I feel a hand wrap around my wrist and I jolt, the warmth of the touch pulsates through me. My head snaps around and there is Knox, looking sexier than ever, his whole face beaming at me. As he goes to speak, Abbie pops up next to me and his hand drops, breaking our connection.

"Em?" She asks me as she tugs on my top.

"Hi, I'm Knox," he says, putting his hand out for Abbie to shake. "I'm hoping I can steal Emma here. Would you mind?" His eyes never leave mine the entire time he speaks, as if a silent conversation happens between the two of us. What a gentleman... asking Abbie's permission...

I glance at Abbie and she's all but a puddle on the floor. She looks at me, her eyebrows wiggling, as she licks her ruby red lips. "I don't mind at all! I have a few guys I'm eyeing myself." She winks at us both and then pulls me against her in a tight hug, "Call me later, okay? Make sure you get home safe," Abbie whispers, as she pulls back slightly, pecking my cheek with a kiss, and she's off to the table and I'm left here standing with Knox.

"How about we get the hell out of here?" His deep voice rumbles and a shiver runs through me. My internal battle begins yet again. I was confident of my decision, but now, with him standing here in front of me scrambling all of my thoughts, I'm confused.

My brain screams No, no! Listen to what your mother says, what rational thought says; but my heart and body are saying, you get it girl, you deserve it! Why should I have to go home to King, my vibrator every night? What if Knox is packing a King right there in his pants? My belly clenches and I swallow down the moans that threaten to escape. Do this Emma, just do this!

I grin back at Knox, my decision made. "Let's go."

* * *

The heat of the summer night hits my face when we exit the hotel lobby. I breathe in deeply, taking in the scent of the city on a Saturday night. Street food, alcohol, sweat—the scents mix together and linger. Knox grabs my hand and pulls me towards the sidewalk.

He doesn't tell me where we're going, but he walks with purpose. For some reason, I trust him in where he's leading us, my excitement builds with every step.

"Hungry?" Knox asks, breaking the silence. He hasn't let go of my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

I shake my head, the alcohol still courses through me as my heartbeat begins to tick faster with anticipation at where we're going. I notice we're now in Federal Hill, a small section of the north side of Providence.

Does he know I love Italian food? That this part of town specializes in it? It's as if he's known me for a long time.

I wonder if he comes here often for the Italian food, like I do. As we get closer, I smell the familiar scents of authentic Italian food. My stomach grumbles and makes a liar out of me.

"Are you sure about that?" Knox says with a chuckle. "Because it smells fucking good over here."

I laugh, "Italian food is my favorite."

"Same here! I love coming to this part of town for the food."

"What, really? My girlfriends and I come here to eat often." I say, "Surprised, I've never seen you around."

"I'd know if I'd seen you, I would've remembered." Knox winks at me as we come to a stop in front of a dance club called The South Beach Restaurant & Lounge. I flush as Knox opens the door for me, ushering me inside.

After paying and checking IDs, Knox finds us a private corner booth in the dark, placing the drink menu on the table. There's minimal lighting and I see a few bars with lots of tables and chairs spread throughout. The air is thick with heat, though not as hot as outside. I smell stale smoke and dirty ashtrays, as if thousands of cigarettes have been smoked in here and the place has never been aired out. Music pumps from above; I assume a dance floor is up there.

The dark atmosphere sets the mood. It's heady and intoxicating as it heightens my senses. I smell his musky aftershave and my heart hammers in my chest.

A ping of anxiety mixed with anticipation rolls through me. Dancing with Knox? Fuck, I'll lose myself as soon as his body presses against mine...

"Have you ever been here?" Knox's deep voice breaks my thoughts. His sexy as fuck mouth holds my attention. I'm dying to taste him again.

I snap out of my daydream of Knox's mouth all over me and shake my head. "No, you?"

"No, I haven't. First time for everything, right?" His answer surprises me, but I grin, happy to experience this place together for the first time.

"How do the drinks look?" Knox asks.

My eyes scan the long list of drinks. So many to choose from and they all sound delicious. There's also a small section of food along with a Hookah bar you can head over to. Hmm, a hookah bar? Interesting...

"Hmmm, Hookah, huh? Have you ever tried it?" I point to the section of the menu and watch Knox's face for clues. I can't help but laugh. "I want to try it; I never have before."

His eyes light up. "Let's do it then; another first for us."

The waitress comes by and we order drinks—a beer for him, a margarita for me, and we tell her we want to try out the Hookah bar. She said we're free to head over there whenever we want. We don't even wait for our drinks; we are climbing out of the booth faster than it takes the waitress to walk away. She looks back and laughs. "Relax guys, it's not wacky tobacco or anything.".

Knox laughs as he takes my hand, "Too bad it isn't!" He calls after her, and I laugh. "That'd be sweet."

"Hell yeah it would. A nice joint to relax with..." I look up and see Knox with the biggest smile on his face. "What?" I ask innocently, "Never met a girl who likes to smoke on occasion?"

He shakes his head, "No, actually I haven't. Most hate it."

Just as I go to comment, we enter the Hookah bar, the entire place filled with smoke, tables and chairs set up low to the ground with a lot of Hookahs lined up on each one. We walk around for a bit until we find a small table tucked in the back free with just one Hookah. Perfect for two.

I slide into my chair as Knox settled himself in the chair next to me. A waiter comes over with a menu and begins to explain the different tobaccos and oils we can try, along with a drink and food menu. It all feels so surreal. Here I am, in a Hookah bar no less, with a hotter than hot man, about to have some crazy fun. My sister would freak, my mother even more so.

The waiter from earlier brings our drinks over to us and the new waiter takes our tobacco order. We got a sampling of both relaxing melody and starry nights. Hopefully, it doesn't make me fall asleep. As we sip on our drinks and wait for our tobacco to arrive, I glance around at the other groups of people having fun and I'm glad I decided to come. Usually, I'm sitting around binging on Netflix.

"What would your mother think of this place?"

I laugh. "You know exactly what she would think. Maybe we should scope this place out; my sister could be lurking in any of these dark corners."

Knox chuckles and shakes his head. "Maybe we should."

I love how Knox jokes about my delusional family with me. How he accepts them without full judgement. Most would run for the hills; many have.

"Thanks, Knox." I say as I reach out and give his hand a squeeze.

He looks at me, an eyebrow popping up in confusion. "For what?"

I shrug. "For understanding, for helping me out. I appreciate it."

Knox's mouth opens but he's cut off by our waiter arriving. I realize what I told him sounds like I'm putting him in the friend zone. While I'm not trying to, nothing can happen between us so why bother to raise his expectations? I can't give myself hope, either.

Our food arrives first, along with another round of drinks. We scarf our food down, both of us hungrier than we thought.

Both of our tobacco choices are laid out before us.

Knox reaches out and plucks one off the table. "Shall we try relaxing melody first, before starry nights puts us to sleep?" He smiles as he unscrews the lid. He leans down and inhales, a low moan coming from his throat.

I feel a deep clench of desire, that animalistic sound turning me right the fuck on. He holds the container in front of my nose and I take a deep breath, the sweet scent smelling heavenly.

"Mmm, yes, let's try that." I answer as I watch Knox fill the center with tobacco, hands me a tube from the hookah, along with taking one for himself.

"Ready?" He asks as he positions the lighter. I nod and he lights it, both of us inhaling at the same time. A sweet tasting smoke pours into my mouth, very smooth but strong, and I pull off after a few seconds. I breath out as the smoke sneaks from my mouth and curls into the air.

"Damn, that tastes good," I take a sip of my drink as I watch Knox exhale his smoke. He nods in agreement, motioning with the lighter that he's ready for another drag. I giggle and we repeat the same process again. And again. And again.

* * *

As the night wears on, Knox and I laugh our asses off, four rounds of drinks have come and gone, along with both orders of tobacco. I feel amazing. Relaxed and carefree as if I don't have a care in the world. Our conversation has gotten interesting; the drinks make us bolder.

"How many girlfriends? Like seriousssss onesss?" I slur, my s's sounding bad.

"Only two. One in high school and one I met my last year of college." Knox knocks back the rest of his beer, signaling to the waitress for another. "Do you want another margarita?" He asks me but I shake my head no. I'll be on the floor if I do. "What about you?"

I nod my head. "I've had a few..." I trail off as I think of John, Lee, and Clinton. "One in high school, one in college, oh, and an ex-fiancée." I stutter the words, my brain completely dead now. Knox's eyes light up with surprise at my admission but he doesn't say anything. "Yeah, I know, fiancée... but he was a jerk, don't worry." I wave my hand, pushing Clinton away. He doesn't deserve to be talked about.

"You though, Knox... you break the rules and I love it." Knox's eyes widen, a grin crossing his face, as he watches me. "Fuck," I mumble, the room beginning to slightly spin. I need to move. If I sit here any longer, I'm going to pass out.

I stand abruptly, practically falling over onto Knox. He's up just as quickly, steadying me with his hands around my waist. I fall against him, the alcohol lowering my inhibitions. Don't kiss him yet, girl, not yet...

I wrap my arms around his neck, as I smile lopsidedly up into his face, "I want to dance!" I exclaim as I begin to shake my ass to the pretend music. Knox laughs loudly as he trails his hands below my waist.

I break away and move back, knocking myself off balance before quickly regaining it. I wag my finger at him. "Now now, no touching down there buddy." I giggle. Knox takes a step forward and I step back, ready to have some fun with him.

"Where're you going, Em?" Knox takes another step forward and this time, I turn and dart across the bar, headed for the door to the main room. Sliding through, I glance back and see Knox hot on my heels, his eyes lit with amusement. A wave of pleasure rolls through me and I look ahead, trying to spot the stairs. I spot them across the room and I run. I hurry up the stairs, tripping over a couple as I reach out to grasp the wall. Shit, I drank way more than I thought. I enter the big dance room at the top, out of breath but ready to dance.

I've already made my way to the dance floor, the music taking over. The music feels good as I sway to the beat, my ass moving back and forth, my hands running down my sides. I look around, scanning the crowd for Knox and when I see him, my stomach drops.

He's standing off to the side, legs spread wide, hands in his pockets, eyes fixated on one thing. Me. I begin dancing for him and I can tell it's affecting him. I move closer and I notice his eyes flash, his jaw clenches, and he shifts on his feet.

As I get closer, to the point where we're almost touching, I hear his sharp intake of breath. Knox goes to reach for me and I smile and move back, shaking my head with a naughty smile playing on my lips. "Tsk, tsk," I whisper, and his eyes flash again and he's stalking towards me, like a predator ready to pounce on his prey.

He grabs my waist and pulls me flush against him, our bodies melding together. And then we dance. We grind and dance some more. Until the wee hours of the morning and I can no longer feel my legs.

Just as the bartender shouts last call, Knox crushes me against him and I melt, my heart racing. His head dips lower, his lips brushing against my cheek.

"What if I don't let you kiss me?" I ask him as I lean down, pressing my face against his shirt. Knox's hand finds its way into my hair and he grasps the nape of my neck, pulling my head up off his chest so I have no choice but to look up into his eyes.

"There is no letting me, Emma. If I want to kiss you, I will."

With that, he takes my mouth with his own and everything else fades away. I can't speak. I'm frozen in place. The sparks fly in my head, on my lips, running between us, and around us. I want Knox in every way my mind can think of.

What have I gotten myself into?