Social Neighbor (The Social Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

overlooked the first level.
    Our escort came to a halt at a booth at the far side of the loft slash balcony level and waved his arm outward, motioning for us to sit.
    “Thanks,” Matt nodded at our escort as he took his leave.
    “Who are you hooking up with these days?” I demanded incredulously.
    “This isn’t me!” Matt put his hands up in surrender and shrugged.
    “Does Cal know the manager or something?”
    “No. I mean, he didn’t say anything like that.”
    “Hmm,” I hummed, trying to figure out who we had to thank for our good fortune.
    “Maybe we have been confused with someone else. Let’s just roll with it!” Matt laughed boisterously.
    “Compliments of the house,” a scantily clad but beautiful Asian waitress said as she deposited two shots with limes on the small cocktail table in front of us.
    “Excuse me!” I called after her as she began to leave. “Who sent these?”
    “The owner, of course.”
    “Of course,” I said, nodding and smiling. The moment she turned to walk away my eyes bugged out of my head at Matt. He brought one of the shot glasses to his nose and sniffed, looking amazed.
    “Patrón!” he exclaimed happily. He was happy and I was most definitely getting a little freaked out. A montage of things that my mother would say about this situation swirled through my mind and, with some effort, I shoved them away.
    “Cheers,” Matt sing-songed, holding his free shot of Patrón up to me. I shook my head and lifted mine for our ceremonial toast.
    Clink! Clink!
    Like usual, I held my breath as the tequila scorched its way to the pit of my belly. My stomach protested the alcohol for a moment, churning queasily then settled. I bit into the flesh of the lime; bitter juice flooded my mouth, replacing the taste of the tequila with citrus. I smiled broadly at Matt with the lime still held between my teeth and nearly choked when my eyes landed on the Goliath approaching our booth.
    “Oh god,” I mumbled, glancing down at the table, looking desperately for a napkin to deposit my spent lime on.
    He didn’t say anything, just looked down at me from his impossibly high point of view.
    “Hi.” It was weak and feeble and insulting considering what was clearly generosity provided by him, but it was all I could force out.
    “Hi,” he said in a low voice, a smile spreading across his mouth, displaying a gorgeous mouthful of teeth.
    Of course he has a beautiful smile.
    “I trust you’re enjoying yourself so far?”
    “I—we are. Yes, we are—having a good time, that is. Thank you.”
    “Hi. I’m Mathew Fisher,” Matt announced, thrusting his hand out to Goliath. “Flor said you were a goliath and she was right!”
    “Goliath?” he asked, looking from Matt to me with one smooth, arched brow.
    “Ah, well, yes.” Heat rose to my cheeks adding to the already rosy tinge the Patrón put there.
    “And you are?”
    “You can call me Goliath, I guess.”
    An awkward silence ensued and Matt didn’t miss a beat when he slid out of his seat saying that he needed to use the bathroom.
    Oh god.
    I was unsure if I would thank Matt later or strangle him for his disappearing act.
    “May I?”
    “Yes, of course. It’s your club.”
    “Yes, it is. Like it?” he asked, looking out over the space below us with a hint of pride in his dark eyes.
    “It’s beautiful,” I admitted, looking at him closely despite suddenly feeling very shy.
    Goliath’s jaw clenched and his eyes squinted a bit, making me feel as though he could see right through me. The air in the club no longer felt light and airy. It felt heavy and warm, suffocating, all-consuming—all in the best way possible.
    “Want to get some air?” he asked finally, breaking the silence. I gave him a guarded look, communicating that walking out of the building with a stranger was breaking all the rules. “Don’t worry. We can wait for your friend. We will only be going upstairs.”
    “Oh. Um. Okay.” The waitress reappeared and