Into the Darkness

“Oh em gee, like hello! It’s the hottest spot in town right now!” he squealed.

Bingo. I needed to get Charlotte into a more relaxed environment. I did what any other determined man trying to get his hands on his ex-girlfriend would do: I took one for the team and flirted a little with her gay BFF. “So how about I put you guys on the VIP list for tonight?”

His face lit up like a drag in Vegas. I was a little scared he was going to grab my face and kiss me. I had no problem with gays but I liked pussy, sweet beautiful pussy. Oh fuck, if that didn’t stir things up again. I was like a goddamn fifteen-year-old with this walking hard-on. I didn’t want Eric thinking he had a hand in that—err, so to speak!

“That would be awesome! I hear P. Diddy will be there tonight?”

“Quite possibly. He has been there every Saturday night since we opened.”

Eric leaned over and hugged me tight. It was weird, like oh em gee weird. Geez, his shit was already rubbing off on me.

“Oh, I love you! I better get back to my table.” He grabbed the second Martini and began to walk off, then turned around to say one more thing. “And Lex, don’t worry. I’ll make sure she comes alone.”

I scanned the room, hoping to find her alone. How hard would it be to find her in that dress? Every time I thought about the dress my cock hardened more, if that was possible. I needed a trip to the restroom to release the tension because there was no way in hell I would make it through the night.

I spotted her on the dance floor; he was all over her. I knew I wasn’t thinking straight but I needed to talk to her. I was getting desperate. Where the fuck was my self-control? My blood boiled when I saw his hands on her. I moved my way through the crowd, excusing myself as I bumped into couples holding each other tight as they danced to Frank Sinatra.

“Mind if I cut in?” I interrupted. “For old time’s sake?”

Charlotte’s tanned skin looked almost pale. Julian looked pissed but I didn’t give a fuck what he thought right now. He whispered something in her ear which made her smile, then he walked away. I placed a hand over hers and the other on her waist. I ached to hold her closer, the familiarity was just too much. I had to get through this. I told her she looked beautiful in that color, her favorite color, and I knew why. How could I forget?

“What do you want, Lex?” She was straight to the point. Her anger seemed to have intensified since the last time I saw her.

“I see you at the restaurant and you run from me. I run into you again and you avoid me. Can’t two long lost friends catch up after seven years?” I asked.

“Why do you keep saying we are friends?”

“But we are, or should I say were? According to you it was just a fling. It meant nothing.” And there, I pointed out the one thing she had said to me that hurt me more than anything. That we were nothing, that everything I said meant nothing to her. She was quick to change the subject, which I welcomed. She looked into the crowd as she spoke. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“One reason: Adriana. She drags me to these things and makes me donate a shitload of money.” Fuck yeah, she did. I think this donation was like one hundred thousand dollars. It was a crazy amount, but fuck, it wasn’t like I didn’t have the money. What else was I going to spend it on? I had everything I wanted. Well, nearly everything. Something told me no amount of money could buy me the one thing I was after.

“So you’re no longer practicing medicine? I’m gathering by what you said earlier about your company.”

There was so much she didn’t know about me but I didn’t want to have this conversation on the dance floor. I asked her to meet me afterwards for a drink. I knew she heard me but chose to ignore me. So I did what I did best: I caused another shitstorm.

“How long have you and Julian been together?” I wanted to know if she would tell me the truth.

“Why, Lex? Does it matter? What about you? I’m guessing you’re no longer with Samantha since you hooked up with another blonde,” she snapped.

I calmly explained the scenario, a small part of me hoping it made her jealous which could only mean she still cared. Her face scrunched up when she got angry and I smirked, hoping she would lighten up, but I was wrong. The crowd stopped dancing to applaud the band and she took the opportunity to end the dance. She thanked me and walked away. I walked back to my table, forgetting about my date, Brooke. She looked at me, a blank expression on her face.

“Who is she, Lex?” Her tone was flat, not at all jealous. This was strange. I wasn’t used to calm women around me.

“Who? The brunette?” I looked over and saw that Julian had his arms around her. Fuck! I was angry as hell, not to mention horny after that fucking dance. She was smiling. Why couldn’t she do that with me? Oh that’s right, she used to. Before I fucked everything up. “Just someone from high school. No one special.” The words hurt to even say them.

“Listen, Lex, there’s something you should know.” Brooke twisted her napkin, nervously looking around. I was intrigued. Was she going to tell me she was a fucking virgin or something? “I only agreed to this date to please my parents.”

I laughed at the irony of it all. “Your parents? Brooke, I don’t think your dad likes me one bit.”

“See, the thing is that, um…” She nervously drank the rest of her champagne and placed the empty glass on the table. “I’m not interested in you. Sorry, I mean, not just you—in men.”

I was confused. I looked at her, trying to understand before it clicked. “Oh, shit! I’m so sorry, Brooke. I get it now. You prefer your own kind.” I couldn’t help but chuckle slightly.

She laughed, immediately relaxing. “Yes I do, Lex. I’m sorry, I haven’t gone public and my father’s in the middle of an important campaign.”

“Secret’s safe with me but only if you do one thing: pretend you are at least interested in me for the night. It might come in handy later.” Yes, I had a plan. It just needed to be executed.

“Deal. I’m sure I can play a straight lady for one night.” We both