Winning Appeal Read Online Free Page A

Braden let you sleep with them?” I asked. Great, now I was not only talking to a dog, I was asking him questions. He just whined and gave me a sad little stare.
    Oh well, I wasn’t sleeping with anyone else. I scooped him up and put him down next to me. And so I lay there, at midnight on a Friday night, trying to fall asleep with a tiny Chihuahua poking me in the ribs. Something had to change. Before I dozed off I wondered again where Mark would be sleeping that night.

Chapter Four
    Mark
     
    11:00 PM
     
    I had never had a problem finding female companionship. Usually, I only had to be at a club or a bar for fifteen minutes or so before I was heading off to a hotel or some chick’s apartment. Occasionally I brought one back to my place, but I usually liked to keep my private space private. Of course, I wouldn’t mind if Beth… Okay, don’t think about Beth, Mark.
    I hit a local bar that was trendy at the moment, and when I arrived, I was determined that I was going to find a companion who would keep me busy all night. As I sat there, nursing a beer, I told myself that I needed to get it out of my system, so that I could behave at the fundraiser the following evening with a minimum of discomfort. Until I was ready to make some kind of serious move, I had to be on my best behavior with Beth. Okay, thinking about Beth again, dude. I looked at my watch. I had already been there an hour. It was time to get off the fence and into bed.
    I smiled at the blonde across the bar that had been eyeing me up like a hungry dog eyeing up a steak dinner. Not that I was calling myself a hunk of meat. My brain worked just fine when all the blood hadn’t rushed to parts further down. And I wasn’t calling her a dog either. First of all, I wouldn’t do that, because I’m not twelve, or an asshole, and secondly, she was pretty hot. Forget the whole dog and steak analogy. She was eyeing me up like a chick in a bar who was Jack and Coke horny and had spotted a hot prospect.
    I’m no expert, but I could tell she probably hadn’t entered the world with that hair color, and her tits were a little too Goodyear-like to be gifts from God, but who was I to judge? I was considering having a relationship of an extremely short duration with her. Well, not extremely short. I would give her a good workout first. Like I said, I wanted to get it out of my system, and I’m also a gentleman after all.
    A gentleman… “ For Christ’s sake be a gentleman, Mark … ” I sighed. And of course, now, I was thinking about Beth again. Why was I thinking at all? I wasn’t here to think. The blood could rush out of my brain at will in this place. In fact, I had probably lost a few IQ points the minute I walked through the door. I knew that I might as well just pack it in. Sorry, Miss Potential Hook-Up, this wasn’t your lucky night. Even in a totally dark room, I would know you weren’t her and she’s the one I want.
    I tossed some cash down on the bar, and got up to go. The blonde got a confused look on her face, but then, that might have been her natural expression. I had first noticed her pushing like hell at the ladies room door. It had a sign on it that said, “Pull.”
    Looked like it would be another Friday night of video games and self-love. Those two things formed the basis of my social life these days. It wasn’t always like that, though…
    This time last year all three of us were still out playing every weekend, even Braden; although both Adam and I sensed he was going down at any moment. He was more than just a little interested in having Gabrielle examine his briefs, even though he knew it would mean more than a one-night investment. He was always talking about her, and staring off into space. He might as well have had those little hearts in his eyes like Pepe Le Pew. Still, it did take him a while.
    But then, one night, it happened; he decided he was just “going home” from a club… alone. He hadn’t even gotten any on-location