Chapter 3
Nina
We were sitting on high stools, facing each other, at the hotel bar. The lights were dim, and I was already two fingers of Single Malt in, but I could still see Cole’s face clearly in front of me. A sharp jaw, protruding eyebrows, high cheekbones…I had a sudden uncontrollable urge to reach out and feel the angles of his face. It took all the strength in me to resist doing that.
“Why did you tell me about your ex…the bride?” I asked him, licking my lips. Cole smiled, studying my eyes, my chin… He had a strange elusive way of looking, like he was trying to figure me out just from my face. Like he was already making judgements on my personality. I felt naked under his gaze. I could feel my nipples beginning to stiffen under his steady watchful eyes. Thank God for padded bras!
“There was no reason to hide it from you. You asked me how I knew the bride and groom, so I told you the truth,” Cole said and swirled the remnants of his whiskey in his glass. I watched him silently for a few moments. This was not how I imagined the night to progress, and I gulped. The last thing I expected was to be sitting at a bar, sitting dangerously close to the hottest guy I had ever personally met. I had already seen the bulge in his pants as he sat in front of me. I looked away, but I couldn’t un-see it now. When was the last time I had ever objectified a man like this?
“How long have you been singing at weddings?” he asked, snapping me out of my fantasies of him.
“Since I dropped out of college, three years ago. I had to find a way to make money. It took me a few months to realize that nobody wanted to produce my songs,” I told him, suddenly realizing that my knees felt a little weak and that I was talking too much.
“You write songs?” he asked, and again, I got a whiff of that cologne.
“I wrote songs,” I corrected him and he didn’t smile.
“And what, you’ve just given up on writing them now?” he asked and I jutted my chin out proudly towards him.
“I’m not interested in a pep talk,” I told him and our gazes locked. I kept mine narrowed and focused on his face, resisting the temptation to tuck in some stray golden curls behind my ears. That would only be a show of weakness and nervousness, and I didn’t want him to know how I was feeling.
“Fair enough. So, Nina, what are you interested in then?” he asked and I watched in horror as he reached out and brushed his finger against the curl that was lying annoyingly on my nose. He smoothly moved it over my cheeks and then tucked it in behind my ear.
I realized that I was holding my breath the whole time that he did that. I didn’t move or say a word, just watched him in terror. My body was frozen to the spot.
I couldn’t reply to what he had just asked. I didn’t have the courage to say it in words. What I actually wanted. My fear of rejection was too strong.
He waited for me to say something for a few more moments, and I admired the width of his shoulders in the meantime.
“Do you want me to get to the point?” he asked and I felt my body reel. I still said nothing, just sat on the stool in front of him, with my back straight and my nostrils flaring in anticipation.
Cole had already ordered another round of whiskeys and the bartender brought it for us, placing it on tissue papers on the counter. He was quick to pick up his glass and take a large sip. I did the same, because I could do with as much courage as I could gather right then.
“You seem like a straight shooter, Nina. Let me lay it out for you in simple terms,” he said and I gulped. I had no idea what he was going to say, but I knew what I wanted him to.
“From the moment I saw you on the stage, singing, I knew I wanted you,” he said, exuding self confidence. He said it matter of factly again, like he didn’t expect a response that would disappoint him. Every instinct in my bones told me that I should have just got off the stool and walked away. That nothing good could come from sleeping with a man like Cole Emery.
I wasn’t someone who enjoyed one night stands. I had only ever been with two guys before, and both of them had been long-term boyfriends. I still craved for romance, for a meaningful committed relationship. I was well aware of what one-night stands led to…to nothing.
Sleeping with Cole that night would be just for the moment, he had made it very clear. I had to give him credits for honesty, but right then, I didn’t feel like saying anything. I only stared at him.
“Would you like to come up with me?” Cole asked, and confidently stepped off the stool, beginning to button up his jacket. I tried very hard to resist him. To resist that urge, but from the moment I saw him, I knew I wanted him too. Was it so wrong to just act on my urges? Do something I had never done before? But then, I had never met anyone like Cole before either.
“Nina?” he said my name in that velvety smooth voice of his, and then held out a hand to me, palm upwards, waiting for my decision.
I said nothing, only placed my hand on his and stepped off the stool. Whatever guilt I was going to feel would have to wait till the next morning.