The One Nightstand

Chapter 2:

Alex

As I stood there, heart still racing from the impact of the collision, I barely registered my surroundings. The guy I’d bumped into was nothing short of breathtaking—tousled dark hair, sharp jawline, and piercing blue eyes that seemed to burn right through me. But his expression? Furious. The kind of anger that made him even more striking in a dangerous, unsettling way.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he snapped, his voice low and edged with irritation. “Do you not know how to watch where you’re going?”

I opened my mouth, ready to apologize, but the words caught in my throat. Instead, I stared back at him, trying to shake off the shock. “I—I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—”

“Sorry?” he scoffed, stepping closer until he was towering over me. “You think ‘sorry’ cuts it? Maybe next time, try paying attention instead of wandering around like you own the place.”

His arrogance hit me like a slap, and suddenly, my embarrassment morphed into irritation. My brows furrowed as I tried to keep my voice steady. “Look, I said I’m sorry. It was an accident. I wasn’t exactly expecting you to be in the way.”

He crossed his arms, his gaze never leaving mine. “In the way? You’re acting like you didn’t see me at all. I’m not exactly invisible, sweetheart.”

That comment grated on my nerves, and without thinking, I fired back. “Right, because it’s hard to miss someone who thinks they’re the center of the universe.”

A smirk curled his lips, the arrogance oozing from him. “Well, at least I’m not pretending to be someone I’m not.”

I narrowed my eyes, instinctively crossing my arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

His gaze flicked over me, taking in my clothes, my posture, everything. “You’ve got that uptight, ‘I’m better than everyone else’ vibe. Let me guess—type A, perfect grades, probably follows a schedule down to the second?”

I rolled my eyes, biting back my retort. “Not that it’s any of your business, but that’s a pretty big assumption to make about someone you just met.”

“Maybe,” he said with a shrug, his smirk never fading. “But I’m usually right.”

I glared at him, something about his face gnawing at the back of my mind. He looked… familiar. But I couldn’t quite place where I’d seen him before. It bugged me, and before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “Do I know you from somewhere?”

His smirk faltered for a split second, but then it was back, sharper than ever. “Doubt it. I’d remember you.”

I stared at him, frustrated. Where did I know him from? His face nagged at me, but the arrogance was enough to make me push it to the back of my mind. “Whatever. This conversation’s a waste of time.”

“Agreed,” he said smoothly. “But I’ll admit, it was entertaining.” He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping as he said, “What’s your name, by the way?”

My heart skipped a beat, the proximity doing things I wasn’t ready to admit. “Why do you care?”

“Just curious,” he said, his eyes glinting mischievously.

“Taylor,” I lied instinctively, unable to think of anything else in the moment.

He chuckled. “Taylor, huh? Well, Taylor, you should be more careful next time. Not everyone’s as forgiving as me.”

I clenched my jaw, refusing to rise to the bait. “Sure, I’ll keep that in mind.”

We parted ways, but somehow, I ended up running into him later that night at a bar. I sat at the counter, trying to relax and forget about the bizarre run-in earlier when I felt someone slide into the stool next to me. I didn’t even need to look to know who it was. The same damn arrogance hung in the air like an unshakable cloud.

“Taylor,” he said, his voice teasing as he took a seat. “Fancy seeing you again.”

I shot him a look. “What do you want?”

“Nothing. Just thought I’d keep you company. Seems like you could use it,” he said, his smirk widening. “Besides, I figured we could start over. I wasn’t exactly nice earlier.”

“No, you weren’t,” I agreed. But strangely, I wasn’t as annoyed this time. Maybe it was the drinks, or maybe it was the fact that he was ridiculously good-looking despite being insufferable.

As the night wore on, his sharp comments turned into something more playful, the tension between us shifting. Before I knew it, we were laughing, trading banter like it was second nature. He was smoother than I’d anticipated, his arrogance somehow charming when he wasn’t being a complete jerk. And then it happened—he leaned in closer, his voice dropping as he said, “I bet you’ve never kissed someone like me before.”

I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in tone. “What makes you think I want to?”

He didn’t answer, just smiled in that cocky way that made my stomach flip. And before I could stop myself, I closed the gap, pressing my lips to his.

It was my first kiss—unexpected, raw, and somehow exactly what I didn’t know I needed. He was so damn good at it that my head spun, the world fading away as I got lost in the moment.

The rest of the night was a blur. We stumbled out of the bar, laughing, our hands intertwined as we made our way to a nearby hotel. Everything felt wild and exhilarating, a step outside the boundaries of my carefully controlled life.

When I woke up the next morning, the sunlight was streaming through the curtains, and my head pounded with the aftermath of too much alcohol. I groaned, squinting against the light as I reached for the other side of the bed, only to find it empty.

My heart sank. Of course. Leo—if that was even his real name—was gone. No note. No explanation. Nothing.

“What did I expect from someone like him?” I muttered, a bitter smile tugging at my lips as I reached for my phone. I dialed his number, the one he’d given me at some point during the night, but unsurprisingly, there was no answer.

Figures.

I sighed, dropping the phone onto the bed. Part of me had expected this, but another part of me—maybe the naive part—had hoped for something different. 

But then, as the weight of the night’s actions settled in, panic set in. I had just slept with a guy despite having a fiancée. A fiancée! What the hell was I thinking? I wasn’t gay; this was a nightmare. If Charlotte or my father found out, it would ruin everything. The thought of their disappointment and the fallout from this reckless decision made my stomach churn. 

I press

ed my hands to my temples, feeling the walls close in on me. What had I done?