- Chapter 5
ABBY
It took all the acting skills I had to keep my shit together as I talked with Theo. I couldn’t look like some desperate dancer who just wanted a place to sleep for the night. My approach was simple. I was going to be quiet, confident and aloof. Shock him with the opposite of what most girls in clubs acted like.
A good looking and rich guy that could actually hold a conversation had just fallen from the skies and landed right in my lap. I didn’t want to mess things up. For the first time in a very long time, I had butterflies in my stomach as I talked and danced with Theo. He was the kind of guy I had fantasized about finding, but I didn’t want to be that girl who latched onto a great guy and scared him away. There was a delicate balance to catching a guy, and I had to work every single skill that I had.
The main problem that I had was Theo was so fucking handsome I could hardly keep my shit together. I was wet with excitement as his hands had massaged my feet. Who does that? What guy actually pays for a booth and offers to massage a girl's feet at the club? I couldn’t decide if he was thoughtful or just a player who got lots of girls. He was certainly smooth and very attentive.
I admit that I always looked for the negative in guys. There had to be something wrong with them. Especially if a guy was still single in his thirties, that’s when I knew he had some sort of secret or weird quirk that must turn the women off. New York was filled with gorgeous women, who were also smart and had great jobs; if a guy made it into his thirties without landing one of these women, I was instantly on alert. But I just couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Theo.
It didn’t really matter to me if he was a player, I could play that type of guy better than they could play me. But if he wasn’t a player, if he was a sweet, normal guy, I wanted to play the potential girlfriend card. I was desperate for some stability in my life, and a steady boyfriend with money was the perfect opportunity.
“You are so beautiful,” Theo said, pulling me close to him on the dance floor.
I let him pull me and I watched the desire in his eyes as I felt my body press against his. He didn’t look like the player type of guy; he looked like a guy who usually got what he wanted, though. The way he held himself so confidently, he certainly wasn’t like the guys I normally went home with. I didn’t know for sure how I was going to handle Theo; all I knew was that I definitely wanted him to handle me.
My body tingled next to his, and I wanted him to touch me everywhere. The lust that moved through my body was hard to slow down, but I had to slow myself and my urge to sleep with him. I knew the rules of engagement when it came to single life in New York City and sleeping with Theo on the first night would get me absolutely nothing in the end.
Rushing off to his bed would get me a place to sleep for the night but not anything else. I had to behave myself. I watched him and tried to figure out what he wanted, what he liked. He was an enigma, though. The go-go club seemed beneath a guy like him, and I felt like something was off with the whole situation. A restaurant owner and gym owner would meet plenty of women at his businesses; he didn’t need to pick them up at a dance club. Unless he just wanted someone for fun.
That was it!
He wasn’t looking for a girlfriend or a one-night stand; Theo was looking for someone fun to hang out with, and someone who wouldn’t push a relationship on him. Perhaps he was looking more for a friends with benefits situation. That was something I could agree with; I liked the sound of that better than all other options.
Of course, I wasn’t positive of my analysis of him, but it was my best guess. Right away, I decided to back off of my aloof stance and play the fun girl. My acting skills came in handy when I was with a guy; it gave me the opportunity to mold myself into just what they wanted. If Theo was looking for a fun friend with benefits, I was just the right girl for the situation.
I hated the drama of real relationships and the uncertainty of one-night stands. It would be the best possible scenario if I could find a nice guy that I could play the friends with benefits card. In a relationship like that, you were only worried about having fun and hanging out. Sure you slept together, but it was fun and without commitment. I couldn’t do commitment; I was sure of that. I had yet to meet a guy that I would ever think about committing to in a long-term thing.
“Thank you,” I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck and surprised him.
A smiled flashed across his face, and he held onto me even tighter. I felt like I was right on track with the ‘fun’ idea, and so I moved forward with my plan. It was nice to see him smile, and it looked damn good on him. But so did the aloof rich guy attitude he was doing earlier. To be honest, pretty much anything that Theo did was going to look damn good.
The music bumped loudly, and we moved together with it. It was loud and hard to hear each other, so dancing was the best thing we could do. I loved to dance, obviously, I did it for my job at the club, but even when we weren’t working, I liked to come in and dance. When I was dancing, I felt free and like there wasn’t a care in the world. Dancing was a way of releasing all my tensions and just letting go.
My eyes met his, and his smile continued as he looked deep into me. You could tell a lot about a man from his eyes, and Theo seemed the kind of guy that I would like to end up with someday. Of course, I wasn’t delusional enough to think a guy like him would run off with a go-go dancer. But maybe someday when I got a job on Broadway, I would be able to find a man like him again. I didn’t like to think about the long-term or ever settling down because it just wasn’t an option for me yet. But at that moment, I let the thought run through my mind.
The constant eye contact was making me nervous, so I turned around and pressed my ass up against him as we danced. His hands slid up and down my back before moving to my ass and holding onto it. I felt his cock get hard, and he pulled back away from me so I couldn’t feel it anymore. Secretly, I didn’t mind feeling Theo’s hard body pressed up against me. Normally, though, it was a huge turn off when a guy made it so well known that he was hard for me.
If a guy pressed his hard cock up against me when we first met, that said a lot about the guy as well. A jerk would have kept his hard-on pressed up against me to let me know just how excited he was. But Theo seemed to be a bit of a gentleman, and I was impressed. Everything about Theo had impressed me so far, and I was still looking for that fatal flaw that would let me toss out all ideas of having him for more than a fling.
“Abby!” I heard Isabella yell from about ten feet away.
She was dragging a guy with her that I recognized as Theo’s friend. Isabella looked really happy with her guy, and it made me smile instantly. She was always trying to find her prince among the guys we went home with. I really wanted her to find him but doubted it would be at one of the dance clubs we frequented.
“That’s Jack,” Theo whispered into my ear.
His breath on my neck sent desire rushing through my body. I involuntarily leaned back against him and let my hand move up to his cheek. My breath caught as I waited for him to move his lips anywhere near my ear again.
As I arched my back and pressed into him, I felt his body as he gently pressed up against me. His hands wrapped around my hips and tugged me closer for a brief moment. It felt like I was supposed to be there with Theo. Everything in my body felt perfect. I didn’t have the underlying feeling of wanting to run away and didn’t want to be anywhere but right there with him.
“What?” I said, purely to get him to whisper in my ear again.
“Your friend Isabella is with my friend Jack. They look cute together,” Theo said slowly.
His words were deep and deliberate, and I wanted to hear more. I wanted to keep my body firmly against his and let him speak to me for hours through whispers in my ear.
“Abby, this is Jack. We are going to go for a walk. I’ll call you tomorrow, OK?” Isabella said as she hugged me.
I had to pull away from Theo to hug Isabella. I also had to talk to her and didn’t think I was going to be able to pull her away from Jack long enough to have a conversation.
“He’s too cute for me,” I whispered into her ear. “I can’t sleep with him.”
“You can, and you will. Stop with the rules. Just go have fun for once.”
“Bella, you know how easily I fall in love. I can’t do it.”
“For Christ’s sake Abby, then fall the fuck in love. You can’t spend your whole life avoiding men because you’re afraid of love. Now I’m going to go hang out with Jack. He’s got a line on a sweet gig that pays insanely well. I’ll let you know what I find out. Take care.”
Isabella kissed me on the cheek and then pulled Jack away from Theo and took off out of the nightclub. I hadn’t been in love for a very long time, but that was because I purposely kept guys away from my heart. I found men that I knew I couldn’t love and went home with them, instead of the guys that could possibly break my heart.
Theo and I stood there and watched them leave as we awkwardly tried to decide if we were going to go back to dancing or if we were going to do something else. I liked dancing with Theo. Mainly because I liked his hands on my body and the way he looked at me.
“Drink?” Theo asked.
“Only if we can keep dancing afterward,” I said with a smile.
“Of course. Anything you want.”
“Oh, anything?” I mischievously said.
“Yes.”
“Another foot massage?” I teased.
“I’ll massage your entire body if you’ll let me.”
“Maybe we’ll try that later.”
“Is that a promise,” Theo said as we made it back to the bar.
“Sure. You dance with me, and I’ll let you give me a massage. But you have to keep up with me. No lagging behind and trying to sit in that booth.”
“I can keep up. I think it’s you who will have the problem keeping up.”
“We’ll see.”
Theo had ordered us a couple of shots, and we both downed them quickly. I liked talking with him and liked being around him. I felt myself letting down my wall when I was with him, but it scared me to death.
“Another round,” Theo said to the bartender.
I winced at the idea of a third shot. I liked to be in control of myself. The third shot was just on the verge of me having fun and being drunk. But I went for it. Usually, I didn’t drink much because I was afraid of what I would agree to do with a guy if I had too much to drink. But with Theo, I felt like I wanted to do every dirty thought that crossed my mind.
After one more shot, Theo pulled me back to the dance floor and I was hyped up and ready to dance. I kicked my shoes off and handed them to Theo and then went to work dancing intensely to the house beat. Theo did pretty well keeping up with me, and we were both drenched in sweat within thirty minutes.
His body felt good next to mine, and I occasionally reached up and let my hands run down his chest. I felt his hard pecks and abs under his shirt, and deep down I just wanted to slide my hands underneath his clothes and feel his skin. I had spent so much time chasing after the nice guys that I knew I could go home with and not have to sleep with that I hadn’t spent very much time with a guy like Theo. A man that I was crazy attracted to and wanted to have naked next to me as soon as possible.
My mind spun with plans of what I should do next and how I should play the night with Theo. Then out of the blue, Theo threw me off.
He leaned in, grabbed me and pressed his lips against mine. My first response was to push him away, but then, looking at him, I knew I instantly wanted to do that again. So I pulled him back toward me. That made him very happy, and his kiss intensified as he dropped my shoes and held my face in his hands.
Our wet lips moved from one side to the next as we devoured each other right there on the dance floor. He was a good kisser, that was for sure. It was the first kiss I’d had in a long time where I actually felt my body wanting more and more.
“Water,” I said as I pulled away. “I need water.”
Theo smiled and pulled me behind him as we walked back to the booth. He sat me down and then went straight to the bar to get us some water. The club wasn’t packed, but it was getting really hot, and I didn’t want to turn into a dehydrated mess. I had certainly learned that lesson over the years and knew better now. Taking a break and drinking water was essential to making it through the night.
This time, when he returned, he didn’t sit across from me; instead, he pushed me over and slid into the booth right next to me. He placed his hand gently on my thigh, and his lips moved right back into kissing me.
I didn’t mind. In fact, I fucking loved kissing him. He smelt like a combination of Armani and old spice. I could tell he took good care of his body and I decided right then and there that I was going to sleep with this man. I didn’t care about my plan to play coy or try to land him. My desire for him was much too strong for any plan.
“I’m glad I met you,” I said between kisses.
“Me too. I had a horrible day today until I met you.”
“I have special powers to fix any day and make it awesome.” I laughed.
“I think you might be right.”
As we sat close to each other, I felt a bond with Theo that I normally didn’t feel when I was around a man. He was sweet and confident. That was a unique combination for me; plus, he was extraordinarily handsome.
His tall, thin frame had just the right amount of muscle on it; he had dark brown hair that was long enough for me to run my fingers through. And a gorgeous smile that I knew probably made all the girls wet with excitement when he flashed it at them.
“Why was your day bad?” I ventured to ask.
He mulled over whether to tell me or not, and I waited for him. I was perfectly comfortable with silence; it was my weapon in conversations with men. When I was silent, it forced them to talk. Most people didn’t utilize the power of silence very well. Silence makes people uncomfortable so they fill it up, but if you can learn to enjoy the silence, it makes for a much better bond with the person you are talking to.
“Life isn’t about the lemons; it’s about the lemonade you make. Come home with me and make some lemonade,” Theo said as his hand stroked up and down my thigh.
I couldn’t help myself and burst into laughter. It sounded like the cheesiest line I had ever heard. But Theo looked so damn adorable as he delivered it.
“Does that line normally work on girls?” I asked.
“What line? It wasn’t a line,” he said as his face flushed with red.
“Oh, so it does normally work!” I exclaimed as I laughed more.
Theo rolled his eyes as I had just caught him right in the middle of what appeared to be some routine pickup line he delivered to women to get them to come to his home.
“Are you going to squeeze the lemons on me while you massage me?” I laughed.
Theo started to laugh too. It was fun to see that he had some humility about his horrible pickup lines. I was having one of the best nights of my life with this guy and certainly was going to go home with him. I didn’t care if there was lemonade there or not.
“If it will make you happy, I’ll make the whole lemonade right there on your naked body.”
“Hmm, that sounds sticky,” I said, pushing him out of the booth so we could leave. “Oh, crap. My shoes!” I said as I noticed I was still barefoot.
Without another word, Theo ran off to the dance floor to try and rescue my heels from a kidnapping fate that was sure to happen. I couldn’t help smiling as he looked back at me just before he entered the dance floor craziness.
My eyes stayed peeled on the place where he had entered the dance floor, and I waited for him to return with my rescued heels. It was silly, but I hadn’t met a man who so quickly understood how important a pair of heels could be to a woman.
I didn’t have to explain it to him and didn’t have to ask him to go look. Theo just ran off on the quest for my heels all by himself.
Throughout my life, I hadn’t owned very many valuable things. When I was a child, I remembered a few cherished toys that I had to leave behind when we were taken to the foster home. Since I had arrived in New York City, I didn’t have a place to keep very many things. Isabella and I rented a small 4x4 foot storage closet that we had organized like a walk-in closet. It was where we kept our valuable shoes and other items that we couldn’t bring with us places. It was a hell of a lot cheaper than an apartment and allowed us to spend money on the necessary clothing items so we could find good guys to take us out.
We certainly couldn’t pick up high-quality boyfriends if we dressed like trash. It was essential that we had a few pieces of premium clothing. Whenever possible, we purchased items from our friends or at resale shops. We were frugal, and it helped us have a little variety in the clothes we wore.
But the Steve Madden heels that I had left on the dance floor were by far my most expensive purchase. I had saved up for two weeks to get them and swore they were the best purchase I had made. Guys noticed the spiky heels and used them as a conversation starter. They were unique, just like me, and I loved that.
As I continued to stare at the dance floor, I started to get nervous that Theo wasn’t coming back. He had been in the crowd for a very long time. I moved closer to the dance floor and tried to peek through the crowd to see if I could see him, but the smoke and the sheer number of people made it impossible.
“What size?” I heard a voice whisper in my ear.
Oh, how I was starting to get used to his delicious voice in my ear. It was smooth and rough all at the same time.
“They were size eight,” I said swinging around.
“I’ll get you a new pair,” Theo said as disappointment swept across his face. “It was my fault; I set them down.”
“No, no, it’s alright. They were old anyways,” I said, trying to cover up the absolute terror of losing my $600 shoes.
“I won’t take no for an answer. I’ll take you to get a new pair in the morning.” Theo smiled.
His hand weaved with mine and we walked toward the front door. It was cold out, freezing in fact. December in New York City wasn’t exactly the best time to be walking around barefoot. Although I wasn’t sure I would be willing to walk around New York without my shoes during any time of the year. I hesitated at the edge of the doorway, but before I knew what had happened, Theo had swept me up into his arms and was carrying me toward the black SUV that was parked out front.
“Oh, my gosh,” I giggled as the people in line at the club watched us.
Theo had a driver waiting who opened the door before we got there, and with amazing ease, Theo slid me into his SUV. It was like a scene out of a fairy tale, and I was eating it up. For a moment, I thought that he might just be playing a game with me. Maybe it was all just one of the ways he picked up women, but then I realized I didn’t care. I was going home with an extremely wealthy and handsome man who had been a total gentleman all night long. This was the kind of guy I had been waiting for. Theo was the perfect guy for me, and I was going to make sure he knew just how grateful I was for him coming along that night.
It was about time I had a little fun and got laid. It had been months since I had been with a man. But I had never been with a man like Theo. Someone so put together, handsome and funny. Theo was my dream guy, and I certainly wasn’t planning on pretending to get ill when we got into bed together.
Oh, no, I was planning on letting his hands explore anywhere they wanted. I couldn’t wait to feel his warm skin pressed up against mine as we made love. It was going to be one hell of a night, that was for sure. I was going to give Theo a sexual night he wouldn’t soon forget.