Page 3 of Caffeine & Chaos

He steadied himself, leaning against the cool brick of the side of the building. He was Ryan McKellen, dammit. He could be patient.

Ryan spotted the Mercedes parked beneath a burnt-out streetlamp. He waved Armand back when he saw him getting out to open the door for him. He wanted to keep things low key. The last thing he needed was a photo of him outside a bar in Little Havana surfacing in the local paper. He kept his head down, opened the door, and slid in.

“Just home Armand, thank-you”. Ryan rubbed the stubble on his chin absentmindedly while trying to pinpoint what it was that made Nadia so appealing.

“You were in and out of there pretty quick. Did you find out what you came for?” Armand’s eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at Ryan through the rear-view mirror. As one of Ryan’s earliest and most trusted employees, Armand transcended the role of mere staff member. Gracious, patient, inconspicuous, and fiercely loyal, he was a cherished friend and confidant.

Ryan leaned against the window and closed his eyes, exhaustion setting in. “I might have found out more than I bargained for.”

2

Her.

Nadia awoke around four in the morning, still curled up under Travis’ arm. She looked over at him – he was blissfully asleep. Looking at him like this, she noticed that he was actually more handsome than she’d given him credit for. He had a strong jawline, deep set eyes, and an overall appealing shape to his face. He couldn’t hold a candle to Ryan, but he was definitely good looking.

He had been quite sweet to her, really. The sex had been decent enough, but nothing overly memorable. Unless his numerous exclamations about how beautiful and perfect she was counted as memorable. He insisted they cuddle afterward, wrapping his arm around her waist and drawing her close to his chest for a snug embrace. As they lay entwined, he shared snippets of his life with her. A student at the Wolfson campus of Miami Dade College, his field of study slipped from her grasp as she teetered on the edge of sleep. He had a boy next door kind of vibe that she found sort of endearing.

Nadia grabbed his wrist and gently removed his arm from around her as she quietly snuck out of bed. Upon standing up she discovered that she had most definitely drank too much the night before. The room was spinning, her knees buckled, and she collapsed back down on the bed causing the old boxspring underneath the mattress to squeak noisily. Nadia cringed and held her breath. She did not want to endure the horrible morning after awkwardness that is the hallmark of one-night stands. She let her breath out slowly as Travis’ chest continued to rise and fall with the rhythm of deep sleep.

Nadia looked around the room trying to locate her belongings. Their clothes were strewn about, and the nightstand was turned over. She grinned to herself; maybe the sex was a little more than decent. She picked her purse up from the floor and stuffed the spilled contents back in before tip toeing over to the corner of the room to retrieve her far flung shorts and tank top. Her underwear were nowhere in sight. Peering into the washroom, she scanned the surfaces, hoping to spot the pink lace rumpled in a corner somewhere. When they were nowhere to be found, she resigned herself to leave them behind and pulled on her shorts and shirt, slipped on her flip flops, and silently left the room.

When she stepped into the hallway, she noticed what a dive the place was. The hotel had clearly seen better days. Stained and threadbare carpets marked the paths of heavy foot traffic, while doors displayed layers of peeling paint, exposing the history of countless ‘lipstick’ renovations. The wallpaper, a relic of a bygone era, bore the unsightly yellow tinge of nicotine stains. Not a place that a Moore woman would typically stay, but nothing about yesterday had been typical. Ryan McKellen had thrown everything off kilter.

As she was walking across the parking lot, she stopped and pulled out her phone. She snapped a picture of the hotel and sent it to Mandy in a text:

Nadia: Doing the walk of shame. Check out the dive this girl woke up in this morning. FML, I may have just hit rock bottom lol.

Mandy wouldn’t get the text for hours yet, but sending it made Nadia feel a little better for taking off on her last night. Mandy had grown up in Little Havana and knew practically everyone in the bars, so it wasn’t uncommon for them to part ways, but they usually reconnected at some point to let each other know what was happening. Hopefully she wasn’t pissed at her.

It was just after eleven that morning when Nadia heard her phone chirp on the night stand next to the bed. It was Mandy.

Mandy: Meet me for lunch?

Nadia rubbed her eyes and rolled over, hugging her comforter to her chest. The softness of her designer Egyptian cotton sheets was beckoning her to stay, but she couldn’t wait to see Mandy’s jaw hit the floor when she learned about Nadia’s adventures the night before.

Nadia: Sure, Fratelli Milano’s at one?

Once Mandy confirmed the time Nadia reluctantly rolled out of bed, stroking the fabric appreciatively before standing up. Although she had her issues with her mother, she definitely appreciated the finer things that came with her money. Her ridiculously comfortable luxury bed set being one of them.

After popping a couple of Advils Nadia hopped in the shower. The warm water felt amazing against her skin. Her thoughts began to drift to Ryan, and as the water cascaded down her body, she was reminded of his strong hands caressing her. God his hands had felt so good, so right.

Nadia stopped herself short of the next thought. That asshole had turned her on to the point where she was ready to howl like a cat in heat and then left her panting there, sexually stranded and unfulfilled. Well practically unfulfilled; Travis had been a poor stand in for him. Ryan didn’t deserve a second thought.

Nadia finished up in the shower and quickly got ready. She threw on a little mascara and some lip gloss, along with a cute summer dress and her gladiator sandals. After one last look in the mirror, she headed out the door.

When she arrived at the restaurant a little after one, Mandy was already tucked into a table by the window, scrolling on her phone.

“So, are you going to tell me about who you were slumming it with last night or what?” Mandy fired the question out before Nadia could even sit down. She set her phone down, took a swig of her Frappuccino, and eagerly leaned forward on her elbows.

Thankfully, Mandy was obviously not too upset with her. “Well, let me start at the beginning. Okay so you remember when you ran into Elena and you two took off to the lounge area?” Nadia said.

“Yeah, look, I’m sorry about that, we just hadn’t seen each other in-”

Nadia cut her off “No, Mandy, I don’t care about that. Just listen. So, I was dancing alone, putting on a nice little show for my accumulating fans,” Nadia smiled as Mandy rolled her eyes, “when out of nowhere some guy comes up behind me and just starts grinding me! I mean this guy was rubbing all over me. His movements were incredibly smooth; it was like he could anticipate my every move.” She paused as the waitress came over to get their order.

“So have you ladies had a chance to decide?” The waitress said, looking inquisitively between them while pulling her notepad from her apron.

“I’ll just have the tossed side salad, thanks.” Mandy was on a perpetual diet. She had a thick and curvaceous body that was the envy of many women, but unfortunately, she didn’t see herself that way.

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