Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

When I first encounter Lance Matthews, I can see immediately why Charity set me up with him.
He smells like trust fund and smiles as he gives me the same generic onceover he’s undoubtedly given
hundreds of women before me.
“Charity didn’t tell me you were such a knockout,” he jokes with a smile I can’t help but find a
little smarmy.
We both know that’s not true. Charity undoubtedly talked me up and made me sound better than I
am to sell him on the idea of spending his Friday night with me when he almost certainly would have
been spending it picking up girls at a club instead.
It’s just a sense, but I have a strong feeling if this date doesn’t go a certain way, he’ll still end up
there.
His hand moves toward me and I want to move away, but he touches my waist before I can think
of a polite way to dodge him and pulls me in for an immediate hug.
He smells like too much cologne. Probably not cheap cologne, but too much all the same.
I tell myself to relax, that I’m being too critical, but I knew I would be. This is why I didn’t want
to come out in the first place. I’m not ready, but Charity doesn’t have the patience to wait for me to
be.
Smiling a bit sheepishly, I tell him, “I apologize in advance if it turns out Charity wasted both
our time.”
“Nah, are you kidding me?” he says as he drops my hand and walks next to me without touching
me. “We’ll have a great time tonight.”
Although his hands don’t touch me, his eyes do. I feel uncomfortable as his gaze rakes over me
again, and not uncomfortable in the way Calvin made me feel sometimes. Somehow worse than that.
Stop.
I shake my head to clear Calvin out of it and follow Lance inside the restaurant.
He has a reservation, so we don’t have to wait too long for a table. He still insists we have a
drink at the bar while we wait to loosen up. I sip my cocktail and try to remember how a first date is
supposed to work. It has been a while since I’ve been on one, and apparently it is not like riding a
bike.
He asks me what I do for fun before he asks what I do for work, but maybe Charity has already
told him. He tells me he’s a finance guy and I nod because I already knew that. Then he starts telling
me about this trip to Thailand he took with his college buddies earlier this summer and what an
incredible experience it was. That does sound cool, I’ve always wanted to travel, but he doesn’t
really give me a chance to say that. He drones on and on about himself and his friends that I don’t
know. It seems like he thinks he’s impressing me as he goes on to tell me about this girlfriend he had