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  “Wow. You are such an optimist, Dad.” I tried to shake his words off, but I couldn’t quite get the image of myself as an old cat lady out of my head.

  “You know it.” He signaled for the waiter. “Let’s go ahead and order.”

  After that, lunch was pleasant enough. The food came quickly and was a nice change from the fast food we ate on the road. We discussed our jobs for the summer. Dad was making us work at the front desk, convinced it would give me real insight into the hotel business.

  “What do you ladies have planned for tonight?” he asked as he signaled for the check.

  “I’m not sure, maybe we’ll head out to explore a bit,” I said vaguely.

  “Have a good time, but be smart. Things can get pretty wild down here.”

  “Like you have to worry about us getting into trouble Mr. Davis,” Jess said sweetly.

  “It’s not you girls I’m worried about. You are walking targets for men to take advantage of. Stay together and be alert.”

  “Next you are going to be giving us a curfew.”

  “Yes, because it’s so crazy for a father to worry about his eighteen-year-old-daughter out in the French Quarter.” He shook his head. “I trust you, so I’ll stop the lecture, but one thing.”

  “Yes?”

  “My room is right down the hall from yours.”

  “Duly noted.” I kissed his cheek before Jess and I headed back upstairs to our room.

  Chapter Three

  “You’re no fun!” Jess cried out as I untangled her from the latest guy she was hanging on. It only took a few drinks for Jess to get tipsy. Maybe it would have taken longer if she didn’t insist on accepting every drink a guy offered us, and there were lots. I played along at first, but it didn’t take long for me to switch to club soda. Someone needed to stay sober.

  “I’m fun. I’m so much fun that I want to dance.” Grabbing Jess’s hand, I pulled her into the center of the bar. The thick layer of smoke permeating the air seemed to highlight the intense lighting.

  “But I was having fun with Drew!” she whined, swaying drunkenly to the music as we danced with little space between us. We were attracting attention, but I pretended not to notice.

  “His name is Dave, by the way.” I laughed.

  “Drew, Dave, same thing.”

  “I distinctly remember you agreeing to a girl’s night out. No guys, remember?”

  Jess sighed dramatically. “Fine. Besides it’s probably almost our turn.”

  “You don’t actually expect me to sing karaoke in front of everyone do you?”

  “Of course I do. If I’m staying away from boys then you’re singing karaoke,” she said, almost yelling to be heard over the loud music.

  When Jess asked Billy the bellboy where we should go if we wanted to really do Bourbon Street for our first night, he suggested the Cat’s Meow. As soon as Jess found out it was a karaoke bar she ran over to sign us up. I hadn’t actually expected us to stay long enough to get to our turn, and I was starting to regret cutting myself off from the alcohol. Singing karaoke sober sounded horrendous.

  “I need a drink.”

  She laughed. “It’s usually me who says that.”

  We were halfway to the bar when I heard our names called. I froze. It looked like I was singing sober.

  This time it was Jess’s turn to tug me along.

  The first bars of Girls Just Want to Have Fun started right as we reached the stage. Jess began to belt it out, and reluctantly I joined in. I reassured myself that everyone in the bar was intoxicated, and I didn’t know any of them. By the second verse I started getting into it. There are plenty of things I’m good at but singing isn’t one of them. I knew the screaming and catcalls that filled the bar had nothing to do with our voices, but I decided to go with it. Running a hand through my hair, I moved my hips to the music and went all out. It actually felt pretty good once I forgot about the audience and just let go.

  Met with applause, we made exaggerated curtseys before stepping down as the music faded out. Any adrenaline I felt during the song quickly disappeared.

  “AHH! I love New Orleans!” Jess screamed as we headed away from the stage.

  I smiled to myself, not willing to admit out loud that I kind of enjoyed it too.

  “You look like you could use this.” I was startled by a seductively smooth voice, as I felt something cold pushed into my palm.

  I glanced up. Intense gray-blue eyes stared back at me, as I recognized the guy from the hotel. Surprised to see him again, I merely nodded before bringing the shot to my lips.

  “What was that?” I spat out while the liquor continued to burn my throat.

  “A jaeger shot.” He laughed lightly. “Feeling better?”

  “Yeah. I can’t believe I did that.” I peered over my shoulder at the stage where another group was starting their rendition of Time of my Life.

  “It really wasn’t so bad. It was more entertaining than if Cyndi Lauper performed it herself.” Raking his eyes from my toes back up to my face, he spent an annoying amount of time studying my legs. Long legs were nice, but not when they attracted the wrong type of attention. Normally I would call a guy on mentally undressing me, but I was too busy taking my own inventory. Finished, I glanced around for Jess but couldn’t see her in the crowd.

  “So, thanks for the shot, but I need to find my friend.”

  “Hey, you can’t run off on me again.” He didn’t say it like a question, more like a demand and it annoyed me. “Besides, your friend appears to be unavailable.”

  I followed his gaze and noticed Jess flirting with Dave again. “Run off on you again? That implies we have run into each other before.” I tried for coy; I wasn’t going to let this guy unnerve me. Sure, he had the most amazing set of eyes I had ever seen, but I wasn’t interested.

  “I saw you at the Crescent City Hotel this afternoon, but you took off before I could say hello.” He leaned in closer to me, trying to be heard over the loud music.

  “Oh, I didn’t notice you.”

  He smiled, ignoring my comment. “You here for vacation?”

  “I’m here for work actually, at the hotel.”

  “Are you around for the whole summer then?”

  I allowed myself to really look at him. My earlier estimate of his height was dead on; he was much taller than my 5 feet 9 inches.

  I finally answered. “Yeah, I’m here until I start school in the fall.”

  “All right, so where are you going to school?”

  “Princeton.” I braced myself for his response.

  “Nice,” he said in a way that suggested he wasn’t impressed.

  “You in school?”

  “Yeah, I’m going to be a senior at Tulane.”

  “Oh, so you live here?”

  “Born and raised,” he said proudly.

  “I didn’t think locals hung out at places like this.”

  “We don’t usually, but they’re great spots to meet girls from out of town.”

  I shook my head. “Ah, so you’re one of them.”

  “One of who?”

  “The type to prey on innocent tourists.”

  “Innocent tourists? You make me sound like the big bad wolf.”

  “And you’re not?” I questioned.

  “Only if you’re Red Riding Hood,” he said flirtatiously.

  “Wow, that’s original.” I caught myself staring at his eyes again and decided it was time to end the conversation. “Well, nice talking to you.”

  “Hey, I didn’t even get your name yet.”

  “Allie.”

  “Is that short for Allison?”

  “Yes, but no one calls me Allison.” I cursed myself. Why couldn’t I just walk away from this guy? I briefly regretted my decision to swear off men because if I hadn’t this one would be exactly my type: tall, strong, and confident. He was exactly the kind to avoid.

  “I’m Levi,” he said, holding out his hand.

  “Is that short for something?�
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  I accepted his handshake and he held it a moment longer than necessary. “Leviathan. But you can call me whatever you like,” he said suggestively.

  “Well, nice to meet you.” I started to walk away and ran right into Jess.

  “Wow, it’s hotel bar guy,” she said way too loudly. She was evidently drunker than I realized.

  “So you did notice me,” Levi said almost in a whisper, so close to my ear that I could feel his breath on my neck. I said nothing, not willing to give his ego anymore ammo. I couldn’t help but notice how good he smelled, but not like cologne, it was probably his aftershave.

  “So, does that mean you changed your mind?” Jess leaned into me drunkenly.

  “Changed her mind? About what?” Levi asked looking at me questioningly. I silently prayed that for the first time ever Jess could keep her mouth shut.

  “Allie’s sworn off men, or so she claims,” Jess said, taking a long drink from a beer.

  “Is that so?” Levi asked with a glimmer of humor in his eyes.

  “Yes, not that it’s any of your business.”

  “Any particular reason why?”

  “None that I wish to explain.”

  “She thinks it’s because she has bad luck with relationships, but really it’s because no one is good enough for her,” Jess said all in one breath.

  Ouch. I knew Jess could be a mean drunk, but this was harsh even for her.

  I was angry and in no mood to continue hanging out with Levi, but Jess was way too out of it to leave her by herself. I took the next best option. “I think I need another drink.”

  “My pleasure,” Levi said quickly, “What can I get you?”

  “Surprise me.”

  “I will.” He winked. “I’m good at surprises.”

  Once Levi was fixated on getting the bartender’s attention, I grabbed Jess’s arm. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “What do you mean? I’m just being honest.”

  “No, you’re being obnoxious.”

  “You would only care if you liked him. Do you?” she pressed.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  Levi returned holding two drinks and gestured with his arm toward a table in the corner where two guys were seated. “A few of my friends are sitting over there, care to join us?”

  Jess shrugged. “Why not?”

  Levi looked at me and I nodded, too annoyed at the situation to care.

  The two guys stopped their conversation as we reached the table. Both were as broad as Levi, one had black hair and the other was blond.

  “Girls, this is Jared and Owen.” He gestured to the two. “And this is Allie and Jess.”

  “Well, hello there,” Jared said with a grin as he looked us over.

  The blond, Owen, nodded. “Hey.”

  Jess sat down next to Jared who lost no time turning to talk to her. Levi put our drinks down in front of two empty chairs, and he pulled out the one closest to the wall for me. I took the seat, grateful that it was far away from Jess. I was starting to second-guess my decision to invite her down.

  Levi took a swig from his drink. “You can’t really mean to punish the entire male gender for the errors of a few.” I picked up my own and sipped it slowly, completely unsure of what I was drinking, but enjoying the sweet distraction.

  “Because it would be really unfair to do that,” Levi said playfully.

  “Um, can we please talk about something else?” I turned away, but thanks to my seat next to the wall the only other place to look was straight ahead at Owen. He watched us with an amused expression.

  “Sure, for now. What made you decide to take the job at the hotel?” he asked, pulling my attention away from Owen.

  “Oh, I needed a job and my dad was able to get it for me.”

  “Because Allie’s dad is super rich and bought the place,” Jess butted in. I didn’t even realize she was listening to us. I shot her a dirty look. I may not have wanted to get involved with Levi, but I didn’t want him thinking I was a spoiled rich girl. I was tired of getting thrown in with the stereotype.

  “What? It’s true.”

  “Your dad bought the Crescent City Hotel?” Jared asked, really looking at me for the first time.

  “Yeah. The deal went through earlier this year.” I picked up my drink again and downed it.

  “I guess you liked it?” Levi asked as I replaced my empty cup.

  “Maybe a little. What was it?”

  “Want another?” Levi asked without answering the question.

  “No, don’t worry about it; I can get one for myself if you’ll tell me what it is.” I didn’t want Levi to think I was indebted to him for buying me drinks.

  “I’m getting up anyway,” he said as he stood. I grumbled. “Besides, if you don’t know what it is you will have to let me keep buying them for you.” He grinned before walking away.

  “You want anything?” Jared asked Jess.

  “Definitely, but I’ll come with you, I want some shots.” Jess and Jared walked off leaving me alone at the table with Owen.

  “Wow, there is a first time for everything,” Owen said, breaking the silence.

  “Hmm?”

  “Usually Levi has girls eating out of his hand by now but you keep trying to blow him off.”

  “Yeah, I’m not interested.”

  Owen laughed. “I don’t think that Levi understands uninterested.”

  “Well, then this can be a learning experience for him.”

  “Something tells me this is going to be fun to watch.” He grinned.

  We sat awkwardly for a moment before Levi returned with the drinks. I felt a tiny twinge of guilt accepting another drink from him when I wasn’t interested in getting involved with him, but he had already bought it so I decided to drink it anyway.

  “It looked like you two were having a good conversation, did I miss anything?” Levi asked.

  “Nothing worth repeating,” I said quickly.

  Owen smiled. “Well, Allie was telling me that she isn’t interested in you.”

  Damn, could no one keep their mouth shut? I figured the fact that I didn’t give him my number at the end of the night would have been straightforward enough.

  Levi leaned in closer to me but spoke to Owen. “It’s because she’s sworn off men. But I think I’ll just have to be the exception.”

  By this point, I had already had quite a few sips of my new drink. The combination of the late night and alcohol made me a little tipsy. “What in the world would make you think that you would be an exception?”

  “One, you’re attracted to me and two, I can be very persistent.”

  “I am not attracted to you!” I said rather loudly right as Jess and Jared arrived back at the table.

  “Like hell you’re not,” Jess said before bursting into laughter. Jared looked from Jess, to me, to Levi.

  “You know there could be a few females alive that are not into you Levi,” Jared mocked.

  “It’s always a possibility, but that’s not the case this time. She likes me, she just won’t admit it.” Levi scooted his seat closer to me, effectively pinning me against the wall. Between my buzz and the heat of his body, I was starting to get a little dizzy.

  I sighed and closed my eyes. As angry as I was at Jess, I couldn’t leave her alone with these guys. I had to wait her out. My eyes were still closed when I felt Levi’s arm move around my shoulder. “Relax.”

  I opened my eyes and his face was right next to mine. I tried to look away but he wouldn’t let me break the gaze. With a hand under my chin, he forced me to look up at him.

  “Stop looking away. I love green eyes.”

  “Does that line usually work for you?” I ribbed.

  “Usually. I’m guessing it’s not going to work tonight.”

  “Not a chance.”

  “I’ll just have to get more creative.”

  “You do that.”

  “So, what do you think of New Orleans so far?” Owen asked.
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br />   Jess answered. “It’s been fantastic. It’s so awesome to get away and meet new people.” She ran a hand down Jared’s arm, letting him know who she was excited to have met.

  “And what about you, Allie?” Levi’s lips curled up into a small smile.

  “Well, considering we’ve been here less than twenty-four hours, it’s hard to have much of an impression, but I like it so far.”

  “You’ll have to keep me posted as you have more time to form an opinion.”

  “I’ll be sure to keep you updated.” I rolled my eyes.

  “You girls want to see the rest of the Quarter?” Jared asked.

  “Yes!” Jess answered immediately. “We haven’t seen anything but here and the hotel.”

  “You interested?” Levi whispered into my ear again. The tone of his voice and the proximity of his lips to my ear made me wonder what he was really asking.

  “Sure. Why not?” I took one last drink, straightened my skirt and stood up.

  Levi put his arm around me as we headed toward the door. “I guarantee you’re going to love New Orleans.”

  Maneuvering away from him, I answered absently. “Is that right?” My attention was diverted to watching Jess and Jared grope each other. I stifled a groan.

  If the sight of people drinking out in the open wasn’t enough of a hint that I was far from home, the fact that it was still hot at 11:00 p.m. made it impossible to deny. Walking through the crowded streets, feeling the sticky heat on my neck, I was happy to be in a skirt.

  After walking down St. Peter’s Street, we ended up in Jackson Square. Surrounded by wrought iron railings, the square was full of activity. Everywhere I looked musicians performed and artists had their work displayed.

  “Care to have your fortune read?” a palm reader called out as we passed.

  “No thanks.” I waved her off.

  “Are you sure you don’t want a glimpse into your future?”

  “I prefer surprises.”