Men. By no means, these three letters are enough to sum up the entire weight of representing a whole bunch of human beings.

We all are humans, but that does not mean I, a penisless human being, am capable of understanding them.

Nope.

Not one bit.

We both have functioning brains, but I highly doubt theirs possesses any sort of efficiency unless it's in order to serve the ever-infamous penis.

No. I'm not sexist. I just cannot comprehend them.

Deciphering them, and their thought process is even harder than trying to find an error in 500 lines of code. One that screws up the code while running it, but the program doesn't show you which line or what part is causing the damn problem.

Precisely that.

Some might say, I have daddy issues.

But no.

I have men issues.

Bloody bastards.

I grumble and curse Luke in my head, tucking a loose curl from unruly hair behind my ear before pulling my jacket tighter around my frame. An early autumn breeze caresses my face and sends a pleasant chill down my spine. A nice change from the scalding hot temperature of LA's evenings during this time of the year.

This wasn't how I was planning on spending the last Saturday night of my summer break.

Alone, walking down a packed sidewalk, heading towards a bar.

Sometimes, I wonder if it's my fault the men in my life leave me. Perhaps I have a magnet pulling all the wrong males to myself.

Tonight is not going to be one of those nights I throw a pity party for myself though.

I'm a grown-up, freshly twenty-two, and ready to conquer the world.

I sigh and shake my head, stuffing my hands into my jacket's pockets. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration.

I zigzag my way towards the local bar my friends and I have been visiting in these past six semesters of studying at UCLA whenever we want to have fun or celebrate.

A small part of me, still wishes Luke would realize breaking up with me is a big loss for him and he'd come running back. Although, I know better than to remain hopeful.

The thing I don't understand about men is, if you don't give enough attention to them while in a relationship, they'll cheat on you claiming they didn't feel loved.

However, if you do give your hundred percent, heart and soul, their ego and self-confidence will be elevated so damn high, they'll think they deserve better than you and dump you for chasing better girls.

This is the conclusion of my two failed relationships ever since I got into dating. However, the reason on the guy's side—on both of these relationships— remains a mystery.

I enter the bar, the upbeat electro-music instantly lifts my mood as I sense its vibrations on my skin, pumping me up. Heading straight to the counter, I order a Cosmo, and plant myself on the stool, overlooking the people dancing and having fun. I bet over half of them are college students, those who don't like the atmosphere of frat houses—like me.

The bartender places my drink on the counter and I thank him before sipping from it, welcome the cool and the burning sensation. If I stay careful enough, I can avoid getting drunk too.

As a freshly turned single, or what my friends would call back in the game, I survey the place, sizing up the guys. Because why not?

Luke can dump me and date a variety of girls in the span of these three months and I can't?

I don't have anything less than him.

Defiantly, I nod to myself.

However, I, Elodie Miller, have sworn off men for the following year—my two remaining semesters until I graduate. It's not like I have time for guys and the headache they cause anyway.

A heavy sigh slips from me, and I shift on my spot, anxiety scrapping my nerves.

I shake my head. No. Tonight, I won't be thinking about the future either. I have the entire year ahead of me to do that, stress over my grades, find a job, and finally become an adult. An involuntary shiver crawls down my spine.

Why did I grow up so fast? I'm not ready to start adulting!

I sip my drink but sense someone staring at me. My brows furrow and I twist in the direction to confirm whether someone is actually staring at me or am I simply losing my mind.

My gaze sweeps across the other side of the bar and my eyes lock with a pair of piercing green eyes.

Holy smoke.

A mop of dark messy curls atop his head, with a few locks falling on his forehead, deep almond-shaped eyes, straight nose, and lips so damn full they look tantalizingly succulent.

I lick my bottom lip before biting it down.

Did I say I swore off men?

Well, it starts tomorrow.

A corner of his mouth lifts up in a devious smirk as though he can read my thoughts. Suddenly the bar is too hot as his smoldering gaze bores into me, making me giddy.

He raises to his feet, and I can't help as my mouth hangs open.

Damn, is he a Greek God or something? He's tall, with wide shoulders and a muscular body, his biceps bulge, and strain against his beautiful tan skin, covered in swirls of black tattoos. He's wearing black from head to toe, and the way he's arrogantly crossing the bar, coming directly towards me, confidence oozing from his every step, the bad boy air he carries so well swirls around me.

He stops a foot away in front of me, plants his hand on the counter while he slips his other hand into his black jeans' pocket. "Waiting for your boyfriend?" he asks. His voice is startlingly deep and smoky, causing goosebumps all over my arms.

Ignoring how dry my mouth suddenly is, I raise my eyebrows feigning surprise. "You're upfront."

He shrugs, a smug smile curling his full lips. I quickly blink and look away, hoping I didn't appear like a creep.

"You don't look turned off," he says, dropping his voice an octave.

My heart skips a beat and I dare to look up and meet his sharp green eyes. In an uncharacteristically pitched voice, I counter, "I didn't say anything's wrong with it, just it isn't every day I see guys being this bold."

His eyes twinkle, either with satisfaction or amusement, it's hard to tell. "Good." He leans to me and my breath hitches, though he doesn't notice and brings his lips right next to my ear.

His hot breath fans my ear and butterflies flutter in my stomach as heat pool in my core. "Dance with me," he murmurs.

Breathlessly, I answer, "I don't dance with strangers."

A chuckle rolls off him and he locks his eyes with mine. "Carter." He holds out his palm for me.

I bite my bottom lip to stop myself from smiling. "Elodie," I coyly reply and accept his hand. His long fingers wrap around my hand and the warmth of his skin tingles me.

He leads me to the dance floor. Past a few dancing couples, he halts and spins, facing me. His large hands latch on to my waist and soon, the upbeat tune of the music and the alcohol take control and I let loose, bouncing and dancing to the beat, alongside him.

It doesn't take a second of effort to sync our moves. The music gets louder, each beat thrums in my veins, my heart pumps along with the steady rhythm, the crowd grows wilder, and Carter and I are pushed closer. My body temperature rises, his every touch sends pleasurable sparks up and down my spine.

He spins me around, pressing my back to his chest as we keep on dancing, though it doesn't take long for our innocent dancing to transform into anything but innocent.

As I sway my hips in time with the downbeat, I grind him. His fingers tighten on my waist and I take it as an approval to let it occur more frequently.

Carter flushes my back against his chest, his head comes next to mine, his hot breath tickles my neck, and jolts my senses to life. His breathing becomes ragged, I sense his bulge growing in size rubbing against my ass with each move. The throbbing between my thighs increases, as desire burns stronger and stronger in me.

I reach my hand to him and rest my palm on his shoulder, keeping us close together. I move my hips in a quick small circular motion as I thread my fingers in his hair and enjoy the sense of his soft curls between my fingers.

A deep groan escapes from him and his hips buckle. The sound itself is so fucking sexy it almost tempts me to overlook my rule of no one-night stands and no sleeping with strangers.

My core clenches with desire as every cell in my body hum along with the music and the feeling of being against him.

He spins me around to face him and I hold on to his shoulders with both hands. Carter's face is less than an inch away from mine. Our breaths mingle, his hardened shaft pokes my front. And I'm panties and two jeans—maybe boxers too— away from getting him in me and ridding me of this almost unbearable need.

I grab his wrist and turn around, marching past the sweaty dancers, getting to the secluded area a few feet away from the dance floor, and lean to the wall.

"What's wrong?" he asks over the music leaning down to me, his brows squishing together.

"Do you find me attractive?" I ask as I push away a strand of my hair sticking to my forehead. Perhaps it's a stupid question, especially now. I bet I look like a tomato with my cheeks flushed and sweaty.

He lands his palm on the wall right next to my head, caging me in. "Isn't the answer obvious?"

"I want you to say it."

A single eyebrow quirks up before a smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. "I find you attractive."

"Good." Well, if someone as hot as him finds me attractive, it means physically I look good. Luke's loss. "Would you sleep with me, if I let you?"

Carter's eyes widen with surprise before a grin spreads across his face. "You're remarkably upfront too."

"Thanks, your answer?"

He opens his mouth to reply, but pauses. His tongue darts out and sweeps over his plump bottom lip. Squinting at me, he hesitantly says, "If I could, I would."

I beam. That's good enough.

In one swift motion, I push him towards the wall, until his back is against it and I plant myself in front of him.

Our gaze locks. He curiously watches me, intrigue glimmering in his dark green eyes.

I inhale sharply as my heart pounds harder and harder.

Not letting myself have the chance for second thoughts, I crash my lips on his.

He's quick to react, his lips molding mine and moving hungrily. Butterflies go crazy in my stomach. His hand finds its way to my open messy hair while his arm wraps around my waist pulling me to him.

Every inch of my body comes to life as he devours my lips. His every touch electrifies me. Our tongues glide and battle for dominance. I let my hands feel every inch of his hard, well-built body.

He rolls us around and my back hits the wall but we don't stop.

I tangle my fingers in his hair, tugging when he bites and pulls my bottom lip. Grazing my fingernails down the nape of his neck I earn another delicious deep groan from him.

He rubs himself against me and I moan in his mouth, my core clenching painfully, begging for more contact and the promise of a release.

His hand finds the hem of my shirt. Before he can slide his hand underneath my shirt, I break the kiss, panting.

Catching my breath, I glance up and meet his hungry eyes, with his pupils dilated, his lips swollen and still so very inviting as he breathes heavily.

Though I cling to my resolve and firmly keep my hands on his chest and nudge him away.

Confusion mars his handsome face as I pull myself to my full height and smoothen my hair. "Good kiss, stranger." I step past him and he turns along with me, watching me with a gaping mouth.

While retreating away from him, I blow him a flying kiss. "Have a good night." I spin on my heels and walk away without another glance back.

I got what I needed, a boost to my confidence for kick-starting this new semester. No need to get myself tangled with the stress of sleeping with a stranger.

Happy with myself, I head out of the bar and make my way back to my place.

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Thanks for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it, hit that star button if you did, and comment your thoughts! I'd love to hear what kind of first impression Elodie and Carter's had =)

I hope you decide to tag along =)) this story is kinda different from my usual writing style. I hope I can pull it off as a slow burn :')

Well, thanks for giving this story a shot!

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading! ♡