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The words rang through my head.
    " Hey, Olivia," he said, greeting her with enthusiasm. "Taylor, my friend, how's it hanging?" They fist-bumped before Alec turned his attention to me. "And the lovely Nicole," he said, winking again. Holy hell, there went my hormones again. Was it possible to fall into insta-lust with someone? I'd never believed in love at first sight, even though my current thoughts had nothing to do with anything lovey dovey and everything to do with the persistent throbbing between my thighs.
    I had every intention of returning his greeting. I even opened my mouth with the expectation of saying something, but my tongue stuck stubbornly to the roof of my mouth like I had just eaten peanut butter. He may have just seen my impression of a guppy, but I at least nodded my head for good measure.
    Olivia coughed slightly, trying her best to hide her laughter. Taylor unwittingly saved me by engaging Alec in a play-by-play account of the last Tampa Bay Rays game. Ironically, I had also watched the game while eating dinner at my family's house Sunday night. Even after getting my own place, Mom insisted I still come over every Sunday for dinner. She said it was the only way she could be certain I ate at least one good meal a week. Not that we ever ate a traditional family dinner at the dining room table. In our house we ate while watching TV, usually sports of some kind. It may have been unconventional, but we never claimed to be normal.
    Listening to Taylor and Alec trade stats about the game was like listening to my brothers, Tony, Zachary and Riley. I could have easily joined their conversation and held my own. Like how Davis should have been pulled in the sixth before giving up a two-run homer to tie the game. His arm was obviously shot at that point. I was hesitant to give my two cents, fearing Alec would see me the same way my brothers' friends had back in high school. A cool chick to talk sports with, but not worth dating.
    Olivia knocked on the counter to get their attention. "Boys, if you're going to talk about boring sports all night, Nicole and I will have to find other ways to occupy our time."
    Taylor stopped mid -sentence with his eyebrows raised. "Oh yeah? I'd be up for watching that."
    " Get your mind out of the gutter, perv. How about you get me a drink instead?"
    " Sorry, babe. My manners are horrible," Taylor said, planting a kiss on the back of Olivia's hand. She practically melted against him before straightening up. I knew from our conversations she was trying to maintain boundaries with Taylor, but clearly he was slowly finding a way beneath the cracks. I silently cheered for him.
    " So, what's your poison?" Alec asked, turning his attention to me.
    I took a deep breath before answering. "Uh, I'll take a Coke." It wasn't the most cosmopolitan choice, but at least I didn't choke on the words.
    " Hell no. We're doing shots tonight," Olivia crowed, tearing her eyes from Taylor. "We're here to loosen you up tonight."
    Alec chuckled lightly at her words.
    " Liv," I warned, glaring at my friend.
    " Come on, Nicole. It's been ages since you threw caution to the wind. You need to relax and let loose a little. If you're not careful, you'll develop a reputation as some crazy cat lady."
    I would never admit it to Olivia, but my worst fear was that she would turn out to be right. I had a recurring nightmare that ten years from now I'd still be a virgin holed up in my apartment writing stories about other couples' love lives. I wished I could change my personality. I wanted to badly. Remaining a virgin at twenty-two was not a status I set out to achieve. Hell, in high school sometimes it was all I thought about. When you're an underclassman you don't want the reputation as a slut, so you kept your knees together, but somewhere between junior year and graduation that stigma began to change. It started with one of my friends losing her V-card, and then another friend after that. Before I knew it, I was the only