Chapter 5
Madison
The party was amazing with the lights, the music, and the champagne. If I wasn’t careful, I could get swept away in the elegance of it all. Zach was interesting, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what he was all about. Charlotte had been right when she said he was hot, with his dirty blonde hair meticulously groomed and his big green eyes. I could tell he worked out, and his shirts were tailored to show off his wide chest and big arms.
Part of me just wanted to get swept away in his body, if nothing else, but I knew I had to hold back. I hadn’t waited this long, just to go jumping into bed with the first billionaire I met. Charlotte might be all about the one-night stands, but that wasn’t my cup of tea. With his strong hand gripping my thigh, though, I found it hard not to imagine him naked.
We talked most of the night at a table in the back, stopping and restarting our conversation as his clients floated in and out. He was very professional and assertive with them, and I liked that about him. He seemed to know what he wanted and what he was doing at all times. It was a self-control that I myself had never mastered, besides holding on to my virginity for so long.
When the evening began to wind down, the champagne no longer flowed like water, and guests began to leave, we took notice and snuck out without much issue. His company knew how to throw a party, and as I passed by Hudson, who was stepping off the elevator, I giggled to myself. From the look of his crooked tie and her completely crazy hair, they were having their own party on the top floor.
As we stepped out into the cool evening air, Zach looked over and smiled at me, grabbing my hand and pulling me away from the limo. I followed him down a few blocks and across the street to the entrance of Central Park. I never spent much time there, even as a child, but I always found it so interesting how between looming skyscrapers, brightly lit screens, and ever-evolving technology, we had set out a space for nature to grow as intended. It almost felt like a monument to the lands lost, bowled over by the streaming metropolis, but of course, that could be my overthinking mind, too. The park was quiet with just a few couples walking hand in hand down the paved walkway and several homeless people peppering the benches.
“Did you come here a lot as a child?” I was curious about him, but he seemed to be pretty private.
“Not at first, but as the years passed and I became an adolescent, my father would bring me here. I’m pretty sure it was because he didn’t know what to do with me. He is a good man, but he was never very good with kids. We really didn’t grow close until I was old enough to talk business. But there was a good three years where we were here all summer. Well, in between camps and sports practice, that is. I stayed busy as a kid. I think that’s why I’m so tuned to staying busy now as an adult. Running a business that has grown like ours has definitely kept me busy the last several years.”
“I can’t even imagine,” I said, shaking my head. “I have a hard time managing the art gallery sometimes, but I think that might be because my boss is a pig.”
“Why do you stay?” he asked. “In a city like this, there have to be other opportunities.”
“That’s the million-dollar question these days.” I laughed. “I guess because I’ve been there since college, I think it’s my best opportunity to have my own show, and gallery jobs are hard to come by. There are so many people trying to break into the business.”
“I could see that. Art is a pretty popular thing out here, isn’t it? I really only see the client side of the business. It’s interesting, learning about the other side of things.” He grabbed my hand again.
God, he was so sexy. He looked me over as we walked, and I attempted to not show my teeth chattering. It was pretty cold out still, and I didn’t even think to bring a jacket. He took his suit jacket off and wrapped it around my shoulders, pushing my hair gently away from my face. I immediately got goosebumps as his strong hands swiped across my cheek with a gentleness I wasn’t expecting.
The only thing that put me off a bit was the fact that he acted really full of himself. However, it really could be his awkward way of trying to impress me. I could only imagine what kind of show a man had to put on for women that lived in his world, the world of money and excess. I laughed to myself as we walked along, realizing how simple it was to impress me. I needed to step up my standards.
We continued walking through the park for quite a while. I told him exactly what I did with my job, how much of a tool Lee was, and what I wanted to see come from my art. He may not have understood my lifestyle, but he was kind and listened intently. We then started talking about travel and all the places I wanted to go. That list was about a mile long, including pretty much every country in Europe and half of Asia.
“Yeah, I pretty much want to see it all, explore it all, and really see the world,” I said, daydreaming. “I should probably start with my own city first, though.”
“What haven’t you seen in New York?”
“Crazy enough, I’ve never been to the Statue of Liberty,” I said shyly. “I guess living here, it doesn’t have quite the appeal that it does to tourists. But I’d love to go to the top and paint how the sky looks from up there. I’ve heard it’s so beautiful, looking out over the city in one direction and the open ocean in the other.”
“It’s not that crazy,” he said. “It took me years after I became an adult to ever go see it. And it was to take some clients from Japan sightseeing before they signed a huge deal with my company.”
“Do you travel overseas a lot?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Most of the time, we bring clients here. On occasion, I’ll go somewhere, but that’s usually handled by our account execs. Owning the company isn’t as exciting as working for it. I really get to see the inside of a conference room a lot and eat a lot of food with clients. That’s about it. Unless the deal is over a million, it usually doesn’t across my desk.”
“Wow,” I gasped, trying not to sound too sheepish. “People buy millions of dollars’ worth of bags?”
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “Some of the bag orders we get are in the hundred thousands for just one. It all depends on the level of security, the material the product is made out of, and the quickness with which they want to receive the product.”
“That’s nuts,” I said, shaking my head. “But I guess at the same time, people pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for paintings, and those just hang on the wall.”
“I have a few of those.” He chuckled, almost sounding embarrassed. “But I think that art is important and expressive. Those pieces may mean something different to me than they did to the artist, but that is what drew me to them in the first place.”
He was insightful, intelligent, and well-spoken, something I wasn’t really used to. It was easy to have a conversation with him, if I ignored the fact that every time his hand grew tighter on mine, I could feel my heart beating in between my legs.
As we returned back to the front gates and stepped out onto the sidewalk, I couldn’t help but feel a little bummed that the date was over. A good make-out session was on my mind, but I didn’t want to have that nagging conversation that always ended up coming up. My virginity. Some guys were curious, while others seemed to take it as a challenge. In reality, I just told them so there wasn’t any misunderstanding, which there always seemed to be in the end.
That was exactly why I was more than happy to stay single for the time being. Besides, every time I even thought about asking a guy out, Michael would float through my mind, and my stomach would do flip flops as I thought about walking in on him with a naked girl bent over in front of him.
We walked back to the limo that was waiting for us. We sat a bit closer this time as we made our way back to Brooklyn. He was still holding on to my hand, but now, was resting it on his leg. It took everything in me not to grab onto his muscular thigh and press my lips against his, but I held my restraint. As we passed out of Manhattan, he looked at me and smiled.
“Would you like to come back to my place for a nightcap?” he asked.
I did, but I knew that was a terrible idea. With the champagne and those eyes, he’d have my panties down in two seconds flat.
“Not tonight,” I said with a kind smile. “It’s been a long day.”
“Maybe another time, then,” he replied, patting my hand.
We pulled onto my street and came to a stop in front of the apartment. I looked up at the window to see the light on, realizing Charlotte was probably waiting up to hear the details. I let go of his hand and turned toward him.
“Thank you so much for tonight,” I said, clutching my bag.
“I’ll walk you to your door,” he said as the chauffeur opened the door.
“That’s really not necessary. You don’t need to go to the trouble.” I hoped he would fight me.
“It’s no trouble.” He smiled.
I got out of the car and waited for him, turning and walking toward the door. We crept up the stairs with his hand on my lower back until we reached the top. I took in a deep breath and turned toward him, sticking out my hand. I was such a weirdo.
“May I have your number?” He completely ignored my hand.
“Of course,” I said excitedly, taking his phone from him and typing it in.
“I had a lovely time,” he replied, staring deeply at me. I felt compelled to tell him the truth.
“I need to tell you something,” I said, releasing the tension in my shoulders. “I had a great time, but I want to be clear and open about everything. I am a virgin.”
“That’s okay,” he said with a chuckle. “We are in no hurry. We can take things slowly.”
With that, my face softened, and I could feel the attraction between us pulling our mouths closer together. He put his hand on my waist and pulled my body in close to him. He smelled so good, and his eyes were cutting through me like a hot knife through butter. Gently, he pushed his lips against mine, kissing me softly at first before turning his head and leaning into it.
He brushed his tongue across my lips, and I opened them for him, letting him explore the inside of my mouth. I dropped my arm and moaned softly into his mouth as the passion mounted between us. For several seconds, I let him control me with the taste of his tongue. It was the most sensual first kiss I had ever experienced. As he pulled his tongue back, he nibbled on my bottom lip, making my legs shake and my juices pool in my panties. He could have taken me right there, and I wouldn’t have put up a fight.
He pulled his mouth away and kissed my cheek. I reached up and held the doorframe as he released my body and turned to walk down the stairs. I watched as he moved, his muscles rippling under his shirt.
“Good night,” he said with a wink.
Oh, boy. This was going to be harder than I thought.