Excerpt of Piracy by L.P. Maxa

Across the small crowded space was the help yourself bar. I beelined it over there, taking the sugar dispenser and pouring what was left in it in my cup. I turned, holding the glass canister in the air, about to signal that adorable barista and let her know they were out of the good stuff. "Did you really use all the sugar? That was like half a cup." I glanced down and to my right, a smile automatically forming on my face. Large blue eyes behind tortoiseshell glasses, framed with long lashes, blinked back at me. The chick tapping her foot in annoyance wasn't wearing any makeup, but damn she was pretty. "If you want, I can dip my finger in your coffee. I'm way sweeter than this—" "Seriously?" She cut me off, reaching around me for the less tasty packets of raw sugar and accidentally knocking over the small container of wooden stir sticks. "It's too early for lame pickup lines." She righted her mess and then ripped open five little brown packets, dumping them into her drink. I took another sip of my now perfectly sweetened coffee, admiring the way the sunlight streaming in through the windows made her strawberry blonde hair shine. "It's never too early for flirting. And as far as pickup lines go, that was a good one." She snapped her lid back on her cup, and then turned to the door. Her backpack hit the container of wooden sticks, causing it to spill all over again. I bit my lip to keep from laughing as she picked them up a second time. "I'm Jett, what's your—" "Nice to meet you, Jett." The blue-eyed clumsy beauty didn't even bother to glance my way before she purposefully walked out the double glass doors. I watched her stride away, her creamy legs on display and her long hair swishing behind her. That chick had straight up turned me down.