The Secrets We Keep

Chapter 1

Lexi POV

“I don’t know about this, Becky,” I said to my best friend, looking nervously around the busy nightclub lit with strobe lights.

Becky sighed and hugged me before holding me at arm’s length, looking very much like the preschool teacher she was.

“We’ve been through this already, Lex. If your father can force you into a marriage then he can’t stop me from throwing you a bachelorette party,” Becky lectured me in the same tone of voice I was sure she used on the little kids in her class. “Besides, we’re already here so you can’t back out now. Do you even know how hard it is to get into Skyline? It’s practically an exclusive club and I had to kiss arse to get us on the list!”

I sighed loudly and tugged on the minidress Becky had somehow convinced me to wear. “I know, I know.  It’s just that Hector…”

“Don’t you dare even mention Hector,” Becky cut me off with a raised eyebrow. “You’re twenty-one years old for crying in a fucking bucket. Your cousin cannot dictate to you where you should go and who you should be with.” 

Becky grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the bar, neon lights illuminating the alcohol on display behind the barmen dressed in black. 

“Two shots of whatever you suggest,” Becky ordered, slapping her credit card on the counter. 

The barman winked at her and poured four shots, sliding them our way. “On me,” he said loudly over the music as he glanced at the card before he passed it back to her. 

Becky blushed and smiled brightly at him before she passed me a shot. “Drink up, Lex. It’s your last night of freedom and I’m going to make sure it is one you never forget!” 

I bit my lower lip before I downed the first shot, only to have the second thrust into my hands to follow the first. The alcohol tasted like caramel, but burned its way down my throat and dulled my senses immediately. I guess I could blame the alcohol for what happened that night, but if truth were to be told, I knew that it was probably the last time I would ever be able to experience freedom so I embraced it with both arms. 

“I can’t believe I won’t even get to watch you walk down the aisle,” Becky sniffed as she sank into the booth beside me, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “This whole private ceremony thing is bullshit, you should have your best friend there for support instead of being surrounded by those vultures. It’s just not fair!”

I snorted and took another sip of whatever the cocktail was that she had passed me. “You don’t get to be upset,” I told her stiffly. “I’m the one who should be in tears about this. I’m being forced to marry a guy twenty years older than me who smells like raw fish and has more gold in his mouth than actual teeth!” 

Becky wrinkled up her nose in disgust, “that’s just gross! Your father is a jerk for even expecting you to do this. Fuck his business! If he loved you he wouldn’t force you into this marriage in the first place.” 

That hit a nerve and I took another gulp of the cocktail. My father didn’t love me. Hell, he didn’t even like me! I was a commodity to him, and I had known that my entire life. It had just got worse after my mother’s death, and then even more so after my older brother was killed in that accident. My value to my father lay purely in the fact that I could be married off to the highest bidder. 

“You know what, Becky,” I declared, holding up my glass and inspecting the blue liquid in the strobe light. “I think you’re right. Tonight is my last night of freedom before I get shackled to that old bastard, and there is no fucking way I’m leaving this club without doing something wild and carefree.” 

Becky squealed and clapped her hands excitedly, “oh definitely. One last fling before the ring! But who do we hook you up with?” 

We surveyed the club carefully, feeling like some sort of secret agents on a spy mission to find the most eligible man for my last hit at freedom. 

“How about the guy at the bar?” I asked, watching the tall man with golden blonde hair pick up his drink - and then slip his hand into the back pocket of the guy standing next to him , squeezing the man’s arse with a knowing smile. “Or, nevermind…” 

“Ooh! There’s a guy leaning against the wall there who looks pretty cute,” Becky nudged me. 

I followed her gaze and felt a shudder run down my spine. “Nope, he’s giving me Ted Bundy vibes and I don’t feel like dying tonight.” 

Becky snorted and rolled her eyes. “Live on the edge a little bit, Lex,” she moaned, turning to where the DJ was just finishing up his set. “Ooh, I know! The DJ! They’re always keen for a one night stand, and I’m pretty sure he will be the best fuck of your life!” 

I raised an eyebrow at Becky and she giggled. “You know what I mean,” she prodded with a wink. “At least this one will actually be flesh and blood, and not the vibrating kind. Besides, who better to lose your virginity to than a man who has more experience than brain cells?” 

She had a point. 

“Fine! I’ll go and say hi, and see where it goes. Okay?” I agreed, swallowing what was left of my drink in one gulp. 

“Go get ‘im, tiger,” she laughed, spanking my backside as I walked past her. 

I swallowed hard, trying to push through the blurry haze of people on the dancefloor. Fueled by the alcohol induced courage, I walked straight up to the most gorgeous man I had ever seen in my life, grabbed him by the front of his black formal shirt, and kissed him. 

There was a brief moment of hesitation before I felt his arms wrap around me, pulling me closer to him as he deepened the kiss, and it felt as if my soul melted into his as my fingers thread through his pitch black hair in an effort to anchor myself to him.

Cue the fireworks. 

“Ahem,” someone coughed, and the guy broke our kiss, his eyes locked on mine. 

“Sorry Boss,” the man who interrupted said in a voice which seemed somewhat nervous. “Your grandfather is on the phone for you.” 

I glanced at the man - a huge bouncer who seemed somewhat terrified of the guy I had just kissed for some weird reason. But then again, he had called him “Boss” so he was probably scared he was going to lose his job for interrupting. 

Mr Gorgeous sighed and nodded to the bouncer who slipped quietly away - well as quietly as a man of his immense size could. 

“You wait right here,” Mr Gorgeous said to me, cupping my face in his hands as his thumb ran along my lower lip. 

I blinked a few times as my brain tried to process his instruction, and watched him walk to the stairs which lead up to a closed door with the word “office” written on it in fancy writing. A few girls stood nearby staring at me with disbelief on their faces, and I started to question my actions entirely. 

There was no way in hell that the man I just kissed was merely some halfwit DJ. 

Panic filled me and I gripped my trembling hands together, fully aware of the girls who were now whispering loudly behind their hands, their eyes still returning to me often enough for me to be certain that I was the subject of their discussion.

Fuck. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for the whole one night stand thing. 

Chewing on my bottom lip, I moved as quickly as I possibly could back to the booth where I had left Becky. 

“We’ve got to go,” I told her, pulling her from the guy who was draped all over her like a cashmere coat. 

“Hey!” he objected, but I didn’t care. I had to get out of the club before I did anything else I would regret. Luckily, Becky seemed to sense my urgency and didn’t make too much of a fuss as I dragged her across the dancefloor toward the door.

Together, Becky and I made our hasty retreat, passing the bouncer who had interrupted my kiss with Mr. Gorgeous as we left the club. A taxi was waiting a short distance down the street and Becky opened the door and climbed in, calling for me to get into the car. 

I’m not sure why, but I looked back at the club and my heart thumped in my chest as I saw him - Mr Gorgeous - standing  there in the doorway to the club, a scowl on his gorgeous face and his fists clenched at his gorgeous sides. 

I swallowed hard as I got into the taxi, my heart beating against my ribcage as the car drove away. The whole way home, Becky pried me for answers, and yet there was only thing my alcohol impaired mind could think of as a response. 

“it doesn’t matter. I will never see him again.”