Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“What’s up with all the shots?” the slick guy at the next table asks.
Grayson looks at his friend, making me regret I didn’t out myself with a “you got me!” smile before he looked away. “They’re for all these beautiful ladies,” Grayson explains before addressing my table as a whole. “It’s packed tonight and hard to get the bartender’s attention, so I figured I’d get a bunch of shots for you ladies if you’d like them.”
“How sweet of you,” my friend, Marnie, says.
“My pleasure,” Grayson replies, his heart-melting face a deep shade of crimson. As my friends grab shots off the tray, Grayson holds out a glass to me. “I got this vodka martini for you, if you’d like it. I noticed you sitting at the bar earlier, so I asked the bartender to make you another round.”
Okay, that’s it. With that charming move, this cutie pie has made it impossible for me to play it cool a second longer. “Thank you so much . . . Grayson.”
His face lights up. “I knew it!”
I chuckle. “What a smooth move, my little Grayson-hopper. Bravo.” I wink and take a sip of the martini. “Mm. It’s extra-dirty. Exactly the way I like it.”
Grayson opens and closes his mouth, too overcome to speak, and I can’t help fawning over his adorableness with my best friend, Victoria, sitting next to me.
“Is this the little friend you told us about, Selena?” Victoria asks.
“This is him. Isn’t he darling?” I look Grayson up and down. “But he’s not so little, is he?” Laughing, I stand and open my arms. “It’s great to see you, Grayson. Thanks for convincing me to meet you.”
Grayson embraces me. “Thanks for being convincible.”
“It was a losing battle. You were very persuasive.”
I pull a chair to Grayson’s small table and sit next to him, across from his handsome buddy who’s currently looking deeply perplexed.
“How on earth did you figure me out?” I ask coyly. “There are plenty of women around my age at the bar tonight.”
Grayson is absolutely beaming. “I recognized you the second I saw you,” he declares proudly. “Not physically, obviously. It was your energy. Your confidence. You were everything I imagined Hot Teacher would be, and then some.”
“Hot Teacher?” his cocky friend mutters, but we both ignore him.
“Stop,” I say flirtatiously to Grayson while playfully batting his forearm. “And by that, I mean, ‘Please, tell me more.’”
Grayson chuckles. “You’re gorgeous, Selena. That’s your name?” He must have overheard Victoria calling me that earlier. When I nod, Grayson asks, “Why didn’t you acknowledge me when you saw me smiling like a dork at you earlier?”
“Oh, you smiled at me?” I say mischievously.
Grayson scoffs playfully. “Don’t pretend you didn’t notice the goofy smile that involuntarily took control of my mouth the second you looked at me.”
I bite my lower lip. “Yes, I noticed it. How could I miss a wide, beaming, no-holds-barred smile like that?” I lean in and touch his forearm again. “To be honest, I wanted to check out your flirting game from afar for a little while. I’m here to give you tips, after all.”
“God, I hope that’s not why you’re here,” Grayson says, leaning closer to me and smiling with noticeable heat. “That is, unless you’re planning to give me tips on flirting with you.”
My heart skips a beat. “It doesn’t seem like you need any help with that, my dear. To my surprise, you’re doing fabulously well on your own.”
His green eyes sparkle. “Says the woman who looked away when I smiled directly at her.”
I shrug. “For all I knew, you smile like a kid on Christmas at every woman who makes eye contact with you in a bar. I needed more information before revealing myself.”
To my relief, Grayson hoots with laughter at my comment, rather than looking offended. “Actually, I usually react like this when a woman looks at me in a bar.” He makes a face like he just stuck his finger into a light socket. “I only smile like a kid on Christmas when the woman is as gorgeous as you—which has only happened once in my entire life, because you’re in a class by yourself, Selena.”
I hoot and clap. “And you claim to be bad at flirting?”
“I am,” Grayson says.
“He is,” his buddy confirms. But, again, we both ignore him.
“Speaking of flirting,” I say. “You seemed to be flirting like a boss with those pretty, young women by the bar. I noticed at least a couple of them looking you up and down with interest. One of them even pinched your cheeks. Were you able to get any phone numbers out of them, Grayson-hopper—hopefully, real ones this time?”
Grayson rolls his eyes. “If any of those women appeared to be flirting with me, it was only because they’d chosen me as their next mark.”