Kiss Me at Midnight(3)
Author: Diane Alberts

Before he saw her face, he knew.

Only one woman set him afire like that, and her name was Ashley.

And after years of being a complete ass**le to her…

He’d just strolled on up and tapped on her shoulder like the f**king idiot he was.

Chapter Two

The breath slammed out of Ethan’s chest while his stomach fisted in a tight coil of need. Her bright green eyes studied his face, dropped to take in his body, and then rose to meet his gaze with an unspoken challenge. The way she looked at him, her mouth soft and her eyes boldly on his, told him she’d changed as much as he had.

She screamed of…

Confidence. Yes, that’s what it was. She was confident, hot, and sexy. That was how he would describe her now. She’d been sweet and somewhat quiet in high school—not as ultra-nerd as Ethan but certainly not the homecoming queen, either. She’d been well-liked but not a ‘notice me’ kind of girl.

Yet, there wasn’t a damn thing about her that didn’t attract notice tonight.

Everything from the tip of her head to those spiked, red heels she wore screamed for a man’s attention. And damn it all to hell, he was more than willing to be the man to provide. Her plump lips were tinted with pink gloss, begging to be kissed. And her body…

Curves once disguised underneath loose t-shirts and bulky jackets were now hugged by the soft cashmere of her dress. Teasing him, challenging him, reminding him of exactly what he’d been missing all those years in high school. Fuck, he wanted to run his hands all over those curves. A jolt of desire shot to his groin. She looked tantalizing.

And he wanted to play.

His gaze fell on the ring finger of her left hand. No ring. She wasn’t married or engaged, thank God. Maybe he could finally get that New Year’s kiss he’d hoped for back in high school. Maybe he could even get a whole lot more. Then again, maybe she’d slap him and throw her drink in his face for being such a dick.

He kind of deserved that, too.

“Hi, Ethan,” she murmured, licking her pink lips and watching him from under her lashes. “Fancy meeting you here.”

After she spoke, she bit down on her lower lip and stole a look at the woman standing next to her. He didn’t recognize her, but she was obviously Ashley’s friend.

He widened his smile, determined to bullshit his way through this conversation as if he’d known it was Ashley all along. As if he’d intentionally tapped her shoulder and now wasn’t dying to turn around and walk away from the embarrassment of how he’d acted all those years ago.

“Hi.” He rubbed his jaw and eyed her, not sure what the hell to say. “How are you?”

“Funny that you ask that, considering you didn’t bother to talk to me for the last half of senior year. Or any other time since then.” She gave him her back, glancing over her shoulder at him with a dismissive flick of her wrist. “But, hey, it was nice seeing you again.”

He rested his hand on her shoulder. Even such an innocent touch made him want nothing more than to pick her up and carry her back to his place caveman style so he could show her exactly what she’d been missing all these years. What he’d been missing. And judging from the surprised flare of interest he saw in her eyes, she felt the same way.

“Okay. I deserved that,” he admitted.

She spun back around and rolled her eyes at him, but they were sparkling. “How magnanimous of you to be aware of your faults. And here I thought you might be like every other man in the world and have no idea about them.”

“I’ve never been ‘one of the guys.’” He dropped his hand from her shoulder. “But then, you already knew that, didn’t you?”

“I did.” She looked him up and down, her gaze scorching over his length. “But something tells me you don’t have such a hard time fitting in anymore. Not with those muscles.”

He shrugged, his c**k hardening when she zoned in on his belt buckle area as if she wanted to see if he’d grown bigger under there, too, or some shit like that. “I do okay.”

“I’m sure,” she scoffed, tearing her eyes off of his dick. “Now if you’ll excuse me…?”

He should take the hint and leave her alone. But this Ashley was so different from the girl he’d loved in high school. He didn’t know her anymore. And he was damned intrigued to find out more about the confident, sexy woman she’d become.

He’d changed. She’d changed. Perhaps that meant they could put the past to rest and start something new. “Can we talk?”

“I’m here for one reason tonight, and it’s not to talk to an ass**le who wanted nothing to do with me back when he was supposed to be my best friend.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “And you’re cock-blocking me.”

Cock-blocking? So she was here for the same reason as he was. Yet, the idea of her seeking out someone else’s c**k didn’t sit well with him.

There was only one man for Ashley tonight, and it was him.

“Come on. Can’t you pretend to not hate me for five minutes? I’ll buy your drink, and then you’ll be free to walk away after I do my thing. I swear it.”

She looked down at her empty drink, then back up at him, her stunning features reflecting her skepticism. “I don’t know…”

He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, watching as she flinched a tiny bit. Her curls were silky soft. Even softer than he’d imagined, which seemed impossible. All those years, as kids, he’d wanted to do this. Touch her. And now that he had the chance to finally touch her? He’d be a fool to walk away from it. “Please?”

He should be surprised at the level of lust she brought out in him, even after all these years, but she hadn’t just been a girl from his past—she’d been the girl from his past. Maybe after tonight, he could finally lay his outdated obsession with her to rest.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” She chewed on the corner of her lip and studied him, then shook her head slightly. “It’s been too long for you to come up to me and act like nothing happened.”

“I know…” Eight years and six months, to be exact. “But what can I say? Time flies when you’re busy being an ass**le.”

Ashley’s choked on a laugh. “Excuse me? Did you just call yourself an ass**le?”

“If the shoe fits.” He held his hand out, stepping closer so his thighs brushed against her knees. She didn’t move away. “I’ll call myself worse names, too, if it’ll get you to agree to have that drink with me.”