She’s good.

A long exhale comes from me as I look around the room for Zack.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve put this off long enough.

I gather my resolve. No way am I leaving this party until I’ve at least spoken to Zack Morgan.

If Julia can do it, so can I.

4

Sugar

Half an hour later, I’ve made zero progress and haven’t budged from the bar. I suck so bad. Julia has disappeared upstairs with a football player and I’m alone. When Pixie Girl does a pee dance, I volunteer to make sure no one steals the punch, even though she was kind of mean to me earlier. She gives me a long look, promises to be right back, and dashes to the restroom.

Feeling like a bump on a log, I groan, surveying the crowd. There are so many people here, I have no clue where he is, and I keep hoping he’ll walk by to get a drink, but he doesn’t. I picture random girls at his beck and call, rushing to refill his glass and feeding him juicy strawberries on some sofa in the back. Scratch that—it’s way too PG. He’s probably getting sucked off in a bedroom upstairs.

It feels as if someone has cranked up the heat, and I take my coat off and tie it around my waist.

I’m looking at my phone when a warm, sweaty body appears next to me.

Frat Boy.

He’s back and we’re only a few feet apart. I get a better impression of him, stocky with a barrel chest and big biceps…like a wrestler. I recall Julia’s warning about the clap. Great. Just great.

There’s a red zit on his forehead and it takes center stage as he shoves back a lock of brown hair that’s fallen in his face. Giving me a once-over, his beady gaze lingers on my chest.

“Heyyyyyyy, you. Has anyone ever said you look like an angel?”

Ugh. “I haven’t fallen from heaven, so don’t even go there.”

He squints down at me, his words slurred. “I’ve never seen you at a Kappa party. You new here?”

“Stellar observation. Now if you don’t mind, I have to call my boyfriend. He’s on his way here.” I pull out my phone, wave it at him, and pretend to scroll through my contacts. I could leave and head back to my column, but I’m hoping he’ll take the hint and move on. I’ve become fond of my barstool.

“You’re hot,” Frat Boy mumbles on an exhalation as he slides in closer and tosses an arm around my shoulders. “And I won’t tell your boyfriend if you want to hang out. I won’t tell my girlfriend either. Have you seen her?” He scans the area as if looking for her, and when he seems satisfied the coast is clear, he leans in, giving me a whiff of his alcohol-laced breath.

“I don’t know your girlfriend,” I snap as I edge away until his arm drops. “But I feel sorry for her.”

It’s like he doesn’t hear me. Putting his elbows on the bar, he bends his head down until we’re practically cheek to cheek. “Name’s Harry by the way.”

I stare at my phone, mentally willing him to get out of my face.

“Friends call me Horny Harry. Want to know why?” He does a little giggle and puts his arm around my shoulders. Again.

I’ve been described as haughty a few times (I’m really not), but with my height of five ten, I do have a glorious glare. I use it now. “Look, I’m not interested, okay? You should go away.” I poke at his arm a few times until it slips off my shoulders.

His face reddens. “Hey now. You blinked at me.” He sounds like a petulant child as he points down at his shirt.

If his brains were leather, he wouldn’t have enough to saddle a June bug. I can practically hear my mama saying the words.

“Everyone blinks.” I stand. “Why can’t a girl just come to a barstool and have a drink—even if it isn’t a decent one? Huh? Is that so hard? Why can’t I just sit here and watch the crowd and look for hockey players? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way.”

He leers. “Whatever. My room is just upstairs. I have some beer in the fridge and condoms. Sounds good, right?” He nods his head toward the steps that lead to the upper level of the house. “Come on, babe.”

Babe.

BABE.

Bennett called me that and no one will ever again. It’s a promise to myself. I’m better than babe.

Picking up my purse from the bar, I cross the strap over my shirt.

He makes a pout. “Ah, don’t leave like that. We were just getting to know each other.” He moves as if to take my arm, but I give him a little push in the chest. Dude probably weighs about two fifty, and of course, it does no good.

“Are you cheating on me already?” The shrill tone comes from Pixie Girl. I guess she’s back from her pee break. With her hands on her hips, she sends a scathing look at Frat Boy and then turns it on me. “And you? What makes you think you can flirt with my man? Is that why you offered to watch the bar?”

Oh. My. God.

I shake my head at her. “No! This—this isn’t what you think. I’m not flirting—”

“Then why are you standing there with your fuck-me eyes on him?” She glares at me.

“There is no eye-fucking going on here!” I feel ridiculous even saying that.

She curls her lip. “You and your top-shelf tequila. Please.”

I inhale a deep, cleansing breath. Harry just grins at me, his gaze bouncing from me to his Pixie Girl. Obviously he’s enjoying the attention.

I swear her nose flares when she says, “Maybe it’s time you left—unless you want to regret it later.”

Is she going to drag me out to the parking lot and kick my butt if I don’t? How have I gotten myself into a chick fight when all I wanted to do was spy on the hockey player?

A few people around the bar stop what they’re doing and stare, and I blow out a breath, angry and maybe a little intimidated. I could have spooked Horny Harry the Frat Boy eventually—I mean, I’ve handled my fair share of leeches at Boobie Bungalow (with the help of a bouncer)—but toss in a catty jealous girlfriend and all bets are off. Women are vicious, and I like all my hair on my head, thank you very much.

A new song comes over the speakers and I feign interest, bobbing my head. “Wait? Is that 50 Cent’s “In da Club”? Yeah, it is.” Fake smile. “Sorry, guys, gotta go.” And I dart for the dance floor. My plan? Shake my ass all the way to the door and get the hell out of here.

The dance floor is a madhouse of bodies, and I boogie along with them, eyes locked on the exit. My purse gets shifted behind me during my exodus, resting on my butt as I push through the crowd. I don’t bother fixing it, but halfway to the door, there’s a tug on the strap that jerks my shoulder. Afraid it might be Pixie Girl ready to pluck my eyes out, I whip around with my fists clenched and raised—my mama didn’t raise no slouch—but it’s only a dancer with her arm tangled in my strap. “Sorry,” she calls out over the music, and I nod. I turn back around and run smack into a brick wall of muscle.

“Whoa there,” says the deep, husky voice.

Holy hockey jackpot.

It’s him.

5

Sugar

My head looks up…and up…and my eyes widen as I take in the broad shoulders, the thick lashes, and the dark scruff on his perfect jawline. He bites his lip and pushes his wild blond hair off his face. Damn. Just damn. His cologne, something spicy and all male, hits my nose, and I inhale deeply.

His full, sensuous lips part slightly as he blinks at me, and there’s a look of uncertainty on his face as he stares back. His jacket eases open as he moves to let someone pass by us, and I see the tight black shirt he’s wearing underneath, the way it clings to his lower abdomen. Hockey players have notoriously well-developed physiques, and Zack doesn’t disappoint. I swallow, imagining the six-pack under the shirt, the V on his hips. I think about the texture of his skin that I can’t see. Is it rippled and hard? What would my tongue feel like— Stop, Sugar. That’s not why you’re here.

His eyes gleam down at me, the color of molten hot steel as he watches.

Later, I’ll blame my reaction on the adrenaline from the incident at the bar and my lack of dinner, but right now, I’m disappointed in myself. Apparently I’m just like those other girls who look at him with rapturous expressions on their faces.

And right there, it happens. I chicken out. I decide I can’t ask him for help.

I’ll find another way.

“Sorry,” I mutter as I move to walk around him.

He sidesteps, blocking me. “Wait a minute. Were you behind that column earlier…over there?” His head tilts toward the support beam in the center of the room.

“Nope.”

A furrow forms on his forehead. “I could have sworn—”

“Who’s this?” A sharp female voice interrupts from beside him, a stunning petite redhead in a black miniskirt and a red halter top that matches her hair.

I’m not sure how I missed her arriving.

With a slight curl to her ruby lips, she runs a cursory glance over my frame, her eyes widening as if she sees something weird. Feeling paranoid, I pat down my hair where I’ve been twisting it.