Two

CHRISTIAN

I take another swig of my drink, feeling the familiar burn in my throat. It's been a rough day, and the alcohol was the only thing that seemed to numb the pain.

But then I look up, and I see her. Looking like a revelation, she is beautiful, with raven black hair and green eyes that seem to sparkle in the dim light of the club.

She comes and sits in front of me, and I immediately noticed her cleavage, an ample amount of it is in full display. I couldn’t help but gawk. Really, I couldn’t not do it when she had it in my face.

There is something about her that intrigued me. Maybe it is the way she carried herself, or the fact that she seemed so out of place in this dingy club. Her eyes were unfocused as she settled into the chair without waiting for my invitation. 

I’m aware of the small voice in my head telling me to get up and leave her. To shut off whatever thoughts I was having of her. She looked so young, she couldn’t be very much older than Jenna.

“How many of that have you had?” She asks conversationally. I look down at the almost empty glass and try to think of the others I’d drowned before it.

“Five, maybe ten.” The truth is, I can’t remember but I know it is a lot more than that. I just didn’t want to show her how very pathetic I am. Something in me wanted to impress her for some reason.

She only nods, her teeth tripping her bottom lip. I swallowed when she did that, my dirty mind suddenly coming up with different scenarios that all involved her red painted lips.

“Must be looking to escape from something really trashy.” She nods towards the bottle and I lift my heavy shoulders in a shrug. She has no idea.

“Yeah,” is the only thing I offer.

She isn’t one to give up though because she kept on pushing, asking me seemingly harmless questions.

“You can be everywhere else tonight, why here?” She is looking at me with a curious expression on her face, her green eyes shining with something so innocent.

“No demons.” My attempt at finesse fails miserably when the sentence I planned on saying comes out broken.

“That I can understand, though I doubt a glass would help me.” I note her empty hand and a loud laugh rumbles from my throat.

“I’ll buy you the drink,” thankfully, I say this shroud stuttering or spluttering. She shakes her head, a pretty smile spreading to her lips.

“You don’t have to worry, I don’t drink.” I raise a brow and she nods, confirming what she said. 

“You’re a minor, aren’t you?” I ask, telling myself to get the fuck out of there. My feet refused to heed to my command. I would fucking lose my mind.

“Oh no, I’m a legal adult.” She shakes her head, her lips pursing. I don’t believe her though but I don’t call her out on the obvious lie. She might be an adult but I doubt she is of legal age to drink.

“I have a bad experience with drinkers.” I nod.

“Then I shouldn’t be the most alluring man to you right now.” I say absently. She smiles and reaches her hand across the table. I watched her touch me, my body coming alive when I felt her wake hand in mind.

“You don’t look that way, troubled, yes. But not a drinker.” She laughs to herself. “Bad days. You’re forgiven.” I laugh again and her smile gets wider if that is even possible.

The little voice in my head is still telling me how this is a bad idea and I should get the hell out of here. The thing is, I’m on board with that plan, it’s just that my body refuses to heed to that command. I keep wanting to push away from her, but it keeps dragging me back. Almost like she is the magnet and I’m the iron.

“You sho–“

“I can’t go back to your place with you, but thank you for the invite. We’ve established you’re too young.” I cut her off and her smile fell for a moment. I almost sigh in relief, thinking she would be discouraged and leave but she starts laughing. The soft sound rolling over me like a balm to my burning heart.

“First off,” she held a finger up. Her hands were bare of any accessories, just plain fingernails and that made a sliver roll down my spine. I really need to get out of here before I do something stupid. “I’m not too young. I’m an adult.”

I give her a short nod, hoping she can read the sarcasm on my face. “And second, we can do whatever we want right here.”

“I’m not really a fan of public sex.” She laughs again, the sound even more enticing than the first. She brushes a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Also bare. 

I want to wrap my hand around the entire length of her hair, it’s cropped, just a few wisps touching her shoulder. The image of my cock disappearing into her red lips and the appendage throbbing in my pants. 

Her sitting right there and doing the bare minimum, literally, is distracting me from the thoughts that made it extremely hard for me to get out of bed this morning. And for a second, just a split second of weakness I wanted to propose we go back to my hotel room, so I can fulfill every dirty fantasy I’ve had since she sat opposite me.

“That’s not what I mean…” she motioned for me to tell her my name. 

I’m not stupid enough to give her my real name, she could be anyone for all I know. Or she could be no one, I would rather be safe than sorry. A rare smile makes it past my lips and I tell her the first name that comes to my mind. My middle name.

“Andres.” 

“Hablas español?” The change is swift, her tongue rolling which tells me she is a native.

“Sorry to disappoint but no,” it’s not hard to understand the question, but that is where it ends basically. “My mother just liked the name.”

My mother was actually Hispanic but I didn’t feel like I had to indulge in my life history. I am drunk but not loose mouthed.

“Oh,” she rolls her tongue in her mouth. I curse lowly, averting my gaze immediately my thoughts start going haywire. I should get off my ass and get out of here.

I will have to check into a hotel for the night, I’m in no state to drive back into town. I looked down at the time on my watch and saw it was a few minutes to midnight. I make a mental note to message Jenna before I go to bed so she knows I’m fine. We have done this a million times for me to know she rarely worries, but I still felt better if I told her that. 

It is mostly so she wouldn’t pull that card on me when I try to force a curfew on her.

Hypocritical, don’t you think? Your dick is hard for a girl her age.

I curse the voice in my head, for being right rather than anything else. It was a sickening thought, the fact that for a split second I’d even considered taking her to bed. I blamed it all on the drinks though.

I clear my throat and take another sip of my drink, trying to steady myself. "My wife died," I say, gesturing to the empty seat beside me. "She's been gone for years, but it still feels like yesterday."

Her expression softens, and she nods sympathetically. "I'm sorry for your loss," she says, her voice low and gentle.

I nod my thanks and take another drink. "I come here on this day every year," I continue. "I guess I'm hoping to find some peace or closure or something."

She nods again, watching me intently. "It's tough to lose someone you love," she says, a clouded look dimming the brightness of her eyes. I didn’t like the look there and I wanted to help her forget.  "But you don't have to go through it alone."

I raise an eyebrow at her, and she meets my gaze steadily. "What do you mean?" I ask, intrigued.

"I mean," she said, leaning in closer and flashing her cleavage more and more again "that sometimes it helps to have someone there to comfort you. Someone who understands what you're going through."

I consider her words for a moment, my mind foggy from the alcohol. "And you're offering to be that person?" I chuckle.