Off Limits 18+

Chapter 6

Scarlet

It had been a month since my brothers engagement. A month since I had talked to or seen Chase. A month since I found out that he had a girlfriend. And a month since my heart was pulled out of my body.

Chase had called dozens of times and I ignored them all. The voicemails were all left unlistened to and my heart was still broken. I tried to push away all thoughts of him from my mind but I couldn't help but wonder if he and Kelsey were still together.

Let it go, Scarlet. It doesn't matter anymore.

I finally let Grace set me up with Jeff's friend. I didn't remember his name, Cody maybe?

"Do I look okay?" I asked, looking down at myself.

"You look hot as hell, Scar."

I settled on a cute strapless romper and my favorite brown wedges. I had half of my hair up and the rest down in curls.

"Thanks. I'm nervous. Are you sure I'm ready for this?" I asked. I didn't feel ready.

"Let's just go in and have fun. If he's lame then we can leave early, deal?"

I smiled and nodded, linking my arm with hers as we walked into the bar. I was thanking my lucky stars that I let Grace get me a fake I.D last semester. I needed a damn drink.

Jeff stood up when we walked over to the booth, hugging Grace before introducing me to my date. "Scarlet, this is Cory. Cory, this is Scarlet."

"Holy shit, Scarlet. It's nice to see you again. It's been... a couple years."

My mouth dropped when I realized who this guy was. Cory, not Cody. It was the Cory I danced with that night at my brother's party back in high school.

I laughed and went to hug him. "This is crazy. Hi. I can't believe it's you," I said grinning, looking back to Grace and Jeff who were both confused as to how we knew each other.

"What a small world," Jeff said. "How do you know each other?"

Cory smirked and looked at me before answering. "It's a long story but a couple years back we danced together at a party and I got cockblocked for lack of a better word."

I covered my face with my hand, peaking through my fingers. "Yeah, I guess that's a good word choice, huh?"

"How is it possible that you've only gotten sexier?" He whispered in my ear as he pulled me in for another hug.

"I don't know about all of that but thank you," I said, blushing. "You look great, too."

And he did. He was tall, though not as tall as Chase was.

Stop comparing him to Chase, Scarlet.

He was wearing jeans and a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. He had nice arms but no tattoos that I could see.

We all gathered in the booth, ordering drinks and appetizers as soon as the waitress came over. Grace and I went for the Long Islands while the guys settled on beer.

"I'm confused. Explain how you two know each other." I pointed to Jeff and Cory.

"Cory use to live in California before his family moved to the midwest. Our families were friends and we basically grew up together," Jeff answered.

"I love that you two never lost contact."

Everything was going really well. He was charming, more grown up and more mature for sure. He was saying all the right things and didn't shy away from touching me. He had his back against the wall and I was in between his legs, leaning into his chest. I was laughing and touching his thigh when I heard somebody clearing their throat.