Page 3 of See You at the Sunset

8:00 p.m.

Jia nursed her third glass of cava. It was the least expensive drink on the menu, and she held the glass casually like she belonged there.

She’d finally pulled out the butter-yellow Chloe silk minidress she’d picked up for a steal at Jenna Lyons’s last closet clear-out sale. Considering Jenna Lyons had a good ten inches on Jia, she figured this was likely meant to be a top. But on her five-foot-two frame, it hit Jia a little above midthigh and made her legs look fantastic.

The vibes were just right at Willow. There was a decent crowd for a Sunday, she had a mellow buzz by now, and she wasn’t ready to call it a night yet. But alas, her wallet and her bank account were not cooperating, and she really couldn’t afford another eighteen-dollar glass. She downed the last of her cava and turned to Lizzy who was animatedly talking to the bartender.

“I should go,” Jia said. It would be the responsible thing to do. She could get home early, sober up, get some rest, and be completely ready for her exciting morning tomorrow.

“Don’t go, not yet. Let’s have one more drink,” Lizzy begged. “My treat. We were gonna try some scotch tonight.”Lizzy leaned over the bar and raised her eyes to all the bottles of brown liquor on the top shelves.

Neither of them were big connoisseurs of the good stuff, so Jia braced herself for what Lizzy would decide on.

“Jackson, can you get me two more glasses of the Oban 15 for the ladies here?” a man next to her called out.

“You got it.” The bartender reached up to the top shelf and grabbed a long, slender bottle, pouring them each a glass.

Jia turned her body toward the generous man sitting next to her at the bar. She was such a sucker for a deep, sexy voice.

He was alone, both hands circling a short glass of amber liquor. He looked over his shoulder at Jia. He was young, surprisingly so, especially for this area. Handsome in a very serious way, strong brows slightly stitched together despite a barely there smile on his lips.

She would have guessed finance bro, but they rarely ventured out alone. Lawyer maybe, with the stern air about him.

“Thank you for the drinks,” Lizzy said. “Cheers!” She reached out her glass and Jia met hers. The generous stranger lifted both his drink and his chin in front of him, not quite reaching out to theirs for a clink. “We’re celebrating my friend here! She’s getting promoted at work tomorrow.”

His eyes caught Jia’s and locked in. He was intense in a way that made it hard to breathe. “Congrats,” he said with a head nod.

“Thanks,” Jia said, her response breathier than she’d wanted. “And thanks for the drink. That’s really nice of you.” She lifted the glass to take her first sip. His eyes followed along with the movement. She licked her lips and swallowed. The burn was intense at first, but what followed was a surprisingly smooth flow down her throat. “God, this is good,” she said.

His eyes flared. Her breath caught. Words spoken. Laughtershared. The two of them brought their glasses up at the same time and finished their drinks.

He raised his finger and circled it to the bartender, signaling another round. Jia leaned in a little closer to him, her body warm and pliant, this time clinking her glass to his as she took a sip of her next drink.

10:00 p.m.

Henry never did this. He never went down to his local bar and overimbibed. He usually nursed one glass of really good scotch and was done. He never bought strangers drinks and let his tab run out of control. He never picked someone up and brought them to his third-floor apartment in the same building.

But he was celebrating his own win.

And there was something about her. She was gorgeous in an easy way, effortlessly sexy in that silk dress and too-bright sandals. She laughed freely, and her eyes danced at the things he said. And sure, it was partly the alcohol talking, convincing him to see where this would go.

All he knew was that he wanted her.

And tonight, after a really good day and a few glasses of exceptional scotch, he was going to let himself go for what he wanted.

1:00 a.m.

Jia did not want to get up. If she didn’t have such an important morning ahead of her, she’d have stayed right where she was. It had been a very good night, and she felt spent in all the right places.

She pulled the sheet up to cover herself despite it being almost completely dark in the apartment. She swung her legs off the side of the bed and bent down searching for her panties and her dress. She looked back over her shoulder at the man lying next to her.

His arm covered his eyes, and his breath was even and heavy. Jia squeezed her legs together remembering everything that they’d done to wear this poor guy out.

His chest was bare of any hair except below his belly button leading to, what Jia had come to discover over the last couple hours, was an incredible package. God, and he knew what he was doing: attentive and took his time, always checking in on her pleasure, a consent king.

As far as hookups went, this was a really nice surprise and solidified in Jia’s mind that things were most definitely picking up for her. But she had to get home and get some sleep or she’d be a mess in the morning.

She leaned down and gave him a peck on the cheek. He moved a little but settled back down to sleep. She took one last look at him, all of him, and sighed. She got up, grabbed her shoes, and quietly left the apartment.