Not For Sharing (Romance with Sizzle) by Kenzi Costello Page B

affectionate ridicule of their easy
target.
    “Hang on
Ethe, weren’t you supposed to be giving up birds and booze?” asked Ben
accusingly, hoping to turn his friends’ aspersions elsewhere.
    Ethan
laughed dismissively. “I did, last week. It was the worst 30 minutes of my
life.” He recalled making the farcical resolution after waking up one morning
with a dreadful hangover and yet another infatuated girl clinging onto his arm.
    Ethan’s
merriment was interrupted abruptly as his attention was drawn to a young girl
entering the bar. He watched as she appeared to almost float through the
doorway, wearing a cute denim playsuit, evocative of a 50’s pin-up and looking
as pretty as a picture with her dark chestnut hair sleek and waved around her
shoulders. He had stopped mid-gulp of hisbeer,
captivated by her air of un-assuming beauty. The girl glanced around as if
looking for someone, and then ambled over to the sniggering group of men, with Ben
appearing to be in her line of fire. What happened to Ethan next was quite
extraordinary.
    Time slowed
down around him and yet a thousand thoughts charged through his head. Turmoil seized
his body and magnified his senses. He could feel his heart beating in his ears,
the gasp from his mouth was deafening, and it appeared as though the girl was
striding in slow motion as he became more intrigued with her every step.
    Ben
languidly gestured an embrace, spilling a few drops of his beer in doing so. “Oh
hi babe, I was just about to meet you.”
    The young
girl took the bottle out of his hand, and with commendable coolness, poured the
watery contents over his head. The cold liquid dripped through his hair and
down onto his face. Then she flounced out without uttering a word. Ben, in his
wasted state, was slow to react but then spluttered and shook his head
vigorously, like a wet dog drying it’s fur. The whole bar erupted into
thunderous clapping and cheering. Ethan, however, became rather more solemn.
Without knowing why, he raced out after the girl.
    “Pru, wait!”
    She swung
around swiftly on hearing her name. He caught up with her, feeling baffled as
to what he would do next. His body was on fast-forward but his mind was set on
timer-delay, and although he was accustomed to his libido acting irrationally, he
wasn’t used to his heart behaving in the same way .
    “Well I’m
guessing that you’re Pru anyway, after that amusing assault on Ben. Or if
you’re the new barmaid here, isn’t the customer supposed to finish their
beer before you collect their empties?” he quipped, glancing down at the bottle
still gripped tightly in her hand.
    Pru’s stern
mood softened under his light-hearted manner and she placed the bottle on the
wall beside them.
    “No, I’m
definitely Pru but let’s get one thing straight, Ben Mills is no longer on my
speed dial,” she declared adamantly.
    This was
where Ethan would usually jump to defend his friend’s poor behaviour. He
didn’t. Instead, his heart did somersaults on hearing her announcement. He felt
surprisingly fidgety and he hung his hands loose and low from his jean pockets
to contain their movement.
    “I have to
say, I’m really disappointed with Ben,” he remarked.
    Pru was glad
of the moral support. “Thank-you, it’s good to know that someone else thinks he’s
been a jerk too”.
    “No, I mean
I’m disappointed that he let his beer go to waste. I’ve told him to keep his
mouth open if a lady ever pours a drink over him.”
    She pursed
her lips to indicate her disapproval. “I see, so you like a drink or three as
well then?”
    “Well you
could say I have an addictive personality. I get hooked on anything that gives
me a high. Drugs, alcohol, extreme sports, you ………name it, I’ll try it,”
he replied, raising an eyebrow teasingly.
    Pru’s heart
had skipped at Ethan’s timely pause until she realised he was toying with her.
She wasn’t accustomed to interacting with his sort and she froze her face to