42nd & Lex

by Hofland, Bria

  “When you say hear me, do you mean with your ears or your mind?” I hadn’t considered before that his proximity tonight would allow for both possibilities.

  “Both. I think I have figured out how to tune you out some. I was able to shut it off while we were at the Enclave. Plus, I can’t hear your thoughts when there is a wall or something solid between us. Just now, I didn’t know you were planning to leave until you called my name. As for my hearing, a crowded restaurant typically takes my hearing down to just-above-average-human if I’m not concentrating. I’ll bring my iPod just in case. I think we will be fine.”

  Good. At least there is hope that I won’t spend the rest of my life retreating to the bathroom every time I need to think. Maybe we need an apartment with a few more walls in it. Lucan’s face drops a bit.

  “Honestly, Lucan! I can’t not think about things just because you’re in the same room forever. Seriously, you would know everything—what I was planning to do for your birthday, what I got you for Christmas, whether I was really in the mood or not. Actually, that last one might not be so bad.” I back myself into him a bit just for emphasis.

  “So you’re planning on being around long enough for my birthday and Christmas?” he replies, skirting the obvious sex reference.

  “I don’t know, when’s your birthday?” I tease.

  “March 17th,” he replies, squeezing my shoulders just a bit. Screw his hands; I want him to run his teeth across them but I know he won’t after my reaction. I bite my lip at my wayward thoughts. What’s gotten into me lately?

  “Saint Patrick’s Day? You’re joking?” I giggle, turning around to face him.

  “No, but in all fairness that wasn’t even a holiday, at least not like you’re accustomed to, when I was born. What about you?”

  “October 31st.” Mine isn’t much better. “So are you coming with me? I am going to take a taxi if you aren’t ready. I don’t want to have to worry about parking a car tonight, especially the Evora.”

  “I’ll come with you and we can take the sedan again. Were you planning on spending the night at you’re place?” He tries not to look to expectant.

  “Well, I hadn’t thought about it exactly.” I am lying. After his stunt with the nuzzling neck bite, I am coming back here come hell or high water. “I figured we might go back to my apartment after dinner and hang out. Let’s drive over in the car and then Sarah and I can cab it from there.”

  “Okay. Let me know when you’re ready.” His response gives no indication of whether or not he knows what I’ve been thinking about.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Lucan’s security sweep of my apartment reveals nothing but my poor housekeeping but he insists on standing guard while I am in the shower, just in case. With the bathroom door closed, I am free to let my mind wonder. Lucan knocks on the door just as I turn off my hairdryer.

  “It’s almost time. I’m going to head out before Sarah arrives. Please be careful,” he shouts through the door.

  In keeping with my plan to pick up where we left off Wednesday night, I open the door for him wearing just my towel. “What?” I ask as if I hadn’t heard him over the noise.

  “Uh, I am leaving since it’s almost time for Sarah’s arrival, although I might have changed my mind now.”

  “Later,” I tease. “Now be a good boy and see yourself out. I’ll be fine.”

  As soon as the front door closes, I can’t help but do a little happy dance. The red cashmere dress feels good against my skin as I put it back on. I find a pair of cute silver heels in my closet and strap them on before heading to my bathroom to do something with my hair and makeup. Sarah arrives at exactly seven. She is dressed to the nines in a slinky sliver dress and sky-high stilettos.

  “Hey! Come in. Wow, I feel under dressed.” I let her into my tiny living room and stick my head out into the hall to see if Lucan is lurking nearby. If he is, I can’t see him. “I should change into something dressier.”

  “No! You look super cute,” she affirms. “I just felt like, you know, getting dressed up for some reason.”

  “What do you want do tonight? Are you hungry?” I yell from my bedroom closet, ignoring her suggestion not to change clothes. The red dress is more work than play next to Sarah’s fiery number. I nearly scream when I notice a pair of man-sized boots peeking out from under a row of business suits. Lucan! He pushes the line of muted browns and blues aside to give me an apologetic smile.

  “What the hell!” I hiss. “I thought you left!” He doesn’t say a word but points to another Lola Bella garment bag hanging on the rack to his left. Inside is a little black dress that hangs off one shoulder. “Shh,” I say as I pull the red dress over my head. “Not a word.”

  Since my current bra will not work with this dress, I unhook it and watch Lucan’s face as I slowly slide it down my arms onto the floor. If he’d been able to blush, I imagine he would have. The dress fits perfectly. This man knows clothing even better than Max or he has one hell of a personal shopper. The Jimmy Choos are a must for this dress. Lucan hands them to me from his hiding place and then quickly pulls the work wear back to its original position. I am about to ask if he is trying to conceal something but I am interrupted by Sarah as she flops down on my bed. I’m mortified she’s sitting on my shabby twin with its faded sheets and comforter but she doesn’t seem to notice.

  “I’m starving.” She is checking her makeup in a pocket mirror oblivious to her surroundings. “Chinese is still good with me. If you’re feeling adventurous afterwards, I saw this new place over in the Meat Packing District a few weeks ago that looks fun. It looks like the kind of place celebrity types hang out at.” She stops and stares at my wardrobe change.” Wow, Abri. That is hot! Now we have to go to that club for sure. Those shoes are to die for.”

  Hoping she will follow me and get off the bed, I walk back to the living room. “Sure. We can eat down stairs and then cab it over there.” I am verbalizing my plans for Lucan’s sake because I can’t just think them with the walls in the way. “Are you ready?”

  “Yup. Let’s eat!” Sarah is amazingly upbeat for someone who has just filed for divorce.

  We are out the door and heading downstairs to my favorite Chinese place in the city when I realize Lucan is still in my closet. I don’t want to know how he will get out and lock my door but I’m sure he will manage. The hostess puts us near a window covered by an ornate screen so I can’t see the street outside. Maybe Lucan is lurking out there, or maybe he’s turned into a bat and is hanging from the ceiling somewhere. Even though he swears he can’t do that. Once the waitress has our orders, Sarah and I begin our conversation in earnest.

  “So how has your week been?” I ask.

  “Good. I’m getting used to living alone finally. Mark’s been gone a while but I was sort of pretending he was away on business before, like he might be coming back. I’ve been working some at the art gallery this week. It’s nice to have my own paycheck again. I’ve actually considered looking for a teaching job. You know that’s what my degree is in, early childhood education. It’s the middle of the school year though, so I doubt I’d find anything. I haven’t really heard anything from Mark yet. It’s weird. I figured he would have called or something. Someone called and hung up last night, but when I called the number back no one answered.”

  “Really?” I try to keep my voice even. “What time?”

  “Around seven or eight, I think. I don’t know. I was watching some show on the Food Network about cookies and falling asleep.”

  “Me too. Double chocolate chip somethingoranothers.” So it was probably Mark calling after he left Lucan’s apartment. Hopefully Lucan is close enough to hear this.

  “They looked good but I didn’t have the ingredients to make any. But I don’t want to waste our friend time talking about Mark and the divorce; we can do that when you’re on the clock. Tell me about your week, anything exciting happen?”

  I am sure she means in a professional sense, but my profes
sional week’s highlight was signing Sarah up as a client. I decide to leave that tidbit to myself. “Well,” I hesitate weighing how much of this I am willing to share. “I met a guy.” Talking about Lucan to someone else makes me a little nervous, especially since he is most likely listening. Sadly, this restaurant is not crowded; our voices are undoubtedly coming in loud and clear to even the humans in the room. Nevertheless, I want to share my recent excitement with someone, even if I have to limit it to human-acceptable new relationship topics.

  “A guy? Tell, tell.” She is eager and excited which only ups my excitement factor even more. “Is he hot? What does he do?”

  “He’s hot alright.” I decide that if Lucan is going to listen in, I might as well give him something to chew on until I get home tonight. “I’m not exactly sure what he does, a little of this and that. Philanthropy stuff mostly, I think. He’s a bit older than me, tall, black hair, blue eyes.”

  Sarah is on the edge of her seat. “What’s his name?”

  My bravery wavers. It is conceivable that Sarah knows Lucan, or at least knows of him and his foundation given her own philanthropic endeavors. Even so, I am confident she doesn’t know more about him than what I was able to find online.

  “Lucan O’Reilly.”

  “Oh my, Abri! He is a catch! He does all the important benefits in town. There isn’t a girl in the city that wouldn’t bang him if they had the chance. How did you meet him?” Sarah is practically salivating. A slight crackle of energy runs up my spine giving me the distinct impression that Lucan is laughing as I squirm under Sarah’s questioning. I am going to have to punch him in the arm for that later.

  “In the elevator at work.” That sounds normal enough, a public place. “We met and then he asked me out on Tuesday night for dinner.”

  “Wow. I’ve heard he’s one of the richest men in the city, if not the whole East Coast. I’ve never heard of him having a date, he’s always alone at benefits. Have you been to his apartment yet? I bet it’s amazing.”

  “I have and it is.” I shop short of divulging the fact that my meeting her at my apartment this evening is one of the few times I have been there this week. “He is amazing,” I add.

  Our conversation carries on easily and endlessly as we eat our dim sum. I am really glad to rekindle my relationship with Sarah after all these years. I worry about her and the Mark situation, but there isn’t really anything I can say to her about it without outing both Lucan and Mark, not to mention risking my job. All I need is my bosses finding out I told a client her husband is a bloodsucking maniac. I am glad she doesn’t bring him up again.

  We catch a cab outside the restaurant and it drops us off in front of the club. Sarah is so excited that she doesn’t seem to notice the cold as we head for the longish line. I am happy to have my new coat. The club is in an old building that looks to have been a bank in a past life, appropriate since the place is named Vault. The blue neon sign flickers a bit giving the entrance an eerie glow. Sarah walks past the roped off line and approaches a rather surly looking doorman. Surely, we weren’t on the list, she hadn’t even known if we would come.

  “Hello,” she says, batting her eyes at him. “I think we are on the list. Ainsworth. Sarah Ainsworth.”

  “Nope. Get at the end of the line, please,” he barks back, looking rather annoyed at her assumption.

  “Are you sure?” Sarah asks, a little agitated. She apparently isn’t used to waiting in club lines. I’m not either, but mainly because I never go to clubs—mostly because of the lines.

  “Yes ma’am, I’m sure. Now please get in line or I will have to ask you to leave.” He is obviously an old hand at this and not in the mood for socialite drama.

  “Sarah, it’s cool. We can wait. The line’s not that long. Probably twenty minutes tops, right?” I direct my last question at the bouncer. He shrugs noncommittally. Sarah relents and joins me at the end of the line.

  “I bet that guy’s on the list. Too bad we don’t know him.” She nods at a flashy sports car, my sports car, that is idling at the curb. Way to be incognito Lucan.

  “Wait here,” I tell Sarah. “I have an idea.” Sarah might not be on the list, but I can almost bet I am.

  The bouncer does nothing to hide his annoyance as I walk back to this post. “Can you check my name, please, sir?” I lay it on thick and sweet for him. “Abri Cole.”

  “Party of two?”

  “Yes sir.”

  The bouncer, even more annoyed than before, motions for Sarah to join me. She sprints up the sidewalk as fast as her four-inch heels will carry her. His face reads confusion as he removes the rope and lets us pass.

  “How did you do that?” Sarah gapes at me as we head up the narrow steps.

  “Let’s just say it’s all in who you know.” I wink at her.

  The thumping bass of the music vibrates the walls and floors as we walk down a narrow entranceway to the coat-check room. At the end of the hall is another door that actually looks like the door to a bank vault. A leggy blond in black leather opens it and ushers us to our table. The club is mostly dance floor with high-backed banquettes lining each side. Our table is a large, velvet-covered booth near the middle of the room that could easily seat ten people.

  I am impressed at Lucan’s quick planning. A table like this for two people would take some serious cash or influence on such short notice as all of the other booths are filled to capacity.

  A cute, dark haired waiter lopes over and Sarah is all smiles and batting eyelashes as he takes our orders. I silently scan the room for Lucan while Sarah vacillates between a Cosmo and an Appletini with the waiter. I can only imagine how loud this place sounds to his sensitive ears since mine are already ringing.

  “This place is awesome!” Sarah shouts when the waiter is gone.

  “Yeah,” I agree. “How did you find it again?”

  “My friend at the gallery mentioned it once and I saw it the other day when I was over here running an errand for her.”

  After we’ve finished our second round of drinks, Sarah is ready for the dance floor. The DJ has switched from techno trance to rap and the floor is crowded with people shakin’ what their mommas gave ‘em. Dancing my ass off is the perfect end to this crazy week so I’m right behind her. It’s been a few years since my last club run but I find my groove before long. Luckily, no one comes up to bother us and we are able to enjoy ourselves.

  Sarah and I have been dancing for an hour or so when I finally spot Lucan tucked into a booth in a far, dark corner. He has a drink in his hand and looks to be enjoying the view. I wink at him when Sarah isn’t looking and he smiles back. Now that I have an audience I throw everything I’ve got into the Flo Rida remix pulsing over the speakers. When song is over the DJ takes a break with some slow R&B and I scan the room for the bathrooms.

  “Hey, I’m going to the ladies’ room, you need to go?” I lean over to Sarah and shout

  “No, you go. I’m going to go find our waiter,” she giggles. “You want another drink?”

  “Just one more.” My finger looks a little blurry when I hold it up several inches from Sarah’s face.

  It’s been a long time since I had this much hard alcohol and I’m a little giddy. The bathrooms are off a short hallway opposite Lucan's booth. “Where is Lucan?” I wonder aloud. Before I can take a second look he is there, pressing me against the wall. The amps and alcohol make a heady, sexy mix in my system.

  “You scared the crap out of me!” I gasp in mock protest and pretend to struggle against his grasp. He says nothing but leans in to capture my mouth with his. I immediately surrender. He picks me up and holds me against the rough brick wall. A rather unladylike moan escapes my lips as he nips at my neck again and I am digging my nails into his shoulders. Satisfied I am done protesting, he lets me down and steps back. I guess he figured out I was okay with the fangs.

  “I’m sorry, love, did you say something?” He adjusts the sleeve of my dress that has slipped down in our haste.

>   “Yes, but I can’t quite remember what it was now,” I pout. “Having fun watching me, are you?”

  “Aye, very much so. I envy your friend Sarah for getting to dance with you.” His sly, half smile sets me on fire. “You better get back to her before she drags that poor waiter off somewhere and has her way with him.”

  “But first…” I say, pointing in the direction of the bathrooms. Lucan gives me a quick kiss on the cheek before heading back to his table. I stumble into the tiny bathroom and check my face in the mirror. My cheeks are flush and my lipstick is smeared. I look positively ravaged.

  When I return, the waiter is perched on the edge of our table watching Sarah sip her drink. He leans down to whisper something in her ear and she giggles wildly.

  “I’m back.”

  “Hello, beautiful.” Waiter boy is trying to do a sexy purr and failing miserably. “Can I get you another drink?”

  “Please.” I could use another drink after my hallway tryst with Lucan and it’s a good excuse to get this would-be Romeo off our table. He saunters back to the bar checking over his shoulder to see if we are watching. Gag!

  “His name is Kyle. He gave me his number. Do you think I should call?” She doesn’t pause long enough for me to answer. “That’s probably not a good idea, right?”

  “Speaking as your lawyer, no, it’s not a good idea. You don’t want any more trouble with your divorce than there is already.” Oh, that might have been saying too much.

  “What trouble? Have you heard from Mark?” she gasps, her drunken drawl gone. “He probably went and got a real shithead of a lawyer, didn’t he?”

  “No, I’m just saying that divorces between people with money and property are never trouble free. You don’t want to add a new boyfriend into the mix as well.”

  “Oh. Well, who’s gonna know. I’m here with my lawyer and you can’t tell anyone, right?”

  “True, but I still think it’s a bad idea.” I leave it at that. She is going to do what she wants regardless of what I say. He’s going to have to wait though because I’m not leaving this bar without her.