by V. F. Mason
“Drake.” Her voice was soft and gentle, and for some freaking reason, immediately calmed me down. She circled her hands around his waist and hugged him with all her might, and he returned her hug. “You’re in town again?”
“Yep, and how could I miss your chocolate cake, Mia?” She gave him a satisfied look.
“Damn right.” Her green eyes then moved to me, and she was quiet for a bit, studying me, which made me feel conscious of my attire and looks. As much as this whole thing was a one-time thing, I didn't want people he cared about to think I wasn't good enough to be seen with him.
Which was crazy and weird, but whatever.
“And who is this beautiful girl, huh?” She hugged me close too, and I immediately noticed her warmth and the smell of cookies all over her. She leaned back to look into my eyes again.
“That’s Jane.”
“Well then, Jane, it’s nice to meet you.”
My lips spread in a smile as well. “You, too,” I declared.
She motioned to the table near the window. “Go, kids, sit there while I get everything ready for you.” She seated us and disappeared behind the closed doors labeled “Staff Only.”
“She seems really nice.”
He chuckled. “She’s nice, but can be damn strict too. Trust me; this woman can command whomever she wants. Mia just chooses to be nice.”
My brow raised in question. “How do you know that?”
“She used to be my nanny.” His words made me blink several times, and he gently closed my gaping mouth.
“What?”
“Yeah, back home, when I was a kid, she looked after me. Then when I stopped needing her, my parents fulfilled her dream of owning a bakery, and here she is.” My pulse beat rapidly, and I had to dry my sweaty palms on my jeans. He was rich; no parents had nannies and bought them a business as a goodbye gift if they weren’t.
Which meant we could see each other at some event, but I quickly dismissed that thought.
Who knew where he came from, anyway? For the sake of my sanity, I decided not to ask.
“And it worked out?” It was probably hard to hide the skepticism from my voice; the bakery was empty. I didn't know much about the whole bakery business, but surely, it had to have customers to survive.
“Don’t let the looks deceive you. She’s successful; just on weekend evenings she has fewer customers. Usually the place is packed.” Well, good for her then. Since it was her dream all those years she spent as a nanny, it probably would have sucked if she failed.
“I’m happy for her; it’s good when your dreams come true. Your parents did a good thing.”
He nodded his head and then leaned forward. “We haven’t discussed it yet, you know.”
“What exactly?” I felt like we covered almost everything at dinner.
“The dreams. What do you do in life?” Before I could answer, Mia was back with two coffees and one chocolate cake. She put it on the table, and then gave us a wink.
“That’s the last of the cake, but I figured you two could share a piece, right?” With those words, she left our table, heading to the back, and we just shook our heads. Drake grabbed his fork and cut off a bit of the cake, which I have to admit looked delicious with chocolate leaking from all its corners, and then he put the fork up to my lips.
“Open,” he commanded, and without another word, I allowed him entrance. The sweetest, most delicious, exquisite taste exploded in my mouth from just a small bite of it.
Mia’s cake was the shit!
I closed my eyes and moaned inwardly. How was it possible to resist such a treat? The chocolate was melting inside my mouth all by itself.
“Eyes open, sweetheart.” I snapped them back to him and his eyes were heated with desire.
“If you continue to have that reaction to each bite, I’m afraid we won’t be able to stay here very long.” His words made me blush, and I automatically looked around to see if anyone heard him.
Seriously, this man had no filter. Even back at the restaurant full of people, he was sending me innuendoes.
“Would you stop saying that?” I hissed, which made him laugh.
“No. It’s the truth anyway. Good, huh?” He took a bite himself, and then fed me another one.
“You know it is. This cake is like a curse to women; even a chick on a strict diet wouldn't be able to resist it.” No joke, really. “That woman can seriously bake.”
“Thank you, dear!” she yelled from behind the door. My eyes widened.
“She can hear everything?!”
“I do, yeah. I have to have some fun here; part of it is eavesdropping. But since you complimented my baking, I think I can go rest a bit while you kids enjoy yourselves.” Her voice held laugher, and Drake didn’t try to hide his amusement.
“Busted,” he said. We drank the coffee; it was a bit strong for me, but good nevertheless.
“You haven’t answered my question.”
“Which question?” With all this cake and Mia, it was hard to focus on anything else.
“What do you do in life?”
Exhaling a breath, I decided to be honest. “Can we not do this?”
He frowned. “Do what?”
“Ask these questions to each other. Who were are, what we do, and all that? Can we not do that tonight?”
He studied me for a few moments, and then nodded. “Fair enough. If you want to have it that way, I’ll give it to you tonight.”
“Good.” We finished our cake and he stood up to pay, but I stopped him.
“Let it be my treat, okay? You paid everywhere already.” His eyes narrowed; he completely ignored my words and took out several bills from his wallet.
“Jane,” his voice was hard and low, “when you are out with me, I cover everything. There is no score or equality here. Understand?” It was clear it was useless to argue with him on this, so I decided to keep my mouth shut. He called out to Mia; she emerged rather quickly with a big smile on her face and a package in her hands.
“All done?”
“Yeah,” Drake said with a wink.
“It was delicious, the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had.” It was impossible not to compliment the woman, even if I wasn't a fan of baked goods to begin with. She patted me on the cheek and smiled.
“I’m glad, Jane. Here, this one is for you.” She handed me the package she was holding. Curiously, I looked inside and my mouth watered at the sight. “It’s one more piece, since you liked it so much. I lied about not having two. It was cute to watch you two share.” She then turned to Drake, who was trying to give her money. “On the house, boy. Always on the house.”
“I don’t really think—”
She interrupted him, not allowing any bullshit. Well, what I called bullshit, but whatever.
“Do not even try.”
He shook his head, kissed her on her cheek, and gave her a hug. She whispered something in his ear, which made him freeze, but then they shared some kind of look, which made him smile once again. It was evident that these two had a connection; maybe she was even more like a mom to him. Sam loved her nannies much more than her parents, who, seriously, were cold as hell.
Mia then moved back to me, hugged me, and kissed my cheek, and with a final wave, we left the bakery.
“Where to now?”
He raised his brow. “You are asking me?”
“Well, you clearly know the city better than anyone, so—”
He chuckled and took my hand. “Now, we go have some fun, and then we can go back to the hotel where we can take a bath.”
His words sent shivers down my spine, and this giddy feeling inside me wasn't going anywhere.
Well, then.
Let’s have some fun.
This was unbelievable.
When he said fun, the last thing on my mind was a dance bar of some kind with Latina music playing all over the place. The people were wearing dresses with special dance shoes, and they moved in ways I’d only seen on dance shows on TV
.
The bar was crowded, not club-level crowded, but it had a lot of people nevertheless. The waitresses and waiters were wearing black pants and shirts, and the girls had red roses in their hair.
Drinks were passed around. The smell of good Mexican food was in the air, which would have made me hungry had I not eaten before. A DJ played some cha-cha and danced right along.
This place was out of my comfort zone—very far from it, actually.
I wasn't exactly happy that he brought me here.
Drake was greeted by many of the people once again, and was in a good mood. I stopped him with a tug on his hand, and he finally turned his head to me and gave me a confused look.
Men were sometimes clueless, I swear.
“What are we doing here?”
He frowned. “To have some fun.”
“And that’s your idea of fun?”
“Yeah.” His hand palmed my face. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t dance.” The couple on the dance floor was dancing as if they were making love, and every move they did was full of passion. It seemed as though the man was crazy about her. “Especially, not like them.” He looked behind him and laughed.
“Rarely anyone dances as well as Gabriela and Alexandro.”
“You know them?” It was probably a stupid question, since he already mentioned their names, but still. He shrugged his shoulders.
“They own the bar, and we used to study together in college.”
Was this guy for real? I felt like my jaw hit the floor. Why was he introducing me to his friends? “Why did you bring me here then? I mean, we were already in the bakery with your old nanny. Now we are here with your friends?”
“I didn't bring you here to meet them, Jane,” he said with a chuckle, and then he grabbed my hand, led me toward a small, round table, and we sat down. Immediately, the waiter was at our side. He was around my age and very handsome, and he reminded me a bit of Diego Luna in a pretty kind of way as he smiled at us.
“What are we gonna order?”
“Let’s have some tequila?” It was a question, and I just nodded. Drinking wine here didn’t seem right. If I was to dance on that dance floor, I needed the bravery of strong liquor just to do that. “And nuts and some fruit.”
“The way you eat at every place makes me wonder how you keep that six-pack of yours.” The words slipped from my mouth the minute the guy left the table with our order, and Drake threw back his head and laughed. God, but he was handsome, especially with his sexy laughter that made me want to kiss him.
Damned hormones.
“I don’t eat like this all the time; besides, I work out. Life is meant to be enjoyed, Jane, so relax and enjoy.”
Men would never understand the struggles women went through with food. “You won’t make me dance, right?” I asked warily.
“No, I won’t.” The sigh of relief left me, but instantly the tension came back with his next words. “You’ll want to do that yourself.” Before I could say anything else, the couple from the dance floor joined us and I had a better look at them.
The woman was gorgeous. Her sleek, long, black hair was up in a ponytail, and her deep green eyes made me think about precious emeralds. She had high cheekbones and olive skin. Her body was slender, yet curvy, and the red dress she wore made her a beautiful, vivid vision. She had an aura of confidence about her that made me shift uncomfortably on my seat, and my hands tried to straighten my shirt of their own accord.
Compared to her, I looked like some kind of biker chick who was lost, and I wondered why Drake wanted me when he had female friends like her.
I was snapped from my thoughts when the guy brought my hand to his mouth, gave me a wicked grin, and kissed it. He had black, silky hair in a man-bun, olive skin, sparkling chocolate eyes that reminded me of amber, and a lean but muscular dancer’s body.
“Hello, hermosa.” What was with the man calling me that? Especially when his woman didn't look bothered by his attention to me. She turned her warm smile to Drake and leaned down to kiss him lightly on the cheek. For some reason, Drake’s eyes were dark with anger. He was eyeing my hand still in Alexandro’s, and he wasn't happy.
“Mi bermosa, Alex,” Drake corrected.
Spanish wasn't my best subject in school, but with the limited knowledge I had of the language, I knew he said, “My beautiful,” which made me blush and Alex laugh. He finally let go of my hand and shared a firm handshake with Drake.
“My friend, it’s like that, huh?”
Drake hugged Gabby, who leaned into his touch. Her eyes moved to me, and I saw there was a slight lingering pain in them, but she quickly tried to mask it, although it was hard to miss what it meant.
After all, it was probably how I acted around Jeremy.
The woman had a thing for Drake, and that made me feel like shit. Unrequited love was a bitch.
“Yes,” was his only reply, and then our drinks finally came. When he raised his shot in salute, I decided to do the same and we drank them fast. The liquor was strong and burned my throat, but in a good way. I quickly grabbed a lime slice and sucked on it. The sour taste felt like heaven in my mouth.
“So what brings you here? Came to dance?”
Since Alex’s eyes were on me, I decided to speak up. “He did. I have no clue how to do it.” I figured it was important to point out that small detail, because maybe he was some kind of king of the dance floor, and I didn't want to look like an idiot on it.
I wasn't the best dancer to begin with; my movements were stiff and awkward. You know that one person in the group, who moves like a piece of wood, and because of that, gets attention from everybody? Yeah, that was me, but I didn't care as long as I had some fun with my girls.
Showing my lack of skills on the dance floor with the hot guy with whom, a few hours ago, I had lost my virginity didn't sound like fun to me.
“Oh, I can dance with Drake if you want,” Gabby said, and even her voice was sexy. The guys winced at her words, and if it wasn't obvious that she had a thing for him before, it was quite evident now.
What the hell was I supposed to say? Maybe Drake shouldn't have brought me here to begin with, if he knew this chick had a thing for him. The nut in my hands cracked, because I squeezed it so hard.
Alex raised his brow at me, sending me an amused glance. I was glad he found this situation funny. I mean, his girlfriend had a thing for my man and it felt like fun to him?
Okay, then.
Hold it.
My man?
Where the hell did that come from?
Drake wasn't my anything, and to make it clear to myself and to everyone at the table, I nodded. “Sure. Be my guest.”
Drake’s eyes darkened again and something flashed in his face, but it was quickly gone as he sent one of his best smiles to Gabby—the one, in my opinion, that made him irresistible—grabbed her hand, and took her to the dance floor. The music started playing and they began to dance, and shit, they looked so good.
Fuck it.
No way was I watching him touching her everywhere, and her getting off on it. I grabbed another shot and swallowed it quickly, which was followed by another chuckle from Alex.
“You smile a lot, don’t you?” My voice was annoyed and biting.
He raised his brow and leaned forward; he was occupying Drake’s seat now, so he was right in front of me. “Actually, no, but you, I find hilarious.”
I saluted him with another shot. “Then by all means, enjoy, dude.”
“This could have been avoided.”
“What?”
“Him dancing the cha-cha with my step-sister.”
So she was his sister; that certainly explained why he didn't give a shit about her little crush. I shrugged and sucked on the lime. “It’s not like we are a couple; plus, he came here, right? Means he wanted to dance. I don’t know how to do that.” Without looking there, I pointed a finger to the dance floor. “So he can enjoy, and your sister too. She eyed him like a dog
who had seen a bone for the first time.” I covered my mouth with my hand, mortified at the words that left it. Seriously, it was his sister. It wasn’t cool, and besides, I sounded so jealous.
I was.
I was stupid; that’s what I was. I couldn’t believe the situation I ended up in.
“She’s wanted him for a long time. Still has hope, I think.”
Something was in his tone that was hard for me to catch. Was it resentment? “They used to date then?”
He shook his head and took a shot as well. “No, Drake never wanted her like that.” Somehow, this brought little comfort to the jealous monster inside me. “So what brings you to Vegas?”
“Just some time to unwind with friends.”
“You and Drake are friends?”
“No, we met here.”
“Interesting.” His mouth lifted in a half smile.
“What about you?” Since he was asking me questions, it would be polite to act interested. The conversation would keep my mind away from what was happening on the dance floor as well.
“We were born and raised here. Our parents owned the place, but they retired and now travel the world.” His eyes had something cynical in them when he spoke about his folks, as though them traveling together was one big joke.
“That’s nice then. I mean keeping the business in the family.”
He shrugged. “We liked to dance.”
“Did you do it professionally?” No way anyone could dance that good and not have some professional background; at least, that was what I thought.
“Gabby did. She had a partner and shit. I just always danced for fun. My career is in finance.” He smiled. “Gabby has a school of ballet as well, so all is good.”
“That must be nice.”
“It’s a passion. Do you have that in your life?” His eyes were all knowing, and then it hit me.
“You know,” I whispered, and he nodded.
“I’m a fan actually, attended your concert in Austin last time.”