Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Cosmos

“ I s Cosmos your real name, or a nickname?” It was two hours later. They sat on the rooftop of the bar, where there were about two dozen tables. The food had been good, the conversation better, and not only had his attraction to Abby from Milwaukee grown, he honestly liked her.

“Nickname.”

“Becauuuuuuse…?”

“Nosey little thing, aren’t you?” he teased, taking another swig of his beer.

Abby rolled her eyes. “I’m a curious person. You men are so difficult, sometimes. Relax. I’m not looking for a husband. I’m not even looking for a date.”

He frowned. “I’d be a great husband. Or a great date.”

Abby’s laugh was loud and long. “Why is it that guys who aren’t looking for a commitment get so offended when a woman they are trying to hook up with says she doesn’t see them as marriage or dating material? ”

She’s not wrong. You are trying to hook up with her, and you aren’t looking for a commitment.

She leaned on the edge of their table. “I’m in marketing, Cosmos, and my product is people. I know how to read what a buyer wants and how to make a seller move a product.”

She reached for her wallet, but he stopped her. “Dinner’s on me.”

She pursed her lips and said, “Honesty?”

“Always.”

She lowered her voice. “If you pay, it feels a bit like you’re paying for sex.”

“This isn’t a reciprocity thing with me, Abby,” he reassured her. “At any point in the next few hours, if you change your mind about spending time with me, I wouldn’t consider myself cheated.”

He watched her work through it in her brain.

“I’ve never done this before.”

“I can tell.”

She blushed. “That obvious, huh?”

“Every time you blush. It’s sweet. I haven’t had sweet in my life in a long time.” He laid his hand on the table, palm up, watching her decide to place her hand in his. When she did, he squeezed it gently. “I’m attracted to you, Abby. We’re having fun. We both have responsibilities to return to on Monday. I get the sense that those responsibilities take up a lot of our time, and a relationship isn’t really what either of us is looking for. I travel a lot, and your work sounds consuming, especially during the season. I don’t make promises, but I never lie. Let’s just see where tonight goes. At no time should you feel you can’t say no.”

After a moment, she nodded. “Okay.”

“Good,” he smiled, giving her hand another squeeze. “Did you have plans for tonight before you met me?”

Shrugging her shoulders, she said, “Not really. Figured I might go back to the hotel and catch up on some work since I left a little early yesterday.”

He waved the server over, gave her his card, and she ran their check on her scanner. As he signed for their meal, he offered, “Well, that won’t do,” he teased. He gave her an assessing look. “Want to do something really brave and completely out of your comfort zone?”

With a mischievous grin and a husky whisper, she leaned on her forearms on the edge of the table and asked, “You mean besides a one-night stand?”

He mimicked her position. “Yeah. Consider it a warm up.”

“I’m intrigued.”

“It’s a bit of a drive,” he admitted. “There’s a club in Lombard. Hidden in plain sight and totally not what you’d expect to find there. It’s pretty exclusive, and more than a little unique. It’s owned by a friend of mine, although I invested some money in it. Between that and the fact that I trained the security staff, I have a permanent membership. The place will be busy tonight. I guarantee that no matter what, it’ll be a good story to tell back home.”

She eyed him curiously. “Sounds interesting. Do I need to change clothes?”

“I doubt you packed what you’d need to fit in there,” he chuckled. He pulled his driver’s license from his wallet and placed it on the table. “Take a picture of that and send it to a friend. Safety always.”

He watched her face tighten up, and he heard the nervousness in her laugh. “What kind of club are you taking me to?”

He grinned. “Something out of a fantasyland.”

Abigail

An hour and a half later, Abby found herself in downtown Lombard. From what Cosmos had intimated, the club he was taking her to sounded like some sort of celebrity hang out. If that was the case, he was right. This did not look like the place for that.

He pulled into a parking structure that required a card to scan to get into it, and he parked in a spot on the first floor marked “ Management Only.” She loved how when he turned to look at her, his face was lit up like he was clearly ready to get into some trouble. Nervous, but excited, she returned his smile.

“Ready?” he asked her.

“Not sure, but let’s do it.”

“I’ll come around to get your door. If you want, you can leave your wallet in the glove box, but put your license in your pocket. Oh, and they’re going to make you surrender your phone, so it’s your choice to take it with or leave it here.”

He exited the car, came around to her side, and helped her out of the car. Grabbing hold of her hand, he threaded their fingers together and led her to the building next door, which looked like back in the 1800s it might have been a bank. There was no sign to suggest a nightclub was anywhere in the building.

“Where’s the club?” she asked.

“I told you. Hidden in plain sight.”

Dropping her hand, he opened one of the gold handled doors at the front of the building and passed her through with his other hand at the small of her back. She stopped. It was a bank. Well, the ground floor was a bank. On the wall inside the entryway was a sign that listed all the businesses in the building–insurance company, temp agency, a title company, other general offices–and what floor they were on. Nothing there suggested a nightclub.

“What am I not getting?” she asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

“Bottom left corner of the board.”

Barely discernible in the corner he mentioned was a small rabbit etching. She looked at him, the puzzled expression even more definite.

“C’mon.” His hand at the small of her back, he propelled her to the elevators a few feet down the hall. He pushed the down button, and the elevator doors opened almost immediately. After prompting her, she stepped into the elevator, then turned to face the doors. He put a key into a lock that was next to the Emergency button and turned it. Stepping behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders. He must have felt her trembling. Whether with nerves or excitement, she wasn’t sure, but he placed a kiss behind her ear and whispered, “Trust me, sweet thing. I’ve got you. If at any time it’s too much, just let me know and we’ll go. No harm, no foul.”

The elevator descended what she assumed was two or three floors, and when the doors opened, she heard the music of what was clearly a dance club and the sounds of a crowd having a very good time.

When the doors opened, Cosmos nipped the shell of her ear and said, “Welcome to the Lucky Rabbit.”