Page 7 of Wicked Lies Grow Wildflowers
My phone starts to ring immediately—not even thirty seconds later. Go figure she’d be too ecstatic to text me back. I answer and my ears are instantly assaulted with high pitched squealing on the other end. “Oh my goooooossshhh!!Eeeeeek!Are you serious?!?!” “Um . . . yeah. But not if you blow my eardrums out.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend, Maeren, who absolutely hates socializing outside of work?”
Rolling my eyes, I groan. “You’re so dramatic, I just want another night out with my bestie. Is that so hard to believe?”
“Yes, yes it is.Wait!I know what this is about! It’s about that sexy stranger, isn’t it?! You want another taste, don’t you?” She squeals again and I wince.
I start to flush at her accusation but there isn’t a point in pretending otherwise. “Actually . . .” I trail off, giving myself a second to admit the absurdity of it all. “Yes. I can’t get him out of my brain. I’ve been thinking of him off and on all day. And I don’t even necessarily want to speak to him, I just want to figure out who he is. My mind can’t drop it and believe me, I’ve been trying to.”
“I’m so fucking excited for you right now. Oh my gosh, this is going to beso fun! Okay, I’ll pick you up at nine tonight! And make sure you look extra slutty in case he is there and remembers you, or if you somehow can pick him out of the crowd. I feel like I’m the host of a dating show. This issoawesome!”
Laughing at her obvious elation, I rush out my reply to get her off the phone. “Okay, okay, extra slutty, got it. I’ll see you in a couple hours, babe. Bye.”
After we hang up, I tear through my closet for another outfit, settling on a black sheer mesh bodysuit with a black pushup bra underneath and the same jeans as the night before. I add my sparkly booties and leather jacket again, apparently both of which are becoming my going out staples. Extra slutty being the theme of the night, I go with something a little bolder as I work magic with my face—heavy eye makeup and my signature red lip, just slightly darker and more vampy. I leave my hair up in its messy pony. Sexy, but laid back.Perfect.
My heart is beating fast as my giddiness fights to overcome my anxiousness. What if I’m getting my hopes up for nothing? What if last night was a fluke and he’s not there tonight? What if he isn’t even interested in me? I shake the thoughts out of my head and stop the self sabotage by letting Sage know I’m ready.
We getto the club at nine thirty and head inside, going straight for the bar and ordering our drinks before taking them with us to the dance floor. Sage is sipping her vodka cranberry and I’ve already finished my mule, which did nothing to cool the layer of sweat coating me from all the dancing. I let Sage know I’m going back to the bar for another. As I walk through the dance floor, my eyes excitedly search the room for anyone who might be the man from last night. Unfortunately, no one stands out to me. As the bartender is making my drink, my eyes continue to wander but don’t catch on anyone and I can’t help the feeling of disappointment that works its way up my throat.
As the bartender hands me my drink she leans in and says into my ear, “Be careful out there. I saw on the news there’s been a few dead bodies popping up around here, most of them young women.”
I scoff, her words not quite registering as being serious. “I’m sorry—what?”
“It’s been on the news tonight, so I’m warning patrons as much as I can. Just be careful, okay?”
Her words sober me a bit as I take my second drink back to the dance floor. I shove my way through the crowd and back into the middle of the horde where Sage is still dancing, now with two guys. I station myself next to her and join in when a third man comes up and starts to dance with me. He’s definitely not the same man as last night—he’s not much bigger than me—but I continue to dance anyway, trying my best to keep a tight grip on my glass so I don’t spill it. I brush the bartender's warnings aside, not knowing if there is any merit to them.
A steady buzz is pumping through me now and I’m actually having genuine fun. I give myself over to the music and the five of us continue to dance all over each other, the three guys loving when Sage and I feel each other up to the beat of the song, laughing our heads off. It feels like we are young, carefree college kids all over again and I can’t wipe the smile from my face.
Sage leaves for a bathroom break, winking at me as one of the guys she was dancing with follows her out. I shake my head and roll my eyes, but keep on dancing with the two remaining guys because screw it, why not? I don’t have to wait around on a man I probably fully hallucinated to come back and find me. It’s delusional to be so caught up on it anyways.
The songs switch a few times and I open my eyes when the two guys who were just dancing with me back away, their hands in the air like they are trying to avoid some kind of threat before they turn away and disappear into the crowd. I quirk my brows,confused as I feel the weight of another man press against me and hands planting on my hips, just like the night before. My heart starts beating out of my chest because Iknowit’s him. It has to be, yet I can hardly believe it. I lean back into him, taking a deep breath and trying to steady my shaking hands because as much as I had anticipated this, I didn’t expect him to actually be here and find me again. I didn’t plan on what would happen if this moment I was in right now actually came to fruition.
He leans down and whispers in my ear with a voice like smooth whiskey, “Back again so soon?”
I inhale sharply, trying to think of what to say to that. “Did you miss me?” I flush more than I already was, impressed with my gall.
“I did,” he replies. “Though I’m surprised to find you here again. I didn’t expect you to come back.”
“Why’s that?” I muse.
“Because I know this isn’t your scene.” His hands move from my waist and roam my sides, running up and down the length of my torso.
Wetness is pooling between my legs from the hot touch of him as adrenaline courses through me. He’s really here again andhefoundme. “It’s not. But I wanted to find you again.”
“Curious thing you are. How did you expect to find me, not even knowing what I look like?”
Valid question. Last night I couldn’t get a look at him and even now all I can see are his hands and, if I turn my head, the broad expanse of his chest. He’s holding me so tightly that I couldn’t move if I wanted to. “I don’t know. I expected a feeling, I guess.”
“Hmm,” he hums. He says nothing more, continuing to hold me tightly against him as we get lost in the music in the same way we had the night prior. I can feel his rigid hardness againstmy back, and just like that, my mind conjures up images of what we would look like together.
We continue on like that and I don’t bother to turn around because I like the mystery; it’s part of the appeal. If I have a face to the voice and the body, I might not be as infatuated as I am. Or what if it’s not what I expected and then this fantasy I’ve created dissipates? I can’t let that happen. Things like this don’t befall me. This stuff only happens to people who are adventurous, so I can’t sabotage it all now. I want to keep whatever this is going for as long as I can.
I glance at the clock and see it’s nearly one in the morning. The club closes at two and I should get home. I turn the side of my face into his chest and say, “I have to go soon. Am I going to get a name?”
“Am I going to get yours?” he asks back.
I want to tell him but what if he’s some weirdo? You can never be too cautious, so I decide to play it safe and give him my middle name instead. “Marie.”
