“Yeah. The big two-four.” He laughs.
“How does it feel?”
“Not too different from twenty-three.” He laughs and sips his drink. “Oh, would you like something, another Long Island—?”
But something has caught his attention across the room. Maybe it’s his girlfriend. That’s probably just wishful thinking on my part, but with my luck, who knows.
“Would you excuse me for a minute?” he says, leaving me to sit alone.
I wonder if this fulfills the requirement as far as Ryan’s concerned. I wonder who Jason was looking for—I guess the blonde who was with him. Maybe they’re more than just friends? Drumming my finger on the table, I wait for my new friend to come back.
Ryan arrives a few minutes later, and I’m still at the table alone. I see he’s misplaced the blonde as well.
“Where did Jason go?”
I wasn’t aware that I was supposed to be babysitting him. “Umm, I don’t know. He told me he’d be back in a minute. Look, Ryan, I have an exam I have to study for this weekend, and I really need to get some sleep,” I explain, getting up to leave.
“Wait! Please just five more minutes. I’ll go find him,” he begs, holding my arm.
“Fine,” I relent. “I’ll be out on the terrace while you look for him.”
“Okay. Back in five minutes,” he promises before hurrying off.
I sneak away to the terrace of the club. It’s my favorite place in Chicago. When the wind blows just the right way and the lights of the city sparkle in the night, I feel free. They remind me why I’m not in my old comfort zone in Michigan. This may be my lucky day, since only two couples are making out in the corner. Usually there are so many it’s embarrassing. I stroll to the other side so they can have their privacy. You can see all of Chicago from right here. I could stand here for hours, just looking out over the city.
I glance at my watch and notice it’s been around five minutes. I decide to head back to VIP before Ryan has a panic attack. Right as I’m making my way back into the club, Michael heads toward me.
“This must be my lucky day,” I mumble sarcastically to myself, but loud enough that he can hear me.
“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” he asks as I walk past him.
“Actually, I’m meeting someone.” I smirk at him before continuing on my way.
“What? Who? I mean, you just got off,” he say, stumbling over his words. I guess I surprised him. I just smile with a shrug, but he calls after me, “Well, when you’re not busy, I need to talk to you.”
I don’t even look back. What Michael doesn’t understand is I don’t care what he needs. He lost that privilege when I caught him banging some girl in the storage room of the club. He didn’t even have the decency to screw her in his car like a respectful douchebag would do.
I’m seeing red as I make my way down to the VIP room. I’m in total disbelief at Michael’s audacity and sudden attempt to weasel his way back into my life, and I don’t even notice the person in front of me until I crash into him. A second later, I feel cool liquid spread down my blouse. Best day ever!
“I’m soooo sorry,” I say, embarrassed. This is completely my fault, and I’m even more furious that Michael caused me to do it.
“It’s okay,” a deep voice replies, sending a shiver up my spine. “I’m sure your shirt costs a lot more than this drink.”
I’m afraid to look up. I can hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears. When I work up the courage to finally see whose voice is making my heart try to escape my chest, I find a tall, ebony-haired stranger looking down at me.
And God, he has the most beautiful pair of gray eyes and an amazing smile with the most perfect lips in the history of mankind. I mentally remind myself not to swallow my tongue and breathe. Is he real? Or have I been knocked unconscious and am being fanned with a cover of GQ magazine? This encounter will probably turn out to just be a figment of my imagination.
The more I look—no, stare, I’m actually staring now—the more I decide he has to be an illusion. I search for a flaw, taking in every inch of him, from his chiseled features to his chocolate-brown hair falling right over his eyebrows, his strong broad shoulders hidden beneath a dark gray blazer and black fitted shirt. No flaw found. He’s unsettlingly beautiful.
“I-I’m sorry. I can be so clumsy at times,” I choke out, internally cheering as my mind begins taking control again.
“Let me get you something for that,” he responds, disappearing into the crowd.
I panic. What if he doesn’t come back? What if he does come back? That scares me even more. But a minute later, he’s here again with a cloth in hand, and I’m still not prepared to think like a civilized person instead of a cavewoman.
“Thank you,” I reply sheepishly, taking the cloth from his hand.
He’s smiling at me as though he knows a secret I’m not in on.
“I’m really sorry about your drink. I can get you another one,” I offer, staring up at him. He has to be at least six foot two. I unconsciously take a few steps back so I don’t have to look up at him like a little girl.
“You’re good,” he assures me coolly.
No, he’s good apparently, since no matter how hard I try, I can’t make my eyes leave his face. “I work here. It’ll be no problem.”
His gaze is intense, almost intimate, but his smile is so charming, or rather, welcoming—like he’s luring me. For a moment, time slows down. All of the noise around us has disappeared, and it’s just the music and my breathing.
I wonder if he hears it.
He steps closer to me, and I notice in those perfect gray eyes, the iris is surrounded by a subtle green tint. But beautiful as they are, they’re upstaged when he releases the right corner of his bottom lip that he’s been holding captive between his stark white teeth. His tongue sweeps across those delectable lips, adding the perfect amount of moisture, and right then, a wave of heat flushes through my entire body. I inwardly cringe for referring to a body part as delectable—a stranger’s body part at that—but there is absolutely no other way to describe them.
“I know.” His words jolt me back to reality, and I lean forward a bit, the return of the noise making it more difficult to hear him. A second later, he leans down toward me, his face near my ear, and my breath hitches. “Your shorts gave you away.” Just as quickly he’s back in his own space.
“These godforsaken shorts.” I’m so embarrassed and begin pulling them down.
He nods, a grin on his face as his eyes travel down my body. “No, thank God for those shorts.” He’s biting his lip again, and I feel myself turning all shades of pink. “I was actually coming to get a closer view of the woman I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of since she walked in.” He looks directly into my eyes with a smile that could melt the Arctic.
With that, I almost swallow my tongue. What am I supposed to say to something like that?
“She’s Lauren,” I can’t help but whisper. Wait, that wasn’t right. Wake up, genius! “I mean, I’m Lauren.” I laugh, hoping the music covers my ridiculous answer and that I won’t drop dead of embarrassment right here. Thankfully, my brain cells are released from my hormones’ grip and direct me to extend my hand.