Chapter Three - Sophia

“Shit!” I call out with a startled expression. I feel like I’ve hit a brick wall, and my ankle hurts in these wedge platforms from trying to avoid Mr. Creepy who’s been tailing me and my friends for the last block and a half. A solid hand squeezes my forearm, and immediately I panic as I stare into a pair of bewitching deep eyes. It’s a guy who smells of leather and sandalwood.

“Hey there. Are you good?” A tall dark-haired man with pale features queries, and for a second, I don’t know if I’ve run us from one bad situation headlong into another, but when I see him crack a lopsided smile, my hesitation eases.

“Yeah,” I return as he slowly loosens his grip, my friends giggling behind me. “I just… umm, we… are.” I cough, getting myself together. “We are headed to the club and there were a couple of weird guys doing that lurking type of thing,” I murmur, kind of wishing I didn’t tell him since we were only around the corner from Destiny Bar.

Mr. Tall, Dark, and Sexy replies with a serious look on his face. “Where?”

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” I tell him, waving my hands, not wanting to cause a fuss. “They’re gone.” Reaching down to clutch my throbbing ankles, Ava and my friend stand by protectively as his eyes travel down to my feet.

“Are you hurt?”

“Thanks so much for caring, but I’m okay,” I tell him, wanting to quickly move us on, not knowing if he’s any better than the other one.

“Don’t mention it. I’ll keep a look out.” He smiles thinly, but it’s his intimidating eyes that make me sense he’s a different type of dangerous. “Are you heading into the club?” he asks politely, the husk of his voice doing something unforgettable to me. I wish I didn’t hit his chest so hard, it was kind of embarrassing, but at the same time damn hot, considering what he looks like. It was hard… ridged where his chest muscles joined, and now I’m thinking too hard about what it would be like to find out what lies beneath his clothing.

“Er, umm, yeah. Are you?” I ask out of curiosity.

“I am. If you want to come in through the VIP line with us, you can,” the hot mystery guy advises, luring me and my friends further into temptation.

I look over at my girls, taking a minute to assess the risks. What if he’s just being nice and he’s as creepy as the guy who we tried to escape from? I lick my lips, providing him with a polite smile through the dark, even though there’s a compelling undercurrent drawing me towards him.

“Nah, thanks. We’ll take the normal line,” I say to him as casually as I can. We turn the corner. There’s barely anybody in the line anyway, so I don’t see where being in the VIP line is going to get us.

The guy smiles slowly, nodding his head as he and his group head straight through. “Suit yourself. Take care.”

As soon as he leaves and we’re standing in line, Ava gawps at me. “Did you see him? No really?”

“Yes. I saw him. So?” Rolling my eyes, I pretend to be unaffected, deciding to concentrate on my stiff ankle instead.

“So?” He was hot, hot, hot!” Tara—one of my friends from high school tagging along with us for a night of fun—adds.

“Umm, we just got free from those weird guys following us from the pizza place. It could be the night for weirdo mania. Let’s not get distracted by a cute face,” I say to the girls sternly, but secretly my heart’s beating faster in my chest than I want it to. The club line moves quickly, and before we know it, we’re inside, the dirty beats of trance and house hitting our chests. I can’t help but start to groove to the sound of the music.

I’m feeling good, wearing a nice black dress and wedges, keen to party and celebrate. I pull my girlfriends to the bar. “Hey, we need a drinky-poo. My throat is dry. Should we do shots first? Like a celebratory shot?” Ava throws out the brilliant suggestion as I hug her, the music making me come alive, but still, the rugged face of the handsome stranger lingers.

“I like the sound of that!” I grin, lining up with my girlfriends and looking deliciously good—the night is young. I hate to admit it, but I’m glancing around for the hot guy who saved me in the alleyway, but it’s as if he vanished without a trace.

Oh well. I let it go as we line up our tequila shots and the music pumps. I stare at the salt patch near my wrist, giggling. I’m glad I’m in college and get a chance to have these experiences. After taking a deep breath, I lick the salt off, much to the amusement of a group of guys close by, and take the lemon in my mouth sucking the sour of it.

“Okay, let’s go on two!” Ava shouts over the beats, throwing her fingers up. The sour of the lemon cuts over my tongue as I let the smooth glide of the Tequila Rose hit the back of my throat. The tingly sensation warms my tastebuds as my girlfriends raise their hands in the air, pumping their fists to the music.

“Whoo-hoo! Let’s get a chaser!” one of them calls out triumphantly as we stand at the bar, dancing a little and watching the crowd slowly peel out onto the dancefloor. Strobe lights make it hard to see who’s who, but I’m guessing that’s how the club likes it. Maybe if people saw what others look like in the light, they wouldn’t go near them, I reason. Sipping our beers, the guys who were watching us from the sidelines, slowly creep over until eventually the girls are flirting with them.

Ugh. Too frat boy. One of them has flushed red cheeks and floppy hair with a classic All-American mug. So not for me, but Ava seems to be digging him. “You look cute tonight. Can I get you another drink?” he asks her as I eye him down, wishing better for my friend.

“Ah, I’m going to have a water on this one. I just had a drink. Thanks, though,” Ava replies, and I silently applaud her inside my head.

Nope. You’re not going to get my friend drunk, and I’m letting her leave with you. Not that I could really stop her if she wanted to go home with him. And that would be hypocritical of me since we all rallied behind Fiona losing her virginity to a stranger at the same bar years ago, having his baby, and being happily ever after married to him. Go figure.

I’m too engrossed in the story of Ava and her new floundering guy friend, that I don’t notice the guy in front of me, making googly eyes in my direction. Tara nudges me as a tall, nerdy guy holds out his limp hand to shake with a sheepish grin.

Ah gawd. He’s so much worse than the first guy. Not my type. At all. I don’t want to be rude because he has the guts to approach me, so I politely shake his hand, tipsy enough to engage in a conversation.

“Hi. You’re pretty.” An awkward silence plays out between us as I wait for him to say something else more meaningful, but he doesn’t. He just keeps smiling weirdly at me.

“Thanks. Are you having a good night?”

“I am now,” he replies, winking, but I’ve only got the sudden urge to run. “Do you come here often?” is his next question. Baffled that he would use the cheap line, I study him for a second, wondering if he’s joking and deliberately trying to be funny, but after watching him for a second, I see that he’s serious.

I burst out laughing, the drinks helping me along. “Are you kidding?” I challenge above the beat of the music, turning around to see my friends enjoying themselves and flirting up a storm. Poor me, I’m stuck here talking this poor guy.

Perplexed, a frown crosses his face. “No. What’s funny? I genuinely wonder if you come here a lot. I mean, my friends and I hang out here every now and then, but usually I like to go hang at the gaming arcade. I’m a gamer, you see,” he says proudly.

“You’re a gamer?”

“Yep,” he says puffing out his chest as I search around the club for better options or a quick exit, finding none. I can’t even pull the girls away from the guys they’re talking to because that’s cruel, and they appear to be having a ball. Who am I to kill their celebrations?

“Okay, that’s great,” I reply glumly as the guy moves closer, invading my personal space. Must be the night for creeps to come out and play. “Is that what you do, or do you go to school or anything?” I try to keep the stilted conversation going, but I have a little sway going on from the shots, and I think it’s probably best I move.

“Oh yeah, I’m studying medicine.”

I almost spit out my drink, his admission sobering me up. “You’re studying to be a doctor?”

“Yep. Sure am. What about you, sweetheart? You look smart. I like a smart woman. I could do with one.” I could do with one. What is he talking about? A dubious expression rises on my face, thinking its drinks giving him all this confidence.

“Lawyer. Umm, I’m a second-year law student,” I reply, a little too inebriated to lie.

“Wow! My dream girl.” The nameless guy puts a hand to his chest, fluttering his eyes. “We go together,” he says, putting me off completely.

“Hey, excuse me for a second. I’m going to the bathroom. Back soon.”

“Okay—oh wait, what’s your name? I didn’t get your name!” he calls out, but I’ve already slipped through, whispering into Ava’s ear.

“I’m going to the bathroom.”

“Okay. We’ll be here.”

“No problem.”

Relieved, I dash to the bathroom to make myself comfortable again, holding my breath as I drift through the crowd. The problem is, I have to go back… I can’t leave without my friends. I duck inside the bathroom, emerging to keep watch on my friends from afar. They’re all standing in the same spot chatting away to the worst picks of the bunch. In my humble opinion.

I should just leave now. I can’t stay here. I want to go. I can text them when I get out, so they know I’m okay.

Catching an Uber is my next decision as I decisively walk around the back half of the club avoiding my girlfriends. It’s a relief when the Chicago night air breezes over my face. Yes. I remain unscathed.

I walk out of the club, staring down at my phone and my impending Uber booking. Oof. There it is again. That rock hard chest. And the smell of sandalwood and leather. Damn. The same familiar strength of fingers grips my forearm, taking hold.

As my heart rate skyrockets, I look up, a pair of curious, haunting eyes glaring back into mine. “Leaving so soon?”

Now this is more like my type. This is the type of brooding danger that does it for me. A sizzle of heat transpires between us as I meet his gaze, the corner of his mouth quirked.

“Yeah, not really happening in there,” I reply cautiously as he releases my arm. This time he’s not with his lurking friend. Good. It gives us a little space to talk to one another. People fan out around us, leaving us to feel one another out.

I’m the one always giving everyone else stranger danger instructions, but I’ve decided this man is breathtakingly gorgeous; his square jaw’s so tight it looks as if it can break steel. His eyes are alert, his pale smattering of freckles on his alabaster skin matching mine. He’s tall enough for me to stand on my tiptoes or crane my neck to glance up at him. Which I’m all kinds of fine with. His all-black attire is even more enticingly deadly, giving him just the right amount of mystery.

“You should be careful. You were too busy looking down at your phone,” he scolds, a frown gathering. Yes. Teach me a lesson. My mouth waters as I swallow down my elicit thought. “You didn’t even see me,” he clarifies, but doesn’t move inside the club.

“Sorry. I ah… I was trying to organize an Uber. Are you going back inside? Did you leave?”

He chuckles. “Careful, Miss…?” he inquires. “I might think you’re trying to find out more about me.”

Liking the game we’re playing; I break into a smile. “Maybe I am. My name is Sophia. I don’t do last names on first meetings,” I tell him with a straight face, and this seems to amuse him greatly.

“Okay. Name is Andrei. And since you want to know, I stepped outside for some fresh air. It can get stuffy in there when there’s a lot of people. But now you’re here, I’m glad I came out.” He undresses me openly as a funny sensation twinges in my belly.

“Oh, you are?” I flirt back, zaps of electricity sizzling through the air.

“I sure am,” he answers confidently, the smell of leather turning me on. Suddenly, I’ve forgotten all about the Uber as we drift towards the curb together. “Maybe you should skip the Uber, and I can give you a lift somewhere. Save you the money.”

I stare at Andrei for a second, quickly deciding to take a ride with a hot, broody stranger is a good idea. Especially this one.

Maybe I’ll get lucky like Fiona…. “Sure. You can give me a ride somewhere, Andrei.”