Katy sighed, then turned to face me. “Look Nicole, here’s the thing. That guy is obviously into you and I think you feel the same way about him. Correct me if I’m wrong.” She shifted her weight from one leg to the other, adjusting her dress before continuing. “For the past year, I’ve seen you go through a devastating breakup and come back almost entirely to your normal self. You haven’t shown any interest towards any guy during this whole time and honestly, I’m super happy to see that you are now.”
I looked at her, internally agreeing with her words. It was true, she had been there for me when Jason had decided to walk out on me. Katy had stayed with me and given me the emotional support I’d desperately needed. She had helped me bounce back from something I never thought I could bounce back from. When he had left me, it had felt like a rug being pulled out from underneath me, with everything I had known shattering into little pieces of nothingness. All that I had known to be true, turned out to be a lie.
I smiled and put my arms on Katy’s shoulders. “And you’re a huge part of the reason that I am where I am today. I’m forever grateful for that.”
She gave me a hug and took a step back right after. Her eyes observed me from head to toe, then a grin spread across her face. “I want you to go flirt with that guy and I want you to decide to have the greatest time tonight. I know you’re probably feeling nervous but you got this!” Katy smiled encouragingly and I responded with a partly reluctant nod.
I could definitely do that, easily. Probably. This guy, Chris, was extremely easy on the eyes, plus the way he looked at me gave me butterflies and made me feel..hot inside. As if awakening something primal inside of me.
“I dare you to make out with him tonight, Nicole,” Katy said and winked. I stared at her, the shock visible on my face. What..How? I couldn’t, it had been so long.. Thoughts raced through my mind but I forced myself to stifle them entirely. After a moment of hesitation, I accepted my fate.
“Well, in that case, you’re buying me a shot. I need liquid encouragement.” I grimaced jokingly.
After a final check in the mirror, we exited the bathroom. As soon as we reached the bar, Katy ordered us a shot each. The bartender filled the tiny glasses to the brim, shaking his head in amusement when he spotted the horrified look on my face. I was not used to shots.
“Ready?” Katy asked and I bit the bullet, pouring the contents into my mouth and swallowing before the burning sensation had a chance to takeover my throat. If I hadn’t been more than tipsy before, I definitely was now.
The shot had the desired effect though: my mind turned completely blank, only focusing on the mission at hand. My eyes found our table and spotted Chris sitting right where we had left him. I placed the empty shot glass on the counter and made my way there.
Just before I reached the table, Chris got up and took a few quick strides to meet me halfway. “Do you wanna dance?” He asked, his voice as smooth as butter. Shivers ran down my back. The good kind.
“I’d love to.” Taking his hand, I led him down the stairs onto the dance floor.
The shyness that I had experienced before had been fully eradicated by the shot. It felt like I had no inhibitions and we danced to a few upbeat songs, playing around and laughing together.
The DJ skipped to a slower song and Chris took a step towards me, placing his hands on the small of my back. I pressed my body against his, feeling the warmth of his body on mine. I put my hands around his neck and he took the lead, moving us effortlessly to the rhythm of the song.
I took in his intoxicating scent, a mix of cologne and his natural essence. He felt so strong and sturdy around me and moving with him was natural and effortless. It’s now or never, I thought to myself, almost letting my nerves get the best of me. Finally, I lifted my head up and glanced into his eyes. Taking a deep breath of courage, I got up on my tiptoes and reached for his lips with mine. But before my lips even found their target, his lips were already pressed on mine.
I could feel his hands gliding around my waist, his hold turning more demanding and needy. The sensation caused a moan to escape my lips and I plunged my fingers into his brown hair, messing it up intentionally. His tongue found its way into my mouth through my parted lips and I felt it exploring my mouth, twirling around mine in a seductive dance. My core tightened from our obvious chemistry, desire simmering inside me. His hands slid lower down, grabbing onto my hips and I could feel heat gathering between my legs, desperate to feel him.
Chapter 4
Nicole.
I was stirred awake by the steady pounding inside my head. It felt as if someone was trying to break through a dead bolted door.
“Ouchhh..,” I groaned and opened my eyes, trying to get used to the sudden light that obscured my vision. Once my eyes were accustomed to daylight, my gaze quickly scanned the room and came to a harrowing realization: it wasn't mine. My heart leapt to my throat and I felt sick — and not just from the hangover. A quick observation revealed that at least no one else was in the room with me. This steadied me slightly, so I quickly got out of bed.
My eyes found a mirror on the other side of the room: aside from my hair being messy and all over the place, I was wearing a white men’s t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts.
I took a couple of steps away from the bed, shifting my focus to the room around me. It was huge and minimalistically decorated: white furniture and white marble floors, which were met with full length windows on one side of the room. The windows displayed a picture perfect view of the city. Damn, whoever lives here, has got it made, I thought to myself.
I sat down in a chair in front of the windows and brought my hands up to my head, massaging my temples with my fingers. I wanted to remember where I was and how I’d gotten here, but this raging headache wasn’t making it easy.
My thoughts escaped back to last night, to the sushi dinner and getting to the club. My brain was able to remember those parts fully, at least to my best knowledge. However, when I tried to remember what had happened after we got to the club, my brain refused to deliver.
“Nicole, try to remember,” I sighed, as I closed my eyes and attempted to jog my memory so that it would miraculously fill all the missing details.
All that came back to me were random flashes: a table with champagne, dancing with Katy, the club restroom, taking a shot.. Oh god, I shouldn’t have had that shot, I thought, feeling nauseated. I had never been a big drinker, only having the occasional glass of wine with dinner or a couple of drinks on a rare girls night out.
I got up from the chair, looking at the skyline of the city. My memory had never failed me before in my life and I didn’t like the feeling. This was definitely an experience I could’ve lived without. While I was staring at the tops of the skyscrapers through the glass, another blurry flash came to me: my arms around a stranger, running my hands through their hair as our lips were pressed together, his hands moving on my waist and my hips.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit!” I hissed, bewildered by my own drunken actions. Did I just have my first one night stand ever..and with a complete stranger? Before I had a chance to come to a conclusion, I heard steps from outside the door.
“Hey sleepy, I see you’re up. How’s your head feeling?” A low, smooth voice, like molten chocolate filled the room. I turned around and saw it belonging to an athletic, brown haired and brown eyed man in his early thirties. Standing at about 6 foot 2 inches, wearing a white t-shirt with dark grey joggers, he was definitely easy on the eyes. I could’ve done a lot worse, I thought to myself, desperate to find a silver lining in the situation.
“Erm, it hurts,” I choked out a raspy laugh and then shook my head in disbelief. Ouch, note to self: do not shake head.
“I thought it might. I made you my trusted hangover cure, guaranteed to make you feel better,” he said and walked over to me. Only then I noticed that he held a small glass in his hand, the contents resembling green gloop. I looked at him doubtfully.
“Don’t worry, it’s just
wheatgrass and ginger plus a few other fruits and vegetables mixed in a disgusting looking package,” he laughed. “I swear it’s gonna make you feel better.”
I took the glass from him and half unwillingly raised it to my lips, taking a big gulp. A cheeky grin spread across his face.
“Well, it could taste a lot worse,” I remarked and shrugged nonchalantly. I wasn’t really in a position to complain, considering how bad my hangover was. I looked up at him hesitantly. “So, this is kind of embarrassing. But...I kind of don’t remember anything from last night. Like, even your name or..what happened..,” My gaze met the ground, too shy to meet his dark brown eyes.
“Oh, I see you had that much fun last night,” he laughed lightly. “Well, Nicole, let’s go over this again, shall we. My name is Christopher but I mostly go by Chris.” He said, his mouth in a half-smile. “And about last night, we definitely had a good time at the club. So good, that you in fact insisted on coming home with me, not that I was complaining.”
I mentally braced myself for the next part. The inevitable course of action, which would verify that I, indeed, had sex with this guy on the first night we met. I grimaced at the thought.
Noticing the look on my face, Chris continued. “However, about 10 minutes into the drive you started feeling unwell, and a small accident happened. Nothing too bad,” he added quickly. “So instead, when we got here, I helped you in the shower and then gave you some fresh clothes to wear and you pretty much fell asleep immediately after.”
I felt more self-conscious than I thought possible. I was relieved we didn’t have sex but he’d seen me throw up, helped me in the shower, dressed me in his clothes and put me to sleep in his bed. And he had obviously seen me naked... Oh god, I wish I had just slept with him, instead of making a complete fool of myself.
“I’m so sorry,” I blurted out, my cheeks feeling red and hot from the embarrassment. “Also, thank you for taking care of me, and making sure I was safe. This has never happened to me before, so I’m kind of having a hard time processing it all.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m glad I could be of help,” Chris smiled warmly and reached for the empty glass. “And I’m glad you finished that. Once those vitamins hit your system, you should feel like a new woman!”
I smiled at him shyly, pulling on the shirt I was wearing. “So, I think I better get going. I’ve more than extended my welcome.” I said, looking around for my clothes.
Chris noticed my eyes scanning the room. “Hold on, I’ll bring you your clothes. I had them washed right away last night so that they’d be clean for you to wear today,” he explained and walked out of the door.
He came back seconds later and handed me my clothes in a see-through garment bag. “I’ll leave you to change. I’ll be outside in the living room area.”
I quickly got out of his clothes and back into mine. I thanked myself for wearing work appropriate clothes last night. At least I wouldn’t stand out like a sore thumb on a Saturday morning. The last thing I needed was to look like I was doing a walk of shame, even though I practically was. I gave the room a final glimpse before stepping into a spacious, luxurious living room.
Chris was sitting in a dark brown leather chair, with a book in his lap, looking extremely focused.
“What are you reading?” I asked and walked up next to him. He looked up from his book, placed a bookmark in between the pages and got up from the chair.
“Oh, just one of my favorite business books, Blue Ocean Strategy. This is probably my 10th time reading it, but I always keep coming back to it because there’s always something more to learn and apply.”
“That’s a great book,” I agreed and smiled.
He led me down the hallway to the elevator and pressed the button. “You sure you don’t want me to get you an Uber?” The elevator pinged and the doors slid open.
I turned to face him, half avoiding his gaze. “No really, you’ve already done enough..Thanks so much Chris and really, sorry for the trouble,” I stepped inside the elevator and pushed the ground floor button, giving him a reassuring smile. I just wanted to get out of this uncomfortable situation as quickly as possible.
He looked back at me, hesitating for a moment before saying, “I guess this is goodbye Nicole.”
My eyes found his just as the doors closed and the elevator started descending.
Chapter 5
Chris.
As I watched Nicole disappear behind the elevator doors, I couldn’t seem to be able to shake the feeling of disappointment. It just felt like this specific story wasn’t supposed to end yet — and to be honest, I was more than curious to find out more about her.
Last night had been a blur. The way I had noticed her watching me, her eyes filled with intrigue. Then she had disappeared to the dance floor with her friend. I didn’t know exactly what it was but there was definitely something about her. She seemed interested but kind of hesitant at the same time.
I’d thought that maybe approaching her and striking up a conversation would make her relax a bit. Luckily for me, Tom and Josh had already found their way to the table and were chatting up the other two ladies which made it easy for me to join in on the conversation.
And she’d been even more beautiful up close, even though her beauty wasn’t the most striking thing about her.. It was those intense, green eyes that she observed me with. I felt like they were piercing through my thoughts, simultaneously trying to read me like an open book and undress me. Although there had been passion and fire in her eyes, they had also been mixed with something else..if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve described that something as innocence. That look had made me feel exposed but excited at the same time.
Of course, she’d then left the table and given me some time to think about my next move. I’d been desperate to find out more about her. To my surprise, when she’d returned, the look in her eyes had changed to something else. This time, her eyes screamed of determination and so I’d asked her to dance.
My eyes had been fixated on her petite but curvy body as it moved to the rhythm of the music effortlessly..and well, she had been hard to resist. Before I’d known it, her lips had reached for mine and I had met her in the middle. Right then and there I’d known I wanted to take her home with me.
Of course, I was no stranger to situations like these. The opportunities were plentiful for a guy like me in this city. But on those occasions, most of the women had been of a different sort. The sort that you see frequenting these clubs on a regular basis, obsessing over their new clothes and shoes. Someone may even go as far as calling them bimbos.
But Nicole..when I’d kissed her, it’d almost felt like getting a taste of a forbidden fruit..and that’d left me yearning for more. When she’d expressed her willingness to come home with me, I’d been determined to give her the night of her life. But of course, the universe had decided on a different plan. Our night of passion turned into a night of nurture.
Despite my bachelor ways, I’ve always considered myself a gentleman first and foremost. And so, I’d made sure she was safe and well taken care for. She’d seemed like a fish out of water, like it had been her first time going through a situation like this. In fact, she’d been apologizing to me throughout the whole ordeal — but I doubt she remembered that.
After she had downed a glass of water, I’d given her a shower. Yes, I had obviously seen her naked, considering the situation. And yes, I had briefly looked. I may be a gentleman but I am a man after all. However, helping her had been my one and only objective. After getting her dressed and asleep, I’d made sure her clothes would be clean in the morning.
Even though the night hadn’t gone according to the original plan, for some reason I hadn’t minded taking care of her. In fact, having someone to take care of had felt refreshing after years of meaningless encounters with multiple women.
The only thing I really regretted was that she left so quickly. I would’ve enjoyed talking with her for longer. For what it’s worth, s
he seemed like a bright person.
As I made my way into my study to get ahead of next week’s work, I couldn’t shake the memory of her green eyes looking at me with intensity. Somehow, I needed to taste that forbidden fruit again.
Chapter 6
Nicole.
After my humiliating encounter with Chris, I spent the rest of the weekend nurturing myself back to health with the help of Katy. She had almost died laughing when I revealed what really went down on Friday night. To be fair, if it hadn’t been me in that situation, I would have shed a tear or two laughing my eyes out as well.
I saw the comedy in my embarrassing experience. The unfortunate truth was that I had never had a one night stand in my 28 years on Earth. I almost felt like a one night stand was a rite of passage — one that I was missing. Having one meant taking control of your sexuality and not caring about what others thought. And for the first time, I’d actually felt like getting it on with a guy on the first night I met him. It would’ve all gone well, if I hadn’t thrown up in his car. Luckily, I had other, more important things to think about, such as my new job.
By Monday morning I had been healed from the hangover of the century. As I hopped out of the shower, I couldn’t help but to feel exhilarated. Life felt really good for the first time in a while.
I got dressed in a tailored black pant suit with a white button up shirt and a pair of black heels. I finished the look with a professional bun and natural make-up. If I was to be taken seriously as an executive, I needed to look the part.
After checking that I had all my things, I hurried out the door.
I ARRIVED IN FRONT of my new office building five minutes before nine. There was no way in hell I’d be late on my first day. First impressions were everything, especially in PR. A doorman opened the door for me and I stepped inside and headed to the elevators with confidence.
Forbidden Attraction: An Office Affairs Romance (My Billionaire Boss Book 1) Page 2