For Us (The Girl I Loved Duet 2)

12

Amber

Present

Fantasia is one of the worst kept secrets in Los Angeles. It’s technically a speakeasy, with the entrance through another restaurant, but the bar nearly always has a line to get in, so the restaurant has a crowd of people waiting to get in. The food at the restaurant is pretty good too, so I know a lot of people put their name on the list to get into Fantasia and then sit down to dinner. It works well for both the bar and the restaurant—who pretend that they have nothing to do with each other even though they’re the same place, technically.

Tonight I have the rare privilege of being able to go to the front of the line and get in immediately. That’s nice. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Fantasia. It was only once, and it was with Clay Markham. It’s his favorite place.

The interior is a riot of color in Art Nouveau style. It’s jarring at first to see neon with the gentle designs of the prohibition era. But once you get used to it, it’s pretty cool. Today, it’s a party. The music is loud and there are plenty of people dancing. A lot of people are already well on their way to being drunk and it’s still early. I see Clay holding court at the bar and give him a wave. He enthusiastically waves me over, but I’m not quite ready for that. I motion to the bathroom, and head in that direction. When you get pulled into Clay’s circle, there’s often shots and more shots, and I have more than one conversation that I need to be at least mostly sober for tonight.

I take up a position near the wall where I can see the whole club, or at least most of it. I try to ignore the way my eyes keep checking the door, but I need to know if he’s coming. He surprised me with his admission earlier. Maybe he’s not as angry as I thought he was? Maybe. There are too many maybes and I know that I’m going to feel so much better after we talk. If I’m honest, I’m hoping that this evening is going to lead to more than talking, because even though it’s only been like three days since we slept together, I need more.

It’s like I had gotten clean of an addiction and the first taste of him I get I’m craving him constantly. I’m sure it will wear off after a while, but I don’t know if I want it to. Granted, that depends a lot on whether we decide we’re going to be together. I want to be, and based on what he said a few hours ago, I think he wants to too. I just need to apologize, and maybe beg a little. Tell him how stupid I was to pull the plug so quickly.

I don’t think I was wrong to be concerned, but we could have worked on it together instead of me freaking out. He’s still not at the door. Come on, Peter. I bite my lip before remembering that I have dark lipstick on and it’s probably all over my teeth now. I’ll fix it in a minute. Looking out over the dance floor I see Gloria dancing with a cute lighting technician from the show. She thinks no one has noticed the way she keeps eyeing him, but I’ve noticed, and the way they’re dancing now, I would be shocked if they don’t go home together.

I laugh to myself. I’ll have to keep an eye on her now, make sure she’s not sneaking off to have sex at work. That’s not exactly fair. Gloria is a professional. But considering the fact that I never thought I’d do it and then definitely had sex in the wardrobe closet, I’m not going to count anything out. I bite my lip again. Dammit, Amber.

Ducking into the bathroom, I lean into the mirror to see, and yeah, there’s an absurd amount of lipstick on my teeth. And that’s when I hear the moan. I freeze. All the stall doors are shut behind me, but there’s a shuffling, and more breathing and another moan and I blush. There are people having sex. Here. Now. I don’t move. Did they hear me come in? Do they know that I’m here?

There’s a low grunt of effort and a slap of skin, and no, they have no idea that I’m here. Probably for the best. I scrub the lipstick from my teeth and quickly pull mine out of my bag to re-apply. The sounds of sex get louder, the distinct sound of thrusting, and the girl saying yes, over and over again, a bigger blush covers my cheeks. I put on my lipstick quickly and exit the bathroom as quietly as I can. I don’t want to be there for the grand finale.