Only One Night (Only One Series 3)

by Natasha Madison

  I walk out of the stall, going over to the sink and washing my hands. The woman gets up and hands me a brown paper towel. I smile at her, thanking her, and when I’m done, I take my lip gloss out and apply another coat. I hand the lady a five-dollar bill and walk out of the now empty bathroom. I’m closing my purse as I walk to my table and run smack into a chest. “Oomph,” I say right before two hands hold my arms. When I look up, I’m staring at the same blue eyes from earlier tonight. “Oh my god,” I say. “That’s twice tonight.” He just looks at me.

  “You have a thing with not looking where you’re going.” He lets me go now, and I laugh.

  “I was actually just closing my purse,” I tell him. “It’s all good.” I place the purse under my arm. He just looks at me and tucks his hands in his pockets. The bathroom door opens, and a guy comes out. He looks at me and then at the blue-eyed stranger.

  “Sorry,” he says, and I move aside.

  “Well, I’ll let you go,” I say, smiling at him. The wine plays a huge part in my courage for this conversation. “I have to ask.”

  “What is that?” he says, and I can almost see a smirk on his lips.

  “Was the key to a secret room?” I look at him, and it’s his turn to put his head back and boom out a laugh.

  “Okay, I take that as a no.” I look past him. “Well, it was good bumping into you again. I’ll try to watch where I’m going from now on.” I nod at him, and all he does is stare at me, giving me tingles in my hands and just a bit of flutters in my stomach. Okay, fine, a lot, and when I walk past him, I get a whiff of his cologne, and I swear it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever smelled in my life.

  My legs are shaking, and it has nothing to do with the bottle of wine I’ve been drinking and everything to do with the man who just eye fucked me. Or maybe it was just me, and he was looking at me with pity. I swing my hips as I feel his eyes on me, and when I finally do get back to my seat and sit down, I make the mistake of looking over at him and find him watching me. His hands are still in his pockets, making his shoulders look huge. Maybe he plays football.

  “Are you okay?” Jeanie asks, and I look away from him. “You look flushed,” she tells me. I raise my hands to my cheeks, and they feel like they are on fire. I look back now to where he was standing, but I don’t see him anywhere.

  I grab my glass of wine and down it in two gulps. “I’m fine,” I say with a smile. The waiter comes over with a tray full of shots.

  “Okay, ladies,” he says. “Time to get this party started.” He walks around the table, giving each of us a shot. “Okay, can I have the bride come over to me?” he asks. I get up to give her space to walk out, and it’s only then that I notice most of the tables have been taken out.

  Stephanie walks over to the waiter and stands with him. “This song is for you,” he says and nods to the DJ watching him. The song “Run the World” starts playing, and we all laugh. “To not remembering tonight,” he says, lifting a shot, and we all follow him. I take the shot, my eyes closing when the hot liquid goes all the way down, the blue eyes haunting me. Opening my eyes, I look around to see if I can spot him.

  “I hate tequila.” I hear one of the bridesmaids say as the waiter hands me another shot.

  “I don’t really think I should,” I say, and he just smiles at me.

  “You need to stop thinking and let loose.” He winks at me, and nothing happens to me. There is no flutter in my stomach or racing of my heart like when the blue-eyed stranger looked at me.

  After he walks away, I pour the shot into an empty glass, then pick up a glass of water and take a couple of sips. I look over and see the dance floor is starting to get crowded. A song comes on, and the whole table gets up and starts to dance right next to our table. I feel eyes on me, but when I look around, I don’t see anyone looking at me. It must all be in my head.

  We dance up a storm, and when I get back to my seat, I sit down and drink the glass of water in front of me. I look over to see the bottle empty. I look around to see if the waiter is anywhere, and when I don’t see him, I look at Jeanie and point at the bar, and she just nods her head.

  I walk through the crowd and make my way to the bar. It’s full in the front, so I walk over to the side near the bathroom. I lean against the cool bar, looking at the two bartenders going nuts. I feel eyes on me. I look over to the right, and there he is, leaning against the bar in the dark. I turn now, looking at him. “Fancy meeting you here,” I say, trying to sound funny, and he just chuckles. “Well, I guess the saying is true,” I tell him, holding my hand up to get the bartender's attention. He sees me and nods his head, coming over to us.

  “What can I get you?” he asks me.

  “Can I have an apple martini and a bottle of water,” I tell him, and then he looks at the blue-eyed stranger.

  “I’m good,” he says, and his voice is smoother than it was before.

  “No problem, Captain,” the bartender says and turns to walk away.

  “So, what is the saying?” he asks, and I look at him.

  “There is never a third time without a second,” I say, and then I look up and think about it. “I think that’s how it goes.” I try to focus, but my head is spinning.

  “Actually,” he says, and I lean into him just a bit, turning my face so my ear is in his direction. He leans in just a touch now to make sure I can hear him. Except he gets so close, the smell of him makes all my senses go haywire. I don’t even know what he has to say. His face is coming so fucking close to me that I could probably feel his beard on my ear if he wanted to get even closer. “It’s never two without three.”

  Chapter 5

  Manning

  “It’s never two without three,” I say, my lips as close to her ear as I allow myself. I watched her dance, and she walked over to the bar, not seeing me.

  I leaned on the bar, propping my elbow up, looking at her. When she walked out of the bathroom, and I had to hold her up, my heart was beating so fast in my chest. I could have sworn it was the bass coming from the DJ. But I was too far for that. My mouth went dry when she looked up at me. Her eyes were brighter than before, and the minute she saw it was me, her cheeks turned a light pink.

  “I think that is the same thing I said,” she says, laughing at me, and the bartender comes over with her drink.

  “I got it,” I tell him, and he just nods at me, walking away to go serve someone else. He called me Captain before, and I waited to see if she reacted, but she didn’t even bat an eye. Did she really not know who I was?

  “Thank you,” she says, grabbing her martini and bringing it to her lips. “So does this mean I get two more drinks?”

  “I don’t know.” I lean in to make sure she can hear me. I hate that the music is getting louder and louder, but then again, I love that she has to lean in to hear me.

  “Do I need a special code word or something like that?” she asks, mirroring the way I’m leaning on the bar. Someone comes in behind her and nudges her, and she has to move closer to me. “Do you come here often?” she asks and then laughs. “God, that was so lame. It’s like Pick-up Line 101.” I laugh now, looking around to see the guys still in the room. Ralph is writing something down with the guys. Miller is sitting in his chair with his phone in his hands. I stepped out for a second, telling them I wanted to come get a water, and no one even batted an eye.

  “Are you trying to pick me up?” I ask, my hands getting clammy. I have no fucking clue what the fuck I’m doing right now.

  She tilts her head to the side and takes another gulp of her drink. “No. Do girls usually try to pick you up?”

  “It’s been known to happen.” I tell the truth.

  “Obviously,” she says, rolling her eyes, and now I put my head down and laugh. “A little bit full of ourselves.”

  “Not at all. It was an honest question. Are you trying to tell me that your waiter wasn’t trying to pick you up?” She looks at me shocked now, her mouth opening and then closing.

  “How di
d you . . .?” she says, looking around, and then she sees the guys in the room behind me. “You were watching me.”

  I smirk now, looking around to make sure no one is watching us. She gets bumped again, and this time, she gets really close, so close that my hand comes out and goes to her hip to stop her from flying onto me. I mean, I don’t mind if she does, but she’s going to want to know why my cock is so hard over a fucking stranger. “Do you have a name?” I finally cave and ask her.

  “I do,” she says, looking up at me with a smile. “I mean, at least there is a name on my birth certificate.” I wait for her to tell me her name. “I’m Evelyn,” she says, holding out her hand. I stand now, holding out the arm I was leaning on. My hand grips her hand, and I can swear I feel electricity go through my veins.

  “Nice to meet you, Evelyn,” I say.

  “Usually,” she says, while our hands still move up and down, in the longest shaking of hands I’ve had in my life, “when a woman gives a man her name, it’s customary for the man to reciprocate.”

  “Is that how this goes?” I joke with her, and she drops her hand. I want to grab it back.

  “I’m Manning.” I put out my hand for her, and she grabs my hand again and shakes it. “It’s nice to meet you, Evelyn.” When I say her name, my stomach does something weird.

  “Manning,” she says, and I can now picture her saying my name while I bury my cock so deep in her. I need to get away from her because this is crazy. My cock has not been this hard in forever, actually.

  “Well,” she says, finishing her drink. “I should get back to the girls.”

  “Have a great night, Evelyn,” I say, and she smiles and looks up at me. If I could, I would wrap my arm around her waist, pick her up, and kiss her lips. My heart thumps in my chest; my stomach feels upset.

  “It was a pleasure to meet you, Manning,” she says. “Thank you for the drink.” She turns now, and I watch her disappear in the crowd until I look over and see her hands up in the air as she dances with her friends. I watch for a couple of minutes and then turn to walk back into the room.

  I open the door and walk over to my chair. “Who’s the chick?” Miller says, looking at me. I just stare at him. “The redhead.”

  “What?” I pretend not to know what he’s talking about. I pick up my empty glass of water and hear Miller snicker beside me.

  “Shit. Is the calm, cool captain shaky?” he says, and I glare at him.

  He puts his hand to his mouth to hide his laughter. “I mean, she’s hot.” I grip the glass in my hand, and I swear if I hold it any tighter, it’s going to smash in my hand. Miller reaches over and grabs the glass out of my hand. “You need to simmer down there, buddy. I’m happily taken. Besides, Layla would skin my balls alive.”

  “Okay, I’m done,” Ralph says, and then I look at him. The Hauer guys walk out of the room to check out the club. “What did I miss?”

  “Captain Cool over here”—Miller points at me— “was chatting with a redhead, and she got under his skin.”

  “She did not get under my skin,” I tell him off, shaking my head. “We met when we walked in together, and then I was getting water at the bar. I bought her a drink,” I say, my mouth getting dry, and I look for our fucking waitress.

  “You bought her a drink,” Miller says in shock.

  “That is like rule 101 in trying to pick a chick up,” he says, and I just look at him. “Ask Google,” he says and picks up his phone.

  I snatch the phone from his hand and toss it back on the table. “Hey, don’t be mean to my phone because you are all sexually pent up over a chick.”

  “You need to stop talking,” I say with my teeth clenched.

  “Miller,” Ralph says warning him, trying not to laugh. Miller looks at me, leaning back in his chair.

  “What’s her name?” he asks me, and I don’t want to tell him. I don’t want to tell them anything. It’s nothing.

  “You did ask her for her name,” Ralph says, his eyes going big. “You don’t just buy a girl a drink without knowing her name.” He gets up now and looks down at me. “I’ll be back.”

  “Where are you going?” I ask him.

  “I’m going to go stand with the guys and see if I spot her,” he says, and Miller jumps up to follow him.

  “I’ll point her out.”

  “Stop!” I shout right before they walk out of the room. “Seriously. She has no idea who I am.”

  Miller shakes his head. “No fucking way. Everyone knows who you are.”

  “I know,” I say, getting up now. “The bartender called me Captain, and she didn’t even bat an eye.”

  “Maybe she’s fucking with you,” Miller says, and I clench my fists now. I glare at him, and he puts up his hands. “Or not.”

  “Let’s go get a drink at the bar,” Ralph says and pushes the glass door open. Our waitress finally appears out of nowhere.

  “Can I get you guys something to drink?” she asks, and then I hear the DJ come out.

  “We have a special crew tonight.” I look over to where I know she’s standing, and she is drinking a glass of wine. Her chest rises and falls, and her eyes meet mine. “Stephanie,” he says, and she puts her glass down, breaking the eye contact with me and claps her hands. “This one is for you, girls.” I wait for it, and he starts playing “Single Ladies.” The dance floor makes space for her party of girls. Her hands go into the air as she sings the words. My hands go into my pockets as everybody’s eyes go to them.

  “That’s her.” I hear Miller beside me tell Ralph. Her hips sway to the music as the girls all sing the words. More people move in, and just like that, my view is obscured. The guys grab a drink from the waitress, and I look at her with a nod.

  “You need to stop staring at her,” Ralph says from beside me, and I look at him. “It’s not just a stare. It’s a creepy stalker look you have on your face.”

  I don’t know what he’s saying. Miller looks at Ralph. “Shall we take off?”

  “Yeah,” he says, looking at me. “You leaving?”

  “Soon.” They both share a look of shock. I’m usually the first one out of events. I dip in and dip out so fast that it’s like I was never there. “Don’t.”

  The guys walk over to Andrew and shake their hands. Ralph walks over to me, slaps my shoulder, and then squeezes it. “Be careful.” I just nod at him.

  Miller is next. He slaps my stomach. “Go get ’em.” I shake my head and watch them make their way out. They are stopped twice, and I even see Miller just hold up his hand to say hello, not stopping for pictures. He definitely has changed. The old Miller would be in the middle of that, making sure everyone got a picture.

  I turn back to the crowd, standing with Andrew, who talks to the guys. My eyes find her again; it’s magnetic. She sings along with the song, and she must feel my eyes on her because she looks over at me. She winks at me, making me laugh, then walks back to her table. Grabbing a shot and taking it, she then takes her glass of wine and chases it down.

  I stand here with my hands in my pocket and my heart hammering in my chest, wanting to go over to her. I want to talk to her. I want to hear her say my name one more time. If only for tonight. If only for one night. I see her walking around, and it looks like she’s going toward the front door. She’s leaving, I think to myself. My chest tightens as I see her head disappear. I turn toward Andrew to say something to him and see that he’s at the bar having shots.

  I’m about to walk out with the hopes I can catch her one last time. I am about to take a step forward when I see her walking toward me from the other side. She stops in front of me, her eyes on mine. “Why are you watching me?”

  Chapter 6

  Evelyn

  “Why are you watching me?” I ask him, and my heart beats so fast and loud in my chest, I don’t think I would be able to hear him answer. My knees get a little weak from looking at him. He has to be the most handsome man I think I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t seem to stop looking at him or f
or him. The pull to him is beyond my control.

  This whole time, he’s been watching me from afar. I know this because I’ve also been watching him. From when I walked away from him before, I’ve been dying to go back to him. To talk to him, to touch him, to see his smile, his smirk, his laugh. He is all that and a bag of chips.

  I’m waiting for him to answer when a waitress comes over to us, asking if he would like anything to drink. She stands there looking at him. “Scotch,” he answers her. “Neat.” He looks at me, his eyes turning a deep blue. “And an apple martini.”

  “Vodka,” I say. “Grey Goose, cranberry.” She nods and walks away. “Does this mean you have to buy me another one?” I ask him, moving closer to him while someone tries to walk around us. His hand comes out again and goes to my hip. His touch shoots through me. This has never happened to me, and I wonder if it must be the shot of tequila I just had. I really just did it so I could psych myself up. This was stupid, my head screams at me. This whole thing is absolutely insane. If someone told me this story, I would think they have lost their marbles.

  I met this man three hours ago, maybe five. But ever since then, all I can do is think about him and his lips. His beard, wondering if it is soft and how it would feel between my legs. His smooth voice, the way he said my name. The way he held my hip, his thumb moving softly up and down. My senses are all on alert around him. I swear I can feel him staring at me, and even at that, I can’t help looking over at him to see if he is watching.

  “What do you want, Evelyn?” he asks, leaning down, his face so close to mine all it would take is me to turn just a bit, and his lips would be on mine. He stands up, and now I stand closer to him, so close that there is no space between us. My hands are at my sides, but I want to reach up and hold his hips. I want to hold his hips and tilt my head back and have him kiss me. The music is still playing in the background, but I’m lost in him. I can only see him, and it’s frightening that this man has this hold over me.