Chapter 3

One week ago,

It was Friday night when I decided that I wanted to have some fun. My friend, Davina Park, has convinced me to go to this new club downtown and for the first time, I took her up on her offer. I would turn eighteen years old in two months’ time and I already had a boyfriend who wanted nothing but to get married once we graduated three months from now. To be honest, I was not sure if I was ready to become a wife or to be precise, his wife. I mean, we have only been with each other for six months, that was not enough to build a life together. Yet no matter how many times I have told Brett Welsh about it, he always tried to talk me out of it. He kept on mentioning his own parents who had married young and were only in their late thirties now. Then he started mentioning my dad and how it would be wonderful if I could finally be free of my controlling dad once we were married. In my dad’s defense, he has not always been like that. He has changed since my mom died when I was ten.

Taking a deep, calming breath, I shoved all these thoughts away and focused on getting ready for the evening. My dad was at his office and he told me that he would be staying there all night I have told him that Dav was going to come over for a sleepover so this was a perfect plan. Knowing my impeccable records, my dad would not suspect a thing. After making sure that I looked decent by glancing at the mirror once, I grabbed my purse and heels and then headed downstairs.

By the time I opened the front door, Davina was already there waiting for me. “Girl, you took your time.” She shook her head and then gave me a once-over. “You look nice though, I will give you that.”

We were waiting for my best friend, Eros Adler, to come and pick us up but he was running late. Dav suggested that I should be the one giving him a call, claiming that he would pick it up once he saw that it was my number and would even go over the mile and run a few lights just to get here. According to her, Eros had me up on his priority list, even higher than his girlfriend, Crystal. I honestly did not think it was the truth, even if it was, I knew there was nothing romantic about it—despite Dav’s claim. After all, Eros and I have grown up together since I was only ten. We were best friends.

Almost a few heartbeats after I hit the call button, Eros’s voice greeted me with a simple, “Hello.”

“Oh, hi there,” I stole a glance at Davina and watched her grinning from ear to ear knowing that she has proven her point. I decided to ignore her. “Are you close?”

“Yep, look straight ahead,” he said with a low chuckle. I looked up and sure enough, Eros was there, getting out of his car with one hand holding his phone by his ear. “Ready to go?”

I ended the call and then slid my phone into my purse as I nodded in his direction before turning to Davina. “Shall we?”

Davina giggled as she accepted my offer and linked her arms with mine. “We shall.”

It did not take longer than fifteen minutes before the three of us managed to get inside the club and it took lesser than that for Eros to get us our drinks with his ID. Technically, he was three years older than the rest of us and unlike Davina and me, who needed fake IDs to get into the club, he simply had to flash his real one.

“What exactly did you tell Robert?” Eros asked curiously once he chugged half of his drink and hissed as the alcohol hit him hard.

“I told him that Dav and I are having a sleepover while he has his at the office,” I answered truthfully and smiled when I saw Eros groan. He and my dad were really close and Eros was practically the only guy that my dad would trust me with. Sometimes their bond made me jealous because, on some occasions, it felt as if he was his child and not me. “Relax, I am not committing a felony or something. I was just going to a club.” I watched the glass that I was holding and tried to guess what liquor Eros had gotten for me. Based on the transparent color, it could be vodka or gin.

It seemed that I did not have to try that hard because the next second, he told me. “It is just soda, Xy.”

“What?” I quickly glanced up and met his beautiful eyes. Eros had a central Heterochromia. It was a condition that caused his eyes to have two colors: light blue and deep green. The one around his iris was light blue, just like the morning sky in the summer, while the rest was deep, moss green, like the dampened grass after the rain. His eyes were beautiful. “I want a real drink,” I protested, giving him a pointed look.

“Yeah, no.” Eros shook his head. “I am not about to get you drunk besides—” His phone rang and he fished it out of his pocket then glanced down at the screen. He grimaced as he glanced back at me and said, “I have to take this.”

Then without saying anything, he rose to his feet and walked towards the exit sign, leaving both me and Davina confused. Once I made sure that he had walked out of the club, I pulled out my fake ID from my purse. “At least now I can get a real drink.” I stood and walked towards the bar.

The bartender clocked me in once he saw me approaching the bar. “What do you want?”

I cursed inwardly, not sure what drink would be good for a first-timer. “What do you recommend?” I asked him instead, hoping that he did not find it weird that someone just came up to him without knowing what they wanted.

“Witch Doctor,” he said with a grin.

Before I could respond, a stranger walked to my side. His arm brushed mine as he leaned into the counter and said in a British accent, “I would appreciate it if you do not mess with her. Just give her a glass of gin and tonic.”

The bartender looked somewhat pissed but he obliged and got himself busy preparing the drink. I turned to the stranger and looked up, past the muscled arm bouncing the black suit he was wearing, all the way past his movie star jaw to his silver-grey eyes and a face that had my jaw on the floor. Before I lost my mind, I swallowed and said in a voice that I hoped would tell him to back the fuck off, “Excuse me, but I am perfectly able to order my own drink.”

“Really?” The stranger lifted one brow. “And is a drink made of rum, coconut rum, banana rum, more rum, is what you truly want?”

I had to admit it even if I hated it, four shots of rum sounded like it was about three too many for me. I recalled back on my sixteenth birthday when Eros had managed to sneak in one beer for me and I had ended up having the worst headache the next morning. Alcohol and I did not really go well. Instead of answering his question, I decided to ignore him as I turned my attention back to the bartender.

“So may I know what is your name or do I have to try a little harder on my manners?” He continued to stare at me as if he could not take a hint, his arm brushing mine yet he did not look a bit sorry that he was touching me. Blue and green lights from the middle of the dance floor flashed across his face as sex rolled off him in hot waves. His steely gaze held mine, and I could feel it in my bones that he was nothing but trouble. I could tell by the tumble in my stomach and the catch in my breath. I should probably run. Get the hell out of here and run. And yet I found my feet planted to the ground firmer than before so, in the end, I simply stood there, staring into those mesmerizing silver eyes as if I fell into some bizarre, dizzying trance. Then before I stopped my own tongue or realized what I was doing, I answered his question, “Xyrra. Xyrra Lancaster.”

“Xyrra,” he said as if he was tasting my name on his tongue. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Xyrra Lancaster.”

* * *

Call it chemistry, or instant attraction. Whatever it was, I found myself pressed against him a few minutes later.

He kicked the bathroom door closed with his foot, then removed my dress in one swift move as if it was made out of pure silk as I raised my arms and clung them around his neck. Wearing nothing but my white bra and panties, I arched my back, and let him ravish my mouth with his hot, passionate kisses. In all honesty, I was completely overwhelmed. This was not my first kiss, I had kissed at least three boys up until now, and yet his kiss was different. It quite literally lit me up inside. Every touch caused my skin to tingle, and when he bit my bottom lip, I felt like I was going to explode into thousand little pieces yet the way his arm pressed my body against his, I had this odd feeling that he was not going to let me shatter just yet.

He kissed the side of my neck, right where it met my shoulder, and sucked my skin into his hot, wet mouth, and any reservations I might have had about telling him to stop were long forgotten. Instead, I slid my hands up his chest to his shoulders and rose to the balls of my feet, pressing the length of my body against his. Against my bare cleavage, I could feel every fiber of his white shirt and all I wanted was to rip it open so I could feel him, skin-to-skin contact.

The stranger groaned which nearly sounded like a growl and against my pelvis, I felt his rock-hard erection. The room temperature was rising every second. I opened my mouth a little wider and devoured him with passionate, feeding, kisses. Undiluted lust twisted my stomach into knots. For the first time, she felt so alive, so burned up inside. I moved my hands over his shoulders and back, and ran my fingers through his thick dark hair. Gosh, I wanted him. Badly.

As I fumbled with the buttons of his white shirt, not really sure what I was doing or whether I wanted to keep it close or rip his shirt open, he saved time by undoing his belt and fly, then pushed his trousers down his muscled thighs. I gasped as I felt his hand slide under the front of my panties. He cupped my crotch in his hot hand, and I almost fell to the floor. Fuck!

His fingers brushed upward, into my moist flesh, and everything got hotter, more intense. A blur. A rush.

Before he could do anything further, we heard the knock from the door behind him and a female voice that followed, “Is anyone in there? Are you cleaning the toilet? I really need to pee. Can you just let me in for a second?”

Almost immediately, as if I was being splashed by a bucket of cold water, I realized what I was doing. I was in the toilet, at the back of the club, stripped down to my underwear with a stranger that I have only known for fifteen minutes. And right there, on the other side of the door, was none other than my friend, Davina.

“Shit.” I took a step back away from him, picked up my discarded dress, and put it on as quickly as I could. Then I grabbed his suit from the sink, then gave it to him. He remained quiet as he did his pants and accepted the suit. When he was about to walk to the door, I quickly grabbed his arm. “No, you are not going out there right now.”

He frowned, his silver eyes watched me quizzically. There was something dangerous about the way he looked at me that caused my skin to tingle and my heart to beat faster than usual. “Then what do you suppose I should do?”

“Hide.” Then ignoring his protest, I shoved him into one of the stalls and then closed the door before opening the bathroom door. “Do not get out of this stall before I told you to,” I whispered to the door, hoping that Davina would not be able to hear any of this.

By the time, I swung the door open, pretending that it was jammed, the first thing I said to my friend was, “Thank you.” Although she did not know it, she had saved me from having sex with a complete stranger.

Davina stared at me in confusion. “I thought you went home already.”

“No,” I shook my head as I walked out of the bathroom so he could not hear our conversation. “Although I think I should go home now. I feel like I am developing a headache.” It was not entirely a lie, I began to feel my brain throbbing against my skull as I thought about Brett, my sweet boyfriend who believed in fairy tales and happy endings, and a few minutes ago, I had been with another guy, betraying his trust. Hell, he did not even know that I was here. Just like my dad, he truly thought Davina and I were having sleepovers.

“Do you want me to take you home?”

Right before I answered, a blond guy approached us and put his arm around Davina’s waist. “Are you done?”

I watched him and he looked rather familiar although I could not pinpoint exactly where I had seen him before.

“Give me a minute,” she told him.

He nodded. “I will be at the bar then.” The blonde guy pressed a kiss on Davina’s temple then turned around and left.

“I can just get a cab,” I quickly informed Davina before she could say anything. “Don’t worry about me. Just go and have fun.”

“Let me know if you can not get a cab, okay?”

“I will call Eros if that happens, Dav.” I smiled as I adjusted my purse on my shoulder.

“Okay. Text me once you get home, Xy.” Davina leaned in and gave me a hug then was about to go into the bathroom when I caught her arm.

“I think the lock seems to be faulty.” I pointed at the perfectly good and functioning lock and stared at it as if it was a poisonous snake. “You should take the other bathroom.”

“Good call.” Davina nodded and then walked away. Once she was nowhere to be seen, I opened the bathroom door and said, “The coast is clear.”

There was a click before one of the stalls’ doors swung open and he stepped outside looking like he had just stepped out of a magazine. There was something in his eyes that told me he did not appreciate what I had just done to him and even though I was not proud of my own behavior, I was not going to apologize to him. He looked like he was used to getting what he wanted and there was no doubt that a quickie in the bathroom had been in his mind all along. Too bad that he had met me instead. “Okay then, bye.”

“Till we meet again, Love,” he said with a mischievous smile.

“Nope, don’t think so.” I turned around and walked away.

His words followed me all the way home that night like a constant reminder of what I had done today. I cursed as I opened the front door and let myself in when I realized that I had told him my full name while he had not told me his. I did not even know his first name. “Stupid,” I chastised myself before turning around to lock the front door and then headed to the back of my house.

I stripped my clothes dumped them inside the washing machine and let them soak in water and detergent before turning the washing machine on. I grabbed some dried clothes that had not been ironed in the laundry room and quickly put them on before making my way to my bedroom upstairs. Right before I went to bed, I hoped that I would never lay my eyes on him ever again so I could pretend that all of this was just a nightmare.

But I was proven wrong merely a few days later.