Chloe
Deep breath. Don’t over think this. An art gallery opening didn’t feel like something someone my age went to. Jazmin, who was nearly twenty-one and looked like a model went to those sorts of events. She knew how to talk to people. I always seemed to stick my foot in mouth.
I brushed my hands down the front of my dress and turned in front of the mirror. The dress Jaz helped me pick fit perfectly. The halter neckline dipped low between my breasts and the back even lower. The shiny silver material caught the light beautifully. I felt like all of the celebrities I followed on Instagram.
Taking the YSL lipstick out of my bag, I touched up my makeup and took one more deep breath. I can do this. I came this far and if nothing else then I’m getting a wicked party out of this.
“Chloe, are you ready?”
“Yeah, I’m coming!” I grabbed my clutch off the counter and threw the door open. “Do I look okay? Is this nice enough?” I turned in a small circle, letting him see the dress from all angles.
He whistled and reached for my waist. “You look stunning and the dress is perfect.”
I grinned and looked up at him excitedly. He was wearing a classy black-on-black suit with no tie, the top two buttons of his dress shirt were undone and he had a small pink calla lily boutonniere. He matched my bouquet.
My fingers trailed down his lapel as I straightened it and smiled to myself.
“Is it weird if I call you my prom date?”
He laughed and looped his arms around my waist. “Only if you decide to tell me that you’re actually underage.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Yeah, I’m choosing this moment to implicate us both in a crime. Surprise!”
Alex shook his head and took a step back as he reached behind him. “You’re terrible…” He paused and offered me a lopsided smile that made my heart stutter. “Close your eyes and hold out your hand.”
I did as he asked, imagining that blue Tiffany’s box he’d shown me the night before. I was worried that my hand trembled, that he might see that and laugh but it didn’t happen. After a moment, a cool weight hung from my wrist and Alex urged me to open my eyes again. A silver chain held small circular diamonds, each about an inch apart. A tennis bracelet. My throat constricted and I touched it reverently, worried that it would disintegrate under my fingertips.
“Alex—”
“I don’t usually do this so soon,” he interrupted quickly. “So don’t think of it as a gift so much as just something to compliment your outfit.”
Without thinking, I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him hard. I didn’t know how else to say thank you.
His mouth was soft but his hand pressed insistently against the small of my back holding me to him. I wished he would take the plunge that I didn’t feel confident enough to yet, but in a way I almost liked this more.
All too soon, he pulled away, dark eyes blazing and pinning me to the spot.
“I love it, thank you,” I said quietly, praying he didn’t notice the way my cheeks heated.
“Good, I’m glad.” He smiled and kissed my forehead. “Now we really have to go before Amelia decides to show up and drag me there herself.”
I laughed and followed him to the door excitedly.
The driver was already waiting for us with the SUV and eagerly opened up the door for me while Alex got in on the other side. We sat as close as possible, touching everywhere from our shoulders to our arms, down the length of my leg. It was comforting and warm next to him like this. I guess it was creepy to say that in a way he did remind me of my dad, he had that same feeling of being safe to be with. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and smiled to myself as I laid my head on his shoulder for the drive. Completely safe.
The drive was faster than I thought it would be but slowed to a crawl about a half a block away where photographers and journalists were crowding in. Alex’s hand stroked my knee reassuringly as the car slowly crept past the people posing reporters pressing closer to the building.
“Don’t worry about the paparazzi,” Alex murmured. “Even if they take our photo, it won’t go very far.”
“Oh, I’m not worried.” I waved it off. “My parents don’t read anything unless it has murder or a kidnapping plot.”
Alex’s hand came up to the bridge of his nose and he laughed silently, shoulders shaking.
All at once, the car door opened and I was blinded by the flashing of the bulbs and strobe lights at the entrance. Alex got out first and held his hand out for me, steadying me on the step down. I turned towards the cameras and smiled, leaning into Alex’s side as I did. His arm wrapped around my waist and he stood for a moment, posing with me for a minute.
“Zander! Get your ass in here!”
What? I craned my neck but Alex steered us toward the woman inside who was laughing and quickly thrust a brightly coloured drink into his hand. Her brown hair was only a few inches long and purposely wild her narrow eyes were an unnerving violet colour, from contacts no doubt, and she was just as short as me except that she wore flat soled shoes which made her look shorter. There was no doubt in my mind that this was his friend.
“Amelia,” he greeted happily. “This is my date, Chloe.”
“Ah, so you’re the new company,” she teased, shaking my hand. “And what do you do Chloe?”
“Ah well,” I paused and gestured helplessly as I glanced at him. “I think I’m supposed to do him.”
Alex choked on his drink while Amelia started to cackle. I smirked to myself and took a glass from the server walking around with a large tray. It looked a lot less threatening than the odd mixed drink she handed him when he came in.
“Alright, I’m leaving you in her clearly very capable hands. But mix, admire the art, and drink. My supplier bought way too much for tonight.”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I’ll come find you later. Congratulations.”
We made our way through the first floor, following the flow of people through all the cool displays. It was art as it came alive, with a person hidden in each painting that slowly moved to mimic either and emotion or an action. I watched as the performers fell in love, were torn apart and descended to different lows.
Alex kept stopping us to talk to different people and introduce me to his friends and acquaintances. Men and women of all stripes were eager to catch up with him and didn’t blink twice at my presence. Most of them genuinely seemed happy to meet me.
“How did you meet Amelia?” I asked as I watched a female performer bend backwards and fall elegantly to the floor.
He was silent for a minute before answering, “Amelia was friends with a mutual acquaintance, her benefactor. She was an artist in residence for him but wanted to continue school for architecture. We bonded over that for a while and when her benefactor wouldn’t introduce her to more people for connections, I did it myself. We helped each other out.”
“You wanted to be an architect?”
“A long time ago. Things just didn’t work out that way and I stayed in real estate.”
“But you also built houses anyway?”
“Only a few, maybe a dozen, but I really just wanted to design beautiful buildings – houses mainly. My son owns my contracting business now, I think I told you that, but for a while there it was me and Amelia that owned it together.”
It was kind of cute to think of a little boy that was so obsessed with building houses that he not only became a contractor but also started buying and selling when he couldn’t do what he really wanted.
We had made our way through the bottom and up to the second-floor bar that overlooked the bottom floor and the fountain that lit up in a dozen different colours when Amelia came to find us again, this time with a man trailing behind her. I felt Alex tense slightly and I noted the clear irritation on Amelia’s face as she approached us.
The man was unfortunate looking; average height with a pot belly and a leer that made my skin crawl. He beelined for the table behind her and quickly pulled up a stool.
“Chloe,” Alex said tiredly. “This is Giovanni Fiori. Gianni, this is my friend Chloe.”
I instantly noticed the way I went from being his date to his friend. “Nice to meet you, Giovanni,” I greeted easily, holding out my hand. He didn’t take the offering and instead leaned in to give my cheek a wet kiss. I cringed and quickly pulled away, moving closer to Alex.
“Charmed to meet you, Chloe.”
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t get fresh with her,” Alex warned him dryly.
He scoffed and waved for the waitress. “It’s a compliment, I like gorgeous women, would you begrudge me showing them that?”
“We’d appreciate it if you kept a respectable distance while you did it,” Amelia muttered from behind her glass.
I giggled and took my drink with a quick thank you to the girl who brought them over. Amelia was quick to whisper an apology to Alex before leaving us behind with the man and I got the distinct impression that he wasn’t well liked.
“Gianni, I didn’t know you were coming down here for the opening,” Alex remarked. “How was Rome? Zamir said you had a lot on your plate.”
Gianni waved it off dismissively. “He doesn’t know anything, he got himself in a snit and left in a hurry.”
Alex pursed his lips at that but didn’t say anything. There was a tension between them that cut through the atmosphere of pop music and perfume mixtures like a knife, bringing the mood down around us.
I tried to goad them into talking, into something more upbeat but each exchange seemed a little more antagonistic than the last, with Gianni getting drunker and louder by the second. I sipped at my drink but made a show of doing it slowly, pacing myself and refusing another drink when the waitress came by.
Alex’s phone buzzed loudly in his pocket and he reached for it quickly, turning away from me as he checked the display.
“I’ll be right back,” he said suddenly. “I just have to take this. I’ll be right around the corner.” He paused and his gaze slid to Gianni. “If you need me I’ll be right over there.”
Even Alex didn’t trust Gianni, that much was obvious.
“I’ll be fine,” I dismissed with a light smile. “Go, I’ll be here.” Please don’t go far.
I watched him leave, moving behind a pillar as he brought his phone to his ear, barely twenty feet away but it still felt too far.
“So, Chloe, how did you end up as his assistant?” Gianni asked, putting weighty emphasis on the word.
“I think he just called me his friend…”
“I know how this works, I’ve had my own companions. It’s easier to call you assistants.”
I shrugged. “Okay, and?”
“Nothing, I was just curious.” Gianni smirked and leaned forward. “Zander likes girls like you,” he said with a conspiratory wink.
“Girls that like him?” I offered, not buying into his bait.
“The ones with a little extra,” he corrected with a nasty grin. “The last one was a little thin for his tastes, we all knew that.”
Ew. And where the fuck was this extra weight I had heard so fucking much about? I wore a size twelve, that was pretty normal. “I think he just likes attractive women, I fit that descriptor pretty well.” I got up from the chair and grabbed my purse. “God only knows why he hangs out with a pig like you.”
I turned sharply on my heel and left him there calling after me. I didn’t like how I felt being here anymore. I didn’t want him to leave me alone like this again.
Thankfully it didn’t take me long to find him; hidden behind a corner and whispering away on the phone.
“I know. There’s cash in the box if you need it before I get home, okay?” he asked, not noticing me standing there. “Has he come home yet? Alright. When you see him just let him know I called. Okay. Bye.”
He turned around and jolted when he realized I was standing there, his hand clutched at his chest. “Chloe, my god, were you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt, I just came to find you.”
“Was Gianni okay? I know he can be…a little bit much to say the least.”
My mouth opened but I didn’t know what to say. I had no idea who Gianni was to him, if that was a business partner or not but I hadn’t exactly been hospitable. “Um, he was certainly something alright.” I shrugged.
His smile faltered and he reached for my hand. “Did he do something or say something? You can tell me.”
“Uh…” I shrugged. “He essentially called you a chubby chaser and I didn’t particularly appreciate that.”
Alex half groaned half laughed and pulled me to him for a hug. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, he wasn’t supposed to be here and I didn’t think you would have to meet him…”
“It’s fine,” I lied. “Really, it’s no big deal.”
He shook his head. “How about we go back to the hotel? Amelia is going to spend the rest of the evening fielding interviews and I don’t want to have to see Gianni again. You and I could spend the night in together.”
Together. What did that mean? I stared up at him questioningly, wondering just how far I wanted to go with him.
His fingers laced with mine and he bent his head down to brush his mouth against my ear. Everything else was background noise compared to this, compared to being with him. I didn’t understand how it could feel so innocent and erotic at the same time, how I could feel like I was doing nothing and everything wrong all at once.
“Alex…” I mumbled, trailing off.
“Our clothes can stay on; I just want to be alone with you for a little while.”
I liked the sound of that. I nodded eagerly and let him pull me along beside him, back through the crowd, down the stairs and out of the building, leaving behind everything that felt glamorous and vile and foreign. My hair was starting to fall out of it’s curls and into looser waves as we got back into the car, the crowd outfront had thinned considerably and the paparazzi less aggressive.
The evening felt like a blur, gone in the blink of an eye but when I checked my phone, the three hours we spent there really was nothing.
It was just past midnight when we got back to the hotel and I was wondering how Alex did it, how he flew around the world to visit friends, attend events, and get next to no sleep. I stepped in ahead of him into the suite, flicking on the lights as I went and stopping short in front of the balcony doors to stretch.
I heard his footsteps before I felt his hands on my hips, sliding around to my stomach and holding me against his chest.
“Tell me that it wasn’t all bad,” he whispered. “Did you enjoy at least some of the evening?”
I grinned and laid my head back on his shoulder. “I enjoyed most of my evening, just without the creep. But I liked everything else. I’d come again.”
“I’d like to see you come again,” he purred.
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing as he kissed his way down my neck and over my shoulder. “Alex, I…” I didn’t know what to say. Again. He had a habit of making me speechless.
“Is this too far for you?”
“No—maybe—I don’t—” I broke off again and squeezed my eyes shut.
“Chloe, glykia mou, don’t panic.”
Glykia mou. It meant “my sweet”, mama liked to call me koritsi mou or “my girl.”
“I-I’m not, I’m just a little overwhelmed…”
Alex turned me around to face him and brushed a loose lock of hair back. “What would make you feel less overwhelmed?”
I shook my head but couldn’t look away from him, the way the stray locks of hair fell in his eyes, the faint scar on his cheek, hidden just below his thick scruff. “The lights being off and being in bed. Maybe. I think.”
He smirked and pressed his forehead to mine. “You think?”
“I’m pretty sure.”
“Do you want me to meet you in there or should I join you?”
“Join me,” I answered without pause. “I want you to come with me, I just—it’s a little awkward.”
“I’ll make it less awkward,” he promised.
The bedroom door seemed almost threatening now as we approached it but I forced myself to cross the threshold and move to the edge of the bed where Alex took a seat. Something inside me urged me to stand in front of him and move my hair out of the way. Carefully Alex undid the halter top of my dress, unclipping it and letting it fall down the front of me, exposing me to the dark room.
My ex, Nathan, he and I had hadn’t gotten completely undressed, I’d kept my shirt on, and we had undressed separately. It was strange now to have Alex’s hands cascading over my body, pushing my dress down along with my panties before pulling me back onto the bed with him and sliding his hands down my legs, slipping my heels off.
“Chloe,” he whispered appreciatively. “You’re so beautiful.”
“You’re so full of it,” I said with an awkward laugh. “You don’t need to lay it on that thick, you know.”
“I’m not laying it on thick, I’m telling you the truth.” He paused to kiss my cheek. “Should I stand up or is this a comfortable position for you?”
Ohmigod! He wanted me to undress him? My palms were clammy and my voice shook when I told him that he should stand.
I pulled the sheet around me as I stood up with him and carefully worked to unbutton his shirt. I could feel him watching me the entire time, scrutinizing every movement as I undressed him. One by one, pieces of his suit fell to the floor around us; his jacket, his shirt, then his belt. I faltered when I got to his pants.
Alex called my name and reached to cup my face, grounding me to him and keeping me calm. I touched his broad chest, feeling the muscle and beating of his heart. All at once he leaned down and kissed me, letting his hands tangle into my hair and keeping me standing at the same time.
I don’t know if he pulled off his pants or if I did, all I knew was that after that we were both naked and laying the bed; my body against his with nothing between us and no pressure for anything else. He didn’t ask me to touch him, he didn’t try to touch me in any way that I didn’t urge him to. He just had me lay my head on his chest and left his hand resting on my hip.
My eyes closed and I squeezed the blanket in my fist momentarily, trying to prove that this was real. The rain continued pounding at the windows, thunder roaring in the distance, and all of it paled in comparison to the beating of his heart, to the warmth his body radiated.