand and returns it to the table. “Chill the fuck out, Grace. He obviously wants you.”
I breathe a heavy sigh through my lips, centering myself. She’s right. He’s coming toward our table like a man on a mission, and from the looks of it,I’mthat mission.
I’m not some inexperienced virgin. I had a few boyfriends in high school and a lot of hookups in college. I also know I’m relatively attractive. I’ve never had a hard time getting a guy into bed, and from the way this man is staring, he wouldn’t protest one bit.
And yet…I’m a fidgeting mess by the time he reaches our table. He’s that good-looking, and by his easy confidence and arrogant stance, he clearly knows it. He smirks at me, green eyes dancing.
I glance at Tessa, but rather than melting into a puddle like I currently am, she lifts an unimpressed eyebrow.
“Hello, beautiful,” the man says. He has a strange accent that makes his words even more intoxicating. That, mixed with his intense gaze, makes me forget how to speak. I gape at him, mouth parted.
“I’m Tessa,” my roommate says.
When the man doesn’t respond, and I only stare, Tessa kicks me under the table.
“Grace,” I finally blurt. “My name is Grace.”
“Beautiful,” he repeats. His smile is slow, but it changes his entire face. “I’m Sebastian.”
I swallow. I’ve always been a big talker. Mom said it was the curse of her side of the family. We love to talk, and we never know when to stop. Ireallywish I could channel some of that energy now.
Instead, I’m just staring at him, mouth slightly agape. I must lookridiculous, but Sebastian only smiles at me. I’ve never met someone named Sebastian. It’s old-timey and should be dorky, but on him, it’s anything but.
Right now, I know with absolute certainty, or at least ninety-eight percent, that this man is my soulmate.
“Care to dance?” he asks. His voice is deep and gravelly, and that accent…it should be illegal for the ways it’s messing with my head.
“Um,” I glance at Tessa. She’s back to sipping her beer, but she’s clearly hiding a smile. “Yes. Yes, I would love to dance.”
Sebastian extends his hand toward me. His fingers are long and pale, but strong too, like they’re accustomed to work. If I’m lucky, I’ll know exactly how strong and capable they are by the end of the night.
I place my hand in his, briefly shocked by the cool touch of his skin. I shoot a parting smile to Tessa and slide off my stool. When I look back at Sebastian, I’m expecting that same, flirty smirk. Instead, his face is scrunched, displeased, as if he’s just noticed something about me that he hadn’t before.
My nose, I decide. He must have noticed my nose is weird, a little too long for my face.
