Dollhouse

six

Oh. I smile. Bad idea alert. I tilt my face up and look at Matthew.

"Will you kiss me?"

"Whatever you want, baby," Matthew says.

He never hesitates. His lips descend on mine. He pulls my body closer to him. I hold on to him, curling my fingers into his dress shirt. I kiss him back with the same amount of passion he's given me. He kisses me harder. I feel the butterflies flutter in my belly. Holy fuck. We pull apart. I feel like I'm on cloud nine.

"Wow." I release the word in a breath.

"Ditto," he replies.

I look at where I saw her. She's nowhere to be found. Had she seen us? I hope so. Matthew and I continue to dance. Our hands explore each other on top of our clothes. We're now close enough to the VIP area that I can see Yaretzi is sitting alone. I try looking for Alba in the lounge; she's nowhere to be found. The man she was with had now moved on to the next woman. I pull from Matthew.

"What's wrong?" I hear him ask.

"I can't see Alba anymore," I reply.

"What? What do you mean?" I hear the worry about his friend in his voice. I would know; she's my friend too.

"Yaretzi is alone," I say. "She was dancing with a man who's now dancing with another."

Had she done what she had wanted already? Without telling me? For the past four years, she had been trying to get close to the people who took her husband. They frequented the club, looking for women. She wanted to get information about what happened to Cain.

"Perhaps she went home?" He says in a question. He knew about Alba's plan. Yaretzi wouldn't be here if she had. I look at him, staying quiet.

"She didn't go home," he answers himself.

"I don't think so," I say.

We pull away from each other. Matthew takes my hand in his as he leads us to the lounge. We sit down with Yaretzi. She smiles at us.

"Where's Alba?" I ask first.

Yaretzi's smile falls. "I thought she was with you."

"No. She went off dancing with some guy. He's not with her," I say. "I didn't see her on the dance floor."

"Are they here tonight?" She asks, referring to the people Alba has been researching.

"No," Matthew replies. "At least, I hope not."

"Perhaps she went to the restroom. I'll check." Yaretzi stands from her sitting spot. She makes a beeline toward the women's bathroom. Matthew and I stay behind in the lounge. She comes back a few minutes later.

"She's not in there. She's not here," she says. I close my eyes in disappointment.

"I have to go," she says. I nod.

"Please be safe," Matthew says.

"I will." Yaretzi takes her purse and leaves.

After she leaves, Matthew leads me into a conference where we are met by the security on the premises who could leave their positions around the club. He tells them our friend is missing. They set themselves to work. I yawn. Matthew gathers me in his arms and carries me to the couch along the way. He sits with me in his arms. I rest my head on his shoulder. I close my eyes as his hand pets its way through my hair. This feels nice. I could stay in his arms forever.

Later, gentle shaking wakes me up. My eyes flutter open. Matthew is crouching before me.

"Hey," I whisper.