Heartless: Episode 3
I turned around to face him. “Do you remember when I told you there was somewhere I wanted to take you?”
He nodded. “I do.”
“Let’s go.”
“Right now?”
“If you don’t mind.” I paused, knowing full well that he most likely never wanted to leave the bedroom.
He leaned forward, his lips meeting mine in a soft closed-mouth kiss. “I don’t mind.”
“Yay!” I clapped my hands together. “It’s one of my most favorite places in Santa Monica. It’s only been open for private tours until recently.”
“We couldn’t go on a private tour, Miss Lyons?” He grabbed my waist and moved my wet hair to the side, so he could kiss my neck.
I pulled my shoulder up against his face. “We could, but it was only during certain hours, and it wouldn’t have worked. That doesn’t matter. We’re going tonight!”
“Do I need to dress up?” He looked down at his still naked body.
“Well, you need to dress in clothing, yes. But not fancy ones. Jeans are fine. Did you bring jeans in that little bag of yours? Do you even own jeans?” I asked, realizing that I’d never seen him in anything other than suits.
“I didn’t bring any this time, but I will the next.”
“I’ll dress to match you. Show me what you brought.” He pulled out a pair of black slacks and a light gray shirt. “Always with the depressing colors,” I criticized. “Let me go dry my hair really quick. Beers are in the fridge.”
****
“Are we actually leaving?” He smacked my ass as I led him out the front door. “Nice outfit.” His eyes traveled from the top of my black well-fitted top to the bottom of my dark gray pencil skirt.
I drove Daniel to the oldest hotel in Santa Monica. We entered the art-deco building and headed past the front desk and down the stairs into the darkened basement area.
“Are you murdering me? We just got back together, and you’re already looking to kill me?” he whispered as we walked down the narrow staircase.
“Just come on. You’ll love it.” I pulled his hand.
Once at the bottom of the staircase, I made a left and pushed through the swinging dark doors. A new world opened up to us, and the energy shifted.
“What is this place?” Daniel grinned as he looked around.
“Pretty cool, right?” I stepped into the room as the past surrounded me.
“Shit yeah. Was this a speakeasy?”
“It was! Although, prohibition ended the same year they built it, so they didn’t need to utilize most of the secret doors and hatches for long.”
I looked around at the barely lit room. Red puffy booths lined the dark wood-paneled walls. All original fixtures remained, except for the carpet, which had been replaced years prior.
“The backs of the booths are all original. They’ve never been replaced. Ever. Al Capone used to sit right over there.” I pointed to the largest booth in the corner.
“In that one?” Daniel pointed at it, too.
“Yep. He needed to be able to see people coming in from every angle, and that was the only seat in the place that let him do that.” I smiled at the idea of being in this bar during that time period.
“Sounds about right, being back against the wall with no one behind him. What a badass,” he said, seemingly lost in this place.
A hostess appeared virtually out of thin air. “Sorry for the wait. Do you know where you’d like to sit?”
Daniel pointed at Al Capone’s old table, and she grinned as if she knew he’d choose that one.