“Do you want to come over and wait for them with us?” I asked, raising my eyebrows innocently. “I’m with my boyfriend and his friends.” I nodded over to where they were. They’d snagged a table, so were now sat around it, laughing and chatting.

Her gaze flicked in that direction and her eyes widened. “Wow, they’re freaking hot!” she gasped. I chuckled and nodded in agreement. “Which one is your boyfriend? Ah, I bet it’s the one with black hair, he hasn’t taken his eyes off you yet.” She nudged me in the side, smiling.

I grinned, looking over to see that Ashton was indeed watching me like a hawk to make sure I was alright. “Yep, that’s him,” I confirmed. “You can wait with us if you want, it’s no problem. It’s better than standing here on your own.”

She nodded in agreement, smiling gratefully as she picked up her drink. “I’m Michelle, by the way.”

“Anna.” When the barman set a tray down on the bar, I slid my money across the wood and then we made our way across to the boys’ table. “Guys, this is Michelle, she’s going to wait with us for a bit for her friends,” I introduced, nodding at her.

Nate’s face lit up as he stood. “Hi, Michelle. I’m Nate.” He took her hand and looked straight into her eyes, leaning in a little too close for an informal greeting. A blush spread across her cheeks.

I laughed and turned my attention to Ashton, who looked like he was finally relaxing now that I was back at his side. On quick inspection, I noticed that there weren’t enough chairs with Michelle here too, so I smiled and sat myself on Ashton’s lap, placing his orange juice down in front of him.

“So, what will it take for me to get you to drink and enjoy your birthday?” I inquired.

He grinned, shrugging. “I don’t need to drink to enjoy my birthday. I’ve had the best day of my life with you today.”

My insides melted as I pressed myself closer to him. I still wanted to see him loosen up though. “Please? Just a drink or two, I’ll do anything you want,” I offered, raising one eyebrow suggestively.

He gulped, and I could almost see the dirty thoughts running through his mind. “I don’t want anything,” he protested, but at the same time he licked his lips. I was no body language expert, but that subconscious move told me that he wanted something.

Raising my hand, I ran one finger around the collar of his shirt, tracing his skin with my fingertip. “There must be something that you want, or that I can do for you,” I whispered in his ear. My skin prickled as I thought about all the things that I could do as a bribe for getting him to have a drink with me. There wasn’t that much that I wasn’t up for tonight. Tonight I would make sure he had a spectacular birthday. I smiled and pulled away teasingly, making him groan. “One drink and you can name your price,” I offered, smirking at him.

“Baby Girl, come on, I can’t. It’s not that I don’t want what you’re offering because damn, that sounds like the best offer I’m ever going to get in my life, but I can’t do that, I won’t,” he answered sternly.

I sighed and shook my head. I’d keep working on him; he’d cave eventually even if I had to insist that he suck a shot from my belly button. “You will by the end of the night,” I disagreed knowingly. He shook his head sternly and smiled confidently, both of us sure of the outcomes. He’d give in though, I was sure of it, he wasn’t that strong.

Giving up for now, I turned my attention back to Nate. He and Michelle were locked in the middle of a full scale makeout session. I smiled and shook my head incredulously. The stories that Ashton had told me about his best friend being the master of seduction were clearly not exaggerated.

Two hours later and I was having a fantastic night. Michelle’s friends had turned up a little while later, so she’d made her exit – not before keying her number into Nate’s cell phone and telling him to call her later. I’d made sure not to drink too much; I’d only had three drinks before moving onto orange juice too. Nate and Ashton’s other friends were growing on me more and more by the second. Los Angeles was turning out to be everything I thought it would be, and more.

“Ashton, your turn for drinks, bud,” Nate announced, knocking on the table to get his attention. Ashton groaned and stood, sending me a meaningful look that told me to stay put and not move. I watched as he deliberately walked to the corner of the bar so that he could still see me easily. I grinned and shook my head at how overprotective he was. Nate turned to me and smiled. “So, where did you two meet anyway? Ashton never said.”

Okay, time for some fun; let’s see how gullible Nate is! “We met in a strip club, I gave him a dance,” I lied, shrugging casually.

“Shut up! You’re a stripper?” Nate cried with wide eyes.

“No!” I snapped, faking horror.

“Oh, sorry, I just thought when you said… oh, never mind,” Nate stuttered, smiling apologetically.

“I’m most certainly not a stripper. I’m a lap dancer,” I replied, trying not to laugh as he choked on his beer.

“A lap dancer?” he asked, shocked.

“Yep, there’s a big difference.”

Ashton came back then, setting the drinks down on the table. He smiled but didn’t ruin my game as he slid into the seat next to mine.

“Really? You’re serious?” Nate inquired.

I grinned. It looked like Nate was extremely gullible after all! “Yep,” I nodded, trying to keep a straight face.