Though Hector didn’t hold either of the girls’ hands this time like he had in the parking lot last weekend, the two girls’ body language spoke volumes. They were there with him and would undoubtedly leave with him too.

“Can he really be that outrageous?” Charlee asked, looking away from Abel and the others in his group as Hector and the two girls reached them. “Walking in here like that with both of them?”

Charlee welcomed the flames she felt ignite inside her and all the way up her neck as she sipped her wine. This was a good thing. It was better that she lose all respect for him—hate him. She had no business fantasizing about this guy, even before she knew anything about him, and she certainly didn’t anymore, especially now. Watching him Saturday even as he made out with these girls, she’d been disgusted, but she hadn’t felt what she felt now.

Doing what he’d done with them in a dimly lit parking lot was one thing. Everybody had skeletons in the closet—sordid little secret fantasies. Charlee knew this firsthand. Some people were just brave enough to act on them in real life. She’d already cut him some slack yesterday when she got to be so close to him and was back to feeling mesmerized. Certainly most guys at some point in their lives had fantasized about not only getting the opportunity to be with more than one girl at once but to actually be able to handle it. Not surprisingly, Hector was one of the fortunate few who got the opportunity but apparently seemed more than capable of handling it.

Still, these fantasies should remain just that—secret. Or at the very least keep them discreet. To walk in here flaunting what he was doing was just appalling to say the least. Obviously, he was one of those types of guys. And those girls were those types of sluts. Good. All this was good. Drew had nearly succeeded in making Charlee believe Hector might actually have a thing for her.

She felt her face flush suddenly. The very idea was embarrassing now. While she’d watched Abel with the women who flirted with him, she’d done it with a purpose. Feeling her face flush even more, she sipped some more of her wine. To think she actually thought she might pick up a few pointers. In no way did she want to be slutty or pathetic like those women, but they all seemed so self-confident. Charlee yearned to pick up on a little bit of that. She should’ve known after being around Drew for all these years that wasn’t happening.

“You guys enjoying yourselves?” Charlee had been so busy doing her best to look in any direction but Hector and his girlfriends’ that hearing his voice so close startled her.

He stood two people away from her without the girls he’d walked in with, looking and smelling amazing. She let the rest of them answer his question while she nodded. When their eyes met, she saw that hardened look he wore yesterday, and immediately she regretted having come. Then to her relief, it eased slowly into a smile. Letting out a measured breath, she smiled back and took another sip of her wine. It was nearly gone now.

Hector motioned to one of the passing waitresses, and in the next second, she was there. “Let’s get another round of whatever everyone is having here,” Hector said, smiling even bigger now.

With the same twinkle she’d seen in just about any girl’s eyes that looked at Hector, the young waitress smiled, nodding, and pointed quickly at everyone to make sure she remembered what each of them had ordered previously. She did and she rushed off to get their drinks.

Charlee wasn’t sure she should have a third glass. She was already feeling a little light-headed. That last drink, or maybe it was seeing him finally and the fact that he was being pleasant, had her feeling much better now.

“Did you guys see the fight?” Hector addressed the group in general, but Charlee had begun to notice what Drew had been talking about.

The guys commented on the fight and how awesome his win had been. Even as he answered their questions and continued talking to them about boxing, he kept doing it—his eyes would go full circle and pause on her every time. At first, Charlee thought maybe she was just imagining it, but it kept happening. The wine had given her the courage to not look away this time like she had last Saturday and all the times he’d looked at her yesterday.

Was this his thing? Was this how he seduced women by giving them that burning heavy lidded stare? Charlee stood up straight, lifting her chin. She wouldn’t give him the upper hand, not tonight—not again. Her heart fluttered as their eyes met again for a moment. Okay, maybe this wasn’t going be so easy, but she was determined to at least try.

The waitress arrived with all their drinks, and Charlee took hers but made it a point to take tiny sips now. The times her eyes and Hector’s were meeting were becoming increasingly longer each time. She sensed something was off. Did he intend to do to her again what he had yesterday? Humiliating her once hadn’t been enough?

All the more reason to slow down on the alcohol. She didn’t think it possible that he’d look even better than all the times she’d seen him before. While he looked athletic and sexy before, she could now add sophisticated perfection to the list. And here she’d argued with Drew about being too dressed up. She was just glad her pushy best friend was the most persuasive person in the world now. If not, she might’ve worn jeans like she first intended to.

Drew had talked her into wearing a dress. She’d even used her power of persuasion to get Charlee to wear one of Drew’s sexier dresses—something so unlike Charlee. Or maybe Charlee was just a pushover. Just like yesterday, she was so ready to condemn Hector before he’d walked over to them, and now here all he had to do was smile at her and lift his beer her way and she was ready to swoon.