We sit on stools at the bar and order drinks. The place looks hip and trendy. Not the kind of place I want to be caught in when the music kicks in. Too many gold-digging bitches looking for a free ride.
The vehemence in my thoughts surprises me. Now, where the hell did that come from? I never used to blink at the idea of picking up an attractive young woman who liked money. Is it because Heather is seemingly uninterested in my substantial portfolio? Or is it because she’s the first woman I’ve dated who lives within her means and supports herself?
I shake my head as I stare into my beer. There’s something to be said about dating a woman who doesn’t need you to bail her out of her life, but wants you in her life nonetheless.
Damn, I’ve got it bad. When the hell did this sneak up on me?
She had you when she told you to get on your knees.
A snort escapes me before I tamp it down. Yup, that sounds about right.
Many drinks later the music kicks in. Marcus and I have chatted about work and sports for the last two hours, so I don’t mind the change to loud music and a driving beat. Makes it easier to dodge his persistent questions about Heather. How can I answer him when I don’t know what’s going on myself?
The bar slowly fills. Once the lights dim and a fire siren sounds, apparently announcing the star DJ, I stand and signal to pay our tab.
“Dude, you want to leave now? Things are just starting to heat up.”
A glance at my watch reveals it’s past ten thirty.
“Yup, it’s been a long week. I’m heading out.”
Wherever Heather went, she probably won’t be home for several hours. Would it be lame if I sat in her lobby and read ‘til she got home? Yes, it would look pathetic.
The smell of her skin is enough to drive me wild. I’d wait all night to wrap myself around her and hold her close.
“Hey,” Marcus says, breaking into my pussy-whipped musings. “Isn’t that Heather out there on the dance floor?”
My head darts around and I strain my eyes through the strobe-light punctuated dimness. Damn, I can hardly see a thing. I swear it was brighter just ten minutes ago. “Where?”
“Isn’t that her in the black pants dancing with the guy in the blue shirt?”
I step past Marcus, closer to the dance floor for a better view. Sure enough, there’s my Heather, dancing with a seductive hip-gyrating move against some guy.
My blood boils as the man rests a hand on her slim, leather clad hip. Leather? Since when does Heather wear leather?
“Damn, she’s looking hot. Did you know she was going to be here tonight?”
I shoot a murderous look at my co-worker. “No, jackass. If I did I wouldn’t have been sitting here with you this whole time.”
Marcus drapes a hand over his wounded heart. “Thanks, asshole. Nice to know where I stand with you.”
I smirk his way and flash him the bird. “She’s a gorgeous woman. You’re a guy. Do the math.”
Marcus nudges me as her dancing partner rests a second hand on her hips, slowly drawing her closer to the front of his pants. “Think you might want to cut in before he’s buying her breakfast.”
Unwilling to respond and show my intense anger over a man touching her, I keep my mouth shut and move toward the dance floor.
Heather disengages the man’s hands from her hips and steps back on her own. Good girl. I won’t have to castrate him. She smiles the beguiling half- smile that I love and wags a finger at him in admonishment. Her dance partner raises his hands in mock surrender and smiles back at her, as if to show he’s harmless.
Harmless, my ass. I know his kind. Hell, I started out being his kind over six years ago. Dancing my way between the legs of any able bodied woman who’d have me.
Heather turns back to her friends and the man moves on to another woman, appearing to give my girlfriend space for the moment.
Girlfriend? Do I even have the right to call her that? In my mind she’s so much more. In my heart she’s what I’ve been looking for…but in my head I’m painfully aware we haven’t been together all that long. Technically, she could hook up with someone and I’d have no reason to get mad.
No reason? How about the fact you’re sleeping with her? Isn’t that reason enough?
Determined to shut up the slightly-buzzed troublemaker in my head, I step onto the dance floor, eyeing my prey. I weave carefully through the gyrating bodies, ignoring the grasping hands of scantily clad women as I move toward Heather. Finally, I’m standing behind her, staring in disbelief at the sight of her tight little ass encased in leather.
Holy shit, she’s fucking hot. I think I see leather straps crisscrossing her bare skin below the hem of her short jacket. Her friend, Carla, catches sight of me first. Her eyes pop wide and I put a finger over my lips in the hopes of quieting her. She nods, a devilish grin spreading across her face before she turns away.