Chasing Love (Dark Love 1)

The car stops, and I exit to open her door, taking her hand as she climbs out.

“You see that yacht over there?” I point out.

“The one marked with ducks?”

“No, Charlotte. The one behind it.”

With a slack mouth, her eyes widen when she finally sees the yacht. Mr. Vandercamp was kind enough to lend to me on the night of the charity ball as he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d have it for.

“OMG, Lex, it’s huge!”

“Thanks, I’m glad you think so.”

She gently punches my arm, knowing all too well I couldn’t let that comment slide.

We walk down to the dock where the captain greets us, then we board the yacht and take a seat by the sail. As we begin to head out to sea, Charlotte relaxes her shoulders, the ocean breeze messing her beautifully styled hair. It doesn’t seem to faze her, and I welcome the chilled vibe as we both quietly watch the city pass us by.

The captain finds a spot to dock. With a steady hold of her hand, I lead her to the deck where a dinner table is set up. Okay, so I went a bit overboard and had a candlelit dinner waiting. Money can do wonderful things for your sex life.

“Lex,” she gasps.

I usher her to take a seat and slide in her chair. A waiter appears from the lower dec

k, serving us wine, then reads through the different courses he’ll begin serving shortly before scurrying back to the kitchen.

“This is amazing, but you know this seems more like a date than a friendly dinner,” she teases.

“Well, you might be my first friend, so I’m not sure what’s classified as dating or friendship. I don’t date women, and I don’t have friends.”

“Lex, that’s ridiculous. Of course, you have friends, and please… like you haven’t dated anyone in eight years.”

“I never have time for friends. Work is my life. Yes, there are people who perhaps could be called a friend, but I’m not running around town with BFFs or whatever you kids call it these days.”

“And dating? Surely, you’ve had sex in eight years.”

“I never said I didn’t have sex. I said I didn’t date.”

“Oh.”

“Spit it out,” I command.

“Spit what out?”

“Whatever it is you’re going to ask me because I know you, your face is so obvious.”

“It’s nothing. It is just something Nikki said, and trust me, it probably isn’t something you want to discuss.”

“Okay, well, now you have me curious.”

“Lex, trust me, you don’t want to discuss this.”

“No, Charlotte, you said we were friends. Friends share details of matters close to their hearts.”

She hesitates while I tap my foot impatiently. We have all night, and isn’t the whole point of this ‘friends’ thing to try to get to know each other again?

“Nikki thought that if we’re going to be friends and be open with each other, we should start by giving each other our sexual numbers. This isn’t my idea, and I warned you.”

Fuck. I didn’t see that coming, and now it’s all I can think about. I don’t even know how many women I’ve been with, but most importantly, my stomach churns thinking about her number. Charlotte’s hot, she can have any man she desires. Of course, her list is massive. No, wait, but she isn’t like that.