Evelina tapped me after we grabbed mint juleps from the main bar, and pointed to where a bold electric sign read ‘VVIP Lounge’.
She really knew the right people to have gotten us in, and then a seat at an exclusive table I hardly cared for. And yes, they actually wrote VVIP on the bodyguard flanked entrance of the enclosed area.
“I heard in there is as big as in here,” she explained. I nodded in acknowledgement, even though the information did nothing for me. We soon spotted Jayce, Evelina’s Jayce, who was also our co-worker and the three other guys who were in our orientation batch. He waved at Evelina in particular, and we approached them.
Evelina sat beside Jayce as soon as we got to the booth, surprising me. I took my time, subtly watching. I concluded that with how tactile they were, they were still shagging at the very least.
I looked away as the both of them, and the other two guys announced they were going to dance. I did so just in time to catch the eyes of George Wesley, staring at me with no shame—the wide smile and predatory narrowed gaze gave him away. He was the strawberry blonde amongst us. With his leather jacket and the bad boy vibe he was sporting, I knew for sure that I would find a tattoo or two under his outfit.
“So, are you finally going to speak to anyone of us?”
“So, are you finally going to stop looking at me like…”
“Like I want to have my wicked way with you,” he completed for me with a sly and an arrogant smile.
I corked my head sideways, abashed, but not surprised.
“I’m not sure if you are trying to hit on me, scare me with your crassness or make me uncomfortable,” I retorted.
The cavalier gangster smile was instantly wiped off his face as he sat up straight.
“I…hmmm, I didn’t.”
“Don’t bother. It’s not the first time a guy has assumed I’m some sheepish hussy, who easily gets flustered when a guy gives her a little attention.”
He opened his mouth to speak, and yet again, I interrupted him.
“Apology accepted.”
I knew I’d rattled him. With the hot blush that crept up his cheeks, I knew it so.
He looked away, fumbling with his belt as he made some silly excuse and fled. I smiled knowingly. People always confused my quiet as a lack of assertiveness.
I scanned the dance floor as I sipped on the same glass of mint julep I had gotten with Evelina. I soon found her and Jayce taking dry humping lessons off of each other on the dance floor. So much for calling it quits.
Ashraf and I rarely had nights out together. But when we did, it was always fun dancing together with the addition of his girl. But he wasn’t with me, and dancing alone was always an invitation for some particular type of men to slide over. Therefore, since I had no intention of giving, I refused to get jiggy with it.
My belly rumbled, reminding me why it was a terrible idea to sip on alcohol on an empty stomach. My so-called colleagues were much too engrossed, and I then concluded that they would not notice my absence.
I proceeded to walk towards the restroom, which was just beside the VVIP private space Evelina had pointed to. I was almost there when I turned to take one last glance at Evelina, after sending a text to her to inform her of my departure. She looked like she was possessed, and she was consumed alright—by what was protruding her arse.
I turned back towards the restroom, only to bump into an unmistakable male hardness, one that was familiar even. The cologne so distinct, the scent so unique that I couldn’t have missed it. I just knew it.
It was him.
Running into someone once a day was a coincidence, a chance meeting. But twice was a dance with destiny.
I turned around just as I was about to end that thought, muttering apologies even as I steadied myself. I was also mentally trying to convince myself that I was imagining things—that it couldn’t be him.
My face contorted into surprise I should not have felt, and my heart leapt for joy when the front of the man I bumped into came into my vision.
It was him indeed.
In my bid to check up on Evelina, I stumbled right into Mr Clarke. Irritation clouded my thoughts while I fought to counter the excitement I felt at the sight of him. Some people would call that self-contradiction.
“Twice in one day, Zina.”
I felt it again, an awakening within me. Like something profound, beyond carnal in me was being called by the sultry tone of his voice.
The first time I felt that way was when I looked into his eyes earlier that day. The second time was when he spoke to me right at that moment.
I flared my nose in what I knew had to look unattractive, all in a bid to drown out the butterflies in my belly. They threatened to overwhelm me with lustful attraction.
“You saw me coming, but you did not move,” I said too harshly, an ironic response to how I could feel my nipples tighten at the sight of him, and at the sound of his raspy voice.
He simply lifted his eyebrow in reply.
It could only be described as destined timing that my stomach growled again. Deciding that my hunger needed me more, I attempted to walk past him only to be held back by his strong hand.
His palm slightly grazed my bare arm, which sent a jolt of electricity right through my entire body. I stepped back impulsively, taken aback by my reaction, but not wanting a repetition of the novel feeling, albeit good.
I had never felt anything like it before, and I had no plans to explore it.
It was on stepping back that I finally appraised his appearance. He had lost the tie and blazer, but still had his black satin shirt on, buttoned up all the way. He looked nothing less than hot or downright sexy.
“Is there something you need?” I asked a question I regretted instantly because somehow, I knew I would give in if he did ask.
The pseudo smile that dawned on his face let me know that indeed I had opened a door I had no zeal to close.
“In fact, there is. Have dinner with me,” he boldly suggested.
I stopped right in my tracks, ceasing my second attempt to flee.
I laughed in a very fake way, with the assumption that he was playing with my head. I even waited for him to affirm so.
His face didn’t change. It remained as fixed as it had been, letting me know he was serious.
My laughter died down immediately.“Are you, I mean, are you asking…” I looked everywhere but at him. I wasn’t rattled at being asked just to have dinner after my stomach had given my hunger away.
It had more to do with the fact that at twenty-four years, I had never even put myself in a place that allowed anyone to ask me. And there I was, standing in front of an Adonis who did just that. I concluded that he had to be a decade or older than me, closer in age to my brother in the least.
“Hey…look at me,” he remarked, calmly stopping my mental ramble.
My eyes flew to his, like an impulse I couldn’t stop. He looked at me, letting me know how much he meant his next words. “I am asking you to have a dinner date with me.”
I held my breath. I could lie to myself, but I knew the fresh pool of wetness that flooded my cunt was because of his confidence, and the way his words flowed out like silk onto my skin.
“You want to have a dinner date with me, now?” I asked incredulously, my eyes narrowing with doubt.
He closed the distance between us. He boldly put both of his large hands around my naked waist as I stood there in my high waisted jeans shorts and crop top. And I let him, unable to move an inch.