by Claire Adams
“See?” Missy nodded. “I should have become a shrink.”
I laughed, and closed my eyes so that she could apply a layer of waterproof eyeliner. After ten more minutes, she sat back and looked carefully at my face. Then she broke out into a big, satisfied smile.
“Perfect,” she pronounced triumphantly.
I was just about to glance over to my reflection in the mirror when Missy stopped me. “You’ll have enough time for that later. First, I want you to get changed. I’d much rather you see the entire look.”
I was curious, but I decided to listen to her. I removed the oversized t-shirt I was wearing and Missy helped me slip into the dress.
“Oh God, I can’t breathe,” I panted, as Missy proceeded to zip me into the dress.
“That’s the point,” she replied. “It’s meant to be tight.”
“This tight?” I asked.
“You’ll get used to it.”
“I doubt it,” I complained.
She ignored me and produced a pair of nude, strappy, four-inch heels. “Put these on please.”
“Can’t I wear something a little less dangerous looking?” I asked.
“No,” Missy said, with finality.
I had come this far, so I decided to just go with it. I put on the heels and then wobbled to my feet. “Oh, man… I’m going to fall at some point during this night.”
“You’re going to be fine.” Missy waved away all my concerns and looked at me critically. “Now, there’s just one more thing.”
“What now?”
She shot me an impatient look. Then she walked over to me and removed my hair from its usual ponytail. With a comb and a hair curler, she went to work on my hair, and fifteen minutes later she set her tools down and smiled.
Before I could ask if she was finally done, Missy opened up her jewelry box and pulled out a thin black ribbon that appeared to have a clasp at the end.
“For my hair?” I asked.
Missy laughed. “For your neck,” she said. “Trust me, it’s incredibly sexy, and it’ll complete the look. There…you’re perfect.”
I took a deep breath and turned to the mirror. Missy was right; it really did look like I was another person. I couldn’t see the full effect of her makeover in the mirror because my neck and head were the only things visible, but it was enough.
She had ringed my eyes with dark eyeliner, giving me a little winged hook at the end of each eye so that they looked large and seductive. She had applied an earthy nude for my lips and smudged my cheeks with a subtle hint of rouge that almost perfectly matched my skin tone. My hair hung straight and silky, framing my face before ending in slight waves around my shoulders.
The stark black of the choker set an attractive contrast against the milky white canvas of my bare shoulders. I wished that I could see the dress, too, so that I could get the full effect of Missy’s makeover, and suddenly, I was excited as well as nervous.
“You’re an artist,” I told Missy.
She smiled. “Oh, I know,” she nodded.
I turned back to my reflection. I could barely recognize myself, and I knew I had to cling on to that belief tonight. Missy was right – it would give me the courage to put myself out there.
“Ready?” Missy asked.
I took a deep, noisy breath. “I think so.”
“Don’t worry, with that dress and a couple of drinks, you’ll be the most confident girl in the bar tonight.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” I laughed.
Missy’s bar crawl didn’t turn out to be as scary as I had imagined it. I even met a few people I knew from lectures and classes, but none of them recognized me. Thrilled by that, I felt myself relax a little.
I also noticed a few different guys looking at me the way I’d seen guys look at Missy. Missy was no less stunning in a red halter and sky-high black pumps, but somehow, I seemed to be getting more attention. It was a heady feeling, and it gave me a little boost of confidence so that every time Missy handed me a drink, I accepted without putting up a fight.
By the time we made it to Oasis, it was almost midnight, and I was actually having a good time. My “mask” helped a lot, and the alcohol had really calmed me down. Still, when Missy leaned in and told me she had brought me here for my real birthday present, I tensed up a little.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Missy gave me a sly look and then looked towards the bar pointedly. “See for yourself,” she said.
I followed her gaze and caught sight of a pair of broad shoulders that I’d been fantasizing about for the past month. “Oh my God,” I breathed.
I turned back to Missy in shock. “How did you know?”
“Malin’s at this bar practically every night,” Missy told me. “Apparently, professor hottie comes in every Friday and Saturday. Thankfully, your birthday fell on a Saturday, otherwise I would have had to change it the day, and that might have made you suspicious.”
“I… What do you expect me to do, though?”
“Go up to him and say hi?”
“Hello?” I said, waving in her face. “Do you know me at all?”
“Okay, fine,” Missy said. “Then make him come to you.”
I opened my eyes wide in disbelief. “How on earth am I supposed to do that?”
“You look fucking hot!” she said decidedly. “Every guy in this bar is checking you out. Just walk into his line of vision, and I don’t know…bend over or something.”
I gulped as Missy started to walk away. “Whoa,” I said, grabbing her arm. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to go dance,” she said, wagging her eyebrows at me. “If you need me, I’ll be around. But this is all you, kid… Make me proud.”
She gave me a wink and disappeared into the crowd. I turned towards the bar where Chance was sitting and took a deep, measured breath.
“You’re wearing a mask,” I told myself. “Be confident.”
I walked up to the bar and sat down a few seats away from him, but I couldn’t bring myself to look in his direction now that we were so close. I was just starting to panic and bail when I felt someone approach me.
“Hi.”
I turned my face up, and Chance was standing beside me, his hazel eyes were even more mesmerizing up close. “Hi,” I replied, but it came out in a whisper.
“You are stunning,” he said directly, taking me off guard. “Can I buy you a drink?”
It felt a little surreal, but then again, this whole night felt surreal. I decided not to over think. I would surrender to the night and draw confidence from my mask.
“Yes.” I smiled.
Chapter Ten
Chance
She accepted the drink I pushed towards her with a smile that was almost a blush. She was easily the most stunning woman at Oasis that night. She was dressed in a tight embellished mini dress and her blue eyes were startling.
“I’m Chance,” I introduced.
“I’m Natalie.”
“Natalie,” I repeated. “In Latin, that name means Christmas Day.”
She smiled. “How do you know that?”
“I make it my business to know obscure facts that other people don’t tend to know.”
She seemed impressed by that, and I was glad that I was making an impression. She reminded me a lot of the dark-haired girl who sat in the front row of my lectures each week. Except Natalie commanded attention while the dark-haired girl looked as though she wanted to blend into the background and escape everybody’s notice.
Thinking of her made me realize Natalie could be a student, too. This bar was right outside campus grounds, which meant that campus students looking for a good time often frequented it. I thought about Lindsey, and I decided she was right in her justification. We were all consenting adults, and the university had no right to dictate what we did on our own time.
I decided not to ask questions. Natalie didn’t need to know I was a teacher, and I didn’t need to know if she was a student. I f
elt my blood boil hot and desire coursed through my veins as I admired her body.
There was something about this girl. She was unbelievably attractive, and yet she acted as though she didn’t know it. She looked almost uncomfortable, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of the atmosphere or me.
“So, explain something to me?” I said.
“Okay?”
“What’s a beautiful young woman like you doing at a bar all by herself?” I asked.
She blushed slightly. “I didn’t come here alone,” she said. “I came with a friend.”
“A friend?” I asked, with one raised eyebrow.
“Yeah…”
When she didn’t elaborate, I realized I would have to coax her into conversation. For the first time since I started dating, I realized that I didn’t mind making the effort.
“So, is this friend a guy or a girl?” I asked pointedly.
She seemed confused by my question. “Why do you ask?”
“I want to know if there’s another guy here that I’ll have to compete with.”
She seemed to understand what I meant then, and her eyebrows rose a little, as though she were surprised by my assumption. Then her blush went a little deeper before she shook her head.
“No, it’s a girl,” she blurted out. “I mean, my friend is a girl.”
“Oh.”
“I’m not a lesbian,” she said suddenly.
I raised my eyebrows in amusement, trying to suppress the laugh on my lips. She closed her eyes for a second. “Ugh… What I meant to say was… I was just having a girl’s night out with my best friend.”
“Good to know,” I said. “She doesn’t seem to be around?”
“No, she’s out on the dance floor,” she said. “I think she met someone she likes.”
“So, what’s the occasion?” I asked.
“Occasion?”
“You look amazing,” I said. “I just figured there was a reason for it.”
“I suppose there is a reason for it,” she admitted. “Uh…it’s my birthday.”
“No way!” I exclaimed. “Then it’s incumbent upon me to buy you a couple more drinks.”
“I think I’ve had enough drinks for the night,” she insisted. “But thank you.”
I could barely hear her over the loud music.
Irritated to have to shout to be heard, I turned to her and leaned in. “Would you like to go for a walk with me?”
Her face lit up into a bright smile, and I felt myself go weak in the knees for a moment. I took her hand and placed it on my arm as we made our way out of the bar into the cold night air. We had walked only a short distance when I felt strangely uneasy. It was almost as though someone was watching us. I turned around and surveyed the line of trees in the distance, but it was too dark for me to see anything.
“Something wrong?” Natalie asked.
I turned back to her and saw that she had her arms wrapped around her body. “You’re cold,” I said, removing the jacket from my shoulders and placing it around hers.
“Now you’ll be cold,” she pointed out.
“I’m not the one in the strapless mini,” I said, giving her an appreciative smile.
She pulled my jacket close around her, and her dress disappeared from view. Despite being engulfed in my black jacket, she still looked amazing. “Missy picked it out for me,” she told me. “I didn’t think I could pull it off.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, why would I be?”
“Because you look like you were born to wear that dress,” I said sincerely.
She laughed. “Greenfield Lane is nice at this time of the night,” Natalie said.
I realized that we would be walking in the direction of the campus then and I wanted to avoid talking about the university. “It is,” I nodded. “But Prescott Lane leads you by the water fountain.”
“True,” Natalie nodded.
We turned towards Prescott Lane and started our slow walk. I could tell Natalie seemed a little nervous, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why. This girl was every man’s fantasy. I would have thought she’d have the confidence that came from knowing she could get any man she wanted.
“So, what’s your number?” I asked.
She looked at me through the corner of her winged eyes. “Guess?”
I smiled. “Twenty-three, twenty-four?”
She shook her head. “Twenty-one.”
“No way, that’s a big one,” I said, realizing that she was almost definitely a student at the university. I also realized that I was unable to care about that fact at that moment.
“Yup.”
“And you’re spending it with me?” I teased.
“Maybe you’re my birthday present…”
Even as she said it, she blushed, and I couldn’t resist taking her hand. “In that case, I hope I don’t disappoint.”
I was distracted for a moment by a sound just behind us, and I turned again to see if there was someone walking along the same path.
“Chance?” Natalie said softly. “Is everything all right?”
“Uh…yeah,” I nodded, feeling slightly uneasy again. “I just thought I heard something.”
“I didn’t hear anything,” she said.
I turned back to her and smiled. “Sorry, never mind… I’m probably just imagining things. So, what was the plan tonight?”
“Bar crawl,” Natalie confessed. “It was all Missy’s idea. Oasis was the last stop on her list.”
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
“I did, actually,” she admitted. “I didn’t expect to.”
“How come?”
“The bar scene isn’t really my thing,” she said. “I usually prefer staying at home.”
“And doing what?”
“Reading mostly,” she confessed. “Tuesdays and Fridays, I call my folks. I don’t really see them as often as I would like.”
“You’re close with them, huh?” I asked.
“Very,” she nodded.
I noticed how her expression softened as she spoke about them and for the first time in my life, I was actually interested. I wanted to know about her past, her life, and her family. I wanted to figure out this strange young woman. And even though that fact alone should have scared me, it didn’t.
“Do you have siblings?” I asked.
“Only child,” she said. “My parents couldn’t afford to have any more kids.”My eyes snapped down to her face, taken back by the personal bluntness of that statement. It was such an intimate thing to share with a stranger; some would even consider it a source of embarrassment. Not many people liked to admit that they couldn’t afford things. I didn’t usually find myself lost for words, but in Natalie’s presence, I realized I wasn’t sure what to say next.
“It’s nice that you’re so open about that,” I said, at last.
She shrugged. “My parents worked hard all their lives,” she said. “They sacrificed a lot for me. I would be doing a disservice to them if I minimalized their struggle or if I refused to acknowledge all that they gave up for me.”
“I’ve never thought of it like that,” I admitted. “But then again, I suppose I never thought about money growing up.”
“That’s probably because you had it.”
I smiled. “You’re right,” I nodded.
“What about you?” Natalie asked, fixing her hypnotic blue eyes on me.
“What about me?” I asked, just as we came to the fountain.
We stood in front of it, but I only had eyes for Natalie. “Do you have siblings?”
“A sister,” I replied. “She’s older than me. She lives about an hour from here, so I get to see my nephew often.”
“You have a nephew,” Natalie said.
“I do,” I said. “He’s six now…or maybe he’s seven. I keep forgetting.”
“I think you need to spend a little more time with him,” she said.
“I’ll admit it, I’
m not the best uncle in the world,” I confessed. “In fact, when it comes to relationships in general… I usually fall short.”
I didn’t know why I was telling her all this. It was all so personal and so unnecessary. And still, I kept going. It was like she was compelling me to talk with those blue eyes of hers. She was staring at me as though she cared about my story. She was listening to me as though I was the most fascinating person in the world.
“I doubt that,” she said.
“It’s true,” I insisted. “I’ve disappointed all the people closest to me: my father, my sister, my nephew… That’s why I like traveling. No one knows you and no one cares.”
“It kind of sounds to me like you’re running from something,” Natalie said, and her voice was soft and devoid of any judgment.
“I probably am,” I nodded.
She looked so beautiful, standing there in the faded glow of the streetlights, that I couldn’t help myself. I leaned in instinctively and kissed her softly on the lips. I felt her tense for a moment before she relaxed into me and her body fell in against mine. When we finally broke apart, she was breathless, and my head was spinning.
“Sorry,” I said. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“Kiss me again,” she whispered.
I pulled her in again, and this time when I kissed her, there was no tension in her lips or her body. We fused together, and when her fingers tickled the back of my neck, I felt desire burn hot inside me.
“Come home with me,” I said, the moment the kiss broke.
Instantly, I felt tension rematerialize between us, and she pulled away from me. Uncertainty filled her eyes, and I also detected a note of panic there.
“I’m sorry,” she said breathlessly. “I have to go.”
“What—”
She removed my coat and handed it to me. “Thank you for the drink and the conversation; it was perfect.”
Then she turned and walked away from me. She left me standing there, staring after her, holding my coat that now smelled of her.
Chapter Eleven
Natalie
There was a crash just outside our dorm, and I moaned as I tried to hide away under my pillow. There was another commotion a few seconds later, and I realized that my lethargy was wearing off. I sighed and emerged from underneath the pillow I was holding over my head.