Easy Going (A Boys of the Big Easy novella) Page 2

  “Well, at least not right now,” he said. “But I close up at two and then I’m all yours. If you want me.”

  She felt a crazy surge of heat dance through her chest and stomach. She wasn’t sure she’d ever wanted anything more.

  She hadn’t felt an actual thrill like that in a very long time. Her usual Saturday night was spent at home. She’d watched a lot of movies from her couch over the past five years. She’d rarely worn anything other than yoga pants after eight p.m. She’d eaten a lot of microwave popcorn.

  Now she was in NOLA, wearing her favorite shoes, eating and drinking…and flirting. With a very sexy man who had just invited her to spend tomorrow—and tonight—with him.

  And what was the harm? She was incredibly responsible. She was organized and always thinking about consequences and what-ifs. She had to. At home. Here…well, here she could just be herself. She didn’t have to worry about anyone else here. For another thirty-two hours or so. She had a limited time to just go for it. To just enjoy. To just have some fun.

  “Okay. But no phone number exchange. No talking about personal information. Just here and now,” she said.

  He slowly shook his head. “I can’t agree to that.”

  This couldn’t be anything more than a weekend fling. That much she knew. For one, she lived in New York. For another, she didn’t have any room in her life for a guy. She shrugged, trying not to look disappointed. “That’s how it has to be.”

  He leaned in, his forearms on the bar. His voice was low as he said, “Yeah, well, how you like to be touched and how your nipples taste and how you sound when you come are all very personal and I need to know those things.”

  Her entire body felt like it was melting. “Okay.” She cleared her throat. “I’ll allow a few exceptions.”

  “And I’m going to need you for more than just now.”

  She nodded, her mouth dry and her panties…very not dry. “Okay.”

  “Okay.” He didn’t grin. In fact, his expression was very serious. “Don’t go anywhere.”

  He moved down the bar to the men who’d been trying to get his attention as Elena pivoted on her stool and said, “Be right back. Going to run to the restroom.”

  Addison heard Gabe ask the men. “What do you want?”

  “Uh, that story,” one said, jerking his thumb in Addison’s direction.

  “Elena’s friend. From New York. They text a lot,” Gabe said.

  Addison leaned to look at the man he was talking to. The guy leaned in at that same time to look at her. He gave her a grin. It seemed Louisiana boys knew all about sexy grinning.

  Then he looked back at Gabe. “I think she’s more than just Elena’s friend.”

  Gabe’s gaze met hers. “Yeah, me too.”

  Oh boy. She sat back and licked her lips. This was a fling. Only a fling. One weekend. It wasn’t more. It couldn’t be.

  But hearing Gabe say that did something to her insides that hadn’t been done in…maybe ever.

  “So you will have a story tomorrow?” Gabe’s friend asked him.

  “Monday,” Gabe said simply.

  Monday. That kind of sounded like he intended to spend tomorrow night with her too. Addison felt her heart racing and had to take a deep breath. She shouldn’t do that. She should spend tonight with him and then say a firm goodbye in the morning. Or maybe just sneak out without saying anything at all.

  “Can’t wait to hear the story,” his friend said.

  In her peripheral vision, Addison saw him pick up his beer and give Gabe a little toast.

  Gabe shook his head. “Won’t be able to tell you.”

  “You don’t think you’ll remember?”

  “There will be too many naughty words,” Gabe returned with a grin.

  Addison laughed as Elena returned.

  “Isn’t this place amazing?” Elena asked, her voice a little breathless.

  “I’m very impressed so far,” Addison said, knowing that Gabe could overhear her as well.

  He shot her a quick wink and she had to fight the urge to giggle like she was in seventh grade, watching the new cute boy in class.

  “The architecture and history here…” Elena sighed. “I knew you’d love it too.”

  “Definitely.” Addison picked up her glass. Sure, all of that was great too.

  They drank and talked for another hour. Addison and Gabe refrained from too much flirting in front of Elena. Addison and Elena had gone to grad school together and were friends, for sure, but Addison didn’t know how Elena would feel about her spending the night with a guy Elena considered a friend. Addison knew the situation was already a little complicated because Elena’s firm wanted to get the job of restoring Gabe’s bar. Elena already felt weird about pressing a friend to hire her. But the building really was amazing and Elena’s firm was the best. It was a perfect combination, and Elena wanted them to hire her because of that. Not because she and Gabe and Logan were friends. Not because she’d gone on a spontaneous trip to Vegas with them and their buddies. And definitely not because Elena had brought an out-of-town friend into the bar one night and she’d slept with Gabe.

  Yeah, that could definitely seem a little…awkward.

  But Addison had no intention of influencing Gabe about hiring Elena’s firm one way or another. Gabe knew Elena. He knew her firm’s reputation. That was between them. Besides, Addison didn’t really want to use her time with Gabe giving a business pitch for Elena. She had far better ideas about how to use her mouth once she got him alone.

  So they didn’t flirt in front of Elena, but they exchanged hot looks that had Addison squirming on her seat. And then there was the guy who tried to buy her a drink and who Gabe escorted out of the bar and onto the sidewalk.

  Somehow, Elena hadn’t noticed any of that. Logan and Gabe’s other two friends might have had something to do with that. Addison didn’t know if it was intentional or if they just couldn’t keep from flirting with a beautiful woman, but they managed to keep Elena distracted enough that she didn’t pick up on Addison and Gabe’s chemistry.

  Finally, Elena gave a sigh and smiled at Addison. “I’m getting tired. Thinking about heading home.”

  “Oh, that’s fine. You go ahead,” Addison told her.

  Elena tipped her head. “You’re going to stay?”

  Addison tapped her glass that wasn’t quite empty. “A little longer. It’s nice here. And I haven’t had a night out in a while.”

  “I don’t want you walking to your hotel by yourself,” Elena said with a slight frown. “I know it’s not far, but I’d feel better if you let me take you over there.”

  Addison gave her a smile. “I’ll be fine. It’s like two blocks. It’s well-lit and there are lots of people out.”

  “We’ll make sure she gets there,” Logan interjected from behind the bar.

  Addison looked up at him quickly and he gave her a wink.

  Elena glanced at him too, but Logan quickly schooled his features into a pleasant, no-problem-at-all expression.

  “Yeah?” Elena asked.

  Logan nodded as he wiped a glass dry. “Of course. I can walk her over. Or Caleb will do it. Or Gabe. Somebody will make sure she’s taken care of tonight.”

  Addison felt her eyes widen at the not-so-subtle innuendo. But Elena either completely trusted these guys to never make a move on her friend, or she’d had enough liquor to make her usually sharp mind a little fuzzy, because she just gave Logan a smile and said, “Thanks.”

  “Our pleasure,” Logan said, his mouth curling into a little grin that could have meant a million things.

  Elena pivoted toward Addison. “These guys are the best. You don’t have to worry about anything with them.”

  “I think I’ll be in good hands,” Addison said. She heard Logan’s little snort and had to fight the urge to laugh. She gave Elena a completely sincere smile. “I won’t go anywhere without one of them.”

  “Okay. How about brunch tomorrow?” Elena asked.

  A
ddison heard Gabe clear his throat from a few feet down the bar. Again she had to stifle a laugh. She hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. “You know, I was kind of hoping not to get out of bed until really late in the day,” she said, loud enough for Gabe to hear.

  It was true. Ever since meeting him. She heard him cough and smiled, but made it seem as if it was directed completely at Elena. “And then I might just take it easy. Figured I’d just stick around the Quarter. You know I don’t take a lot of time off and I love it here.”

  Elena nodded. “That’s fine. I just don’t want you to be lonely or bored.”

  Gabe coughed again and Addison had to cover her smile by taking a drink. She shook her head. “I’m not worried about that. I’ll see you Monday morning at the office, okay?”

  Elena lifted a shoulder and glanced down at her phone. She slid off her stool. “Okay. My Uber is here. But call me if you want to do something tomorrow.”

  “Definitely,” Addison agreed.

  James rotated on his stool as Elena gave her a little hug. “See you Monday.”

  “’Night.” Addison watched as James escorted Elena out to the waiting car.

  When she turned back to the bar, she saw Gabe’s friend who had been sitting a few stools down, who had wanted to hear “the story” on Monday, was now behind the bar. He gave her a grin. “He’ll be right back.”

  “Oh…okay.”

  “He ran upstairs for a second.”

  She nodded. Upstairs. Where the apartment was. She picked up her drink and sipped. Suddenly, she felt jumpy. In a good way. Like she’d felt as a kid standing in line for a favorite ride at the amusement park.

  And she had a feeling Gabe Trahan was about to take her on quite a ride.

  “I’m Caleb, by the way,” the guy behind the bar said. “I’m a firefighter at the house over on Decatur.”

  She felt her eyebrows rise. A firefighter. With a drawl. Yeah, she had a feeling that Caleb had had a few weekend flings himself.

  “I also fill in bartending for Logan and Gabe when they need an extra hand.”

  “And they need an extra hand tonight?” she asked.

  Caleb grinned. “Well, let’s just say that I think Gabe’s going to need his hands for something else.”

  Addison gave a soft laugh. “So you guys all help each other get lucky?”

  Caleb greeted a couple of guys who took seats at the bar and poured them beers. Then he turned back to her. “He’s been talking about you since he read your texts in Vegas.”

  That made her feel warm. And not in the hot way everything else had to that point, but warm in a way that felt almost like affection. Which was crazy, of course. And not at all a word she’d expected to associate with a one-night stand in New Orleans.

  “I’ve been thinking about him since then too,” she said. That was completely true.

  Caleb gave her a smile. “Gabe doesn’t need a lot of help getting lucky,” he said.

  Addison acknowledged that with a little tip of her head.

  “And when he does, he doesn’t need a lot of extra time to get lucky.”

  Addison lifted a brow. What was he getting at here? “Okay.”

  “But,” Caleb went on, “he hasn’t been this distracted by anyone in a very long time. So, I figure a few extra hours to really develop this crush on you is going to be nothing but fun for the rest of us down the road.”

  Gabe had a crush on her? Why did that make her heart flip and that warm-maybe-affectionate thing happen again? He was a late-twenty-something-maybe-even-thirty-year-old man. They didn’t get crushes. This wasn’t high school. And besides…a crush kind of indicated more than just sex, didn’t it?

  She should maybe pay her tab and get the hell out of here.

  But just then Gabe came down the stairs from the apartment overhead and it hit Addison hard and directly. She wasn’t going anywhere until tomorrow morning.

  “You’re going to give him a hard time about this?” she asked Caleb, watching Gabe cross the room.

  “About mixing up drinks and dropping lemons and breaking glasses because he’s replaying whatever you’re going to do to him tonight?” Caleb asked. He laughed. “Hell yeah.” He leaned in. “That guy has his shit together. He’s one of the best guys I know. He takes care of his people. He loves this bar. He takes the right things seriously. So, if he’s dropping lemons over you, that’s something noteworthy.”

  Addison felt her heart racing. “And something to tease him about?”

  Caleb grinned. “We tease because we love.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Gabe reached her just then. He spun her stool around and moved in close. “Let’s go.”

  Just that. Simple. Straightforward. Clear. She liked all of that. She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”

  Gabe took her hand and tugged her off the stool. He stood for a second, nearly on top of her, looking down at her. “Damn, I’m glad you came to New Orleans.”

  She stared at up him. He’d been thinking about her. He was a great guy who Elena liked and trusted. He clearly had a thriving business and loyal friends. He had a fantastic sense of humor and was even a little romantic. Dirty, but romantic. And he had a southern drawl, a naughty grin, and huge hands.

  Yeah, she should totally run away now.

  Instead she said, “Me too.”

  Gabe linked their fingers, gave Caleb a nod, then turned and headed for the door. He lifted his hand in a short wave to his brother as they stepped out onto the sidewalk.

  “Um, Gabe?”

  He tugged her across the street, but she pulled him to a stop on the corner of Jackson Square.

  “Hey.”

  He looked down at her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Where are we going?”

  He glanced to his right. “Beignets.”

  She followed his gaze to the café across the square. The famous Café du Monde. “Beignets?” she repeated, looking up at him. “Now?”

  “I saw the look on your face when I mentioned them before.”

  Addison felt her eyes widen. “Well, yeah…but…now?”

  “There’s never a bad time for beignets.”

  Yeah, she wasn’t so sure about that. “I thought we were going up to your apartment.”

  “We are. We will. Eventually. But…” He pushed a hand through his hair. “I thought maybe throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you up the stairs would be a bit much.”

  That sounded magnificent, actually. “I would be okay with that.”

  He looked down at her with heat in his eyes. “I thought maybe you’d want to talk a little first.”

  “You don’t have to buy me beignets or talk to me. This is a sure thing. If you want it,” Addison told him.

  Gabe put a hand on her cheek. “I haven’t wanted something so much in a very, very long time.”

  She shivered at the intensity in his expression. She licked her lips. “Well, then…” Her gaze flickered to the tavern behind him. And the apartment over it.

  “Okay, honestly?” he asked, his thumb stroking over her jaw. “I loved the way you lit up when we were talking about beignets. And hurricanes. And…everything. You’ve got a thing for my hometown, don’t you, Addison?”

  God, the way he said her name in that low voice with that little drawl…she sucked in a breath. And nodded. “Yeah, I do. I love it.”

  “Then let me show you a little bit of it.”

  She swallowed. This felt even more dangerous. He was funny and charming and sexy and had a crush on her—which sounded less silly every time she thought it—and now she was thinking about experiencing New Orleans with him.

  He was going to get to her. She could feel it. There would be more here to remember, and smile about, than dirty talk and orgasms.

  This was going to feel like more than a fling.

  “And there’s nothing wrong with a little anticipation, right?” Gabe asked. He was holding his breath. Fucking hoping that she’d say yes to beignets and coff
ee before he fucked her against the wall in the apartment. Because he was definitely going to do that. And they both knew it. She wanted it. She’d wanted to go straight upstairs.

  What the hell was he doing?

  Laughter from the café across the street drew her attention. The saxophonist on the corner under the streetlamp started playing “When the Saints Go Marching In” and Gabe saw exactly what he needed to see to make this decision.

  Addison was completely enthralled.

  And he wanted more of that as much as he wanted to take her upstairs, strip her bare, and make her come while calling his name. He wanted all of that too, but he wanted her to be enchanted with New Orleans first. Because maybe then she’d come back. Or at least think of him when she thought about the city.

  And if that wasn’t a huge, red, this-ain’t-just-a-fling flag, he didn’t know what was.

  “Come on,” he said. “Beignets and coffee won’t take long and we can ease in a little.”

  “I don’t feel like we need to ease in,” she said. “But,” she added, glancing at Café du Monde with a small grin. “I do love powdered sugar.”

  Gabe felt his cock stir. “One beignet,” he said. “And we’ll take the others to go.” Café du Monde served beignets in threes. Period. “And then we’ll go to my apartment and I’ll make you love powdered sugar even more.”

  Her laugh was breathless. “Yes. Yes, definitely.”

  He took her hand as they waited for a horse-drawn carriage to rumble by. She turned her head to watch it until it rounded the corner on the next block.

  “We can do that too,” he said, noting the look on her face.

  “But that would take a lot longer,” she said, shaking her head. “We have horse-drawn carriages in Central Park.”

  That was true. Though Gabe felt a stupid stab of disappointment. He loved the look of wonder on her face.

  “Though it feels like it would be different here,” she said, almost to herself, with a little crease between her eyebrows, as if she was trying to figure out why it would feel different.

  “Maybe next time.” He didn’t think the three words out before saying them. But even when she gave him a startled look, he didn’t regret them.

  “Next time?”