You Don't Know Me: A Stand-Alone New Adult Romance by Faleena Hopkins

“You’re just now figuring that out?”
    Interrupting us is the deepest, most recognizable voice I’ve ever heard. “Well, well, well. Is this the baby sister?” I look to the right and my heart smashes into a brick wall as I lock eyes with Alec Gabriel, Jack and Sean’s rockstar best friend. Everyone knows who he is, the front man for the band Locked Tight, but in person he’s so much taller than he appears in pictures. Like so many musicians, he’s lanky, with sexy hair, and great style. My breath catches as his glittering hazel eyes unapologetically tear my dress off. I respond by running my own gaze up his tall body, and I can feel myself getting wet immediately, a reaction I’ve never had so quickly with a guy. Like he knows , he looks down to my lap and flashes that famous twisted smile, one corner tugged up. The left corner. Always the left. Like he’s got a secret only he knows and he’ll never, ever tell. “Hey.”
    My mouth goes dry and I can’t speak. I’m pulsating in places I’d expect, and some I don’t, like the back of my knees and the palms of my hands! Staring at him like a mute, I just blink.
    Jack slides in next to me and puts his arm over the back of the booth around me. Possessively? Protectively? I steal a look at him, but I can’t tell which. He doesn’t introduce Alec. I will come to find that they never introduce the famous people. They just assume the world knows who they are. “The very one. What do you think?”
    Alec looks away to the dance floor, saying nonchalantly, “Very nice. Can I borrow her?”
    Jack doesn’t miss a beat. “No.”
    Alec laughs and picks up a bottle as I stare at his smile, transfixed. I’ve heard of bottle-service where you get a reserved table of your own with bottles you’re free to pour from until they’re empty… and then you can order more if you want. I’ve never been able to afford the five hundred to several thousand-dollar price tag, depending on the venue. I used to think it was obscene to spend thousands so you have a place to sit, and your own alcohol, but now that I’m here? It’s pretty awesome.
    I can’t take my eyes off Alec as he pours himself a Bombay Sapphire Tonic and gives me a wink before he rises up to survey the gyrating crowd. His eyes land on a group of mini-dressed girls dancing like they want to be noticed. Instantly, jealousy punches me in the gut. With the glass rising slowly to his perfect lips, he gives them the audience they want, and I stare at his profile, wishing he’d turn around and look at me .
    Jack gets up to shake hands with a couple of guys I don’t recognize. With the freedom to stare at Alec all I want to now, I sip from my whiskey glass and can’t even taste the burn of it as I take in his body, the slope of his back, those broad shoulders pulling at his well-tailored gray blazer. His ass is perfect; slim hips, a little meat to the high rise of it. But then I get a look at his fingers. They’re so thick, I can feel myself gushing. I wish I were that glass he’s drinking from.
    “How do you like it?” Jack asks me.
    “I like it a lot,” I murmur, still staring at Alec.
    “I can see that.”
    I look at him with a start, sheepishly lower my eyes to the glass, and find it almost empty. “I was proving a point that I can handle this.” Wait, am I talking about the whiskey or my new life?
    He raises an eyebrow. “No, I meant, I can see that you like my best friend. AND the drink. Catch up slowpoke.”
    “I wasn’t looking at your best friend,” I lie, and drink the rest the glass way too quickly. A coughing fit overtakes me and I can’t stop. I almost die coughing. Alec glances to me and I want to vanish into the wall and come out three minutes earlier to redo this moment.
    Jack chuckles over a sneer and shakes his head. “Instant karma for your lie.” He grabs a napkin and tosses it to me. “You’re a mess. Go fix your face.”
    My eyes narrow as I cover my mouth with one last