Sheer Decadence

JUSTIN WALKED into the dim smoky interior of Hewitt’s Bar shortly before midnight. Although he’d need to get out of bed before dawn to drive Andrea to the airport, he’d been restless after they’d returned from dinner, so he’d called his friend Bryan Tanner to meet for a couple of beers and a game of pool. On the weekend, when management brought a DJ in, Hewitt’s was a popular spot to socialize and meet women. In the middle of the week, business was slightly slower, and it was a great place to come for a quick drink.

Lifting his gaze to the television set above the bar that was broadcasting the day’s sports highlights, Justin waited for his chance to order. He’d drink to getting his life back. Tomorrow, his nineteen-year-old-sister Andrea would leave for a prestigious cooking school in Europe. His obligation would be fulfilled.

When his parents had been killed in a boating accident shortly after his twenty-second birthday, Justin had taken on the unexpected responsibility of raising his two sisters. A decade older than Andrea, with Lisa in the middle, he’d made a lot of unplanned changes to his young bachelor life to set a good example and supplement the life insurance settlement to provide for his sisters. He loved them both dearly, but over the years, whenever the situation had been especially stressful, he’d repeatedly vowed that as soon as he had the house to himself, he would make up for lost time.

That started tomorrow. Lisa was in a co-op program at Auburn, with a job lined up after next year’s graduation, and now Andy was headed abroad.

A woman shuffling a round plastic tray jostled him. “Hey, handsome. Don’t usually see you in here so late.”

He smiled at the blond waitress—Natalie, if he recalled correctly. “I had something to celebrate.”

“You’ll be here all night if you wait on Kurt.” She nodded to the other side of the room where the bartender was taking his time mixing a drink for an attractive patron. “Have a seat in my section, and I’ll bring something over.”

Justin asked for a draft beer, then chose an empty booth against the wall. His future loomed promising and new, devoid of helping anyone with homework, having awkward discussions about dating or attending sports events and milestone ceremonies that their parents should have been here to see.

Natalie sauntered up to his table with a full frosty mug. “So what are we celebrating?”

The freedom to walk around at home stark naked if he felt like it, the freedom not to worry that he was a lousy day-to-day role model. “New job.”

Freelance photography hadn’t been dependable enough for a man raising two sisters and the travel that had excited him became an obstacle. He’d taken a job in design at Hilliard, but had jumped at the chance to join Sweet Nothings now that they were expanding. On-staff photographers were costly, and Justin, though his portfolio displayed his talent, lacked the experience other candidates could have used to negotiate more money.

“Good for you,” Natalie congratulated him. “Drink’s on the house, then.”

“You don’t have to do that,” he said, knowing “on the house” probably meant out of her pocket.

“Honey, you’d be surprised what I pull down in tips. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a good-looking woman,” she said with a grin.

“Trust me, I noticed. I’m guessing your boss would object to your sharing a drink with me right now…maybe another time?”

“Ah, but see, that my boyfriend would object to.”

“Boyfriend, huh?” He lifted the mug. “Then I’m no longer celebrating. I’m officially drowning my sorrows.”

She laughed. “Beer’s nice and multipurpose that way. Don’t worry, a guy who looks like you won’t be lonely long. You never know,” she added before moving toward the next table, “maybe you’ll meet someone at this new job.”

Olivia Lockhart’s face came to mind, but he banished it immediately. Never gonna happen. Despite finding their way to friendlier ground in the breakroom yesterday and chatting amiably in the parking garage this morning, he still couldn’t imagine Olivia agreeing to meet him for drinks. She’d find a polite way to turn him down, then avoid him around the office.

“Hey, buddy.” Bryan Tanner, rumpled and grinning as ever, slid in on the other side of the booth, making quick eye contact with Natalie as she passed.

Justin nodded in greeting. “What’s with the lumberjack look?”

His dark-haired friend didn’t truly look like a lumberjack, but the flannel shirt and unshaven stubble along his jaw invited taunting. Heckling each other unofficially cemented their friendship, and since Bryan so often won by default of actually having a life, Justin took his shots where he could get them.

“Go ahead, make fun if you want,” Bryan said with a sly smile, “but the ladies love the casual look.”

The ladies obviously loved something because Justin’s friend never hurt for dates.

Bryan did lucrative contract work setting up network systems all over the country, but between jobs, he roosted in Atlanta. While Justin would never come out and say anything so touchy-feely, he was grateful for the way his friend had stayed in contact despite the traveling. Other ex-college buddies had drifted off sooner, unable to relate to Justin’s sudden domestic crises and raising two young women in the suburbs. Watching Bryan bounce around from place to place, coming home to a different woman each visit, Justin had often envied his friend’s life.

“I don’t get it.” Justin shook his head. “You’re a glorified computer nerd. Do you pay women to spend time with you, or are they compelled by pity?”

Bryan grinned. “It’s all that talk about my hardware. Master and slave drives are nice openers, too.”

Natalie edged up to the table with a bottle of Bryan’s regular beer.

“Thank you, sweet thing. Tell me you aren’t still seeing that boyfriend of yours.”

“Afraid I am.” Natalie smiled at her favorite customer. “And he could still kick your ass, in case that was your next question.”

Justin laughed. “Oh, yeah, that’s quite the way with women you have, Bry.”

“I can’t believe I’m getting flack from you,” Bryan complained as the waitress moved away. “The Dateless Wonder.”

An exaggeration, but one with more truth than he would have liked. “Dateless no more. As of tomorrow, you are looking at a man free to accept room keys from hot models.”

“Well, hell, I’ll drink to that.”

Since Justin had done everything possible to make sure his sisters didn’t discover sex until their twenties—or preferably, never—it had seemed wrong to spend his nights elsewhere or to sneak women into the house. There had been one or two relationships, of course, and the occasional weekend when both his sisters were gone, but overall, his love life had not been the stuff a man in his twenties dreams about.

Now, with thirty looming at the end of the month, he had definite plans to make the most of his bachelorhood. He needed some time to focus on himself and not be responsible to or for anyone. He could make dinner plans with a woman without checking the family calendar to see if he was obligated to be anywhere, he could have women over any night of the week.

“So, you gonna introduce me to some of these hot models?” Bryan asked.

“Not a chance,” Justin said with a laugh. “In case there is a woman in the 404 area code you haven’t dated yet, I’d like to meet her first.”

Sweet Nothings was his opportunity for a fresh start. At Hilliard, he’d been the guy who’d missed work when Lisa had her wisdom teeth pulled, the guy who’d taken Andy to the office Christmas party when her loser boyfriend dumped her right at the holidays. But now he was simply Justin Hawthorne, single photographer.

Bryan stood. “C’mon, you said something about a pool game. Try not to cry like a little girl when I take your money.”

“Give it your best shot. I’ll even let you break, but I gotta warn you, I’m feeling pretty lucky.”

Andrea and Lisa were both happy and succeeding on their chosen paths, he loved his new job, and he’d reached a good understanding with Olivia yesterday. Even if she wasn’t interested in celebrating his newfound freedom with him, that didn’t mean he couldn’t make the most out of working side by side with her. And there were plenty of other mermaids in the sea.

Tomorrow he left for a beach shoot with lingerie models. How much better did one guy’s life get?

No complications, he promised himself.

JEANIE STOOD in Olivia’s office early Thursday morning, theoretically helping with a last-minute check to make sure Olivia wasn’t forgetting anything. In reality, she was mooning over Justin, who had peeked his head in a second ago to tell Olivia he was ready when she was.

“Isn’t he delicious?” The receptionist sighed. “The man is practically edible.”

Olivia wouldn’t mind Justin at her dinner table—with his head on a platter.

“I bumped into him outside Steve’s office this morning,” Jeanie confided, “and, for a second, I thought he was flirting with me. Much nicer pick-me-up than coffee!”

He probably had been flirting with her. The skunk. “I thought you were in love with Albert.”

“I am. But even I have to admit, he’s no Justin.”

Exactly! The Justins of the world were the sexy men women sighed over…and later cried over. The Alberts of the world were the reliable ones who paid bills on time and never cheated on their wives. Once her promotion was in the bag, Olivia would find herself a nice solid Albert.

Last night, she’d gone home to torture herself with the image of Justin in that restaurant with the blonde. She’d also entertained fantasies of confronting him, but that would be like yelling at a leopard about its spots. Pointless.

Though she was entitled to her righteous indignation, fighting with Justin would only be counterproductive. Those up for promotion practiced good people skills and didn’t antagonize Steve’s newest office favorite. Besides, she and Justin needed to cooperate to have a decent shoot. She was adult enough to work with the man and ignore his tawdry personal life.

The receptionist zipped up the laptop in its black carry bag. “Think you’re all set, Liv.”

Olivia bit down on her tongue. It wasn’t the younger woman’s fault that the nickname had spread.

“Your cell phone is charged,” Jeanie continued, “and that’s all the files you asked for. Justin has the keys to the company car, and I had one of the guys transfer your suitcase to the trunk.”

“Thanks, Jeanie.” Olivia picked up her coat and folded it over her arm. “Have a great weekend.”

Reaching the elevator just as the doors were closing, she quickened her steps. “Wait! Hold the elevator, please.”

The silver doors slid back, revealing Justin Hawthorne, an appealing masculine picture in his leather bomber jacket and well-fitting khaki slacks.

“Hey.” He grinned. “I was going to get the map out of my car, then come back upstairs and chauvinistically harass you about how long it takes women to get ready.”

Her jaw tightened. No doubt he thought his teasing was cute.

At her pinched expression, Justin reached out and touched her shoulder. “You feeling all right this morning?”

The cotton that separated his hand from her bare flesh seemed to enhance his touch rather than protect her from it. “Fine. Thank you.” Why didn’t knowing what kind of man he was stop the zing that zipped through her?

It was just the elevator, she assured herself as she scooted slightly out of reach. The enclosed space forced her to stand so close she could feel the warmth of his body and breathe in his unique personal scent, which she already knew too well. Steamy scenes from different movies flashed through her mind, and she wondered why she’d never noticed how sensual elevators were before.

Stop it. You’ve learned from your mistakes, remember? Fantasizing about sex with Justin against the elevator wall was not the sign of a wiser woman. If nothing else, the blinking red light of the security camera mounted in the corner brought her back to reality.

The elevator wobbled slightly as it finished its descent, and the doors parted. Olivia stepped forward purposefully. Justin followed, lifting a key ring and unlocking the company car with an audible beep.

Hours together loomed ahead, but she could handle the ride. Speak to him only when necessary and ignore him the rest of the time.

Whenever that got difficult, she’d remind herself of how he’d smiled and complimented her in the break room the other day and how, for a brief moment, she’d been foolish enough to imagine a real connection between them.

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