“I apologize. You better get back to your friends,” he whispered as he leaned in closer to me and I felt his lips slightly touch my neck.
I flinched and he moved his arm so I could get by. As I walked away, I turned around, even though every part of me said not to. But I did, because I could feel his burning eyes all over me. I sat back at the table just in time for the show to start.
“Where were you?” Landon asked. “We were going to start a search party.”
“The bar was packed. It took forever to get the bartender’s attention.”
The show started and one male stripper walked onto the stage. Peyton started going crazy and yelling. I looked over at her and laughed because she was standing on the chair. I needed to use the bathroom, so I got up from my seat and told the group that I’d be right back. I was feeling a little tipsy from the Jack and coke I was drinking and then the champagne I had earlier. I couldn’t find the bathrooms, so I had to ask one of the waitresses. She pointed down the long hallway and said they were on the left. After peeing, what seemed like forever, I washed my hands and, when I opened the door, I was startled to see the line of people down the narrow hallway. When I stepped out of the bathroom and tried to make my way through the crowd of people, I felt two hands grab my waist. I turned around and it was him.
“It’s okay; let me guide you out of here,” he said.
As we were reaching the end of the hallway, two drunken girls stumbled and pushed us up against the wall.
“Hold on. Let them pass,” he whispered in my ear.
I gulped as the ache down below came back and my senses were heightened by his tantalizing scent; an unfamiliar scent to me. Once the girls passed by, he grabbed my waist and led me out of the hallway.
“Don’t turn around, but hold out your hand,” he instructed.
I did what he asked and I held my hand out in front of me. He put a piece of white paper in it and then he closed my hand.
“Don’t let anybody see that. It’s only for you,” he whispered and then walked away in the opposite direction.
I opened my hand and unfolded the piece of paper. It read:
My room, tonight, after your party.
Room 4709
I’ll be there, waiting for you.
As I stood there staring at the note, I heard someone call my name. I looked up and closed my hand tightly as Mason walked towards me.
“What’s taking you so long?” he asked.
“Look at the line,” I said as I took his hand and we walked back to our table.
Our time at the strip club was finished and we needed to move on to the last club. As I helped Peyton into the limo, she wouldn’t stop talking about the lap dance she received from the stripper. Everyone was cracking jokes and having a good time. I was starting to get a bit worried that Peyton was too drunk to go to the next club, but she insisted she was fine. When I opened my clutch to pull out my phone, the white piece of paper fell onto the floor.
“Oops, you dropped something,” Landon said as he reached down and picked it up.
“No! I can get it,” I said in a sharp tone.
Mason picked up the paper and handed it to me. “Wow, calm down, Elle, it’s only a piece of paper. “
“I’m sorry,” I said.
***
The club was packed. The music was blaring, and the floor was thumping. I tried to get my mind off of him, but I couldn’t. His tall stature and assurance were startling, but in a way that was to be desired. To distract myself from the thoughts of him that seemed to consume me, I lost myself in the music, dancing, drinking, and having a good time. When it was time to leave, Landon had to carry Peyton to the limo as the girls and I stumbled behind, laughing and practically falling on our asses. I pulled my phone from my clutch and there were no messages or missed calls from anyone. Not too long after we left the club, we were back at the Waldorf. Landon carried Peyton to the room and collapsed on the couch. I pulled the white piece of paper from my clutch and stared at the room number. It wasn’t the same room he had gone into earlier in the day. This room was on the top floor of the hotel.
I took in a deep breath and stepped off the elevator. I knocked quietly on the door of Room 4709. Immediately, the door opened, and he stood there with a smile on his face.
“Please come in,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if you’d show.”
“I wasn’t sure if I would either,” I said as I stepped inside his room.
“Would you like a drink?”
“No, thank you. I’ve had way too much already.”
The corners of his mouth curved up when I said that. “Is that so?” he said as he walked closer to me, took my clutch from my hands, and threw it on the chair. He stood in front of me, and as I looked down, he cupped my chin in his hand and lifted it up until I was forced to look at him.
“Someone as beautiful as you should never be looking down.”