Red Roses & Red Flags [ONC 2023]

Chapter 1

 I would have never gone to that Hallowe'en party if I had known I would meet Wilder Sharp. There were five red flags that night, which was only the start of his toxicity.

He was the first person I noticed when I entered. Being the only one in the bar not wearing a costume made him stand out. He was the kind of guy that wore his hat backward, had tattoos sprawled across his toned arms, and spacers in his ears. He looked like the stereotypical bad boy. A smile spread across my lips when I saw him speaking to my best friend, Cammie, and her boyfriend, Roy.

Cammie saw me standing by the door and waved me over. Running my hand along my jaw, I realized I was gawking at this man. Wilder looked over his shoulder when he noticed Cammie's movements. My chest tightened when I saw his sparkling eyes. I was a sucker for blue eyes. I walked forward, my heels clicking against the floor.

Red flag number one: he winked at me.

Who winks at a stranger that they have never met before? Heat rushed to my cheeks as I found the gesture to be flirtatious. Did he actually like me? Wilder straightened and turned to watch me. He smirked as he brought the beer bottle to his lips.

"Harley!" Cammie wrapped her arms around my neck. "I'm so glad to see you."

"Thanks for inviting me," I said, hugging her back.

Wilder was watching me intensely with those gorgeous eyes. I suddenly became self-conscious about how ridiculous I must look with the large ears on the hood of my Eevee costume. The skirt was short, but I should have gone with some classic sexy costume like a nurse or a French maid. Cammie was wearing a low-cut princess dress. Instead of picking some typical costume, I was some silly Pokemon character.

"Harley, this is my brother Wilder," Roy introduced us. "Wilder, this is Cammie's friend Harley."

Wilder held out his hand. His calloused palm was rough against mine. He must work with his hands, and the thought made my pounding heart flutter.

More of Cammie and Roy's friends entered the bar, leaving me with Wilder. He watched me, and the smirk did not leave his lips. I ordered a drink. Pulling on the hood of my costume, I tried to hide the blush on my cheeks.

Could Cammie not have warned me that Roy's brother was attractive? She knew that it had been six months since my break-up with David. My bad first dates always entertained Cammie on our Sunday coffee chats. I always picked the wrong guys.

I turned and leaned against the bar. Wilder scanned my body.

Red flag number two: his eyes were focused on my breasts.

The zipper did not go as high as I would have liked. It was my fault for not trying on the outfit before purchasing it. I would not have bought it if I knew there was this much cleavage.

Sucking in my bottom lip, I was unsure what to say to this stranger.

"Are you the younger or older brother?" I asked.

"Older," he said. "By two years."

I nodded. His eyes came off my chest when he took another sip of beer.

"You make that ugly dress look good," he said.

Red flag number three: negging.

Any man that gives an insult with a compliment is never good news.

I furrowed my brows and looked up at him. My jaw was hanging open. The backhanded compliment was like a punch to the gut. I was going to turn around and walk away, but he put his hand on my shoulder and kept me in place.

"Relax," he said. "Brown doesn't look nice on most girls."

Wilder leaned in closer, and I caught a whiff of his cologne. It was a rich scent that I loved, like cedar or oak. My mouth was watering at the scent. Tightening my hand on my glass, I fought against the urge to bury my face in his neck.

He trailed his hand down his hard chest. His muscles were noticeable through the thin fabric of his T-shirt that was a size too small. The black ink of his tattoos shadowed through the white material. God, I loved a man with tattoos.

"What do you do, Harley?" Wilder asked.

"I work for a video game doing coding," I said.

He chuckled. "Isn't that a dude's job?"

Red flag number four: he was sexist.

I scowled, and a crease formed between my brows. My reaction caused him to laugh harder. He shook his head and took another swig of his beer.

"Don't look at me like that," he said. "You don't hear much about women in the tech industry, especially video games."

"What do you do?" I snapped.

"I'm a firefighter."

Crap.

My mind pictured what he must look like in his uniform. The visual was scrumptious, and the anger in my chest eased. Wilder turned and flagged down the bartender.

"Two tequila shots," he said.

My eyes widened as the bartender nodded and filled two shot glasses with tequila. Wilder pushed one of the shots toward me. I raised a brow as I looked up at him. This was much more intense than the vodka soda I was drinking.

"Want the training wheels?" Wilder asked.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Salt and lime," he said. "Do you need it?"

Red flag number five: he pressured me into drinking.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. Insulted by his thought that I could not handle the alcohol, I shook my head and grabbed the shot. Wilder smirked and picked up his shot glass. We clinked them together before downing the alcohol. I struggled not to contort my face in disgust as the tequila burned my throat and chest. Warmth spread throughout my body. Wilder set down the glass, and he grinned.

"Good girl," he said.

Damn. Those words coming out of any man's mouth would make me swoon. Hundreds of years of feminism went out the window.

Cammie and Roy were busy talking to their friends. They were the only two people that I knew in the bar. Did Wilder know anyone else here? Was he only talking to me out of boredom? I looked back over at him to see he was watching me. I sipped at my drink as I continued to fight the blush rushing to my cheeks.

"You're cute," he said. "I wasn't expecting to meet any of Cammie's friends."

I furrowed my brows. Was this some other kind of negative compliment?

"I wasn't planning on staying here long," Wilder said. "Hallowe'en parties aren't really my scene. Want to get out of here?"

My eyes darted over to Cammie. Did she even know that I was still speaking to Wilder? Would she encourage this, or would he be another lousy story?

He had already shown me five red flags, but the problem with red flags was that I was attracted to them. His toxicity was sexy and alluring. I drained my drink before setting it down on the bar.

"Let's go," I said.