My head was pounding. The morning light tried to seep through my closed eyelids, but I was not budging. I wanted to keep them closed for as long as I could. I had never been more grateful to my previous self for not making plans today. But then again, the plans that I was hoping for involved getting whisked away to a mansion, calling my boss and telling him that I needed a couple of months’ leave. I was so sure that I was going to get in that I had even rehearsed the speech that I was ready to give him. Fuck. My eyes flickered open and goddamn it was bright. Previous me fell asleep straight away last night not even bothering to close down the blinds, but previous me was smart enough to put a large glass of water by my bedside before I went to sleep. The light had hit me now, and as much as I could try, I knew that there was no way that I was getting back to sleep now.
I sat up in bed, as I slowly drank the water, my eyes darting around the room, stopping on a packet of Pringles sitting on the bench of my kitchenette. I knew it was the least nutritiousthing that I should be giving my body right now, the slight grumble of my stomach took over, and it was the easiest thing that I could try and drown out what may have been my still drunken state. I launched myself out of bed, grabbing the Pringle container before curling myself back up. One hand reached for my phone as I fed myself with the other. Munching down on the thinly cut, salty potato chips as I checked the time. It was ten thirty. I got home just after one, would have fallen asleep by two, actually that was not a bad sleep, maybe I wasn’t still drunk, maybe I was just waiting for the hangover to fully hit me.
Just as I went to place my phone back down on my bedside table, it buzzed in my hand twice, two Instagram notifications that I instantly clicked into. One DM from @iamraven, she had sent Lotte and I a group message that read:Last night was fire! Thanks for such great night you girls are the best. I’ve got some boring family catch up tonight but there’s live music down at the Barton on Sunday afternoon if you would like to catch up before the week starts?
Without even contemplating, I instantly replied:Count me in! Meet there at 2pm?
That could have been too eager. I was not someone who dealt with hangovers well, and I had no idea what was going to hit me later today. But even if it was bad, I guess having a drink tomorrow, the day before I had to go back to work would soften any sickness that may take over my body the next twodays. And besides, this is what I wanted, this is what I had been patiently waiting for, friends who I so easily vibed with!
I clicked out of the group message and clicked straight onto the next notification. It was another DM. A DM that made my heart stop, my jaw stop munching and pulled my hand straight out of the Pringles container, grabbing the phone with both my hands. My whole body flooded with adrenaline, and I couldn’t think straight, I couldn’t read properly, and I couldn’t breathe. Oh my God, what was wrong with me? Maybe this was the hangover really kicking in. I couldn’t remember the last time that I felt this way about anyone. There must have just been way too many toxins flooding around my body right now, trying to find a way out and due to that everything was heightened, because as I sunk back under the sheets, resting my head back on my pillow, I read the message clearly, once, twice and then a third time to make sure that I had got it right. And all it said was.
Good morning, Miss Molly. I hope you slept well. Apologies for not asking for your number. I don’t have an excuse as to why I didn’t. So now I’ve had to resort to this form of communication by digitally stalking you. I’m reaching out because I had a great time getting to know you last night and there is a lot more too you that I would like to spend some time getting to know, if you would be free for dinner tonight?”
I threw my phone down by my side, pulling my bed covers to just underneath my chin as I took the message in. Repeating his words in my head. Yes, I wanted to go on a date with himtonight. This is exactly what I wanted, so why did I feel like such a chicken. Why did something about him make me so unsure, nervous but at the same time I wanted to know so much more. With someone who possessed his looks, I wondered how many women he took on dates each week. I was sure a Saturday night date with a new woman was actually his specialty, something that he thrived on and if that was the case, then I was going to make sure that this night was going to be one that he remembered.
I placed the lid back on the Pringles container and threw them off the bed. Nutritious food only today, no bloating allowed, and I needed to go shopping. I wanted to buy something very nice for this date. Maybe I should wake up and have a wine now, or I’ll have a glass for lunch and then that is all I would need to stop the hangover from hitting me, at least I hoped so. I picked up my phone, a couple of minutes left on read would have been enough and simply replied:Pick me up at 8.
Chapter Four
One final exhale and the elevator doors opened. Game face activated, shoulders back, head held high and a pout I had perfected in the mirror with my new nude lipstick. With my plain face, and long hair that I always found hard to style I decided to show off my best asset, or at least my self-proclaimed best asset which was my long thin legs, poking out of my little black dress. If the rest of my body wasn’t so top heavy, I could have been a model, my Aunty used to tell me as a teenager. It was the very comment that ran through my mind every single time I looked down at my legs and still I was unsure if it was meant to be a compliment or not.
I was ready for some fun, a great dinner, amazing conversation and feeling myself locked inside his energy again, his blue eyes.
I knew I would look incredible on Henry’s arm. Thanks to a phone call with Lotte, I had found out a lot more about who Henry was and I was glad for that because what I had found out about him shocked me. I knew he was successful but fromwhat Lotte explained, this was next level wealth. He was a businessman, my favorite kind. Although I would never actually speak it out loud, considering I didn’t want to go against what it meant to be a strong independent female--because that was what I wanted to be. It was what I had prided myself on the past couple of years, working hard, paying my own rent. But I couldn’t help but say that I wasn’t turned on by a businessman and that was just because I genuinely loved working in the structures of business. But money was a turn-on too. Who didn’t want to be wined and dined? I wondered where he was taking me tonight.
I hoped it was somewhere in the city that was so exclusive that I hadn’t even heard about it. In fact, half of the celebrities in this town hadn’t even heard about it because it was reserved for the very few elites. Which I now knew that Henry was a part of.
Wherever he was taking me, tonight belonged to this dress. This perfect, little black Dolce & Gabbana dress that I found for $50 dollars at a second-hand store on the corner of my street. It was only by chance that I went in just before Lotte called me, and there it was, in my size. I couldn’t believe that I had found this. It was such a steal. But I didn’t want to question it, second guess all the incredible things that felt like they were falling into place for me. After being rejected from the only thing that I was working towards, reality television, I couldn’t help but laugh at myself for how adamantly I felt this was the right direction for me. At the same time, if I hadn’ttaken the chance on that, then I wouldn’t be right here, right now, strutting myself out of the double doors of my building, to be greeted by a man in a suit and a hat, holding open the door of a black car.
“Miss Molly?” the man said, and I nodded, playing the perfect part as though this was normal. I had a fucking driver! We had a driver. Oh my God. My heart began pounding as I got closer to the door, and I tried to gulp it down. One more slow breath, I prepared myself for meeting his intense blue eyes again, slipping into the back of the car, like this was my new normal. But as I took a seat and the door closed behind me, there was no one else sitting in the back.
He sent a car to pick me up? A car that he wasn’t in. It was a flex obviously. Technically, it’s not very personal, more like I’m a package being collected. But then I noticed the bottle of Moët standing alongside a crystal glass on a small table between the two back seats. Well, I guess this wasn’t too bad. I shrugged as I poured myself some bubbly. I’d revel in these benefits. And I’d drink in every single moment of this night as if it was my last. A real smile took over my face. I sunk back into the leather seats, bringing the glass to my lips as the driver started the car.
“I’m Aaron, by the way,” he said.
“It’s lovely to meet you Aaron,” I replied. “Where exactly are we going?”
“We’re going to Mr. Bentley’s penthouse in the city, Miss Molly,” Aaron politely replied.
“Right,” I whispered under my breath. His penthouse? This was technically a first date, and he was taking me straight to his house? This was wrong. Well, no, it wasn’t wrong. It was exactly what I wanted, and it was exactly what I was good at. This man had some class. I was drinking Moët in the back of some random but very nice car, although I would have been happy to go straight to his bedroom with the way my body began to heat from even just thinking about him. He could at least take a girl to dinner first.
“Mr. Bentley has organized a nice dinner there for you. But I don’t want to give too much else away. He just wanted to enjoy your time in a much more private environment,” said Aaron.
Of course he did. Lotte had told me so much about Henry but nothing about his dating history. Maybe with a little more of this bottle and a couple of bold questions, I would be soon to find out.
The drive was longer than expected and I was already three glasses deep. I lost myself staring out the car window, watching the various lives and bright lights that lined the city at night. Just as I finished my last glass, the car had come to a stop and, within seconds, Aaron was opening my door. I took his hand, and he helped me out, whispering in my ear, “Number 1306.” He pointed toward the number next to two double golden doors on the street and gestured for me to walk ahead. I wondered if he was going to follow me in. How did I get from the ground level to the penthouse?
Just as I neared the doors, the two of them parted at the same time, and I looked up to see Henry standing inside looking a hell of a lot smarter than I saw him last night. He stood tall, wearing a pair of black pants and a black shirt. His dark hair was slicked back.
“Wait,” I paused for a second as I took a step back from the open doors, realizing what he was trying to do, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I didn’t mean to offend him. It’s just this. I was not expecting this. Thankfully, he did not look offended by my laugh. Instead, his lips turned up as he chuckled, laughing at himself. I took a step closer to him, and the golden doors behind me closed. His blue eyes locked with mine and it was as though we were in our own little bubble again.
“Miss Molly, will you accept this rose?” he asked. This time I had to bite my lips closed to stop myself from laughing again. I paused, letting him linger, waiting to see if he would sweat. Even though we both knew I wasn’t going to turn away right now.
“You said I was too good for ‘The Bachelor.’”
He nodded in agreement. “I did say that, and I meant it,” he said, taking another step closer to me. He was a whole head taller than me, even when I was wearing heels, and he looked down towards me, not letting our gazes break. “But I was wondering if this bachelor could try and win you over.” he pointed back at himself.
I sighed, looked at him up and down very slowly. With someone that held as much confidence and ease as he did, Iwanted to make him squirm for a minute. Just the thought of holding that power was getting me off. And this may have been the only night that I got to flex this power, so I was going to make sure that I used every single moment of it, right up until I finally saw what he was hiding underneath those surprisingly tight black pants. “It depends, who else did you give roses to this week?”
