R. Hunter - Undone

She sat uncomfortably for a few minutes before she realized he had nothing else to say. She’d never seen him like that and had no idea how to act. He wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. He wasn’t hostile. He was just … shut down. Pulling out her computer, she tried connecting to the school’s WiFi to continue her research. After a few failed attempts, she realized the Internet must be down. It was a normal occurrence at Whitman. “Shit.”

He barely glanced up, as if responding would take too much effort.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she explained her problem.

“Fine. Use my computer,” he said, unfolding himself from the chair. “I have to go through the Allen file anyway.”

Embry dove into her research, trying to block out Luke’s presence. At some point, she became aware that he’d stopped what he was doing and was watching her. She tried to ignore him by scrolling through cases, but she felt his eyes boring into her. She kept her gaze trained on the computer screen, tracking him from the corner of her eye when he stood and walked toward her. Without a word, he leaned over her, his palms on the desk on either side of her, his arms caging her in. Her body heated at his close proximity.

“Finding what you need?” he asked, his breath tickling her neck.

She swallowed hard, trying to block out all of the inappropriate answers running through her mind. “Um, well this one here seems like the seminal case as far as the ethics issue goes.” She nodded at the screen.

“That’s good,” he said, leaning in farther.

He began talking about the case and all of the ethical issues they were researching, but she didn’t hear a word. His voice was a deep rumble in his chest, vibrating right through her. He rambled on about case law as if he wasn’t practically on top of her. She looked down in an effort to concentrate on his words, but all she could see were his strong forearms on either side of her. Her thoughts were muddled and confused. She couldn’t make sense of his behavior. Giving her the cold shoulder one minute, invading her personal space the next. She didn’t know what to make of it. He had to know how he was affecting her.

Suddenly it was all too much. She couldn’t be so close to him without responding, but she couldn’t have a repeat of Wednesday either. What was he thinking getting that close? In a quick, uncoordinated move, Embry shoved the chair back into Luke and jumped up. He rubbed his thigh where the chair had hit him and looked at her.

She searched her mind for an acceptable excuse. “I … I have to go!”

He quirked an eyebrow in that irritatingly sexy way she both hated and loved.

I have to go. Good one, Embry. Real smooth.

“You have to go,” he repeated.

It was a statement, but she saw the question in his eyes. “Yes, I-um, I have—”

“To go,” he cut her off.

His tone snapped her out of it. She did have to go. She had drinks and friends waiting for her. She was in no mood to put up with the tension and confusion that came with being around Luke.

“Yep.” She grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “I do.”

* * *

Embry sat at a high-top table with Morgan, Brett, and Jeremy. Brett hopped up to drag over another stool while Jeremy carried over two pitchers of beer.

“Who’s that for?” Embry asked Brett.

“Oh, my friend Brendan is stopping by.” He wouldn’t look her in the eye. Brett had never had a good poker face, so she knew something was going on.

“Brendan?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Morgan cut in. “He’s Brett’s new best friend from CrossFit.”

“Oh God.” Embry rolled her eyes. “Really? You’re turning into one of those, Brett?”

“Hey, don’t knock it,” Morgan said. “You should see his abs. And his stamina …”

Brett flexed and shot her a wink.

“Ick. No thanks.” Brett was like a brother and Embry had no desire to hear about his stamina.

“Brendan’s a great guy. You’ll like him,” Brett said.

“I’m sure,” said Embry. She had enough on her plate and just wanted to enjoy drinks with her friends. She had no desire to meet a new guy.

Jeremy squeezed past her. “Be right back.”

She watched him approach a table full of girls. She had to give it to him; he was smooth. Within a few minutes, he was heading back to their table with a girl Embry recognized from school.

“Everyone, this is Cindy,” Jeremy said, pulling up another stool. “Cindy, this is everyone.”

They said their hellos and settled in with their beers. They’d polished off one pitcher and were starting in on the second when a guy with sandy blond hair walked into the bar. He was no Luke, but he was tall and good looking and caught Embry’s eye. He glanced toward their table and began walking over.

“Hellooooo, Brendan.” Embry was feeling a little fuzzy and didn’t realize she’d actually said the words out loud until she heard her friends laughing. She clapped her hand over her mouth, turning beet red. She gave each of her friends as stern a look as she could manage before Brendan reached the table. “Do not say a word!”

Brendan walked up to Brett, smacked his buddy on the back, and introduced himself to the table before taking the stool conveniently set across from Embry. She looked at her friends, and Brett shrugged, shooting her an obviously guilty grin.

“So, Embry,” Brendan began, “you go to law school with Morgan?”

She smiled, trying her best to be friendly. “Yep. We also went to high school together, along with your scheming friend Brett over there.”

Brendan laughed, and it was a nice sound. He even had the decency to look a little embarrassed. He had a cute smile and sparkling green eyes, and she decided that for one night, she’d let herself enjoy being around a guy who wasn’t her professor and didn’t bring more complication to her life.

She had a great time. The conversation flowed as freely as the beer, and Brendan was really funny. It felt good to just let loose and laugh. They had a lot in common, which was nice.

The TVs surrounding the bar were each tuned to a different sports channel, and Embry noticed the Yankees game starting. “I forgot we’re playing Boston tonight!”

“You like the Yankees?” Brendan asked.

“Yep, love them,” she answered.

“Me too!” His hand shot up into the air.

Embry stared at him in confusion.

“You gonna leave me hanging?” Brendan asked, his arm outstretched and hand up high.

“What?” She looked to Morgan who was snickering across the table.

“High five!” he exclaimed, pushing his hand toward her.

“What?” She was positive a grown man wasn’t trying to high-five her.

“High five” he said again, louder and with more enthusiasm.

Was a person over the age of ten really that excited about a high five? “Oh. Um, okay,” she said.

As she half-heartedly slapped hands with him, Morgan barely contained her laughter. She mimed a high five at Embry and laughed into Brett’s arm. Embry actually admired his enthusiasm. It wouldn’t have been that bad, but the high-five rampage continued throughout the night, and Embry’s hand was getting sore. Brendan was wearing her out.

A while later, Morgan dragged her to the bathroom. “So first of all, what’s going on with you and Luke?” Morgan asked as soon as they were out of earshot from the table.

“Nothing I want to talk about right now. I just want one night without thinking about him.”

“Okay, okay. So what do you think about Brendan?”

Embry narrowed her eyes at Morgan. “Way to warn me about that one.”

“I’m sorry. It really was innocent at first. He and Brett have become good friends, and we thought he would be a good way to take your mind off of Luke.”

“He’s nice and super cute and funny,” Embry mused. “But if he tries to high five me one more time, I might need to start drinking something harder than beer.”

Morgan laughed loudly. “High five denied!”

The girls left the bathroom. As they headed back to the table, they saw Jeremy reaching to high five Brendan.

“Oh my God! It’s contagious!” Embry whispered to Morgan, having a hard time controlling her laughter.

“You’re just going to have to embrace the high five, Bree.” Morgan laughed and pushed her back toward Brendan.

As she neared the table, Brendan hooked his arm around her neck, pulling her in toward him. “Are you having fun?” he asked.

She was having fun, but that didn’t stop her from wishing she was looking into her favorite pair of blue eyes instead of Brendan’s green ones. Longing crashed into her, and she felt the weight of all that had been going on with her and Luke. Wanting to erase the sad feelings, she grabbed her beer and downed it. “I am having fun.” She gave Brendan a flirty smile. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome,” he said, pulling her closer.

She adjusted so that she was leaning against his body and turned back toward the table. When she did, she found the blue eyes she’d been thinking about trained on her. Luke stood across the bar looking murderous. What is he doing here?

Her jaw dropped, and all she could do was stare back. Brendan said something in her ear, but nothing registered except Luke. Until she noticed the gorgeous blonde by his side, looking up at him adoringly. What. The. Fuck.

Embry snapped her jaw shut as she watched Luke. He turned toward the woman and guided her to a table, his hand on the small of her back. Bile crept up Embry’s throat, and she had to grip the table for support. Turning away from Luke, she saw Morgan’s concerned face. She must have followed Embry’s eyes.