PROLOGUE

His girlfriend was drunk.

Jaime Rider took another sip of his coke, feeling oddly out-of-place. Sophia was hanging onto his arm like a limp rag doll, having consumed enough alcohol to last a week. She was haphazardly trying to seduce him, but when Jaime looked under the table, he could see her foot way up Nick Masterson’s pants.

Jaime had known Nick since they were both toddlers. They’d practically grown up together – their Mom’s had been best friends. It had only been logical for Jaime and Nick to become the same.

On some subconscious level Jaime knew he should be outraged at the betrayal, but in reality, he suddenly realized he didn’t even care all that much.

He’d sincerely liked Sophia at first. She was hot and rich and seemingly the perfect girlfriend – apart from her drinking problem. Their whole crowd was into partying, but as far as Jaime knew, Sophia was the only one who started the day of by opening a bottle of liquor. She’d had her stomach pumped twice already in the five months Jaime’d been dating her. His attraction had started to fade around the fourth time he'd had to clean up her mess.

Nick didn’t seem to mind though, if the expression on his face was any kind of indication. Guy looked like he’d landed in heaven.

Jaime abruptly shoved his chair back. “Anyone want something?” His throat was thick with the smoke hanging in the air. Not for the first time he wondered why he always tagged along to this sort of places. He didn’t like the taste of alcohol, didn’t dance, didn’t drink, and if he were truly honest, didn’t like his friends all too much either.

“Yeah,” Sophia slurred, spilling half of her glass on the floor as she waved it around. “Wine – red, dry.” Nick winced. Jaime suspected Sophia had kicked him dangerously close to the family jewels in her enthusiasm at more drinks. “Or no,” Sophia backtracked. “Make it tequila – we can do body shots! Who’s with me?”

Their table drunkenly agreed. Most of them were either soccer players or cheerleaders, celebrating the victory of their earlier game against Oak Creek High.

Jaime walked over to the bar and ordered another coke. There was no way he was going to balance a tray filled with little shots – if the others wanted tequila, they’d have to get up and do it themselves.

The waitress was more involved with talking on her cell phone and smoking than she was with opening the bottle in front of her. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, knowing that it would only lead to him waiting longer, he rolled his still-stiff shoulders. It was then that he noticed the girl standing next to him.

His gaze raked over her appreciatively. Nice chest, he thought, inwardly grinning. If a girl asked him what he’d seen first about her, he always answered with some sort of compliment about her eyes. Jaime was fairly sure most of the male population did. What else were they supposed to say? I checked out your rack before I even saw you had a face? Yeah, that’d go over well.

“You know, my eyes are up here,” the girl said dryly. She’d turned slightly in her seat, exhaling a stream of smoke in his face.

Jaime fought to keep his face passive. What, was everyone addicted to those cancer sticks all of a sudden?

He grinned flirtatiously. “And they’re beautiful.” She really was drop-dead gorgeous, even if she wasn’t his usual type with her leather pants and heavily made-up eyes.

“Of course they are,” she muttered, leaning over to stub out her cigarette.

Jaime had to suppress another grin. She’d just given him another eyeful. The night sure was looking up. The waitress finally delivered his coke, but he didn’t turn around to go back to his friends. Why should he?

“I’m Jaime,” he introduced herself.

“Sierra.”

“Sierra,” he tried. “I like it. I don’t know anyone else with that name.”

Sierra smiled at that. “You sure?”

He blinked at her. “I’m not drunk. I’d remember.”

“I didn’t mean that.” Sierra lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Never mind.” She sat down on a bar stool and tapped on the one on her right. “Sit down, make yourself comfortable.”

Jaime didn’t have to be told twice. “So, are you new?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Hamilton’s a small town. A girl like you – I’d have noticed.”

At the table, Nick stood up and announced that he was going outside for a bit of fresh air. Not too smoothly, Sophia stumbled after him, drunkenly saying fresh air was exactly what she needed.

Jaime felt a flicker of hurt. None of their other friends looked even the least bit surprised, conversation flowing along without even an interruption. It could be that they were too smashed to have understood, but it was far more likely they already knew about what was going on. Jaime suddenly understood why Nick always got awkward whenever he was asked about a party Jaime hadn’t been to – he’d probably been getting it on with Sophia, the girl who never missed a chance to go out and get drunk.

Okay, so maybe he did care. But only because they were openly humiliating them in front of everyone. Jaime could already hear the nerds in school laughing behind his back – they were always talking about how Jaime Rider needed to be taken down a peg or two.

He abruptly turned back to the girl on his left. She had amusement written all over her face.

“Tell me,” she said. “How long have you and Sophia Chadwick over there been together?”

A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Five months.” His eyes flickered to the window. He could see two blurred shapes going at it in the drizzle. Real inconspicuous.

Sierra followed his gaze, quirking an eyebrow. “I can tell she takes commitment very seriously.”

“How do you know Sophia?” Even he forgot Sophia’s last name most of the time, yet this stranger had known.

“I don’t.” She laughed. “Not really, anyway.”

Jaime liked her voice. It was raspy and perfect for the bedroom. He bet she could make a fortune if she ever decided to go into the whole phonesex-with-strangers business.

He looked up, surprised, as she lit up another cigarette before starting to pack up her things. “Are you going somewhere?” He knew disappointment was clouding his tone, but he couldn’t help it. It was difficult to put his finger on it, but there was something about her that made his skin tingle. If he’d believed in any of that love-at-first-sight crap, he’d probably already have asked her to marry him.

“Yeah, this place bores me.”

“We could go somewhere else,” Jaime said hopefully. Like my house.

“Nice try, Casanova.” Sierra pressed her lips to his cheek, right beside his mouth. If only he’d turned his head... “I’m not about to be your revenge-fuck.”

“You wouldn’t—”

But she was already headed for the exit. Right on cue, a slow, melodramatic song started up on the radio. If only people had been moving in slow-motion, too, it’d have been a real sappy romance flick, complete with Jaime running after her while magically taking out a red rose from behind her back.

Or wait. Wasn’t that the ending he was thinking about? Dammit. All those chick flicks Sophia had dragged him to were seriously starting to mess with his head.

Jaime let out a resigned sigh and checked his watch. It was still too early to head home – the only difference was that he’d be bored there by himself instead of in company.

Despite knowing that Sierra hadn’t penned down her number on anything, he still gathered all the napkins on the bar and stuffed them in his pockets. The waitress looked at him oddly, but wisely kept her mouth shut. She worked in a bar for a living – she’d seen weirder things than a guy stealing napkins.

With two large bulges in his pants (something his plastered friends would undoubtedly find hilarious) Jaime sat back down next to Sophia, who had returned from her little outside tryst with Nick and had stolen someone’s Tequila Sunrise in the process.

“Hey baby,” she said, giving him a sloppy kiss, before shrieking angrily, “Why do you have lipstick on your cheek?”

Oh, man. It was going to be one helluva long night.

-

Author’s Note

Super short, sorry.

R & R please!