Page 24 of Part of Me
“This is me,” she says as she lets go of my hand and fishes her keys out of her handbag. When she has found them, she unlocks the door and flings it open. “Voila!” she says as she gestures for me to walk ahead of her. I do so and come to a stop once I have entered the apartment. Plush furnishings, gloriously rich brown carpets, cream and beige walls and immaculate surfaces that gleam make me speechless. I hear Maggie close the door behind me. “So, what do you think?” she asks, although I am sure that she can tell from the look on my face.
“Wow.”
“I know,” she answers excitedly. She places her handbag on a kitchen work surface to the left of me. The kitchen is small, but it doesn’t take away from the beauty of the entire main room. Whilst the kitchen is small, the lounge is huge. You could fit another apartment in the lounge alone. “Want something to drink?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Okay,” Maggie says as she heads to some kitchen cupboards and opens them. “What do you fancy? I’ve got vodka, gin, tequila and more vodka.”
“Um, vodka will be fine.”
“Coming right up.” Maggie takes a bottle of vodka out of the cupboard, and I walk into the kitchen area. I watch as she takes glasses out of another cupboard, along with a bottle of coca cola.
“Vodka and coke okay for you?” she asks me. I nod and continue to run my eyes over the room. As I look around, I am curious to know how Maggie can afford a place like this on the salary she gets as a receptionist.
“If I’m being too nosey then please tell me to mind my own business, but––”
“You want to know how I can afford this place on my minimal salary, don’t you?” Maggie says, cutting me off. At first, I think she might be annoyed at my question, but then I see the smirk start to spread across her face. “Well, I don’t actually need to work. I just choose to. My dad is a successful businessman who deals in house renovations. He set up a trust fund for me when I was young, and he also converted this whole building. He sold all of the apartments, except for this one.”
“Wow. Your dad knows what he is doing when it comes to renovations.”
“Yeah, he’s been doing it all of his life.” She seems a little sad as she says this, and I feel my face pull into a frown. She notices my expression and takes a sip of her drink before speaking. “Let’s just say this is his way of saying sorry for not being around much when I was growing up.”
“Oh.” I don’t know what to say to her at this point. I know that we are forging a friendship, but I haven’t known her that long and I don’t want to offend her by saying the wrong thing. Maggie waves one of her hands in a casual manner.
“I’m over it now, but it took a long time for me to understand why he wasn’t there for me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Hey, shit happens.” She finishes her drink whilst I haven’t even taken a sip of mine––something that Maggie takes notice of. “Come on, Char, get drinking. Tonight, we are going to let loose and have some fun.” Maggie has an infectious personality and I find myself smiling at her. “In fact, I’ll put some music on, and we can get into the party spirit early.”
She makes her way to a stereo that is situated on the other side of the room, and she selects some music to play. ‘Dreams’ by Alex Ross starts to play through the sound system, and I find myself swaying my hips in time to the beat. I finish my drink and I pour us both another one as Maggie dances in the lounge area. I take her drink over and hand it to her. She clinks her glass against mine and raises her glass in the air.
“Here’s to an awesome night, lady,” she says before she sinks her drink and places the glass down on the coffee table that sits in the middle of the seating area. I finish my drink and she grabs my hand, leading me in a dance around the room.
I laugh as I feel the alcohol already starting to work its magic. I’m not a big drinker, so it never takes much alcohol for me to get to the tipsy stage. We dance until the song comes to an end and then Maggie suggests that we go and get changed. I am more than happy to do this as in a few drinks time I won’t be able to see straight, let alone put my outfit on.
Maggie directs me through a door to the right of the lounge and tells me that the spare room is the first door on the left. I follow her instructions and I open the relevant door to see that the spare room is just as big as the lounge area. I close the door behind me and place my bag which has my clothes in on the bed. I walk over to the French windows that lead onto a small balcony. I open the doors and step outside, breathing in the fresh air. The view is amazing. With countryside in the far background and the twinkling lights of the town just in front, I almost feel like I am on holiday somewhere and not still in my hometown. Luke would love this place. As images of Luke infiltrate my mind, I push the sadness away. With a violent shake of my head, I turn and go back inside.
I will not let Luke ruin tonight. I will not let the state of our relationship ruin my night out. Tonight is for me, and me alone.
Chapter Eighteen
I am having such a good night. Maggie and I came to Club River, which used to be one of my favourite places when I was hitting the clubbing scene. I haven’t been here for a while, and I forgot how good the atmosphere used to be.
The club is packed, and I am amidst all of the bodies on the dance floor. Maggie and I have been here for the last hour. We sank a couple more drinks when we first arrived, and we have been glued to the dance floor ever since. A couple of guys have tried to hit on me, but I politely told them that I wasn’t interested, and so far they have all respected my answer.
Maggie is currently bumping and grinding with some guy that took her fancy soon after we got here. Guys are the last thing on my mind right now. As I sway my hips to the sounds of Wynter Gordon’s ‘Dirty Talk,’ I feel alive. The feeling of the music pumping through me is exhilarating. Nothing else is clouding my mind as I sing along to the lyrics. I dance until the song winds down and then I tell Maggie that I’m going to the toilet. She nods at me, and I make my way through the crowd. I push through the bodies writhing around me until I am walking down a small corridor that leads to the toilets. I enter the toilets and use the facilities before assessing my appearance in the mirror. Apart from looking a little flushed from the alcohol and the dancing, I think that I look okay. I am wearing my little bodycon black dress and my killer red stiletto heels. I have my hair in a high ponytail, and I decided to go for a dramatic look with my make-up. Smokey eyes and red lipstick finish off my daring look. I wash my hands and smile at myself in the mirror. I really needed this and it has made me feel a whole lot better, even if it is just for a few hours. I turn from the mirror, dry my hands and exit the toilets.
As I walk out and look up, I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. I freeze and stare at the man in front of me. The man who, until just over a week ago, I was blissfully happy with. The man who still owns my heart, even though he has broken it at the same time. The man that I came here to forget about. His eyes bore into mine as we just stand and stare at one another.
I let my eyes roam up and down his body as I assess his appearance. He is wearing dark jeans and a fitted grey tank top. Not your usual clubbing attire, but he looks good all the same. My eyes lift back up to his and I can see the fire in his ice blue pools. Fire for me. Fire for us. I know that look, and I know what he wants to do to me right now. In fact, thanks to the alcohol flowing through my body, I am pretty sure that I am looking at him in the same way. I may be mad at him, and I may be hurt by him, but it doesn’t stop me wanting him. It doesn’t stop the desire coursing through me. And it doesn’t stop my pussy from stirring.
I may have wanted to come here tonight to forget about Luke, but now that he is stood in front of me, all I want him to do is devour me. My breathing starts to quicken as my emotions play havoc with my mental state. I step to the side as someone exits from the toilets behind me. As I step to the side, so does Luke. I lean myself back against the wall for support as my legs feel like they are going to give way. Luke runs his eyes up and down my body, slowly. It causes goosebumps to rise over my heated skin. As the music changes to a slower vibe with Usher, ‘Lemme See’, I can no longer fight the urge to be with Luke. It seems that Luke has the same idea as he moves forward and cages me against the wall.
I don’t stop him as his lips crash onto mine and his tongue delves into my mouth. His hands are by my head, so I wrap my arms around his waist, and I pull his body against mine. His tongue massages mine and I let out a groan at the back of my throat. Luke grinds his crotch against mine and I let my hands come around to his front. As I move them up his chest, he moves his hands and places them under my ass, cupping my cheeks. I feel a thrill go through me as his fingers gently squeeze.
I let my hands wrap around his neck and I continue to let my tongue dance with his. I don’t know how long we kiss for, and I don’t care. I realise that I am giving off mixed signals here with my behaviour, but I can’t stop myself from wanting him. I can’t just turn off the button to make myself fall out of love with him. I don’t want this moment to end. I don’t want to think about the reality of our situation.
