Cosmopolitan: A Happy Hour Series Standalone Read online

  I turned back toward my boss. “I’m sorry,” I muttered. “You just come off as a prick, to be honest.”

  “Go out to dinner with me tonight,” he demanded, putting his hand on my shoulder.

  “Do you mind?” I pried his fingers off of my tingling skin. “People will talk.”

  “Who cares?” he whispered as he took another step closer to me.

  I stepped back into the wall as he cornered me. “I care,” I retorted. “Besides, it’s against the rules. Administration cannot date faculty.”

  “Breaking rules can be fun,” he teased, taking a deep breath in close to my neck.

  “This is wildly inappropriate, and I am putting a stop to it before you make even more of an ass of yourself than you already have.” I started to walk away.

  “We’ll finish that conversation about a meal plan at another time, then,” Blake called after me as I retreated out the doors to where Annabelle was showing her group how to groom Hunter, her favorite horse.

  I stood off a ways, stewing over the turn of events. It had all happened so quickly. How could he think I would be interested in going to dinner with him? Most of the time, I couldn’t even stand the sight of that fucking man, and there he was thinking I was into him. What a joke.

  Chapter 7

  This is a No-Fly Zone

  The rest of career day went off without a hitch because I successfully avoided Blake the entire time. After breaking everything down and spending more time than I would have liked to cleaning up after everyone, it was finally happy hour.

  I was the first one at the table, and Waylon greeted me with my pink drink gorgeously poured into a martini glass.

  “So was I right?” he asked without even saying hello first.

  I sucked in a sharp breath while nodding.

  “I knew it.” He pulled out the seat across from me. “Are you going to go out with him?”

  I furrowed my brow as I took the first, much-needed sip from my beverage. “Hell no.” I didn’t even have to think about my response.

  “Well, I think you’re insane, Caroline.” Waylon wasn’t one to sugarcoat anything. “And please don’t hate me.”

  I cocked my head to the side, blinking at my friend’s fiancé, someone who had quickly turned into one of my besties since day one. “Why would I hate you?”

  Waylon got up from his seat while pointing toward the door to his bar.

  I gasped as Blake started to make his way over to me holding a pink rose in one hand.

  I glared at Waylon. “You didn’t.” I glared at Waylon.

  “It’s one drink, Caroline. It isn’t going to kill you,” he whispered in my ear before scurrying away.

  Black looked completely out of place in our watering hole with his fancy suit and tie.

  As he took a seat, I held up one finger. “I need a second.”

  “Take your time.”

  I dug my cell out of my purse to send a text to the Happy Hour Club’s group message.

  Me: Were you all in on this?

  Sawyer: It’s for your own good, sweetie. We could all see how much you liked him right away.

  Harper: Even I could feel the sexual tension in your classroom the moment I walked in on you two arguing.

  Annabelle: Don’t blame us. This one is all on Waylon and Rhett—not that we protested too hard.

  Harper: We’re all out on the patio sending moral support through the wall if that helps.

  Me: I cannot believe you guys are letting me sit in here by myself with the douche nozzle of the year.

  Sawyer: You wouldn’t hate him so much if you weren’t in love with him.

  Me: Love is a VERY strong word.

  Annabelle: But you’re not denying it.

  Harper: Now get off your damn phone and give him one last chance. If you have a terrible time, we all promise to leave it alone.

  Sawyer: Ellis, Shirley, Rhett, and Trace all agree to drop it as well.

  Me: Fuck, they are all with you guys?

  Annabelle: Other than Ellis, yep, but I am bringing her up to speed right now in another message. Bye.

  I glanced up from my phone to see Blake just staring at me with a shit-eating grin on his face.

  “Thanks for meeting me here tonight.” He handed me the rose.

  I threw it onto the chair next to me. “I did not agree to meet you. I was tricked into this.”

  Blake leaned back in his chair. “I figured as much when Waylon told me he had a message for me from you.”

  “What if someone see us?” I questioned in a low voice while leaning over the table.

  Blake met me halfway, our lips only inches apart. “Let them see us. I can always find a new job, but I cannot find someone as captivatingly fiery as you anywhere else in the world. From the moment I met you, I knew you were going to be the delightful challenge to my crass stubbornness, which is something I have always been searching for.”

  “What in the hell are you talking about?” I threw my hands in the air, nearly knocking my drink onto the floor.

  “You can’t tell me you don’t get a little excited every time we’re in the same room. We’re both passionate people who need other passionate people in our lives to push us to be better.” Blake grabbed my hand, refusing to let it go even when I tried to snatch it away.

  “I think you’re insane.”

  He shrugged. “What if I am? Aren’t the best people in this world a little mad? Isn’t that what keeps life interesting?”

  “This isn’t some damn Lewis Carroll poem. This is real life where you irritate me to no end and push my buttons like no one ever has in my entire life.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could he truly think we were some type of destined lovers from the few encounters we’d had, most of which were us fighting and me walking away from him?

  “I prefer to think of it as challenging one another, but I get it.” He rolled his thumb over the back of my hand. “All I am asking is for a few hours of your time where you don’t jump down my throat or try to run away.”

  “And if I do that then you won’t bug me to date you ever again?” I stared down at his hands clutched around mine.

  “You have my word.”

  “Fine. You have one hour.”

  “I’ll take what I can get.”

  I sat there blinking at Blake for a few moments, waiting for him to say something. Finally Waylon walked over and asked what he wanted to drink.

  “Bottle of Bud, please,” Blake responded quickly.

  Once Waylon was behind the bar, Blake remarked, “That took a while.”

  The momma bear inside me reared her ugly head. “He was trying to give us a little privacy.”

  “I was only joking. I am not a complete asshole, Caroline.” He thanked Waylon for the beer before chugging half of it down in one gulp.

  “I think you might be more of an ass than you give yourself credit for, Mr. Hartigan,” I sniped before waving to Waylon for another cosmopolitan.

  “We’re back to you calling me Mr. Hartigan, I see.” Blake raised an eyebrow.

  “You’re keeping me here basically against my will, so yes, I feel that is the only appropriate thing to call you.”

  “Fair is fair, Miss Waters. How do you figure I am more of an ass than I give myself credit for?” He crossed his arms over his chest, and all I could think about was how his muscles must be flexing so perfectly under all those layers of clothing.

  Keep it together, Caroline. You don’t like this man.

  Before I could come up with an answer, Blake was leaning across the table, crushing his lips onto mine.

  Pulling away abruptly, I nearly fell off of my barstool. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “I think you need to stop fighting this.”

  “I think I need to file a formal complaint about harassment.” I scrambled to my feet. “This night is over.”

  Blake’s hand landed on my shoulder. “I’m sorry. That was over the line, but I have thirty-fiv
e more minutes to annoy you before our deal is complete. Otherwise I will just hound you until you finally go out with me again and we can start this process all over.”

  Letting out a long sigh, I slumped back into my chair.

  “So, other than the whole fiery-chemistry-bullshit thing you think we have going on, why do you really think we would make such a great couple? Because all I see is two coworkers who should keep their distance from one another from this day forward.”

  “Well, let’s state the obvious: you’re gorgeous. That one is a freebie, a no-brainer. Also, we’re both desperately passionate about molding young minds. We’re both intelligent, driven, in our thirties, and possibly the only two competent singles in this area.”

  The last bit made it all click.

  “So, I am the last girl on earth who is single and in your league, so you’re settling. Got it.” I shook my head, grabbing my purse. “I think your hour is up.”

  Blake’s eyes softened. “Sometimes I don’t come off as well intentioned as I want to. Look, Caroline, I really do like you. I like you for you, not because we’re single, though that does help. It’s not because you’re stunning, though that helps too, and it’s not because I am your boss, though that is wrong on so many levels. I feel a complete and total connection with you that I have never felt with anyone else in the world, and I just want a chance to prove it to you.”

  There it was, the second time since I had met Blake Hartigan that he seemed like a real person.

  “Why don’t you act like that more often?” I asked quickly.

  “Like what?”

  “Like a decent, honest man.”

  Blake ran his hand up the back of his neck. “I didn’t realize I was that bad.”

  I pursed my lips. “And that is why we would never be able to work. I’m sorry, Blake.”

  He bowed his head. “At least I tried.”

  “You really are a persistent one. I will give you that.”

  With that, I left the bar, ignoring all the texts and calls from my friends the entire way home.

  Chapter 8

  It’s All Right to Change Your Mind

  Sinking into a tub filled with vanilla-scented bubbles, I tried to block out everything from the day, both the highs and the lows. They were all equally overwhelming.

  Just as I was finally feeling relaxed, banging sounded on my front door right before it opened.

  Crap. Why did I give them keys to my apartment?

  Before I was even out of the tub, Sawyer, Harper, and Annie were rushing into my small bathroom.

  “Do you really think you’re going to ignore us that easily?” Sawyer huffed before handing me a towel.

  “I was hoping y’all would just take the damn hint and leave me be for the evening,” I replied while toweling off.

  “Was it really that bad?” Harper asked as she hopped up onto the vanity next to Annie.

  I rolled my eyes at them. “I told you I couldn’t stand the man, but none of you would listen and actually take that at face value, so here we fucking are. It is going to be so awkward from now on at work.”

  The idea hadn’t even crossed my mind until that very second. How was I going to show my face at work the next day?

  “It’s going to be fine. I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as you think it was,” Annabelle cooed as I put on my pajamas and they all started to follow me out into my living room.

  “It was that bad. He even kissed me without warning. I was berating him for being a dick, and he thought it was appropriate to kiss me.” I fell into the middle of the couch and they all crowded around me.

  “We all misread the cues,” Harper acknowledged. “It wasn’t just Blake who thought there was something more there than there was.”

  “I just don’t know how.” I laughed a little. “Also, how can it be this hard to organically find a nice guy?”

  “You have to take chances, Caroline. That’s what we all did,” Sawyer cooed as she rubbed my shoulder.

  Annie giggled. “I wouldn’t give Waylon the time of day when I first met him, and now look at how happy we are.”

  Sawyer pointed to herself. “I didn’t think Trace and I would be more than just a little fling at first.”

  Harper burst into hysterics. “I think Rhett and I take the cake with him being the guy who saved me over and over before I realized he was the one I was actually supposed to be with.”

  “See, honey, your life isn’t some fairytale or cliché from a romantic movie. Life, especially love, is messy and confusing. You’ll find the guy.” Annie’s voice was soft as I rested my head on her shoulder.

  “Did I make a mistake telling Blake to fuck off?” I asked.

  They all looked from one to the other while nodding.

  “So you all really think I am supposed to be with a crass, no-filter, rash, jerk-face?”

  “Caroline, you are the sweetest person we all know. Maybe you need a douchebag to balance out your kindheartedness.” Harper leaned in to hug me. “Don’t take that the wrong way. It seems like under all that beast, there’s a kind prince hiding within Blake.”

  “He really was good with the kids, and he seems to care a lot about the school,” I admitted.

  “He seems to care a lot about you.” Annie handed me my phone, which was lighting up with text messages from him.

  Blake: I am so sorry that went so sideways.

  Blake: Please let me make it up to you.

  Blake: I promise I won’t try to kiss you again. I just wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I knew you hated me.

  Blake: I’m sorry for all the messages, I just don’t know how to turn off my brain when I feel like such a fool.

  Blake: Caroline, you’re wonderful, and I hope you’ll be able to find it in your heart to forgive me.

  “I should go to him, right?” I asked, jumping up off the couch.

  They all cheered, “Yes!” in unison.

  “Should I change?” I looked down at my Snoopy tank top and matching sleep shorts.

  Annabelle grabbed my hand. “I think you need to get out the fucking door before you change your mind again. The clothes aren’t going to matter.”

  They all ushered me out of the apartment.

  “Don’t worry—we’ll lock up.” Harper shooed me down the stairs. “Sawyer needs to pee before we leave.”

  “Thank you!” I hollered as I trotted toward the front steps.

  I couldn’t believe I was in my car looking through the school’s database of employee records on my phone for his address.

  This is either going to be overly creepy or completely romantic.

  After plugging the address into my phone’s GPS, I stopped questioning myself. Things were in motion and there was no turning back.

  Before I knew what was happening, I was ringing the doorbell to Blake’s modest ranch house tucked in the back of a suburban neighborhood.

  He answered the door right away, in lounge pants and nothing else. “Caroline? What are you doing here?”

  I held up my hand. “Don’t cut me off, because I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get through this.”

  “All right.” He leaned on the doorway and waited for me to begin.

  I took in a few long breaths, trying to lower my heart rate as it pounded in my ears.

  “I think you are insane for liking me. I think I am insane for liking you. I think this is completely out-of-this-world nuts on toast, but here I am. Maybe we will only last minutes or hours, or maybe it will be years, but I don’t know if I would be able to live with myself if we didn’t even try. You get under my skin and challenge me, and apparently that is what I need—what I crave. I have never found someone who can make my heart melt one moment and make me want to punch them three seconds later. I hate that you wear expensive everything. I hate the way you say whatever is on your mind without considering how it is going to make someone else feel, and I really hate the way I cannot stop thinking about you. Even when I can’t stand you, I am thinki
ng about you.”

  I stood there for a few seconds as Blake just stared at me.

  “Are you going to say anything?” I asked.

  “You told me not to interrupt, and I was trying to finally listen to you, really listen to your wishes,” he teased before pulling me into him by the hips. “Are you saying we’re going to give this a shot?”

  I nodded. “I am saying that even though everything in my brain is telling me this is so wrong, for the first time in my life, I am going to listen to my heart.”

  “Does this mean I have to stop wearing my suits every day?” Blake baited.

  “There are going to be a lot of things that are going to have to change.” I laughed.

  “I think I can handle that.” Blake exhaled as he started to lean down toward me.

  As our lips crashed together, all my doubts and worries melted away. Standing there in the moonlight, wearing our pajamas while finally being honest with one another, our lives finally started.

  Nothing is perfect until you find perfect in the imperfections of others, until you see how those imperfections can make you a better person, for them and because of them. We all need a balance in this world, and to find it in your partner is the purest form of true love. I had never known that before I finally kissed my jerk-face of a boss in the middle of the night and realized he was flawed and perfect all at the same time.

  Epilogue