Chloe
Jane Smith?
As soon as I said the name, I knew it was a mistake.
I always imagined if I had a one-night stand that I'd use an exotic fake name, not a common name that virtually every woman who has slept with a stranger has used.
I watch Evan as he unlocks the hotel room door with the key card in his hand.
He is, without a doubt, the best looking man I've met in a very long time. I didn't notice him at the wedding before we ran into each other outside. That doesn’t surprise me since there are hundreds of people in the ballroom of this hotel, all celebrating a marriage that likely won't last a year.
The glass in my hand shakes as I follow Evan into his hotel room.
I don't drink often. When I do, it's usually a half of a glass of white wine with dinner, but tonight I thought I'd need courage to follow through with my decision to go to a hotel room with a stranger. I haven’t taken a sip of the Bellini, and I doubt I will. My stomach has been doing flip-flops ever since I agreed to come up to his room.
I almost hit the emergency button in the elevator to stop this entire thing in its tracks. I want this, but the nagging voice in the back of my mind is telling me that I'm going to regret it. I'm telling it to shut up and so far, I'm winning.
On our way up I asked him whether he does this often without thinking through the possibility that he'd ask me the very same thing. I didn't want to tell him that I've never had a one-night stand, so instead, I asked him if it mattered if I did.
Coming across as a bitch wasn't part of my plan.
Unfortunately, it sometimes happens when I'm nervous as hell.
"Are you from New York?" I ask that to close the gap of uncomfortable silence that sits between us. I have no idea if making small talk is expected when you’re on the cusp of crawling into bed with a complete stranger.
He drops the key card on a desk that’s just inside the door of the suite. It’s much more impressive than the room I was in earlier. Leanna ordered the other five bridesmaids and me to her hotel room late this afternoon to help her get ready.
It was cramped, but no one cared. We spent the time leading up to the ceremony sharing stories about the bride while she had her hair and makeup done.
When it was my turn I talked about our law school days. It wasn’t overly sentimental because that’s not who Leanna is. She didn’t shed one tear at all today on what is supposed to be the happiest day of her life. She knows exactly who her new husband is and what he did in Las Vegas. The only positive is that there were three divorce attorneys in attendance. I have a feeling at least one of them will be taking her on as a new client before the end of next year.
“I grew up in California, but I live here now,” he offers as he loosens his black necktie. “What about you?”
My life started in Pennsylvania and then my journey dotted the landscape of the country before I ended up in New York City days before my tenth birthday. He doesn’t want to know all of that, so I keep the answer short and sweet. “I’ve lived here long enough that I consider myself a New Yorker.”
That draws a smile to his lips. “Who called you a coward, Jane?”
I thought the promise of no-strings-attached sex would wipe that memory from his mind, but it hasn’t. I had no idea he was standing in the shadows when I walked out into the bitter cold. I needed to catch my breath after an infuriating discussion I had with Gretchen, one of the other bridesmaids.
She called me a coward when I scoffed at her suggestion that I have dinner with her brother. I hate blind dates. I’ve never been on one that has ended with the anticipation of a second date.
Gretchen made a point of telling me that she doesn’t believe I’m adventurous enough. It stung because she’s right. I can count on one hand the times I’ve done anything spur-of-the-moment or out-of-the-ordinary. Four of those were before my eighteenth birthday eleven years ago.
“No one important,” I answer as I set my glass down on the coffee table. “For the record, I’m not a coward.”
“You came up to a hotel room with a man you just met. If that’s not brave, I don’t know what is.”
I know what is, but that’s not a conversation I have with just anyone, especially a man I’ll never see again after tonight.
I feel a pang of something when I think about that. I like him, and it’s not just because his eyes are mesmerizing and his smile is genuine. I can sense that he’s considerate even though the only thing he’s done for me so far is buy me a drink.
If only a guy like this was waiting for me when I agreed to a blind date. I can already tell that we’d talk for hours. He’s approachable and patient. He’s also hot-as-sin. His brown hair is just the right length for me to fist in my hands.
“I want to kiss you, Jane.” He slides his jacket from his shoulders, taking care to drape it over the back of a blue armchair. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since you turned around when we were outside.”
I don’t care if the words are honest or not. I’ve wanted to kiss him since then too. My body speaks for me as I take a step closer to him.
He closes the remaining distance in an instant and then his full, soft lips crash down on mine and I know that I’m never going to forget this night or this man.