by Sarah Carter
“Soon.” Damien laughs. “I’m GPSing the club.” He punches in a bunch of stuff into the dash computer. Finally, he says, “Got it. Alright, we’ll meet you there.”
“I’ll follow you,” Alex sighs, looking at Claire. “Please, be careful.”
Rolling her eyes, Claire retorts, “I’ll be fine.”
“I won’t let anything happen to her,” Damien chirps, getting into the passenger side. He grins at Alex and then turns to Claire. “Ready for some power?”
“It’s not between my legs, but it’ll do.” Claire winks at him.
He leans over, and whispers, “So many references spinning in my head right now. I know a thing or two that could put power between your legs.”
“Damien!”
“What?” He winks at her this time.
She gives him a playfully stern look and then shifts the car into reverse. Carefully, she backs it up. Claire grins at him as she pulls out. “This is going to be incredible.”
Damien puts his hand on her leg and rubs his thumb against her skin. “Have as much fun as you want.”
Biting her lip, Claire smirks at him. She looks to the front and shifts into first. The acceleration is immediate. They speed off down the long driveway and to the road. No one can keep up but Alex. Claire easily takes every turn at high speed. There are few times she skids across the road, but always manages to safely get straight again. Damien grips the door and laughs hysterically the whole time.
He turns to her. “Like it?”
“You have no idea,” Claire giggles back.
They make it to the club in no time at all. Claire pulls the car up to the valet and parks. “Did you have fun?” Damien asks.
“Yes, thank you,” Claire replies. Leaning over, she gives him a kiss on the cheek. Damien turns his head, and their lips momentarily brush each other. Claire holds perfectly still. His beautiful hazel eyes stare into hers. She whispers, “Your eyes have jade green in them.”
“Yeah,” he breathes out. “Yours are sky blue and very captivating.”
Her heart is nearly pounding out of her chest. Someone clears his throat. Claire sits down because Alex is standing next to the car.
“Would you like to go inside?” he inquires with a very cold tone.
“Yeah,” Claire replies quickly as she gets out of the car.
“Here. Please park it in a visible spot,” Damien says, handing the valet some money.
The valet looks down and says, “Most certainly.”
“Come on.” Damien puts his hand on the small of Claire’s back and they walk to the entrance.
When they get there the doorman says, “ID’s please.”
“Uh, I have absolutely nowhere to put an ID in this outfit,” Claire retorts.
The guy looks her up and down. “I see that.”
Damien thrusts a hundred forward. “She doesn’t need one.”
“I guess not,” the guy replies, taking the money. “You can go in.”
“Thank you,” Damien says, ushering Claire inside.
When they get inside, Claire smiles. The club is a lot bigger than she suspected. The dance floor is in the dead center. To the side is a bar, but Claire sees that there are no liquor bottles. The rest of the club is filled with couches and chairs.
Damien points to the side. “There, the wraparound couch.”
“People are sitting there,” Alex replies, sounding annoyed.
With a smirk, Damien murmurs, “Not for long.” He starts to walk forward. Alex swoops in and takes Claire’s hand. She looks down at it. He totally ignores the glance, and starts to pull her forward.
They get to the couches and Damien leans against one side. “Hi,” he says to the group of girls sitting there. “I was wondering how much money it would take to let us have these seats?”
The blonde smiles. “You could join us, if you like. I wouldn’t mind your company.” Claire glares at her. Damien leans forward and says, “I have company for tonight, but I’m flattered.”
“It’ll cost you fifty dollars,” the brunette quips.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bill. “Here you go.”
“Are you serious?” The girl gawks at him.
“Yeah, and here’s an extra twenty for some drinks on me,” Damien states, handing the money to her.
“Thanks! Come on, girls,” the brunette exclaims, standing up. Her friends follow.
The blonde walks over to Damien and plays with the top button of his dress shirt. “If you want a dance later, I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Mmmm. Perhaps.”
Claire turns her glare on him.
Damien looks at her out of the corner of his eye. “But I already have a dance partner tonight.”
The girl looks at Claire and eyes her up. “I see. Well, maybe next time I’ll dress like a slut, too.”
Claire walks over and leans against Damien. “Maybe if you worked a little harder you’d actually be able to fit into an outfit like this.”
Damien bursts out laughing. “You do have a mighty fine body.”
She smirks at him.
He bends over and brushes his lips against her neck. “You smell divine.”
“Whatever,” the blonde girl snaps as she walks away.
When she moves out of earshot, Claire growls, “Slut. I’ll show you who’s the slut. I’ll knock you on your ass, wench.”
“You’re gorgeous. Don’t listen to her. Come on. Let’s sit down.” Damien pulls her down to the couch.
She sits down next to him and Alex sits across from them, just staring at her. Claire nervously crosses her legs and sits perfectly still.
“This place is nice,” she finally declares over the music.
“It is. Better than I expected,” Damien replies. “Now we need to see if they have waitresses.”
“There’s one,” Claire says. “I’ll go get her. I need to use the restroom.”
“Okay,” Damien replies, squeezing her hand. Claire smiles and gets up. With a little bit of saunter to her step, she walks over to the waitress.
The waitress looks up at her.
“Hey,” Claire shouts over the music, since they’re right by a speaker. “Do you see those two guys on the couch? If you go wait on them, the dark-haired guy will give you a huge tip.”
“Really?” the waitress chirps. Claire nods, and the waitress heads over to them.
Shaking her head, Claire heads to the bathroom. When she gets in there, her cell phone vibrates in her hand. She opens the text. It reads: I really liked watching you walk away. The view was great. Need help in the bathroom?
“Oh, Damien.” Claire sighs. Texting back, she sends: I think Alex may get suspicious, behave yourself. I’ll be back out in a minute.
Claire goes into the stall and goes to the bathroom. While she washes her hands, her phone goes off again. After she dries herself off, Claire picks up her phone.
The reply text says: The view from the front is good, too. I’m not sure which one I like more, watching you come here or watching you leave. I do have to say, though, I love your ass.
Glad to hear it is her response.
Claire waits for a second and then her phone goes off again. It says: I actually would love to have a picture of you in that outfit. I promise to keep it to myself.
She taps her phone for a second and then smiles. There’s a floor length mirror in the corner of the bathroom. Striking a pose, Claire takes a picture of herself. She quickly sends it and leaves the bathroom.
When she gets back to the guys, Jackson and Kayla are there.
“Hi!” Kayla exclaims. “This place is awesome.”
“It is,” Claire replies. When her eyes scan the couch, she sees that she can either sit next to Alex or Damien. Those are the only two spots open. Alex looks at her and pats the seat next to him. Claire sighs and sits down there.
Damien is playing with his phone.
“What are you doing?” Kayla asks.
“Chang
ing the wallpaper on my phone.” Damien continues to do what he’s doing.
“Now?” Kayla retorts, “You’re so weird.”
“All done,” Damien states, looking up at Claire. He smirks.
She blushes and looks down. Jackson leans over and starts a conversation with Alex about his bike. Alex eagerly answers his questions. Damien continues to stare at Claire. She picks up her phone and types: Stop staring at me, you’ll give a girl a complex. J Dare I ask what you changed your wallpaper to?
When his phone goes off, Damien looks down. He smiles and then types something. A few seconds later, Claire’s phone vibrates. She reads: Want to see, or should I just show it to Alex?
Don’t you dare! is her response.
Replying, Damien writes: And what are you going to do to keep me from bursting that boy’s bubble?
Claire glares at Damien. He only wiggles his eyebrows. Claire types: What do you want?
After Damien reads the text, he stands up. Claire is very nervous about what he’s going to do. “Would you like to dance?” He sticks out his hand to her.
Claire’s eyes drift to Alex.
He glares at her.
“Well, are you going to dance with me?” she asks.
“I don’t dance,” Alex retorts harshly.
“Then you can’t blame me for going out there,” Claire replies, as she takes Damien’s hand. “Will you at least hold my phone?”
“Yeah,” Alex exhales.
Claire tosses it to him and he catches it. With a tug, Damien pulls her to the dance floor. They walk their way into the middle of the crowd. Damien spins her out and back in.
Bending over, he whispers, “Aren’t you worried about him reading your texts?”
“He doesn’t know the password to my phone,” Claire replies with a grin.
“Are you sure about that?”
Laughing, Claire says, “No.”
“Oh. Well, he shouldn’t be looking anyway, I guess,” Damien replies. Claire shakes her head and they dance. A minute into it, the song changes and the atmosphere becomes heated. Knowing very well that she can move pretty seductively, Claire starts to move her hips from side to side. When she looks up at Damien, his stare has intensified. He grabs Claire and pulls her against him. They press up against each other, dancing as close as they can.
Claire runs her hands up his chest and around his neck, gripping his hair lightly. Damien traces his fingers down her back, against her bare skin. It makes everything in Claire come to life. She pulls him closer, bringing his head down to hers. They’re so close that Claire can feel his breath on her skin. She stares intently into his eyes.
Damien’s arms wrap around her, and he brings his lips down to hers. The instant they meet, it’s like a bomb going off in Claire. She kisses him back with a fierce intensity, but the instant that Damien pushes his energy into her, Claire pulls back. “No.”
“Sorry,” Damien replies. “You just…I haven’t felt this way in a long time.”
“I’ve never felt this way.”
“Even with Alex?” Damien asks.
Claire’s eyes widen. “Alex.”
Her head snaps to the side. Alex stands there, staring at them. He steps back and storms toward the club’s entrance. Claire yells his name and runs after him, pushing her way through the crowd. When she gets outside, she looks around.
Alex is getting on his motorcycle at the end of the block. Claire runs down there and grabs his shoulder. Turning around, he snaps, “What?”
“I’m sorry!” Claire cries.
“No, you’re not,” Alex growls. “I saw the way you were with him. I don’t understand why you even had me come with. That’s just cruel. I expected more out of you.”
“It didn’t mean anything.”
“Bull! That kiss had passion behind it. You’ve never kissed me like that.”
“Yes I have,” Claire shouts. “The night we spent together.”
“It was nothing like that,” Alex yells. “Just…go back in there Claire. That’s where you want to be. I’m leaving.”
“No, please! Stay!”
Gripping the handles of his bike, Alex growls, “I’m leaving. Either you stay or you go. Make a decision.” She’s unable to move. Alex shakes his head. “Bye, Claire.” He starts the bike.
Claire jumps on the back of the bike and wraps her arms around him.
“Just go.” She rests her head on his back. A second later, they tear down the street.
When they get back to the hotel, Alex turns off the bike and they just sit there. “Why did you come with me?”
“Because I wanted to.”
“You kissed him,” Alex whispers, “With tongue.”
“Alex…”
He turns and looks at her. “What? It’s true. Your first kiss with that boy and that’s how you kiss him?”
“The first night I kissed you, I slept with you. You have him on that one.”
For the first time, Alex smiles. “Yeah. That’s true, huh?”
“Whatever.” Claire groans as she gets off the bike. Alex pops the kickstand and dismounts as well. He turns to Claire, and she looks up at him. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Bringing his hand up, he traces his fingers down her face. “I know. Can we just forget that it happened?”
Claire knows she can’t, but she says, “Sure,” anyway.
“Come here,” Alex murmurs, grabbing ahold of her. He pulls her tightly against him. “Tell me no. Say you don’t want me to kiss you right now.”
Not sure how she feels, Claire just keeps quiet. Alex slowly bends down and kisses her. She hesitates, but kisses him back in the end. They stand there in each other’s embrace for a while.
Alex finally pulls away. “Let’s go to my room.”
“No,” Claire replies quietly.
“Why not?”
“If we go there, we’ll have sex. I don’t want that. We can go to my room.”
He raises an eyebrow, “So, what? Then Damien can walk in on us?”
“That will keep us from doing stuff.”
“You aren’t seriously going to stay with him now?”
With a bewildered look, Claire says, “Why not?”
“Because he just had his tongue down your throat!” Alex exclaims. “What’s he going to expect now? It’s Damien Blakely. Everyone knows what he’s about.”
“He isn’t like that anymore.”
“You don’t know him,” Alex snaps. “You know me. I won’t touch you unless you want me to. Just…come and stay with me, please. I can’t stand to think of you sleeping in that room with him.”
Taking in a deep breath, Claire says, “Fine, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop talking to him.”
“Whatever. As long as I know where you are. I won’t be able to sleep otherwise.”
“Just…I’m not going to have sex with you, please understand that,” Clare emphasizes.
Alex puts his hand up. “I promise I won’t try.”
“Okay. Let’s go get my stuff.” Claire sighs.
Guilt is driving her to Alex, but he’s safe. Claire’s still unsure about Damien, but her mind can’t get off that kiss, because she’s really never felt that way before. It scares her.
When they get up to her room, Claire quickly packs her stuff up. “I need to leave him a note or something.”
“Go ahead,” Alex replies. “As long as you’re coming with me, I don’t care what you say to him.”
“Whatever,” Claire mumbles under her breath. She takes a pen and piece of the hotel notebook paper. She hesitates, but Claire finally writes that she’s going to stay with Alex. “What’s your room number?”
“Why?”
Standing up, Claire turns around. “I want him to know where I am. What is your room number?
“322,” Alex moans, rolling his eyes. “What’s he going to do, come check on you?”
“Stop it, Alex,” Clare snaps.
He puts his hands up. She turns an
d finishes writing the note.
“I’m going to grab your suitcase,” Alex declares with excitement in his voice.
Claire rolls her eyes this time, but Alex can’t see. “Alright. I’m all set. Let’s go.”
With obvious amusement, Alex opens the door for them. They silently make their way up to his room. When they get into it, Alex sets her suitcase on the desk. “Do you want to unpack your stuff into the dresser?”
“No, but I want to change out of this,” Claire murmurs, sitting down on the bed. She unzips one boot and then the other. Kicking them off, Claire just stares at the floor.
“What’s wrong?” Alex says, sitting down next to her.
She puts on a fake smile. “Nothing. I should put some pajamas on.”
“I don’t know. I like the outfit. You can sleep in that, you know,” Alex teases, pushing her with his shoulder.
Claire laughs. “Yeah, we want to try to not have sex, Alex. That won’t help. I’m going to go put on a pair of really unattractive pajamas.”
“I think you’re attractive in everything you wear.”
“That’s sweet,” Claire says. “I’m going to go get changed.”
“Alright.”
Getting up, Claire goes into the bathroom. She closes the door. It’s only then that she has a moment to really think. Her hand comes up to her mouth as she thinks of Damien’s kiss. For whatever reason, her chest tightens when she thinks of him.
“You can’t be that stupid,” she hisses at herself. “He would never be serious about you. Better yet, he could never be serious about you. Alex will be there for you and has been there for you.” She walks over to the sink. Looking at herself in the mirror, she says, “Alex…Alex is what you need. Forget about Damien.”
Nodding to herself, Claire changes her clothes.
When she walks out of the bathroom, Alex is pulling on a pair of pajama pants. “Hey beautiful,” he says.
Claire eyes him up.
“What?”
“You have nice body.”
“Claire, we’ve trained together since we were kids. You have seen my body almost every day,” Alex laughs.
Cocking her eyebrow, Claire inquires, “Are you not affected by how nice of a body that I have?”
He opens his mouth, but pauses. “Okay…good point.”
“Thank you,” Claire replies.