I groan as I reach over and lift it to see who’s calling. Hadley’s name appears. Ugh, I knew I wouldn’t be able to avoid her asking questions about my abrupt departure, especially when going out was my idea to begin with. But I had at least hoped that she had gone home with Josh, and maybe I would have more time before she confronted me about it. I set the phone back down as it continues to vibrate. Finally, it stops. Thank God. The phone vibrates again. I grab my phone and hit the Ignore button.
“Oh, hell no! I know you did not bitch button me,” my best friend shouts from the living room after slamming my front door shut. Well, so much for her going home with the bouncer.
“Ugh, I need to get my own place,” I mutter to myself but loud enough for her to hear.
She laughs. “Yeah, right. We both know that’s not happening.” I hear the clicking of her boots as she walks down the hallway to my bedroom. “You wanna tell me what this is all about because I don’t believe your bullshit of not feeling well. I saw your sexy friend come back upstairs and knew something was…”
Hadley stops talking and stares at me as she takes in my appearance. While I did change my clothes, I hadn’t taken my makeup off yet, and by now, I cried enough to have it running down my face.
“Lex, what happened? Did he hurt you? What’s going on? You’re scaring me.” She races over to my bedside and pulls me into her arms. I begin to cry again as my best friend goes into mother mode. “I’m going to fucking kill the bastard if he hurt you. Oh my God, Lex, he didn’t rape you, did he?”
I sniff and sit up, wiping the combo of snot and tears with my sleeve.
“Calm down. He didn’t rape me. It was nothing like that.” Quite the opposite, actually.
She stares at me intently. “Okay, then what am I missing here. Why are we here, then, you looking like that—” She runs her hand up and down at my appearance. “—and not back at the club with you all over Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.”
I shrug and pull back from her arms, settling against the headboard, and bring my knees to my chest.
“Lexi, I need you to talk to me. I don’t understand what’s going on here. But he didn’t hurt you?”
“No,” I spit out louder than expected. My tone softens. “No, Ben didn’t hurt me. He was perfect. It was the best sex of my life. Fuck, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to walk tomorrow.”
“You had sex with him,” my best friend shouts in surprise. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it myself. I don’t do things like that; the random one-night stands are usually Hadley’s MO.
I wince at her volume. Oops. I smile shyly. “Yes?” It comes out more as a question than an answer.
Hadley shoves my arm. “You skank. Look at you.” A giant smile on her face is quickly wiped away with a look of confusion. “Wait, again, why are you here, then, and not there, or in his bed naked with him.”
“I kind of freaked out. We had mind-blowing sex, like seriously an orgasm that ended all orgasms.” More than one. “He invited me up to his VIP section for another drink, and I told him I just needed a minute to freshen up.”
She winks dramatically, and I laugh, but my laughter quickly fades. “But then I started to panic. I mean, I just met this guy. Remember what happened with the last guy I met and jumped right into things with.”
“Aww, honey. Not everyone is like Dominic.” She pulls me back into her arms for a deep hug.
“Well, it’s too late. We didn’t exchange numbers since I guess he hadn’t planned on the evening ending when it did, so now all I know is that his name is Ben.”
“You could always run an ad in the magazine,” Hadley says somehow with a straight face, before breaking out into laughter.
“Yeah, I could see it now. I could do a Dear Jane letter.” I join in on her laughter.
“You mean Dear Ben,” she interrupts, waggling her eyebrows.
“Yes, Dear Ben, if you are the same guy who I met at Eiffel Park and fucked me into next week in the bathroom, can you please give me a call. I’m sorry for running out on you like Cinderella.” I’m thankful that my best friend came to my rescue. I already feel the weight has lifted slightly.
“Works for me.” Hadley shrugs, having trouble keeping a serious expression.
I grab a pillow from behind me, smacking Hadley in the face.
“No, it was nothing. Just a one-night stand. Time to move on.” I sigh.
She gives me a soft smile and doesn’t push the subject anymore. Hadley lets out a large yawn. “I’m crashing here. I’m too tired to go to my room, plus your bed is more comfortable than mine.”
I throw my head back in laughter as I rise from the bed to head to the bathroom to wash the mess of makeup off my face. “We have the same bed.”
“And your point is?” I ignore her statement because, honestly, I’m grateful to have her here with me. “Oh, hey, Lex?” Hadley shouts from her place on my bed. I poke my head back out of the bathroom. “You better not ignore my calls again, bitch.” I can’t hide my laughter. “The only time you’re allowed to ignore me is when you’re taking a shit.”
“One time I do that, and you never let me forget it.”
“You’re goddamn right.” Hadley’s voice trails off as she steps into my closet to grab a change of clothes.
When we both return, she curls up in the space next to me, and we laugh until we both fall asleep.
If this was nothing more than a one-night stand, why is it that as I close my eyes, I still feel him, smell him, and dream of him?
Monday morning comes way too quickly, and nothing has gone my way. Not only could I not get Ben out of my head all weekend, but I also debated going back to the club Saturday night in hopes that he would be there again. But why would he? Was he pissed at me for running out? Maybe I’m overthinking everything, and one-night stands in club bathrooms are usual for him. I have no idea; I don’t know anything about this man, not even his last name.
These things kept me up late last night, and I ended up oversleeping, which I never do. This man has flipped my world upside down. I raced into the elevator, nearly spilling my cup of coffee, and had just enough time to drop my belongings in my office and get to the conference room for the Monday morning staff meeting. Today we are also meeting the new boss—that alone has me a bit of a nervous wreck. I know everything there is to know about this job, but I just want to make sure I leave a good impression.
“Jeez, I was starting to think you were going to be a no-show,” Amy, our fashion editor, jokes as I pull the seat out at the conference table. “Long weekend?”
“Ha,” I snicker as I sink into the chair. Oh, she has no idea. Thankfully she begins chatting with a sales rep sitting next to her, giving me a chance to catch my breath. I sigh heavily and rest my head back against the back of my chair when I overhear Amy and Mary’s conversation beside me.
“Did you see the new owner this morning? I caught a glimpse when he was in walking into his office. Holy shit, he is smoking hot. He is so much hotter than Mr. Jennings. If I didn’t love coming to work here already, we now get some eye candy to watch.”