CHAPTER TWO
Marisa
Six months later …
“Come on Marisa,” begged Bobbie. “We’ll have a good time. It’s your birthday today, you have to come out.”
I shook my head.
“No thanks,” I demurred. “It’s late and I don’t want to go out. Really. I’m fine hanging out at home.”
But my friend wouldn’t take no. She bounced over and literally pulled me off of my narrow twin bed.
“It’s your birthday,” she said firmly. “Now we’re going out. Get dressed,” she commanded.
Reluctantly, I reached for my closet door. Because Bobbie and I are roommates at State now. I wish I could say something about first semester being good, bad, or something in between. But really, I have no idea because it’s kind of gone by in a daze. Ever since that delicious night with the gorgeous police officer, it’s been tough to focus, and life’s passing me by without my participation.
Oh sure, I go through the motions. I show up to class, I listen to lecture, and I do all of the assignments. But I’m dialing it in more than anything because even when I should be paying attention, my thoughts will inevitably drift away to that fateful night.
Oh god. Officer Davies. The man of my dreams. How are these thoughts even possible? I should feel horrified, disgusted, or even violated. I should have gone to the hospital and reported what happened to me.
But instead, I wanted it and my encounter with the gorgeous man was the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me. Officer Davies was the opposite of the high school boys I’d encountered, what with their pizza faces and gangly arms and legs. Instead, he’d been command and charisma personified, that muscular build imposing while knowing exactly how to make me feel good. And unbidden, my insides went hot and loose again at the memory.
But tonight, I had to go out. Bobbie was being annoyingly insistent, and sometimes it’s easier to give into my best friend than try to fight it. Turning nineteen wasn’t a big deal to me, but evidently, it was to her for some weird reason. Maybe if I went to the hotel bar for half an hour, she’d be satisfied, and then I could leave and come back to my dreams of Officer Davies.
Because I haven’t seen him ever since that night. What was I supposed to do? Show up at the precinct and demand to talk to him? They’d brush me off as some crazy teenage girl, so I’d bit my lip and stayed mum, going through with graduation and then my first day at college.
So it’s been six months, and yet the man still features in my dreams each night. That incredible build. The handsome face. And oh god, that cock. I never saw it, but my mouth waters at the memory, the stiff rod that I brushed with my fingers for mere seconds that fateful night. What I wouldn’t give to see it out in the open, hard and proud, pointing straight at me.
So going out tonight was a nuisance. I wanted to stay home and spend my time mooning about my dream man, but Bobbie was really forcing the issue. Heaving an exasperated sigh, I grabbed the nearest dress on a hanger I could find, and struggled into it. It was a modest flowery number, totally unfit for a swanky hotel bar, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to go anyways, and maybe if I sulked and stuck out like a sore thumb, Bobbie would relent.
When I reappeared in the common living area, my friend’s brows drew down for a moment, surveying my dress.
“You know we’re going to The Grand, right?” she asked, one eyebrow in the air. “The hotel where celebrities go, and beautiful people hang out?”
Bobbie herself was dressed in a red cocktail dress that hugged her form, but I didn’t care.
“Yes,” I said airily. “But I’ve put on some weight and this is the only thing that fits.”
It was true. Some girls put on the freshman fifteen, but for me, it was more like the freshman thirty. So a lot of my clothes were really tight, and even the floral frock strained across my Double Ds, barely holding me in at the seams.
But we had to go, and Bobbie stood up, grabbing her purse.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said with a warning tone, casting one last look at my outfit before turning to the door. “Or maybe it doesn’t matter.”
Huh? Why would she say that? But I grabbed my purse too and slung it over my shoulder, ignoring her comment.
“Ready!” I said with fake cheerfulness. “Thanks for organizing this get-together by the way. I really appreciate it.”
She shot me a sideways look as we went down in the elevator.
“Really?” she asked ruefully. “You know Marisa, sometimes I don’t know what to think anymore,” she said shooting me another puzzled look. “I mean you’re still you. You get straight As and are a bookworm. But at the same time, you never go out anymore. You’re always studying. Come on, Mar. College is hard but I know it’s not that hard for a smart girl like you. You have to come out sometimes.”
I knew what she was thinking because I’ve been cooped up in my room dreaming about Officer Davies for months now. It’s pathetic, I realize that. But I just couldn’t help it. The guys at State didn’t compare, and I couldn’t subject myself to their sloppy kisses and fumbling hands when I’d had that once upon a time.
So I smiled weakly as the elevator doors opened.
“Well, I’m here now, right?” was my reply. “Come on, I promise to have a good time tonight.”
“Oh you will,” said Bobbie darkly, popping the locks on her car. “Come on, Mary and Janine are already at the Grand. It’s going to be awesome.”
My mind whirled as I got into the passenger side because why had Bobbie made another weird comment? Why did she say I was going to have a good time no matter what tonight? But again, I chalked it up to the fact that I’ve been so anti-social for the last six months that maybe I just didn’t know how to read human beings anymore.
Within minutes, we pulled up in front of the swanky hotel, the bright lights dazzling. Bobbie tossed her keys to the valet and took a number from him before catching my elbow.
“Come on,” she said firmly, walking me inside. “This way.”
We strode across the lobby, and I veered left to go into Amber Waters, the bar on the first floor. But Bobbie’s grip never loosened on my elbow, and she guided me to the elevators.
“No, they opened another bar on another floor,” she said firmly. “We’re going to that one to celebrate because I heard it’s way better.”
I nodded dubiously. Again, life has been going by in a daze the last couple months, so I was hardly on top of the nightclub scene. But curiously, the elevator dinged at the twenty-fifth floor, and Bobbie guided me into the hallway.
“We’re getting off here?” I asked confused. “Aren’t most bars either on the first floor or the rooftop? The Grand opened one on the twenty-fifth floor?”
Bobbie nodded, not meeting my eye.
“Yep!” she chirped. “Come on, just this way. It’s around the corner.”
We rounded the turn, and there were Janine and Mary standing in the middle of the hallway.
“Surprise!” they called, jumping up and down. “You guys finally made it!”
I was getting more and more confused.
“Why are we standing in the middle of a hallway?” I asked, puzzled. There was nothing super-special about the place. It had gilded wallpaper and scrolls on the carpet, as well as cool contemporary art on the walls. But it was just a hallway. “What are we doing here?” I asked again.
Bobbie was the one who giggled now.
“We rented a hotel room for your birthday!” she cried. “It’s gonna be so fun.”
I nodded dubiously.
“Okay, but why?” I asked. “You know I don’t drink much. I can totally drive us home afterwards. You guys don’t have to worry about that.”
But none of the girls looked at me then because they were so excited, babbling about this and that. Janine waved the keycard in front of the lock, and with a snick, it opened.
“Here goes!” she sang. “Birthday girl first.”
I nodded, still surprised at this turn of events. After all, my friends are great girls but a hotel room is a huge splurge for students. Even splitting the bill three ways, it was still a generous gift. So dubiously, I stepped into the dark room.
“Hey, this is great you guys. Thanks so much. Does anyone know where the lights are?”
But then, I was unceremoniously shoved all the way in, and the door slammed behind me. What in the world? What was going on?
My hand fumbled at the knob in the darkness, confusion swirling in my mind. But the door wouldn’t open. What in the world? Had I been locked in from the outside somehow? What hotel does that?
But the three girls’ giggles could be heard on the other side of the door.
“Guys, guys!” I pounded on the door in the dark. “This isn’t funny. What’s going on? Let me out?”
Bobbie was the first to answer.
“You’ve been stuck in a rut, Marisa,” she called through the heavy wood. “So we got you a special gift.”
What? This hotel room was a gift? Why? This made no sense at all.
“Guys,” I said, my voice patient even as my heart rate accelerated. “Open up! Let me out of here. Don’t you guys want to party in the hotel room with me? Why am I in here, and you guys out there? Come on, we can raid the mini-bar together.”
But it was Mary’s voice that rang out next, and to my surprise, it grew tinny and small as the girls tripped down the hall.
“No, your birthday surprise is all for you,” she called. “Now enjoy it, Marisa. Just let yourself relax and have fun!”
And with that, I heard them giggle again as the elevator dinged. What in the world? They were leaving me here? Couldn’t be. I was going to call the front desk in a second and ask them to send security up to let me out. This was some weirdo birthday gift, not to mention kind of messed-up.
Except as I turned, fumbling along the wall to look for a switch, a light flickered on next to the small sofa in the room. But it wasn’t the sudden illumination that stopped me in my tracks. It was the huge, hulking form sitting on the sofa. The man was dressed immaculately in a black suit with a white, open collar shirt underneath. I couldn’t quite see his face but immediately, my body sprang to life, every part of me suddenly hot and flushed. Because I could sense this man, even across the room with half his form in shadow. It was Officer Davies … but why was he in my hotel room?