| No Love Attached |
chapter five : a woman walks into a bar
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I guess you could say I'm a homebody. Actually, a lot of people would say that about me. Yeah, I'd rather curl up watching a movie on my couch, getting wine-wasted than go to a HIV infested club. So what? Sue me.
How do Penney and I get along so well then, you ask? Ah, yes, my incredible best friend who not only thrives in those HIV infested clubs, but was actually caught licking the floor of one once.
God works in mysterious ways? Drunken blood pact? Equal love for the Bachelor?
All of the above, I suppose.
So that is why I am currently attempting to apply false eyelashes, in six-inch heels.
"Penney, you almost done?" I called into the bedroom, where she had been torn between a black dress and a red leather skirt for the last twenty minutes.
"Relax, the club doesn't open until midnight," she replied.
"Midnight? That's the time I'm planning on going to bed." I continued to glue on the eyelashes until they didn't look like they were about to fly away.
I looked back at myself in her bathroom mirror: eyelashes in tact, extra liner around my honey colored eyes, tousled "sex" hair (Penney's term; not mine). Instead of a dress I could barely breathe in, I opted for tight black trouser pants with a spaghetti-strapped bodysuit. Not much air supply there either, I guess.
"Okay, well if we're not even going to leave until midnight, I need to get drunk." I found Penney in the bedroom, the exact way I left her. In her purple lace bra and underwear surrounded by a pile of clothes on the floor. Her overall room was smaller than mine, but we chose to get dressed here based on her getting ready habits. (AKA, changing her outfit every twelve seconds.)
"The mini bar is empty. I kind of went to town on it." She held up a short white dress before quickly tossing it behind her.
A groan escaped my lips. Remind me why I said yes to this? Binging Gilmore Girls honestly sounded like a better idea.
"Just go down to the bar and pregame. I'll be down in fifteen minutes, I swear."
"Pregame? What are we, eighteen going to prom?" I scoffed.
"Fifteen minutes." She looked up at me with pleading eyes.
I rolled my eyes, knowing those mere fifteen minutes would turn into thirty. "Fine. But if you're one minute longer, I'm going back to my room to sleep."
She let out some kind of noise, but I was too far out of the room to care. The thick gold carpeting of the hotel halls was soft under my sharp heels. Even though I was dressed more modest than most, I couldn't help but feel overly exposed to the elderly couple ogling at my outfit choice as they passed me by.
The elevator down to the lobby was my sole moment of tranquility for the night, so I savored every second of it.
My heels clicked against the marble floors as I made my way over to the bar. The area was filled with some couples on awkward first dates, businessmen letting loose after work, and a handful of single women probably waiting for a friend. The category I apparently fell under at the moment.
I rested my arms on cool surface of the bar, waiting for the bartender to make his way over. He was young, almost too young-looking to be serving drinks. His shaggy blonde locks, and freckles screamed stoner, surfer boy. But then again, the legal drinking age in London is younger than the U.S.
"What can I get you?" He asked.
"A vodka cranberry."
The young man's eyes quickly veered to one of the seats next to me as someone sat down, with wide eyes. "And you, sir?"
"An old fashioned." A husky voice carefully woven with an accent filled my ears. I couldn't help but appreciate his good taste in alcohol.
I glanced at the guy with the excellent drink order, only to stop dead in my tracks.
No.
No way.
No fucking way.
There he was. Light chestnut hair, a smirk plastered on his face, sea green eyes glowing although they hadn't caught my gaze yet. And of course, he was clothed in an expensive, tailored suit.
A fire lit my cheeks, as turned I my face in the opposite direction as quickly as possible. I could feel the same smug demeanor he sported when we met. There were quick a few reactions I had at the moment.
A.) shock and unwelcome nervousness.
B.) instant annoyance, and an eyeroll that could have killed.
What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck!
Okay, Vera. Here's what we're going to do: keep your back towards him until you get your drink, and then go upstairs and never come back down.
The blonde bartender handed me my drink, which I gratefully excepted. I quickly dug through my wallet and put a fresh twenty-dollar bill on the counter. Somehow, I managed to do all of this with my back completely turned to Leo.
What is he doing here? This wasn't supposed to happen like this. I thought I'd have five more months to not deal with this guy.
Just as I was getting up to make a run for it, his deep voice stopped me.
"Don't worry about it, it's on me."
Great. Amazing. Fan-fucking-tactic. Mr. Asshole decided to be a gentleman and now I have to turn around.
I sighed, here goes nothing, "Thanks, but you really don't have to."
When I finally turned, his eyes widened. He wore a brief expression of shock, which turned to a sly smile in no time at all. He sat on his barstool now completely facing me, drink in hand.
"Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you here," his eyes trailed me up and down, making me feel naked.
"Leo, a pleasure, as always." I said, very tongue-in-cheek. A fake smile washed upon my makeup-filled face to hide my surprise.
A smirk still playing on his stupid full lips. I mean, God, does this guy have any other facial movement? Or is a smirk is permanent expression?
"You know, I've been wanting to call but I don't believe I got your number." He stood up, bringing himself closer to me.
I tightened my grasp on my glass, trying to focus on anything other than Leo. The closer he got, the more apparent his scent of minty tobacco and vanilla became.
"That's because I didn't give it to you," The same smile still on my face while I took a large gulp of vodka. "Now, if you'll excuse me." I gathered my pride and walked away.
At the moment, I was mentally yelling at Penney for getting ready at a glacial-pace. But also, externally face-palming because I've wasted so much time thinking of this man, who I actually had an extreme distaste for. I practically made this happen if we're taking the law of attraction into accountability.
In the midst of my internal arguing and power walk through the lobby, another unwanted male voice called after me. Honestly, hating men at the moment, if you couldn't tell.
I spun around with great annoyance to face my boss. The office perv, you may remember him as. Ah, yes, the perv had a drink in hand, reeking of alcohol.
"May I help you, Alec?"
"I just wanted to apologize for my inappropriate behavior," he did everything but slur. Of course, he was probably in the bar picking up desperate young women.
My mouth opened to reply and maybe even accept his apology, but it promptly shut when he closed the gap between us.
"I don't know, I guess I just always felt something between us. And you know, now with you running this office, maybe you wanted to show me...your gratitude."
He lifted up a hand that smelt of cigarettes and audacity to caress my face. Without missing a beat, I stepped back away from him. But that only made him step closer, grabbing me my wrist.
I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh to display my disgust. Jesus fucking Christ. This asshole deserved a punch in the face right about now.
"Look buddy, no means no. I owe you nothing. My gratitude is me not punching you in your saggy, old balls right now. Now get the fuck away from me before I change my mind." I spat.
A drunken smug smile appeared on his face as he replied, "No wonder you're so uptight, I forgot you haven't had a good fuck since Josh --"
"Alright! That's enough. Leave her alone and get the hell out of this hotel." Leo pushed Alec away from me. I was too fazed by Alec's harsh words about Josh to even see Leo approach. Tear stung my eyes like blood as I held them from running down my cheeks. The last thing I wanted right now was for this dick to get the satisfaction of making me cry.
"Or what? You have no authority --" He hissed like a goddamn snake. But before he could finish seething, Leo seemed to usher over a couple of large security guards, who escorted him away.
I wiped my tears as best I could without demolishing my makeup. Once Alec was completely out of the lobby, Leo's attention was completely on me. His eyes fixated, unable to look away.
His expression was different though. No arrogance in sight. But instead, bewilderment. Almost as if he was impressed with me.
In that moment, the only words I could find were pretty simple.
"Want to get a drink?"
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Author's Note:
Hi guys! Sorry for the wait. I'm really enjoying writing this story. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please comment and vote. Thanks for reading!