Love in All the Wrong Places

by Audrey Harte

  Men…so typical and predictable. But this typical and predictable man was also very attractive and could already give her butterflies. Still, she wanted there to be some mystery left for him to discover, so she decided not to send anymore pictures to him until they met.

  From: Annie Chang

  Subject: Some mystery

  Date: November 27, 2012 7:04

  To: Gabe Thomas

  Good morning, yourself. Emailing with you last night was fun and I look forward to meeting you when the time is right. However, I do want to leave some mystery for you to discover, so no more pictures of my legs will be forthcoming for the moment. But maybe, just maybe, you’ll get to inspect them in closer detail in the near future. Until then, use your imagination. ;)

  She hurried to get ready for work and was about to walk out the front door when she hesitated. Glancing back at her laptop, she bit her lip as she argued with herself, then walked back to the coffee table and bent over to type out a quick email to Gabe. Life wasn’t worth living if you weren’t willing to take a chance now and then. Hitting send, she straightened with a smile. He had her phone number now, so the ball was back in his court.

  Annie knew she was probably going to be a few minutes late to work since she had stopped to email him, but now she had possible text messages to look forward to from a very yummy guy. She quickly looked for the email he sent her with his number and added it to her cell phone so his name would show up on caller ID if he texted her later. Grabbing her bag and car keys, she finally made it out the door, a wide grin plastered across her face. It felt like she hadn’t stopped smiling since Gabe started emailing her. Exiting the front of her apartment building, she couldn’t keep the bounce out of her step as she practically skipped down the sidewalk to her car.

  Work was as boring and uneventful as ever. The monotony of her morning was finally broken around eleven o’clock when her cell phone vibrated with an incoming text message from Gabe.

  Gabe: Hey, it’s me, Gabe…thanks for your phone number. What are you up to right now?

  Annie: You’re welcome. ;) Working my way through a stack of new files.

  Gabe: Ooh, sounds exciting. You taking your lunch soon?

  Annie: In about an hour…why?

  Gabe: Because I had a hell of a time trying to fall asleep last night, wondering what your sexy voice sounds like.

  Annie: Oh, lol…well, I guess I have to admit, I was thinking the same about you.

  Gabe: So can I call you during your lunch?

  Annie: I guess that would be okay…give me a few minutes after noon, though, so I have time to leave the office.

  Gabe: Talk to you soon.

  Annie found it extremely hard to concentrate on her work for the next hour as she kept glancing at the time, but finally noon rolled around and she grabbed her purse, bolting for the door. As she exited the office building and quickly walked to her car, she could feel her heart thudding rapidly in her chest. How could she be this excited and nervous just to talk to someone on the phone for the first time? Unlocking the door of her black Grand Am, she swallowed hard and climbed into the driver’s seat. Shutting the door behind her, she rolled the window down, closed her eyes and breathed deeply of the fresh air before slowly opening them again and glancing at the phone in her hand; the time read 12:05 PM.

  Trying to distract herself until he called, she scrolled through the UsWeekly app on her phone to check the latest celebrity gossip. It appeared that Halle Berry’s current boyfriend had gotten into a fight with her ex and given him a black eye, Charlie Sheen was reported to have given Lindsay Lohan one hundred thousand dollars to pay off her tax debt, and ex Elmo Puppeteer Kevin Clash faced his third underage sex allegation. Sometimes she wondered why she was so addicted to the tabloids.

  Suddenly her phone buzzed and she grinned, taking a deep breath, her thumb trembling a bit before she pressed the Answer button. “Hello?” she said tentatively, hoping her voice didn’t sound as flustered as she felt.

  “Hey, this is Gabe…is this Annie?”

  She swallowed hard and barely managed to squeak out an audible response. His voice sounded so damn sexy that her knees felt wobbly; it was probably a really good thing she was sitting down.

  “Yes, how are you doing?” What a generic, boring question and why the hell did she sound so prim and proper? She mentally hit her forehead with her palm.

  “Ah, good, busy…you know. I can’t complain.” Wait. Did he sound as nervous as she felt? “Wow, can this phone call be anymore awkward?” Annie rolled her eyes to the sky and prayed for the ground to just swallow her up right then and there. It appeared that she had not been blessed with one iota of “game” or the ability to make interesting casual conversation. She was on the phone with a very cute guy and was quickly doing everything she could to lose his interest.

  “So you do, you know,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

  “I do what?”

  Hesitating briefly, she answered, “Have a sexy voice.”

  He laughed and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It was a totally laidback, amused chuckle and she immediately wanted more than anything to be responsible for making him laugh again. Some people are blessed with a laugh that can roll over you like the heat from a warm stove on a cold winter morning.

  “Ah, well thank you. You sound pretty cute yourself.” She wrinkled her nose at that, having hoped he would reciprocate and tell her instead how sexy her voice sounded, not how cute.

  “Thanks…so, what are you up to today?”

  “Well, I have to be at an open house this afternoon and then I’m going to this party tonight.”

  “Oh, that’s cool.”

  “You wouldn’t want to go with me, would you?”

  Annie’s breath caught in her throat. “To the party?”

  “Yeah.”

  “With you?

  “Yeah, with me. I can even pick you up if you want.”

  She hesitated before responding, starting to feel like this was all moving a little too fast, but at the same time, she didn’t want to waste the rest of her life waiting around for something to happen. “Um, okay, I will go, but I will meet you there. Where’s it at?”

  “Vanguard, it’s a club in Hollywood.”

  “Yeah, I know it. I didn’t know they were open on Tuesdays, though.”

  “I don’t think they are normally, but my friend rented the place out for a private birthday party.”

  “Oh cool. What time should I be there?”

  “I’m planning to show up around ten.”

  “Okay cool, thanks for the invite. I guess I’ll see you there.”

  “Sweet, I can’t wait. And Annie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Have a great rest of the day.” She grinned at that.

  “Thanks, you as well. Bye now.” Annie pressed the End button and sat there in the car for a moment more, just staring at her phone. Finally, she looked up and did a little dance in her seat. “Yippee! I’m going on a date, I’m going on a date.”

  “Congratulations,” a voice said.

  Yelping, she whipped her head around to see an extremely hot guy in a backwards red baseball cap sitting in the driver’s seat of the car next to hers, smirking at her. She had been so focused on the phone call that she hadn’t even noticed him pull up. Embarrassed, she felt like sliding down in her seat until he couldn’t see her anymore and just waiting it out until he left before exiting her car. Instead she quickly rolled up her window, got out of her car, shut the door and locked it behind her, then pointedly ignored him as she started walking briskly back to her office building.

  “Hey!” she heard someone call out behind her and she stiffened, wondering if she should speed up or stop and turn around. With a frustrated sigh, she stopped walking and took a deep breath before turning around on her heel. The guy in the red baseball cap stood there, holding out a tube of pink lip gloss, looking at her with that same lazy smirk on his face. “You drop
ped this back there. Thought you might want it back.”

  Flushing bright red, she snatched the lip gloss from him and stuffed it back in her purse, muttering thank you as she nodded curtly and spun back around to head into the lobby of her office building. Infuriatingly, she heard him laugh again before the door closed behind her.

  ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

  Around nine o’clock that night, Annie was still standing in front of her bathroom mirror, wrapped in a towel. Her hair and make-up were already done, so she just needed to get dressed and she’d be ready to leave for the club. A spur of the moment decision, she had left work early and stopped at a salon on her way home to get a layered hair cut with a few chunky blonde highlights. She totally lucked out as her usual stylist’s last client of the day had cancelled last minute, leaving her available to do Annie’s hair.

  At home she had taken a quick sponge bath, making sure to shave her legs again. It only took her a few minutes to apply her make-up using dramatic earth tones on her eyes, matching it with a light rose lip gloss. She pulled on a pair of black sheer silk stockings edged with black lace and a full-body shaper corset with a matching thong, then fastened her stockings to the garter straps on each leg. Stepping into her dress, a little black and beige number that fit her like a glove and came to the middle of her thighs, she carefully shimmied the snug material up over her hips.

  She smiled to herself as she thought about the kind of reaction Gabe might have if he got a glimpse of her garters. By the time she finished getting ready, she thought the final result was satisfactory, but she’d still rather hear it confirmed by a guy, even if he was gay. Alex was at Annie's apartment a minute after she called him, letting out a low whistle when she opened the door. He took her by the hand and spun her around in a slow circle.

  “Annie, you know I don’t swing that way, but with you looking the way you do tonight, I could almost make an exception.”

  “Aw, thanks, baby! That is exactly what I needed to hear.” She grinned at her friend as she kissed him on the cheek and gave him a tight hug.

  “Anytime, honey.” He patted her on the cheek, looking like a proud mama, then pulled out his cell phone and waved her over to the wall. “Now back up here next to that plant and let me take a picture of you for Facebook.” She groaned and shook her head in mild protest, but finally did as he asked, giggling as he took a picture and then looked at her sternly. “Don’t smile so much. Try to look sexy and mysterious. Put your hand on your hip, tilt your body at an angle, lift your head up, point your chin down and smize with those gorgeous hazel eyes.” Getting into it for a minute, she fell easily into half a dozen various poses as he clicked away, muttering to himself. “Yes, that’s it, baby. That’s the way you do it. Uh huh.”

  Bursting out laughing, she waved her hands back and forth and moved away from the wall. “Okay, that’s enough. No more, no more.”

  “Okay okay. I’ll upload these to Instagram and you can pick one later to be your new profile picture.”

  “Thanks, but if I look like shit, you better not post it.”

  “I would never,” Alex swore, looking indignant.

  “Ha, you have before,” she said with a wry smirk.

  “Everyone is their own biggest critic. But you of all people should not be so critical of yourself. You’re beautiful and sweet and smart and sexy.”

  “Maybe I should just bring you along with me on my dates and you can sing my praises and help make interesting conversation,” Annie suggested as she smiled sweetly at him. “Are you sure you can’t come with me tonight?”

  “As enticing as it sounds, I have to pass. I’ve got another date with Jonathan tonight. Oh and look at the time. I need to go pick him up and you’d better get going as well or you’ll be late!” he exclaimed as he opened her door to leave. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was 9:30.

  “Oh shit, you’re right. I still have to drive all the way down to Hollywood. Okay, well I am texting you his name, number and picture in case I turn up missing, haha.” Quickly, Annie texted the information to Alex, then ran back to her bedroom closet to look for her black leather clutch. She slipped her cell phone, credit card, driver’s license and some cash into it before closing it with a click, grabbed a light coat from the closet, turned off the lights and followed Alex out the door.

  “Have fun tonight, Mami!”

  “Thanks, you too.” She waved and blew him a kiss as she walked out to her car.

  Thankfully, traffic wasn’t too bad since it was a Tuesday night and she was only running a few minutes late when she pulled up to the valet. A portly middle aged man of Hispanic descent wearing a zipped up black jacket and black slacks opened the door for her and handed her a ticket.

  Shivering, she rubbed her arms briskly as she moved to the end of the rather long line of people standing outside the club. Annie thought she was being smart when she decided to leave her coat in the car, knowing how hot she would get once she was inside, but the temperature had dropped several degrees in the late evening hour and she was quickly beginning to regret that decision.

  As luck would have it, the line moved pretty quickly and it was only a matter of minutes before she stood in front of a pair of bouncers, both of them tall and heavily muscled. The one holding a clipboard gruffly asked for her name. She gave it to him and held her breath as she waited for him to check the guest list.

  Had Gabe told them to add her name or was she going to look like an idiot? But he only paused for a few moments before nodding and asking for her ID. After he returned it, she stuffed it back into her clutch and eagerly headed into the comfort of the much warmer club.

  Needing to do a quick mirror check and give herself a little pep talk, she hurried into the ladies room. Her make-up and hair still looked fresh, so she just washed her sweaty palms and then applied a fresh coat of lip gloss before texting him. Okay, nothing to be nervous about, girl. You got this.

  Annie: I’m here.

  Gabe: Where are you? Are you already inside?

  Annie: Yeah, I just left the ladies room in front.

  Gabe: Stay there. I’ll come get you.

  Annie: Okay.

  This was it — the moment of truth. Annie stood there feeling a little awkward as a swarm of girls moved in and out of the ladies room, some of them looking at her as they passed by. She tried to ignore their stares as she scanned the room for a tall guy who looked like Gabe’s pictures.

  It wasn’t too long before she found him moving smoothly through the crowd of people. A moment later he saw her as well, and his eyes lit up as a slow, sexy smile curved his lips. Her breath caught as she did a mental back flip and cheer in her head. Hot damn, she had hit the jackpot.

  His dark brown hair looked like it had been buzzed recently and he wore a black t-shirt and a pair of distressed jeans with a black and silver studded belt and a pair of looped silver chains hanging down one side. She smiled appreciatively as she noticed the tattoos on both of his toned arms and the diamond stud earrings in both of his ears.

  “Hey…Annie, right?” he asked with a raised eyebrow when he was close enough for her to hear, then moved forward to give her a quick hug when she nodded. She got a quick whiff of his scent which was a mix of aftershave and cologne…a little spicy, a little musky and absolutely delicious. “You look insanely hot,” he murmured in her ear before he pulled away and winked at her. “Come on, let’s get you a drink.” He grabbed her hand and led her inside the club and then to the closest bar. “What’s your poison?” he asked and she thought for a moment before responding.

  “Um, you pick…surprise me.”

  “Ha, you sure about that?”

  “Yeah, I can handle it.”

  “Alrighty.” He leaned towards the bartender to give him their order, then handed over his credit card and told him to keep the tab open. A minute later, the bartender pushed two shots towards them. Gabe picked one up and handed it to her, then picked the other up and raised it to clink against hers. “Cheers!” he yel
led over the thumping music.

  “Cheers!” she yelled back, then tossed it back like a champ. Holy shit fire. Can’t breathe. Going to puke. Goddamn it. Why did he have to pick Tequila? Gabe tossed his back with no problem, then burst out laughing when he saw her face.

  “Oh wow, I’m sorry. You look a little green.” Shaking her head, Annie smiled weakly and patted her chest with one fist.

  “I’m fine…or I will be in a minute.”

  “You said surprise you.”

  “I know, I know. I deserved it.” Annie didn’t dare admit to him that she’d felt so nervous and flustered at being in such close proximity to him that basic thought process was difficult for her at the moment. When he had taken his hand in hers and led her to the bar, asking what she wanted to drink, she couldn’t think of a single thing to order. It had been much easier just to let him pick something for her. Now she knew that was a bad idea and had a drink order ready when he asked her what she’d like next. “Kamikaze shot straight up.” Gabe raised his eyebrow and chuckled as she hastily blurted out her request, but he turned and placed the order, holding up two fingers as he spoke to the bartender.

  “Okay, we’ll do your girlie shot now.”

  She smiled gratefully at him and found herself starting to relax and bounce in place to the pounding music as the current song began to reach its crescendo. Soon Gabe was handing her a Kamikaze shot and lifting his to cheer with hers once again. She had no problem tossing the shot back smoothly without coughing and making a face. Kamikaze shots were her go-to drink and she didn’t often find bartenders who made them well, but this one was definitely the exception. She appreciated how fresh it tasted and how smoothly it went down. This time she was the one who motioned the bartender over, holding up two fingers and pointing to the now empty shot glasses.

  After two more rounds of shots, Annie was starting to feel really good and grabbed Gabe’s hand to drag him out on the dance floor. She made her way into the middle of the crowd, not letting go of him until she finally turned around to slide a hand around his waist and pull him close to her as she began to dance. He was so much taller than she was, even with her heels on, and had to lean down to shout to her over the loud music that pumped through the club. “Now I warned you I don’t really dance.”