The Scent and The Siren

‎♡‧₊˚twenty-eight ‎♡‧₊˚

✧༺♥༻∞

─── ⋅｡ﾟ☆: ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅:☆ﾟ ⋅ ───

𓆩♡𓆪 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𓆩♡𓆪

✧༺♥༻∞

"𝘼 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡."

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐲

Is this message supposed to be some reminder that we're nothing more than lovers-to-be, and I must ensure complete discretion, as noted in the contract I signed a couple of hours ago?

Jeez.

I've been staring hard at the card since I arrived here. Horace delivered it to my hotel suite shortly after I signed the contract his Highness's attorney drew up.

Somehow, the message triggered my anxiety and self-worth issues.

I fled the hotel to find comfort in this corner of a fluorescent color-lit bar of a high-profile nightclub.

Away from him and all my unhinged thoughts.

And yet, my thoughts fail to leave me alone.

Does he do this often? Have women he sleeps with sign contracts and NDAs?

Ew. Don't go there!

My mind is in turmoil as my thoughts whirl. I slide the card into my Judith Leiber sling and take a hefty sip of the barely-touched martini. I close my eyes and take a deep, shaky breath to calm myself.

I need to distract myself. Yes, that's exactly what I need to do. So, I fire up the Pen Buddies app to chat with my pen pal.

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫,

You're like WiFi – I can't see you, but I know you're always there making my life better.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞-𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞.

I toss the olive from the martini pick in my mouth and look up from my phone, awaiting my pen pal's reply.

There's a supermodel-looking girl on another corner of the bar getting super cozy with her sugar daddy. They're sucking at each other's mouths breathlessly while he openly massages her breast and fingers her without a care in the world.

Now that's a hot girl spring. I chuckle, averting my gaze from them to see the response from my pen pal awaiting my attention.

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞-𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞,

Ah, yes, the magical invisible force that occasionally graces you with its presence. That's me, your human WiFi.

Just like Wi-Fi, I require constant troubleshooting and an occasional reboot.

Wanna try to turn me off and on again?

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝