“Let’s forget about it,” I murmur, averting my eyes to a woman who’s breastfeeding her baby while she fusses at her toddler. He regrets it and is probably going to tell me he doesn’t want to sleep with me. He was caught in the moment. Plus, he probably only wanted me because I was convenient at the time. “You didn’t mean it, we’ll forget it ever happened.” For some strange reason, I wanted it to be real. For him to want me for me and not look at me as some hooker on the street.

“Gia, shut the fuck up.” His tone is calm, causing my eyes to snap back to his. “I meant every word I said last night.”

I smile on the inside at that. It’s true what people say about drunk people. “A drunk mind speaks a sober heart.”

“I’m willing to break my rule for you.”

“You mean the one where you sleep with a woman only one time?” I blink rapidly.

“Yeah.”

People leave the restaurant and a busboy in a white uniform picks up the dirty dishes, placing them in the black bin, removing the cloth, and wiping down the table.

“No, Wolf. I need something more than just sex. I don’t want to feel like I’m being used,” I say.

“Okay, we’ll date. Or whatever you want to call it.”

“Really?” Surprise slices through my face. I don’t believe people change overnight, let alone in a few minutes.

“Do you want me to do a blood oath? Or spit on our hands and shake?”

So sarcastic. I roll my eyes at him. “Why the change of heart? We all know relationships are not your jam.”

“I need to get my psychiatrist off my back about dating.”

“I’m an experiment.”

“Looks that way.” His voice is flat like a board, and he smooths out his black tie, looking bored.

“You’re not going to say something along the lines of ‘don’t get attached because I might break your heart?’”

“You know exactly who you’re dealing with. You dance with a wolf, expect to get eaten, sheep.”

“Maybe I want to be eaten.” I fiddle with the end of the silk tablecloth.

“Careful what you wish for,” he says with a smirk on his face.

“I’ll think about it.” I rise from the table. “Can I sit the meeting with Oliver out?”

I need a clear head when I think about Gunner and whatever relationship we could have. When I’m around him, my mind is foggy, and I don’t think straight.

“Take all the time you need.”

* * *

When I get back to my room, I sit on the couch, whip out my notepad and pen that I keep in my purse, and write out a list of pros and cons of doing this experiment with Gunner.

Pros~

awesome sex

ease my loneliness

getting intimate