“You’re going already?” I asked, feeling a pang of disappointment.
“I have to pack.” Jonathan said with a soft smile.
I had to pack too. It was the last day of summer, which meant that today was our last day together. We were both going to university tomorrow, but in completely different parts of the country. Even though we weren’t saying it, we knew that this was going to change our relationship a lot. I still had hope, but I was getting the feeling that Jonathan didn’t.
Jonathan glanced around quickly to make sure that we were alone, and then his arm reached around my head and grabbed the back of my neck. His hand held my head up and he pressed his lips against mine, giving me a quick, wet kiss before pulling away again.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Annie.”
He smiled down at me, and I nodded quickly.
“Bye, bye.”
He walked out the door and slammed it shut behind him, leaving me with an empty feeling in my stomach. I missed him already. With a quiet sigh, I turned around and ran up the stairs to my bedroom, accidentally waking my dog Spot who was sleeping at the top of the stairs.
He followed me into my room, wagging his tail as I closed the door behind us. I grabbed my phone from my dresser and threw myself down onto the soft bed. Spot jumped up next to me, lying down close to my body pushing his head into my armpit.
I stroked his fur gently while I unlocked my phone, seeing two unread messages. One was from Ben—my step–brother. We grew up together, and I had nothing but good memories of our shared childhood. We were close—so close that not even our parents knew the full extent of our relationship. He’d been my first kiss…
But then he moved away for business school, I met Jonathan instead, and everything had changed… Benjamin changed too. Instead of the carefree, impulsive guy that I’d fallen in love with during my teen years, he’d turned into a person that I hardly recognized. A cold, heartless person that only cared about money and success. He never came home to visit anymore.
Why is he texting me now? I thought confusedly.
I unlocked the screen and read his message, feeling my stomach sink with each word that he wrote:
Hey, Annie. Miss you. I’m in town for a while. Meet me at the bar tonight?
Groaning loudly, I quickly closed his message and opened the second one. It was from Emily, one of my best friends. When I saw her name on the screen, I suddenly remembered that we’d made plans to hang out this weekend. I’d completely forgotten about that, and I’d ended up spending the night at Jonathan’s instead.
Maybe if I pack quickly, I’ll still have time to go out tonight. I thought and bit my lip.
Her message was short and to the point, but it was enough to make me feel bad.
You’re unbelievable.
I hit the redial button and pressed the phone against my ear, anxiously waiting for her to pick up. After four rings, she finally did.
“You’re so lame.” She muttered into the phone. “I can’t believe you just ditched me like that. Do you know how long I stood outside waiting for you?!”
“I’m so sorry, Em!” I said. “I’ve been so busy packing and getting ready that I completely forgot about our plans. Are you free tonight? Let’s meet at the bar and I’ll make it up to you.”
“It’s going to take more than just your company to make up for this betrayal, you know!” Emily said, giggling. “If you’ll be my wing woman for tonight and score me some hot guy, maybe I’ll forgive you.”
I snickered into the phone. There we go. One good thing about Emily was that she was very forgiving—especially if you offered her a bribe in the form of booze or, in this case, a sexy guy. “Sure, I’ll snag you the hottest guy in the bar, I promise.”
“Awesome! It opens at 8, right? I’ll meet you there then.”
“Sounds good,” I said. “Bye!”
“Bye, you slut.”
Click.
With a sigh, I rolled over onto my back on the bed. I contemplated answering Ben for a moment, but eventually decided not do. I don’t need that drama tonight. I decided. Tonight is about me and Em, having a good time! The clock was only 4:45pm, which meant I still had plenty of time to pack and get ready to go out.
* * *
Almost two hours later, I had showered and gotten dressed. I was wearing my favorite dress; a slim, black mini dress with silver details. My black hair was tied up into a high ponytail, which accentuated my high cheekbones.
My suitcase lay on top of my bed, flung open and with clothes and items lazily tossed into it. I hadn’t been sure exactly what to pack, so I’d just thrown in a little bit of everything. In the inner pocket, hidden behind a barricade of underwear and socks, I’d packed my long, oblong ‘toy.’ I’ll probably need it. I thought and sighed sadly to myself. Especially since Jonathan won’t be there anymore…
I flung my purse over my shoulder and took my phone in my hand, ready to leave. Before walking out the door to my bedroom, I stepped into a pair of high–heeled, red pumps. I could hardly walk in them, but they made my legs look long and sexy, which gave me an extra needed confidence boost.
On my way now. I wrote to Emily. Feeling good!
* * *
There was a bouncer at the front door, and a shady, mean–looking one at that. He was dressed in all black from head to toe—black shoes, black pants, black shirt, even black sun glasses—and his face looked like it was locked in a constant stage of smugness. What if he doesn’t let me in? I thought anxiously.
Magnus sped off behind me, and I gave my dress a quick smooth–over before walking up to the bouncer with careful steps.
“Hello.” I said and smiled at him shyly.
“You got I.D?” He asked and raised an eyebrow.
“Of course!” I reached into my purse and dug out my wallet, where I kept my driver’s license.
“It’s 20+ tonight.” The bouncer continued.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…” The bouncer leaned in and gave me a stern look. “Unless you got an extra 20 in your pocket, you better be 20, or I’m not letting you in.”
I scoffed at him, but didn’t say anything. I was just a few months shy of 20, which made the whole thing even more frustrating. But what choice did I have? I couldn’t let down Emily for a second night in a row, and besides… He probably did the same thing to her when she tried to get inside.
“Here,” I said dryly and held out a 20 dollar bill. “Since you need it so much.”
“Thanks, doll.” The man winked at me as he lifted the rope.
I walked past him through the door, tempted to push my elbow out and give him a hard nudge in the ribs, but I refrained myself. I found myself in a short hallway, with a coat girl to my left and the bathrooms to the right. At the end of the room, there was a wide, open door where music could be heard, and beaming, colorful lights were flashing rhythmically.
I smiled quickly at the coat girl before walking inside, awkwardly shuffling my way past the group of people standing right by the door. The room opened up to the floor below, which is where the club itself was, and you had to walk down a long set of stairs to get there. Naturally, the entire set of stairs was filled with people.
“Excuse me,” I mumbled. “Coming through.”
I walked down the stairs in an attempt to make my way to the bar, but the club was absolutely cramped. Most people appeared to be around my age too, or slightly older. Why is everyone here? I wondered to myself. Don’t they have school or work tomorrow? Then again, it is only 8.
A couple was walking past me when the girl suddenly slipped and twisted her ankle, falling onto me. I caught her, as well as her drink, which spilled all over my naked legs. Her boyfriend took hold of her and pulled her to her feet, mouthing a quick apology to me before pulling her away from the stairs.
From the looks of it—with her hand over her mouth and her cheeks bulging wide—she was about to spill something much more than a drink.
Sighing deepl
y, I wiped my legs off with the back of my hand, but it barely made a dent. Now not only my legs were wet and sticky, but my hands were too. I needed napkins, and quickly. Yet another reason to get my ass to the bar!
A man’s voice suddenly took over the microphone. The music faded in the background, allowing him to take over the speakers. My eyes fell on the stage at the other side of the room, and I could see a man in a blue suit walking around on it.
“Is everyone having a good time?” He asked loudly.
The crowd cheered loudly, stomping their feet in the ground until it sounded like thunder. The noise was ear–wrecking and exciting at the same time. I fished my phone out of my pocket and sent a quick text message to Emily. She still hadn’t answered to my first one.
I’m in the stairs, going towards the bar. Where are you?
The cheering had subsided, and the man took hold of the microphone again. “Good!” He screamed. “Because it’s about to get a whole lot better!”
Suddenly the lights in the club were dimmed down until the entire club was dark. The music was turned on again—except this time, they were playing a calm, instrumental jazz song. The man had walked off the stage and was standing to the side, half–hidden behind the thick red curtain that hung behind the stage.
Another man then emerged from behind the curtain—wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. He was strong and muscular, with a hefty tuft of hair on both his head and his chest. The women in the club cheered loudly as he walked up to the chair in the middle of the stage, but I quickly turned my head away shyly.
Since when does this club do strip shows? I thought to myself as I hurried down the stairs with my cheeks burning red. What if people think I came here just to gawk at a half–naked man? On the wall to my right, a big, flashy poster suddenly caught my eye. In big, curvy letters, it read:
August 29th LADIES NIGHT!
Below the text, there was a picture of a shirtless man holding his hand over his groins, looking shyly away from the camera. Well that’s awfully fitting, I thought to myself as I dug my phone out of my pocket. Emily is going to love this. There was still no response, and I was starting to get worried that something bad had happened to her.
When I finally reached the bar, after lots of gentle nudging and many quiet excuse me’s and coming through’s, I sat down on the only empty bar stool and let out a deep, heavy sigh. Luckily none of the drink had been spilled on my dress or shoes, and I was able to wipe most of it off.
But, a pile of dirty napkins and half of a delicious, fruity Sea Breeze later, I was still alone. I guess Emily got held up with something, I thought to myself. I’m sure she’ll be here soon.
“Hey,” A familiar, surprised voice suddenly said behind me.
I turned around and saw Benjamin. I almost didn’t recognize him, because he looked completely different. Rather than the collared shirt and khakis that he always used to wear, he was dressed in a pair of dark–washed jeans and a loose–fitting, black sweater. He’d let his beard grow out since I last saw him, and his medium–length brown hair was tied up into a samurai bun.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” He continued. “You never answered to my text message.”
“Oh, hey.” I smiled awkwardly up at him, feeling that familiar hot flush rise on my cheeks. “I, uhm, forgot to text you back.” I lied.
“You don’t need to lie to me, Annie. I can read you like an open book.” He laughed. “Are you here with someone?” He added after a short pause.
I contemplated lying again and telling him that I was here with Emily—or maybe another man—so that he would leave me alone, but for some reason I wanted to keep talking to him. In fact, a part of me was really curious to hear how he’d been.
“Actually… no,” I said and smiled at him. “I was supposed to meet Emily here, but she’s not answering my text messages, so…”
“Oh, she’s not? That must feel so bad for you.” Ben smirked, and his tone was sarcastic. “You look beautiful, by the way. I hardly recognized you in that dress. You’ve changed.”
“Thanks!” I took a sip of my drink, effectively emptying the tall glass. “So have you.”
A chair opened up next to me and Ben sat down in it with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Yeah, I did some soul–searching—or whatever you want to call it. Sold my car and bought a one–way ticket to France, and since then I’ve been backpacking through Europe.”
“Wow, that seems so unlike you,” I mumbled. “But you’re back now. Did you get a job opportunity or something?”
Ben shook his head. “No,” he said quickly. “Wait, hang on.”
He turned his head towards the bartender, who was wiping down the counter top with a striped kitchen towel. “Excuse me.” Ben said and set a 10 dollar bill down on the counter. “Can I get a refill for my friend?”
“Certainly,” The bartender said and flung the towel over his shoulder. “Sea Breeze, heavy on the grape juice, right?” He asked from me.
I nodded softly.
Within a few seconds, he had mixed my drink and poured it into a clean glass, this time with a thick, pink straw stuck into it.
“Thank you!”
“You’re welcome, darling.”
He walked away to take the order of a middle–aged woman with a face the color of a tomato. She looked like she’d had one too many, and then some. I turned my head back towards Ben, who was watching me with curious eyes.
“Thank for the drink,” I smiled and took a small sip through the straw.
“No problem,” He said. “So how are you? How was your summer?”
“Nuh–uh–uh,” I interrupted him with a gleeful smile. “You have to answer my question first! Why are you back in town?”
“I quit school.”
My chin dropped. “What?”
“I quit school,” Ben repeated with a careless shrug. “I hated every second of it and it was making me miserable, so… I quit!”
“But… you wanted to work in marketing.” I said in confusion. “It was your dream.”
“Things change. People change.” Ben smiled a soft, sideways smile. “I guess I’m a different person now.”
I fell silent. It seemed like we had more in common than ever before. All the reasons that I’d originally fallen in love with him for were coming back to me, shaking the very core of my beliefs. For the first time in three years, I found myself wondering if I had judged him too harshly.
At the same time, it wasn’t right for me to think about Ben in such a way—I was still with Jonathan, even if our relationship was complicated and there may be a few roadblocks in the way. Jonathan was a good person—and he was reliable, which is something that Ben would never be. I still had hope for me and Jonathan’s relationship.
I took a quick, large sip of my drink and cleared my throat.
“Excuse me,” I said to Ben as I slipped off my bar stool, waving my phone in my hand. “I need to, uh, make a phone call.”
“I’ll wait here.”
I was starting to feel light–headed, and for some reason calling Jonathan felt like the world’s best idea right now. I staggered away, almost falling over onto the floor. I was such a lightweight when it came to alcohol—probably because I was still only nineteen.
When I was back upstairs in the lobby room, I dialed Jonathan’s number and put the phone to my ear. I kept myself busy by twirling my hair around my finger as I waited for him to pick up. It beeped three times in my ear, then I finally heard the click sound of him picking up.
“Hey, it’s me,” I said quickly. “I know it’s kind of late, I just wanted to talk.”
“Jonathan isn’t here right now.”
I recognized the voice on the other end of the phone. It was feminine and high pitched, and it sounded just like his ex–girlfriend. No, it can’t be…
“Matilda?” I blurted out. “Give the phone to Jonathan right now!”
“Sorry, he’s busy.” She giggled. “I’ll tell him you
called… maybe.”
Click.
I dialed his number again—three times—but he never picked up. Matilda must’ve put his phone on silent, or he was just ignoring me. I didn’t know what the worse choice was. Why the hell is he with Matilda? I thought to myself. I thought they were done a long time ago! How could he not tell me?
Tears were burning behind my eyelids, but I blinked them away stubbornly. If she had his phone, that meant that she was at his apartment—and from the sounds of it, they were alone too. Not even a day had passed since we had sex last time, and he was already back to sleeping with his ex? Was she even his ex anymore, or was I the ex now? I can’t believe him! Couldn’t he at least have the courtesy to tell me?!
Fuming, I threw my phone back into my purse and marched down the stairs. I was at the bar after all, so I might as well have some fun. Why not get drunk while I’m at it? I thought as I walked up to the bar disk.
My chair was still empty and Ben was sitting next to it as promised, sipping on a Gin & Tonic.
“Hey,” He said and smiled at me. “Have you heard from Emily?”
“I—… I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her still.” I mumbled and slid down onto my stool.
I wanted to vent about Jonathan, but Ben wasn’t exactly the first person I’d call if I wanted to talk about boy trouble. In fact, I think he would be the person girls were talking about when they were talking boy trouble. He’d gotten himself quite a reputation in business school, or at least so I heard from my friends.
“I guess it’s just you and me then.” Ben winked.
I turned my head and looked up at him, watching into his dark green eyes. “Yeah… Yeah, I guess it is.”
He smiled at me. “You seem upset.”
“Oh, it’s nothing…” I mumbled. “I just made a stupid mistake, and now I want to forget about it. Bartender!” The bartender turned his head and walked up to me. “Can I have another Sea Breeze, please?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to try something new?” Ben asked. “Like… a Sex on the Beach, maybe.”
“A what?”
“Sex on the beach.” Ben smiled widely. “Vodka, Peach Schnapps and orange juice. You’d love it.”
TABOO MEGA BUNDLE: Wet & Ready (40 Hot Short Stories, First Time, Menage and More!) Page 55