Not If I Date You First

Chapter 15

LIAM

Ada looks like she'd rather have her dinner lit on fire than have me go sit with her. Her eyes are narrowed at me and not in a come-hither kind of way. So naturally, I enthusiastically accept the manager's invitation to join her for a complimentary dessert to celebrate her friend's birthday.

"Excellent, sir." The waiter smiles. "I'll let you know when the ladies are ready."

"Sounds great." I smirk, glancing over. Ada's got her elbows propped on the table, face buried in her hands while her friend takes about a thousand photos of their food.

"I thought you said that picture girl hates you." Wesley shoots me a questioning look.

"That she does, Wes. That she does." I take a swig of my Arnold Palmer.

"So what? You're trying to annoy her to death now?" I snort into my drink. "Something like that."

The idea of getting under Ada's skin is weirdly appealing. But I'm really hoping one of the other diners will snap some photos of us sitting together and post them on social media. Ruby and Julian keep saying all the rumors and publicity are helping my image. I don't have any new auditions or prospects to show for it yet, though.

Wes laughs, throwing back the cocktail the waiter was only too happy to bring him even though he's underage. Celebrity does come with its privileges, not that I take advantage of that one. I never touch the stuff.

"Dude, you two just need to bang and get it over with," Wes says.

Of course, that would be his advice. He's had more girlfriends in the last year than I've had call times.

"I know this is hard for you to believe," I say, "but that actually isn't the solution to everything."

"That girl is smokin.' And all the tension between you two..." Wesley whistles. "You gotta work that shit out, man."

I shake my head but can't keep my eyes from drifting to Ada. She'd look goddamn gorgeous tonight if she weren't a soul-sucking photog. She's wearing a black tank top that plunges low in front, making it more of a challenge than it should be to keep my eyes from traveling over her body. I haven't seen her hair down before. It's longer than I realized and looks like it'd be soft if I touched it.

"See. You're thinking about it." Wesley gives me a knowing smirk. I take another drink, not bothering to respond.

We order another round and shoot the shit, talking about last night's Yankee's game while we wait for Ada and her friend to finish eating. The waiter must be watching Ada's table because he's there to clear away their dishes the second they're done. He catches my eye and sweeps a hand toward their table, giving me a little bow.

"I think that's our cue." I toss my napkin down.

Wesley hoists an eyebrow. "Think about what I said, man."

"You're an asshole. You know that, right?"

He chuckles as we make our way over to the girls' table. Ada's friend notices us and leans forward, whispering something to her. Ada glances up. I've never seen someone roll not only their eyes but their entire body before, but she accomplishes it.

"Be nice," I hear her friend hiss.

"Um, hi." I stifle a laugh.

Ada stares down at the table, not so much as glancing my way.

"Happy birthday," I say to her friend.

"Thank you." The girl smiles hugely as though trying to compensate for Ada's obvious lack of enthusiasm. She shoots her a pointed look, and I can tell she's hoping Ada will introduce the two of us. Seeing that that isn't going to happen anytime soon, I hold out my hand. "I'm Liam Anders. Nice to meet you."