Guilt stained my tongue, and Terry reached over to squeeze my forearm. "Some women are worth it, and you are someone worth breaking the rules for, Mel. I mean, look at you! You're so beautiful, and you have a wonderful, carefree personality, and you're super adventurous."
Flames licked up my neck, as much from Terry's compliments as the alcohol swimming to my brain. I didn't think I was any of those things, but I still basked in Terry's praises. If my lungs weren't so bad, I would hike, maybe. If my dad weren't looming over me all the time, I wouldn't be so stressed out, and Terry didn't really know how much work went into looking the way I did.
Thank God for the internet. Otherwise, my hair would still be coarse and curly instead of smooth and glossy. Reaching to twirl a stray lock around my finger, I stared into the deep, orange color that swirled in the giant glass.
We were celebrating Terry closing his deal and my getting a date with Carl, but was what really worth cheering about? He could seriously impact his career negatively if our behavior ever got out.
Guiding the straw to my lips, I took a few more gulps before the cold shocked my brain again, but that's what I wanted. I didn't want to think about the consequences, worry about what might happen, and Terry flashed me a quizzical look. Leaning back with a hot sigh, I ran my hand through my hair and shivered as the alcohol spread across my chest.
"What about you, huh! You finally closed that deal after five months over the deadline! Congratulations!" I wasn't exactly sure what Terry did for a living, but I knew he sold computers to huge corporations. He was really smart, and I nudged his arm over the table as he took his turn to blush furiously. "Yay! You're the greatest, you know that?"
"I've been told, yeah." Giggling at his bashful reply, I watched through heated eyes as Terry took a huge gulp of his own margarita and rolled his eyes. "It was such a hassle. If they weren't such an important client, none of their shit would've flied with me. How can you want to do something so intensive and procedural when you haven't worked through basic problems?"
I only nodded; even when Terry dumbed it down for me, I didn't know what he was talking about. But that was okay. Everything was okay. That tequila is really smackin' me. Maybe it's because I never really drink.
Of course, I did drink sometimes, but only a little, and only if I had to. If I went to a party, I made a glass a wine last me the whole time. I had never been blackout drunk, and I wasn't planning on that tonight.
Terry smiled broadly at me, his little chuckle dragging another laugh from me, and I reached to cover my mouth. Glancing around the quiet bar, I propped my elbow on the table to hold my cheek in my palm. This wasn't one of those bars where people went to get absolutely trashed, but they also had something of a dance floor toward the back. Rolling my lips between my teeth as I eyeballed the jukebox, I bopped my head before the door leading to the bathrooms swung open.
Surprise widened my eyes, and the hairs on my neck bristled when Carl stepped out to close the door gingerly behind him. I never expected him to be at a bar, and I jolted a little as I sat up. He hadn't noticed me while he walked back to the bar to take up his stool again, calmly nursing a brown beer bottle.
Of course we'd bump into each other again. That's how it went, didn't it? The universe said, 'here you go!' and screw the consequences.
"God. He's so handsome. And polite— and thoughtful... and—" Terry craned his neck at my mumble, and I blinked hard as I trailed off. The liquid courage flooding my veins warmed my body as I watched Carl drain his beer and order another. His Bluetooth hung onto his ear, and his lips moved as if he was talking to someone but surely enjoying the conversation. He smiled, gesturing in thanks to the bartender, and I bit my lip hard.
"You should go say 'hi', Melissa."
"I should screw him in the bathroom— that's what I should do." My murmur made Terry choke loudly, and I glanced over as his jaw hit the table and eyes boggled slightly. Scrunching up my nose at his shock, I frowned a little. "What?"
"Maybe, it's a good thing you're not into hard liquor, Mel."
Puffing out my lips, I shook my head as Terry picked himself out of his surprise. When I glanced back over at the bar, Carl's attention was firmly on me, and it was obvious that wasn't his second beer so far. "He's kinda hot— not as cute as Jason, though."
"That's just because your man has those pretty Spanish features." True, Jason was first generation American direct from Spain, but I couldn't hold the thought. Across the lean floor, Carl drank his whole beer in three gulps without dropping eye contact. "I'll be right back."
"Sure, you will."
Ignoring Terry's drawling tone, I stood up as that tequila smashed all my inhibitions to dust. Carl's eyes narrowed on me, and my nipples tightened under the thin fabric of my party dress when he scanned me critically. My journey seemed to take a lot longer than a few seconds, and my heart pounded furiously in my chest. Before my brain could spout out reasons not to, I grabbed his face in both my palms and kissed him.
In the background, under the blood drumming in my ears, I heard Terry squeal like a teenage girl, but it faded as my scope of comprehension boiled down to just one man. A strong arm instantly wrapped around my waist, and Carl's thickly beer-stained breath intensified when he slipped his tongue between my lips. Shivers raced up my back, and goosebumps pocked my whole body when Carl drew me between his knees.
For weeks, maybe, even since the first time I saw him in his office building, I wanted to kiss Carl. And he didn't disappoint as his tongue danced with mine. Desire coiled in my abdomen, and I slung my arms around his neck to press up against his muscular chest.
"Mel—" Sighing my name, Carl pulled back.
It took me a moment to realize my eyes were closed. Cracking open my lids, my brain swam in a vat of tequila, and he opened his mouth but nothing came out.
"... If you say it, I'll never forgive you." Slurring a little, even my watery eyes could see the hesitancy in his face, and Carl frowned at my whisper. No— not right now, in this moment. He wanted to say we can't or it's wrong, but that was exactly why we should, damnit! Hot, alcohol-soaked breaths hung heavy between us, and mine hitched harshly when Carl turned to the bartender.
"I'll be right back."
Chapter 15
Carl
Fuck— fuck— fuck— Standing in my shower, I ground my knuckles against the tiled wall as memories from last night blasted through my mild hangover. Behind my shuttered lids, all I could see was Melissa in her little, black dress, her face contorted in pleasure as she rode my cock. Between my clenched teeth, all I could taste was her skin on my tongue. Her perky, C-cup breasts against my cheeks and the sound of her panting ringing in my ears.
I fucked up so bad. I slept with a patient.
Bile sloshed up my throat, and I clamped a hand over my mouth as I whipped around to dry heave into the toilet. Colorful spots assault the darkness behind my eyelids, and I gripped the edge of the toilet to arch sharply. Spitting the bare contents of my stomach, I trembled under the weight of how badly I'd messed up.