I watched the car drive away. By my side, my hands were clutched into fists, my anger bubbling inside of me. I had half a mind to chase the car down the street, but the downpour convinced me otherwise.
I ground my teeth, feeling like an idiot for saying all those things. For once in my life, I had been truthful and what good did it do? I shook my head, running my fingers through my hair. Well, if she didn’t want me, there were always other girls who did.
When the car finally faded from view, I turned on my heels and walked back inside.
I stepped into the bathroom and snatched a towel off the rack, drying my hair as best I could. It was a little messy, but I could make it work.
I then shrugged off my jacket. Well, I wasn’t going to get the deposit back on the rental that was for sure. Which meant, I would need to work twice as hard to pick up one of the dumb broads in this place.
Even as I rolled up my sleeves and planned my night, all I could think about was Amanda. The pain in her eyes haunted me in a way I couldn’t quite understand. Usually, I didn’t care what happened to a girl. As soon as I was out their door, they were old news and I never thought about them again, but Amanda truly was different.
“Well, screw her. If she doesn’t want me, that’s her loss.” I looked into the mirror, giving myself a pep talk. “I’m better off without her.” I loosened my bowtie, the pressure around my neck irritating me at this point. I left it hanging around my neck, knowing some girls died for that look. Wanting to add a little more eye candy, I unbuttoned the top of my shirt, exposing my chiseled chest.
The girls upstairs wouldn’t know what hit them.
When I reentered the party, everyone had sat down to have dinner. I surveyed the area, looking for an empty spot I could snag. I grinned to myself as I saw a seat next to Tiffany,
“Is this seat taken?” I asked, leaning down so I could whisper in her ear.
She looked at me and her bright red lips curled into a smile. “Oh, Luke. What happened to you?” She asked, noting my appearance. Her eyes wandered down my body with obvious interest. “Did you get caught in the rain?”
“Amanda wasn’t feeling well. I escorted her to her ride.” I said, trying to make myself look good. I had no idea whether the story of what happened had spread through the party or not.
“Oh, that’s not what I heard…” She leaned in. “I heard you two got into quite the fight. She even threw a drink in your face…” She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “She must be an even bigger fool than I thought to do something like that to a man like you.” She placed her hand on my thigh, her long fingernails digging into my flesh.
“Maybe… but that’s not our concern right now.” I turned toward her until our knees were touching. “Tell me. What’s a girl like you doing all alone? Especially in a dress like that…” I ran my eyes along the dip in her dress which went all the way down to her naval. I had no doubt that the only thing keeping her breasts from popping out were flimsy pieces of lingerie tape. One little tug…
“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?” She asked, her voice soft and seductive. She took a sip of her drink, pouting her lips ever so slightly like she was trying to turn me on.
I had to admit that she was sexy as hell, but there was just something about her personality that was so off-putting. Part of me just wanted to get out of there, but I simply refused to lose, to walk out empty handed.
“I would…” I leaned forward until our faces nearly touched. “Now that Amanda is gone… she can’t get in the way of us having our fun…” I ran my hand along her exposed thigh, getting dangerously close to her pussy.
She crossed her legs, making it even easier for me to slip my fingers underneath and grab her ass. She moaned softly, getting the attention of the other people sitting at the table.
“I think we should take this somewhere a little more private.”
“I have the perfect place.” She whispered, grabbing me by the shirt and tugging me out of the room. I followed her eagerly, my sense of conquest coming to the forefront. As it did, the sense of guilt I felt for hurting Amanda quickly washed away. Who needed her anyway? No one liked damaged goods.
Tiffany brought me to one of the bedrooms. By the time I realized what was going on, she was already undressing.
I grinned, pushing her onto the bed, pinning her hands above her head. “You want me, don’t you?” I asked, my voice husky with desire. I straddled her body.
“Mmm, come and take me.” She challenged, her eyes burning with lust.
I was just about to lean down and kiss her when something stopped me. I blinked and all of a sudden, I was straddling Amanda. She looked like she had been crying all night, her eyes red and puffy. I tried to say something, but my words caught in my throat.
“I can’t do this,” I said, getting up and running my fingers through my hair.
“Why the hell not?” Tiffany got up, looking offended. “Is it because of Amanda? Because baby, I can give you much more than she ever could.”
“Shut up.” I snapped. “Don’t talk about her like that.” I shook my head.
What was going on? I never turned down an offer to sleep with a woman, especially one who threw herself at me. Was I growing soft?
“She’s not worth your time.”
“No, you’re wrong. I don’t deserve her…” Without another word, I walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me. Needing to clear my head, I sat down at the bar, ordering a scotch.
The bartender, a decent-looking girl with dirty blonde hair smiled at me. “What’s your name, handsome?” She asked, resting her hand on mine.
I slapped it away, a little harder than I intended. “Drop it. Alright? Just get me my damn drink.” When she wouldn’t move, I reached over the counter and grabbed the bottle, pouring myself a glass. “There, now learn to do your fucking job.” Her cheeks turned red.
I downed the drink right before a few security guards came my way, accompanied by Tiffany. “That’s him. Get him out of here.”
“I’m going. I’m going.” I held up my hands, showing them that I wasn’t going to give them a hard time. “I know when I’m not wanted.”
They escorted me out of the building and back into the rain. I walked down the long, winding driveway, my hands in my pockets.
How had I ended up here? Usually, I was the king of the show, but today, everything had crashed and burned. For once in a long, long time I was starting to like a woman, only to have her hate me. I shook my head. What was I even saying? I had lost the ability to have such feelings the day Melissa stepped out of my life. My heart had frozen over and nothing would ever be able to thaw it, even if I spent the rest of my life in the burning pits of hell.
Great, now I sounded like one of those sappy poets.
Shaking my head, I just tried to forget about everything, but it was like Amanda’s face had been etched into the back of my eyelids.
Reaching my car, I searched my person for my car keys, but they were nowhere to be found. Great… they must have been in my jacket, which was still inside. There was no way I could get them after what had just happened. Guess I was walking home tonight.
It was going to be a long, long night.
As I walked, the night replayed itself in my mind. For some reason, I kept harkening back to the moment when I was dancing with Amanda. My arms around her slender waist, my lips pressed against hers, our bodies in perfect sync. It all felt inexplicably… right.
It was as if she had gotten through to me somehow, broken through the hardened exterior I had built up through the years. And now, she was gone. All because I took a con too far.
If I was smart, I would have hidden the jewelry.
If I was smarter, I never would have taken it in the first place.