One True Thing by Piper Vaughn Read Free Book Online

me. Listen, I know this is
    last minute, but I have the night off. How would
    you like to meet up for a drink?”
    “Right now?” I asked in a surprised squeak.
    “No. In about an hour, maybe. Do you know
    where Reilly’s is?”
    I nodded, not even thinking about the fact that
    he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, I’ve driven past it
    before.”
    “Cool. Meet me there at nine thirty?”
    I glanced at my watch. That actually gave me
    less than an hour to change and get over there. I’d
    probably have to take the fastest shower on record
    if I wanted to redo my hair, but I wasn’t about to
    meet him in my work clothes and stinking of styling
    products. I also wasn’t going to say no.
    “Sounds great.” I knew I must’ve been
    standing there with the dopiest grin on my face by
    the way Rue was looking at me, but I couldn’t help
    myself. “Nine thirty.”
    I could hear Archer’s smile in his response.
    “See you then.”
    The next half hour passed in a mad rush. I
    asked Rue to help me find something to wear that
    wasn’t the usual black on black, self-imposed
    uniform I wore while I was at the salon, then
    darted off to the bathroom for the quickest shower
    in Dusty Davis history. I was amazed to find
    myself clean, dry, and fully dressed in only ten
    minutes.
    Rue had chosen a pair of my tightest jeans and
    a clingy V-neck tee in navy blue. As much as I
    loved pink and frilly for Alice, my wardrobe was
    made up almost entirely of dark colors. Maybe that
    meant I’d never really outgrown my goth phase
    from high school, but I liked the way they looked
    on me. Usually the brighter stuff could only be
    found in my accessories, especially my handbags.
    With those it was the flashier the better, the proof
    of which could be found in my prized possession
    —a lime-green Coach tote bag I’d scrimped and
    saved for months to purchase.
    I took another ten minutes to deal with my
    hair, cringing at the hint of dark brown that had
    appeared at my roots. It would need to be touched-
    up soon, but I didn’t have time to worry about it
    right then. I arranged it into its usual artistic
    disarray of soft spikes and side-swept bangs, put
    on a little eyeliner and a light coat of mascara,
    finished it all off with a bit of clear lip gloss, and
    called it good.
    “Hey, hot stuff.” Rue grinned at me teasingly
    from the doorway of my bedroom. “Want me to
    drop you off? You can catch a cab back.” He
    paused and gave me a suggestive eyebrow waggle.
    With his skin bare of makeup and his bangs held
    away from his forehead by a rainbow headband, he
    looked years younger than his actual age. “ If
    you’re coming home tonight, that is.”
    I rolled my eyes at him. “Of course I’ll be
    home.” I’d slipped on occasion, but I wasn’t
    usually a sex-on-the-first-date kind of guy. Casual
    hookups were easy to find. I wanted something
    lasting. “But I will take you up on that ride.”
    REILLY’S turned out to be a smallish video bar
    staffed entirely by hot, shirtless men. The
    bartender, who was sleek, muscled, and had skin
    the color of fine, dark cocoa, winked at me and
    flashed a white-toothed grin as he handed me my
    second appletini (extra cherries) of the night.
    I was sitting alone at one end of the bar. Nine
    thirty had come and gone, and ten o’clock was
    rapidly approaching. I felt a little embarrassed, as
    if it were somehow obvious to everyone that I was
    there waiting for a date who hadn’t shown, but I’d
    decided to give Archer until the end of the hour
    before I left. He might have gotten held up by
    something, after all. Seemed only fair to give him a
    bit of extra time.
    Ten came around, then 10:05. No calls or
    messages. I sighed and dug into my pocket for my
    cash. I hadn’t brought anything else with me aside
    from my phone and shiny, new California ID. I
    probably could have gone up to one of the guys
    who’d approached me earlier, some offering a
    dance, others a heck of a lot more, but while