I'm a Flirt
After she finished using the restroom, she saw her sisters sitting on a long sofa and made her way over to them. "Danielle!" Someone called out. Miranda kept going. "Hey, Danielle," they said touching her arm.
"Huh?"
"You're here with your sisters, right?" She looked up at the man they'd talked to earlier. Ben. His brown eyes waited for an answer.
"Uh, yeah, but I'm not… I'm not Danielle."
He hit his forehead. "Wow, this is a great second impression."
"At least you didn't bump into me," she laughed. "Sorry about earlier."
His raised an eyebrow. "It's perfectly fine. You can do it anytime." He put his glass to his lips. And Miranda had never wanted to be an inanimate object so badly. "Just promise me when our grandchildren ask, we'll have come up with a better story of how we met than you knocking me over and me calling you by your sister's name." They both turned up their noses causing a harmonious chuckle.
"Wait, grandchildren?" She tilted a brow.
"Oh, yeah. Three to four kids, six to eight grands."
Her heart sputtered when she asked: "Pets?"
He shook his head. "Personally," he said glancing around, "I think they stink."
"Smell just like feet," Miranda replied leaning in. "House?"
"Three to four bedrooms, four baths including the whole 'his and hers' thing."
She bit her bottom lip. Who was this guy? And why was she going along with his fantasy? "An office?"
"And a big backyard."
They were quiet for a few seconds. "So, um, what do I call my future husband again?" Miranda asked pushing the lump from her throat. She remembered his name, but she wanted a personal invitation to use it.
"Well, you'd probably call me 'honey," he smiled making her face get hot. Was he flirting with her? "That was cheesy, but I'm Ben," he smiled. "Ben Warren." He held out his hand. She stared at it. "Is my future wife going to give me her name?"
She grabbed his hand. "Miranda Bailey, but you'd probably call me 'sweetheart'," she said in a flirtatious voice. Where it had come from, she didn't know. It had been so long since she'd even felt like flirting. The two of them shook hands far longer than was expected or necessary; neither wanted to be the first to let go. "Are you here with anyone?" She asked removing her hand from his.
Ben nodded. "My best friend, Marcel." He pointed to a man standing by the bar doing his best to look cool and doing a damn fine job. "He's never been speed dating."
"And you have?"
"Yeah. I was here last week."
She cocked her head to the side. "Oh okay, that's probably why you look familiar."
"I do?" She nodded. "Yeah, you do, too. One of your guys was on his phone the entire time, right?"
Nodding, she laughed and tucked some hair behind her ear. "And your date was taking selfies. You look exhausted."
"Me? I thought you were going to rip his phone from his hand."
Miranda put a hand to her face, hiding her smile. "You don't know the half."
Someone walked behind Ben and he moved closer to her. And she hated that her heartbeat quickened when she smelled his cologne. It just wafted right into her nose and she took a breath just to get more. "What about you?" He asked.
"Um, well, my sisters forced me to come."
He grinned. "I'm glad they did. You are stunning."
She blushed when she saw his eyes travel to her shirt and right back up to her eyes. "And, uh, how many women are you going to tell that to tonight?"
Ben held up his left hand and tapped his ring finger which was empty. "If you recall, I'm a married man."
A hearty laugh escaped from her mouth. "Cute. That was cute." Miranda took a second to scan his outfit. Very casual, black jeans and a grey sweatshirt that was slightly baggy with a pair of black boots. "Um, I should head back to my sisters," she said turning with a wave hoping that he was watching her go. Because if he was, she was going to give him a show. A hand landed on her elbow and she looked up into the eyes of Ben Warren. "Miranda?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we exchange numbers?"
"The event hasn't begun," she countered.
He reached for her hand. "So?" She put her hands on her hips, making him blush. "If I leave here with only your number, I'll be blessed."
"And highly favored," Miranda smiled.
"Exactly."
"I'll be honest with you, Ben, my sister, Danielle, the one in the sequined top, she likes you."
"Well, wow… she is quite beautiful." She nodded. "And I'm flattered." No one could resist Danielle Bailey. She was gorgeous and fun and sexy and Miranda was not those things. "But my eyes are elsewhere," he told her.
Goosebumps filled her arms and Miranda gave him a tight smile. "I live with her. That could potentially be awkward. And I don't like awkward." Ben was patient while she spoke. "Besides, I'm not really looking for a random hookup or anything like that, you know?"
He grinned. "Well, of course you aren't."
Miranda gave him an odd look. "What is that supposed to mean?" She could do a hookup just as well as the next person.
"Oh, I just meant because you're married a woman," he said winking at her.
They cracked up. "You are a fool. Handsome, but a plum fool." People moved around making their way to the MC for instructions.
"So, your number?" She paused. "What if we don't get to date later? Or if you find someone else? I want to put my bid in now." He sighed a smile. "Don't make me beg."
Miranda smirked. She might like that. "Fine." They exchanged numbers and she hurried off, on a high. "Hey, sorry that took so long."
"Where in the devil were you? Thing's about to start," Dani whispered handing Miranda her nearly empty drink.
"I, uh, I… saw an old friend." She wanted to spill the tea about Ben, but her sister was glaring at her. "If that's okay with you," Miranda said in firm voice.
Dani flipped her hair. "It would be fine with me," she started, "if you were actually talking to an old friend."
Miranda's cheeks flushed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You were flirting with Ben."
"I was not flirting!"
"Right. We saw you." Miranda rolled her eyes. "I called dibs on him," Dani said facing her. "And you know what that means."
"You can't call dibs on him, Danielle. Or on anyone else. He's not a front seat or the last slice of pizza," she said putting the straw to her lips, biting it nervously. Sometimes her older sister really drove her crazy.
"I was interested in him first." Dani said.
"And what the hell makes you think he's interested in you?" Miranda asked raising a brow.
Val jerked her head back. Ding! "Ladies," she cautioned. "To your corners." How the youngest one became the voice of reason was beyond her, but Miranda was glad that she and Dani had a buffer.