I should’ve thrown her number in the trash and never gave her another thought. I wish I had, but I didn’t—something pulled me to Danielle. Maybe it was her beauty or her wildness—I have no clue. I thought with my dick back then, and I didn’t use my head. My mind was too clouded, and my heart too broken to make an intelligent and thought-out decision.

I put her number on my fridge and stared at it for days. I didn’t call her. I would never betray Ron in that way intentionally. I couldn’t avoid her forever, and her place of work was a regular hangout for me and my friends. I convinced my friends to go to the dance club in the flats instead of the strip club where Danielle worked.

Aqua was a late-night club that stayed open until six in the morning and was the trendy spot to hang out. It sat on the edge of the Cuyahoga River and had a beautiful outside area with a deck overhanging the water. The building faced the water and was made of glass, showing a spectacular view of the city at night. Girls danced on the speakers, people made out on the couches, and sex happened in the bathrooms. It was crowded and loud and the perfect spot to get lost and dance my ass off.

We ordered drinks and stood at the bar watching the girls on the dance floor. I didn’t want to be the guy asking a girl to dance. I’d wait until someone came to me. The music blared through the speakers, playing the song . Most of the girls were dancing with their friends, showing off their bodies, almost offering themselves up to just the right taker. I watched as men approached them and started to dance, only to be turned away. I didn’t want to be the creep being rejected tonight.

The guys and I weren’t talking because the music was too loud to be heard. Bobby nudged me and pointed to the patio doors and held his fingers up to his mouth. I shook my head, wanting to get some fresh air and talk—not much was happening inside the club for me to stick around. I followed him outside and watched as he lit a cigarette. “It’s packed tonight, bro,” Bobby said as he took a long drag off his cigarette. “Want one?”

“Thanks.” I took the cigarette and lighter, cupping my hand when I flicked the lighter, trying to block the wind. “It’s packed, which gives us all more options.” I looked around the exterior. White lights were strung between the trees overhead, illuminating the grassy area, and lights dotted the deck on the riverbank. A couple hammocks filled the open space, and couples lounged on them, kissing and getting to know each other a little better.

“How’s work at the new place, Kayden?” Bobby asked. He worked at my previous employer and knew what a lying rat Jessica was—how she lied to get me fired.

“It’s going really well. There are no females working there, so I know I won’t have that bullshit happen again. How about you? I’m sure you were all happy to see me go—more sales for everybody else.”

Bobby chuckled, “We weren’t happy to see you go, but yeah, we’re all making more money now that your smooth-selling ass is gone.” He inhaled, almost sucking down the remaining portion of his smoke. “I got some good news that will make you happy.”

I raised my eyebrows, not much made me happy lately, but Bobby thought he had a morsel that would bring me joy. “Shoot.”

“Jessica,” he said, sucking down the cigarette to the filter before throwing it on the ground. “She was fired yesterday. I almost called you to tell you the good news, but I thought I’d wait until I saw you. I wanted to see your expression.”

A smile crept across my face, and my insides grew warm with the knowledge that her ass was out on the street. “What happened?”

“I don’t have the entire story, but from what I hear, someone called corporate and complained about your firing and Jessica’s role in it. Somehow, they convinced them to pull up the security camera footage, and they saw her come on to you and not the other way around. She was fired for filing a false complaint.”

I smiled and laughed, thinking about the video someone had to watch. Neither of us knew that the store had been outfitted with cameras. I’m sure we wouldn’t have fucked if we’d known they could see us, and she sure as hell wouldn’t have filed the false complaint. “Bitch deserved it. You’ve made my night, Bobby. She got her just reward.”

“Trust me. Everyone is happy as hell to see her go. I might make assistant store manager now. Will you come back if they call you?”

I know Bobby wanted me to come back in a way, but no one really wanted the competition I brought to the table. I couldn’t go back. She’d ruined my reputation, and I’d feel like I had to look over my shoulder constantly. “Nah, I like where I am now. I’ll leave the hustle to you in that store.”

He pretended to be sad, but I knew otherwise. “Sorry to hear that, man. We miss you,” Bobby said. “Let’s get back inside with the other guys and find some grade A pussy.”

“Did you find your manhood all of a sudden? I thought it wasn’t your style to be so forward?” I asked, surprised by his complete one-eighty.

“My way just wasn’t working. I’m sick of watching you guys have all the fun while I sit on the sidelines being a fucking altar boy.”

I slapped him on the back. “Welcome to the dark side. Let’s go find what you seek, my friend.”

I ordered another drink, watching the clock carefully. All liquor sales stopped at two a.m. and were replaced by bottled water. Cleveland didn’t allow liquor to be sold after two, and most bars shut down at that time, but Aqua found a way around it. I turned my back on the dance floor. I didn’t want to watch any more bumping and grinding. The club was more crowded than when we’d walked outside. People poured into the place after one, looking for somewhere else to dance the night away after everything else closed.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and slowly turned my head to see who I caught. My stomach sank as my heart began to pound in my chest. Danielle. Fuck. I didn’t turn around, taking a moment to gather my thoughts. Maybe she got the picture when I didn’t call her. I hoped she just wanted to say hi.

“Hey, Kayden,” she said in my ear, leaning forward and pressing her breasts against my back. My cock grew hard as I remembered her mouth on my skin and the feel of her tongue on my shaft. “You never called me.”

I turned around slowly, and my arm brushed against her body. I stared at her for a moment, and I could see the hurt in her eyes. I leaned in and smelled her hair as my lips touched her ear. “I didn’t think it would be right to call you, Danielle.”

“Ron and I were never serious, or I wouldn’t have given you my number.” I felt like shit. I wanted her. The rub of it all is that I knew Ron had girls on the side. Danielle isn’t the only girl he was seeing or fucking. He had never been a one-woman man. Would he care if he lost one of his girls or if he shared her with me again? “I knew I wasn’t the only one Ron was seeing. We made no commitment. We broke up a couple days ago.”

I didn’t know how to respond. Ron was still my friend, and I wouldn’t throw his business out there for others, including Danielle, to know. “I just don’t know, Danielle.” Even if they did break up, you never dated your friend’s ex. It was just an unspoken rule.

“Come on, at least dance with me.” Her lips brushed my ear, causing a shiver to run down my body. I didn’t see anything wrong with dancing with her. I’d been balls deep inside her; what was a dance? She held out her hand and waited for me to respond. I enveloped her fingers in my grasp and ushered her quickly onto the dance floor before my conscience got the better of me.

Danielle danced like music was part of her soul. I’d watched her on the stage, but the songs were always slow and sexy and chosen to help show off the female body and bring in the most cash. The speakers lining this dance floor pumped music into the air, the techno beat causing my insides to move with the vibrations. Danielle smashed her body against mine. We danced with our bodies intertwined as she wrapped her arms around my neck, and my body reminded me how much I wanted her.

She rubbed herself on my leg, grinding on me, as her leg rubbed my cock. All willpower I had for avoiding being with Danielle, wanting her, had evaporated. She smelled too good and felt amazing in my arms—I couldn’t resist her any longer. She turned in my arms and rubbed her ass against me, moving with the music. She threw her head back and placed it on my shoulder as I held her waist, and we moved together to the music. Dancing with Danielle was the most erotic moment I’d had on the dance floor and with clothes still on my body. She turned her face and ran her tongue along my jaw. I turned mine and captured her tongue in my mouth. I ran my hands up the sides of her shirt brushing the underside of her breasts with my thumbs. I nuzzled my face into her hair and let our bodies move together as one.

We lost track of time as the songs changed, and we touched, danced, and kissed on the dance floor. She cupped her hand and motioned she wanted a drink.

We ordered a drink right before the two o’clock stop time. It would be water the rest of the night if we stuck around. “Now what, Danielle?”

“I drink my drink.”

“Smartass, I meant us. Where do we go from here?”

“I’d say we need to get to know each other, Kayden. I know you’re an amazing dancer, a great kisser, and fucked me better than anyone else in my life. I want to know you. Who are you?”

“If you figure out the answer to that question, please let me know.” I laughed. What was there to say? I wasn’t a normal guy, but I didn’t think any of her past boyfriends fit the average scale. “Can I take you out for dinner tomorrow night?”

“I work tomorrow night, but I’m off on Monday.”

Fuck. Her job would be an issue for me if we became a couple. I didn’t like the idea of another man looking at, let alone possibly touching, what was mine. I swallowed hard and put the thought out of my mind. “Monday, then. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“It’s a date.”

We stayed the rest of the night at the club, dancing and talking. We found an empty hammock close to closing and lay together to watch the sun rise over the city. It was amazing. The glass windows were all illuminated in shades of red, orange, and yellow. I’d never watched the sunrise with someone, spent a night awake dancing and talking, and a night with a woman without sex.

“Sleep well, Danielle,” I said. I kissed her goodnight. I longed to be with her, but we needed to wait, at least until our first date. She wrapped her arms around my body and held herself to me.

“Kayden, can I ask a favor?” She looked up, searching my eyes, praying for something.

“Anything.”

“Will you come home with me and hold me until I fall asleep?” She blinked slowly, and her face looked heavy with worry.

An internal warmth emanated throughout my body, and the corners of my mouth rose, almost touching my eyes. “I’d love to. Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s been ages since I’ve just been held by a man.” She planted her face in my shirt and wrapped her arms tighter around my torso. “I’m not looking for sex. I just want to be wrapped in your arms. I want to sleep peacefully.”

I kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go. I’ll follow you home. No sex. I’d love just to hold you.” Some of that statement wasn’t true, but I could keep my cock inside my pants for one night. I wouldn’t allow myself to come on to her and fuck her if that wasn’t what she wanted.

She lived in an apartment above a store in an up-and-coming neighborhood of Cleveland. It wasn’t safe like the suburbs or the area where I lived, but it wasn’t crime-ridden. We parked on the street, and she walked to my car and waited for me to get out. When I looked at her face, she looked relieved. I followed her up to her tiny one-bedroom flat. The front door looked like it had been painted dozens of times, and the paint was chipping off. I knew she could afford more than the rent this place had to cost.

The apartment smelled of flowers, and the scent was so strong it hit me as soon as I entered the space. It was a girl’s place, and there was no mistaking that fact. Everything was a shade of pink, with sprinkles of black throughout. She grabbed my hands as I looked around the room, immersing myself in all things Danielle.

“This way.” I would’ve found it without her taking my hand. The place only had two doors, but I easily could’ve spent an hour just trying to figure her out by things she surrounded herself with and gotten lost.

She went into the bathroom and came out in a long nightshirt with a bunny on it. Not the sleep-time attire I’d think a stripper would wear. It looked too childlike and didn’t fit the sexy image I had in my head. She crawled under the covers and held them out for me. I took my clothes off, and thankfully, maybe for the first time in my life, I had a pair of boxers on, because a naked me with Danielle in the bed would’ve been a bad combination, not that a tiny scrap of cloth would stop me. I lay down on my back and let her situate her body against mine before wrapping my arms around her. For the first time in months, I fell asleep with the scent and warmth of a woman. I’d missed it more than I realized, and having her in my arms made my heart ache for the love of a good woman.

We found that we had a lot in common, but the worst vices were alcohol and drugs. She was a user, but I wouldn’t classify her as an addict. I knew it was a bad idea. My addictions could spin out of control, and I could fall deeper into the world I had already stepped foot inside. I ignored my conscience and listened to the little devil on my shoulder telling me all the reasons I should be with Danielle. I was blinded by her beauty, mesmerized by her body, and infatuated with the woman.