31. Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

Beth

W hy do all the hottest men show up when a girl's supposed to be on a dating ban?

The suave Alpha in the designer suit completely took me by surprise when he asked me to hit the arcade with him, and my instinctive reaction to that kind of harmless invitation made me say yes without thinking.

Oh, who are you kidding, Beth? You would have had that same response if he'd told you he felt like stripping naked and smothering himself in honey, and would you like a taste?

Well, sure, because that definitely sounds like fun.

He smiles at me like he knows what I'm thinking. Considering I'm thinking how good he'd look naked and dripping with honey, he's probably not far off.

I kind of hate that I'm attracted to him.

He's not my type at all.

I guess that's the Alpha magic rubbing off on me. Not that I've let him do that.

Though, some small part of me is wondering if fate sent me this cock attached to an unattainable man for a reason. Despite all my dating adventures prior to making my big mistake, I didn't actually get any, or even really come close.

A one night stand with a smoking hot Alpha might be enough to scratch that itch.

I can't help stealing glances back at him as I move through the arcade.

He's stunning, because what Alpha isn't?

He also seems keenly aware of that fact, and he's pleased that I'm noticing.

Damn it. That little smirk. I want to smack it right off his face …

With my lips, which is really confusing.

I need to get a grip before I do something I'll regret.

This whole thing is only happening because I just ran into my ex.

My chest tightens just thinking about him.

It's been a year, and I'm still not over that asshole.

The sound of his voice brought tears to my eyes.

A swell of emotion washed over me in that instant, and despite everything he put me through, all I could think about was how much I missed him.

That fucking sucks.

I don't want to miss the guy who broke my heart.

I want to forget everything about him.

If I could wipe him from my memories, I would.

I stop walking through the machines, and I look at the Alpha who isn't my type.

He's nothing like Rourke. He wouldn't remind me of my ex.

Except from being the guy I banged to try to forget him, I guess.

"What's wrong?" he asks, sounding curious.

"Hmm?" I murmur, as I try to assess how quickly we might get thrown out of the arcade if we … start something here.

The place is empty. I mean, besides the one guy in the prize booth who's playing a handheld games console instead of watching out for customers who might try to fool around in here.

"You look like you're mad about something."

I realize I'm frowning, so I stop. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Pink hedgehogs!" I blurt, before I head to the grabber machine I was working on earlier.

I can't do it. I can't sleep with this attractive stranger.

I only want to because I just saw Rourke, and I'm pissed off that I still have left-over feelings for that asshole. All I really want is to be over him, and getting under someone else isn't going to force that to happen.

Damn it.

I wish I was wrong about that, but I don't think I am.

Standing in front of the grabber machine, I dig my last four quarters out of my purse, including the one Gio gave me.

It's kind of random that I lost one of these today, and he was the one to find it.

He really doesn't look like the kind of guy who hangs around in malls.

"I missed my shot at one of these today," I explain as he moves to my side, keeping my focus on the silly plush toy to avoid getting any more dumb ideas in my head.

Too bad Gio didn't show up before tonight.

I might actually have gone home with him.

"Because of the lost quarter," he deduces.

"Pretty much," I confirm as I shove the coins into the slot.

"Then, it's a good thing we have plenty of change," he tells me, smiling obliviously when I glance at him. He has no idea that he just insulted my skills with these machines.

I shake my head as the lights inside the machine flash.

"I can get it in two turns," I assure him, focusing on my prize.

I tap the buttons to make the arm move.

Perfect alignment.

Now for the grab.

I let out a breath as I tap the button to make the grabber descend.

The second I take my hand away, I'm not sure I've got it.

Despite looking centred on the hedgehog, the grabber sways.

When it finally closes around the hedgehog's body, I hold my breath.

It starts to rise, swaying as it goes.

"Come on, come on," I murmur.

The hedgehog starts to fall, and I let out an irritable gasp.

It drops onto the plexiglass panel right before the prize slot, and it wobbles between the slot and the pit that I grabbed it out of while the grabber above moves back to its starting point.

"Don't you dare fall back into that pit," I warn it.

One last wobble and it drops into the prize slot.

"Yes!" I exclaim, crouching to grab it out of the machine.

It's as cute and fluffy as it looked when it was taunting me from the pit.

I got my prize, and I didn't need any help to get it.

"Impressive," Gio murmurs.

I smile at him. "Done."

"Done?" he asks, as he raises one of his dark eyebrows. "You've only played one machine."

He's standing there with that crazy heavy cup of quarters, looking confused and kind of crushed at the same time. I feel a little bad, but only because I might have led him on a bit while I was still in shock over seeing my ex. I shouldn't have done that, and I'm not going to make it worse by spending all his change before I put an end to our evening.

I shrug, waving the hedgehog at him. "I got what I came for."

Oh, now he looks seriously disappointed.

"That's all you wanted?" he asks, his sad tone tugging at my heartstrings.

"Mm hm," I manage to answer, without dropping my smile. "Anyway, I should get going. It was nice to meet you, but I have other places to be."

It feels weird to ditch a guy I'm attracted to, and one who seems so disappointed about it, but I know I can't do anything else here. I never should have said yes to coming to the arcade with him in the first place.

Even if I was over Rourke, and I hadn't recently been tied up in a closet by a guy I dated, I don't think an Alpha who wears designer suits is the kind of guy I should be starting something with.

There's no way we'd last a week together.

One night is probably all we'd get.

It would be a hot one, for sure, but I want something more than that.

I can admit it now. I'm done with saying yes to any random guy who asks me out.

The overly optimistic hope that any of those men could turn out to be the perfect guy for me has messed up my life enough. It's time to start saying no, and to stop looking for something that doesn't exist.

"You seem like a great guy," I add. "I'm just kind of in a no-dating phase in my life right now."

He's silent for a beat, his dark eyes burning into mine before he nods slowly and sets the cup of change down by the side of the grabber machine.

"Okay," he says, making me blink.

It's not a fake out. He sounds perfectly fine with what I just told him.

Huh.

"Bad timing," he adds with a sigh. "It's the bane of my existence."

His reaction makes me wish I was in a place where I could give a guy a chance.

Most men don't take rejection this well.

Clearly, he's more mature than most.

He does look a bit older than me, but not by a lot.

Maybe guys in their twenties have better attitudes than younger guys.

I haven't met too many older men so I wouldn't know.

"Well, men have been the bane of mine, lately," I admit. "Unfortunately."

"Then you've been spending time with the wrong men," he says.

"Wait, there are right men?" I ask, making him laugh.

"There are," he confirms. "But you'll work that out on your own."

"And you're completely cool with me working it out without you?"

I study his face as I wait for his answer, trying to tell if he's playing it cool or if he actually doesn't mind that I'm blowing him off. He was interested enough to ask me out in the first place.

Does he really not care that I'm ending the date?

"I don't need to be there," he tells me. "You'll think about me anyway."

Of course.

He definitely knows he's gorgeous, and, apparently, he's prepared to wait for me to want to date him.

Why is that so damn sexy?

"Oh, you think?" I ask.

"I know ," he says, giving a little hint of a smirk.

My stomach flutters, and I know he's got me.

Whatever happens next, I'm going to have a hard time saying no.

"You said you have someplace to be," he reminds me. "It's late. You should let me walk you."

It sounds like a perfectly innocent offer, and it might not come with any strings attached, but I can tell the more time I spend around him, the harder it's going to be to say goodnight.

Add my growing attraction to the fact that my ex is out there somewhere in the city tonight and it's not hard to make a firm decision.

"When you put it like that, how can I refuse?" I ask, letting him lead the way out of the arcade.

It feels good to say yes and mean it.

Having a clear sense of certainty about anything is foreign territory to me. I'm so used to never being sure and going ahead and leaping right in with both feet regardless, hoping for the best.

Gio waits for me by the escalator, and even as I smile his way, I realize it's not just him.

He's new and I like him, sure. I don't want to deny that.

But something more happened to me tonight.

It's like I found me again, after it had been so long I'd forgotten I was even lost.

I'm ready to let the past go. I want to find what makes me happy.

Time will tell if the guy standing in front of me now is a part of that.

Either way, I know things are going to get better.

And I'm so damn ready for that.