5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Helene

I 'm in a huge waiting line outside of Midnight Heat with my bestie, Tammy. As usual, I take a pic and post my location for my 'stalker.' Tammy, like my sister, doesn't agree with me sharing this type of information. But I know what I'm doing. IYKYK. I'm starting to get antsy when a hottie comes out of the club and stands right in front of me and my girl.

"You two, come with me."

Just like that, he picks us out of the line and lets us into the nightclub. He ushers us towards a reserved table and smiles at us. He's oddly familiar, but I can't quite place him.

"What can I get you girls to drink? It's on the house."

"What? Who are you?"

"I'm Theo, your groom. And you're my bride." He says, pointing to me.

I frown at him. "Have we met before? Wait. I remember where I know you from. You go to the same yoga studio that I do, but you're always hiding in the back. You say your name is Theo?"

"You're forgetting the most important part. I'm the groom, and you're the bride."

Mr. Hottie is nice, but he's got a screw loose somewhere. However, he just got us into the hippest nightclub in town and now we have drinks on the house. Surely, I can go with the flow for once. I shrug and make a face at Tammy so she knows to play along.

"We'll have some margaritas, please."

Wow, his dimples come out when he smiles, and his teeth are really white, in a good way. All I can do right now is smile back and ogle his tight hiney when he walks away from us to get us those drinks.

"Do you think it's safe to feed into his delusions?" Tammy asks.

"No cover charge, free drinks, do we really care?"

Pretty soon, Theo is walking towards us, a server in tow with a tray with our drinks and what looks like a beer for him. He sits in one of the chairs at the table and starts sipping his beer as if it's the most natural thing for him to be here with us.

"How did you decide to come here tonight? Did you find out I was part owner?"

Both Tammy and I raise our eyebrows at that.

"This is the place to be on a Friday night," Tammy says.

"You're Tammy, right? The best friend?"

He reaches out to shake her hand and she takes it feebly. How does this man know about us? Could he be my stalker? His attention comes back to me, and I study his face. Have I seen him anywhere else?

"I'm so happy right now that I finally met you in person, Helene."

I just nod and start wracking my brain for something to keep the conversation going.

"Can I ask you a question?" I say.

"Sure, beautiful."

"How did you know I was going to be here?"

"That's easy, your social media. I was working late and saw your post that you were in line outside. I immediately came to get you. My bride-to-be shouldn't have to wait for service in my own nightclub."

There's the bride thing again. I wish he'd give me more information about this bride and groom thing.

"I've been wondering about something, though." He says. "Why haven't you messaged me through the site?"

"The site?"

"Yeah, I sent you a message three months ago when we were matched by The Perfect Bride agency, but I never heard back from you."

Oh wow, he thinks I'm his mail-order bride. I look at Tammy, doubt in my face. Do I go with it, or do I tell the truth? I hesitate. But really, free drinks, y'all. Think Hellie, think.

"I'm sorry. I lost my site credentials and changed my email, so I no longer have access to the old one that I signed up for."

"You should have called the agency. I'm sure they would have been able to help you."

"Doesn't matter now. We've found each other."

I pick up my drink and clink it with his glass of beer. He seems mollified by my explanation and now I will have the time of my life. When our glasses are empty, Theo offers to get us more, and we nod in unison.

"What are you doing?" Tammy says as soon as he's gone.

"Um, going with the flow?"

"This is clearly a case of mistaken identity. Plus, I think this guy is your stalker."

"I think so too. He's totally hot, isn't he?"

Tammy groans, and we stop talking when Theo returns with our drinks. Theo sits himself down again and gives me that panty-melting smile of his. I take my drink and sip it. It tastes like heaven, but I need to stop soon because I have nothing in my stomach and tomorrow I have an activity with the children at school. I lean towards Theo and whisper to him.

"This is my last one. I've got class tomorrow."

He nods his head but frowns.

"Did you go back to school?"

"No, I teach special needs kids."

"What happened to your business?" He presses.

Oops, gotta be careful with what I say. Once again, I'm put in a spot and have to think on my feet.

"Having your own business is a lot of work, so I'm taking a break. I can do this with my teaching degree while I decide what direction I want to take the business in."

Wow, that was great! I'm getting really good at coming up with lies. I sip my drink some more and look at Tammy, whose mouth is hanging open because of what I just said. I make a face at her to get with the program. Some guy comes up to her and asks her to dance, and she leaves me alone with my handsome groom .

"Will this be our first date?" I ask, playing along.

"No, of course not. I'm going to take you somewhere fancy to eat, just the two of us. It will be private so we can talk and get to know one another."

"I kind of like that."

"You look so much more beautiful in person than in your pictures. You're a goddess."

I lower my eyes meekly and feel my cheeks warm. I think this guy has me up on a pedestal.

"I'm sure once we get to know one another, you'll realize I'm just like every other woman out there."

He leans forward and takes my hand, squeezing it gently.

"I very much doubt that. Would you like to dance?"

"I'd rather stay here and talk to you a bit more. What exactly do you do here besides being a part owner?"

"I'm the head of accounting. It's dull work, but I enjoy it."

I take a sip of my margarita and look at him evenly. Should I flirt a little? Maybe.

"Will you bring your spreadsheets to bed with you when we're married?"

He grabs my chair and pulls it towards him so that our bodies are touching.

"Never. I'll worship you all night long. Every night, for the rest of our lives."

The intensity of his words makes me shiver, and he feels it because our bodies are so close together. That only makes his gaze hungrier. I start to fan myself with a napkin. I can't take my eyes off him.

"We should do something this weekend, don't you think, my goddess?"

"I'm available on Sunday. Maybe we could invite Tammy and…"

He squeezes my hand again to catch my attention.

"Just you and me, goddess."

"I'd like that, Theo."

I squeeze his hand back and smile at him. This man has big-dick energy around him, as if he knows who he is and is not ashamed to show the world. What would it feel like to belong to him? To truly be his bride?

I guess I'm going to find out, because I don't think I can stay away from Theo.

Theo

My goddess is something else. I can't believe she's right in front of me, in my own nightclub. As soon as I saw her pic on social media, I knew she was right here, probably looking for me. She seemed a little surprised at first, but now she's even flirting with me. How lucky am I? Her friend has thankfully accepted someone's invitation to dance, and that has left us alone.

"Do you want a short or long engagement, goddess?"

She almost chokes on her drink. Am I being too forward? I need to close this deal sooner rather than later. I have a lot going for me, but the truth is, at my core, I'm somewhat reserved, and Helene seems to enjoy being out and around with her friends. I want to be able to give her anything she wants.

"Um, I'm not sure, Theo. I think we should focus on getting to know one another first."

"That's a good idea. Dance with me."

I offer her my hand, and she takes it. There's a little zap of electricity when our hands touch, but I'm not sure she feels it. I know I'm already gone for this woman. So it's not a surprise to me that we make electricity together. I take her to the dance floor and before we can start, the DJ changes the music to something soft.

I would be surprised if I hadn't messaged him two minutes ago and told him to change the music. This is my nightclub, after all. I put my arms around Helene, and we sway slowly from one side to the other. I look into her beautiful violet eyes and have to keep myself from shouting, 'This is my woman' in the middle of the dance floor.

She bites her lower lip. She does that when she's nervous or uneasy about something. I love seeing her do it, because it shows she's vulnerable. It shows she's no deity, but that's what it seems to me when I see her.

"Tell me something secret about you, goddess."

"People think I wear contacts, but this is my true eye color. It's freaky, I know."

"Your eyes are beautiful. I don't think that's a secret."

She thinks for a second and then says, "I used to be a nurse. I miss it, but I'm terrified of going back."

I look down at her and see her face, which is now marred with a frown. I swipe my thumb in between her brows to make her stop, but she lowers her head as if ashamed of what she's just told me. I hook a finger under her chin and lift her face to mine.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

I kiss her brow and hold her tighter to me. After a couple of slow songs, the DJ returns to pleasing the crowd, and we dance until we're sweaty and smiling. I love to see her smile. I live for it. Tammy joins us for a bit, and then we go for a break and refill our drinks.

"Let me know when you ladies are ready to go. I'll take you back safely."

"But you've been drinking," Helene says.

"I've got a driver. I want to make sure I deliver you both safely home."

She looks at her friend and they seem to talk to each other without saying a word. It's the kind of thing you do when you've been friends for a long time. I do it with my business partners Erik and Max.

"I think it's time to go. I've got that activity at school tomorrow. But we had a lot of fun."

I contact my driver, so he's expecting us up front at the club. The girls offer to pay, but I insist it's on the house and we take off.

"Was this your first time at Midnight Heat?" I ask.

"Yes, it's a very difficult place to get in," Tammy says.

"Well, not anymore. You two are my VIP guests. We can actually go to the private section next time. It's a lot quieter."

"We didn't mind being downstairs. We love to dance."

The driver drops Tammy off at her house, and as soon as she's out of the car, I reach for Helene's hand. Her skin is soft and warm, and things feel right when we touch this way.

"When can I see you again?"

"Um, I'm not sure."

"What about Sunday? We could go for a walk on the beach. Or go eat some frozen yogurt."

"Theo. Are you the one who's been stalking me for the past three months?"

I blush, but I can't lie to her.

"Yes. When you didn't message me back at the agency's portal, I searched for you on social media and was delighted with every bit of information that I could find about you. It's totally innocent. I just wanted to know more about you."

"I recognize you from yoga, but you always leave too fast. I wanted to approach you."

"You were checking me out?"

"You're kind of hot, Theo."

More blood rushes to my cheeks, and they feel like they're going to burst from the pressure. I don't know what to say to that, so I just keep the soothing motions on her hand with my thumb. Too soon, we're in front of her house, and it's time to say goodbye. I get out of the car with her, and she seems surprised.

"I'm going to walk you to the door like the proper gentleman that I am."

A small giggle leaks out of her, making her sound younger than she is. We walk towards her doorstep, hand in hand. Once there, we turn to each other, and for a moment, I'm speechless. I reach out to push back a strand of hair from her face.

"I'm so glad we finally got to meet. You'd better watch it. I'm going to move to full courtship mode. Be ready to be swept off your feet."

She smiles at me and squeezes my arm lightly as if making sure I'm right there with her, making sure that I'm real.

"I can't wait, Theo. Do your best."

I lean down and kiss her gently on the forehead and wait until she opens the door and goes and slips inside.

"Goodnight, goddess," I whisper into the night.