Autumn
Isip on my strawberry margarita, and the fruity liquor slithers down my throat as I sit the glass on the dark wood bar.
“This place is dead,” my friend Raven says, flipping her choppy chestnut-brown hair over her shoulders. “I’m sorry, I didn’t pick a great place to celebrate.”
I’m not disappointed about the run-down joint. I’m just happy to be able to spend it with her. Today, I turned twenty-one, and I wish I could say I’m ecstatic about another year, but I’m not. Here’s to another lousy year of me not accomplishing my dreams. By now, I’m supposed to be enrolled in college and have a successful podcast on serial killers, but I’m still stuck working at a bookstore, which pays nothing, and living in an apartment where I have to beg the landlord to fix shit that’s broken. I don’t even have time to start school because of my work schedule, and I have to choose between school and survival. Moving to New York City was a terrible mistake for me. I should have stayed in Columbus, Georgia, if I’m going to continue to be a failure.
But tonight, I don’t need to worry about my problems. Tonight, I want to forget and get shitfaced before I go back to the dump I call home.
“Let’s dance.” Excitement laces her tone as she hops off the leather stool. She strides to the jukebox and feeds the machine some coins, and a pop song filters through the speakers.
A few of the customers get up from their table and dance in the middle of the sagging floor. Chatter fills the tiny space, drowning my thoughts.
Raven grasps my hand as she leads me through a sea of people until she finds the perfect spot for us to dance. My body sways back and forth. Dancing is not my best talent, and I accidentally step on her leather boots.
Biting down on my bottom lip, I say, “I’m sorry.”
“Girl, it’s fine.” She giggles. “You’re a little stiff.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Is it obvious I’m sucking at this?”
She shrugs. “It doesn’t matter as long as you’re having fun.”
I continue to sway my hips to the beat for a few seconds before I stop and smooth out my white dress with sunflowers at the hem, hoping no one in here realizes I’m a fucking klutz.
Several minutes later, the dance floor is so thick I accidentally elbow someone behind me. Twisting around, I find a guy with thick muscles hovering over me. He’s far older than my age—I can tell by the crow’s feet lines at the corners of his eyes. His dark hair is combed neatly, and his eyes—his fucking eyes are the color of a thunderstorm. Pure gray. I could get lost in them. His goatee is trimmed neatly. The gray suit he’s wearing is made out of fine thread, and his loafers are Italian. What’s a guy like him doing in a run-down place like this?
I don’t know why, but this man draws me in like a moth to a flame. My heart beats loudly, my pulse accelerates, and butterflies flop in my lower belly.
I feel like a little child, small, as I adjust my round glasses on my face.
“I-I’m sorry,” I stutter.
A slow smile spreads across his gorgeous face. “It’s fine.” His voice is deep and rough.
I bite the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from flushing. I twist around to face Raven, and she grins like a Cheshire cat, leans down, and whispers in my ear, “He is hot as fuck. You should lose your virginity to him.”
I don’t know if this guy would be up for fucking, but losing my virginity to a stranger would be pretty hot, and he looks like a no-strings type of guy.
He taps me on the shoulder, and I swallow loudly and pivot around. He snaps my waist, tugging me close, and my body molds with his. I have to look up because he’s taller than me, maybe six-two or six-three.
“Dance with me,” he demands.
My breasts become heavy at the sound of his voice. I feel his hard muscles through his clothes, and from the way his arms flex, I can tell he works out.
“Oh, no. I ca—”
“She will,” Raven interrupts, and I shoot her a glare.
She pats me on the back. “Matter of fact, Ryan texted me. He said he needs me at the hospital.”
Raven is a registered nurse in the ER, and Ryan is a doctor she’s been seeing.
Before I get a chance to respond, she kisses me on the cheek, then strides toward the glass doors.
I turn to the beautiful stranger, and he rests his hand on my lower back. Electricity bolts through my body, and all of a sudden, the room is hot, stuffy.
Something is dangerous about him. I can’t put a finger on it, but I can see it in his eyes. He has something dark lurking within, and I’m intrigued by him. I examine the vicious snake tattoo on his neck. It’s gorgeous, like him.
