“You’re welcome, my dear. You’re very welcome.” He jumped off of the bed then and grabbed the plate. “Try and get some more sleep, and we’ll see how you feel when you wake up.”
“Okay.” I nodded sleepily and closed my eyes again. Sleep found me easily and I stretched in the luxurious bed imagining Brandon’s lips kissing me softly.
***
“Ma’am, would you like anything else to drink?” The airhostess tapped me on the arm and I broke out of my reverie.
“No, thanks.” I smiled at her and rubbed my forehead. I was starting to get a headache and a small heartache as well. I hated remembering the first days I had met Brandon because he had been so sweet and wonderful. He had been a man I thought only existed in romance novels. The beginning of our relationship had been magical. It was only the end that was the stuff that nightmares were made of.
“Okay, just let me know if you change your mind.”
“Thanks.” I smiled. “Do you know how many more hours until we land in San Francisco?”
“It’ll be about two more hours, Ms. Raymond.”
“Thanks.” I looked back out of the window and thought about Brandon again. Maybe I wouldn’t even see him. I’m sure he would be busy with the board of directors. What time would he have for a manager? It was just my luck that he had bought the company that I worked for. Out of all the companies in the world, he had to pick mine. What sort of bad luck was that? He was going to fire me, I just knew it. He would take one look at me, laugh in my face, and fire me. Maybe after calling me a liar. And what could I say? What would I tell HR? I knew the answer to that, and I would just leave with my tail between my legs. Because it would be true. I had lied to him. At first, I had a reason, but then I had built up the lie, made everything more complicated. And then it all exploded in my face. I closed my eyes again and thought of Brandon, my sexy, hunky Brandon.
“How was your day today?” His voice was warm and I smiled into the phone.
“Good, what about yours?”
“Long.” He groaned. “I don’t want to talk about it. I’d rather talk about our dinner tomorrow night. Are you excited?”
“Yes!” I exclaimed in excitement.
“I love that you don’t hide your true emotions. I’ve dated way too many women in New York who act like they can’t stand me.”
“That’s silly.” I said honestly. Thinking back, he should have realized the truth from our phone calls. Brandon had taken my number before putting me in a cab home the afternoon after he had taken me home. He had wanted me to spend the weekend with him, but I knew that I had to get back to the dorms or my friends would be mad. He had called me every night since then, and I delighted in his phone calls. He made me laugh and he made me feel special. He seemed to really want to know how I was spending my days, and he told me little things about himself as well. He was the only son of a billionaire banker and worked at his father’s hedge fund. He hated his job, but knew that it was his duty. He owned his apartment in Chelsea, he had a house in the Hamptons and an apartment in San Francisco, He preferred the West Coast but had to stay on the East Coast due to work. He loved dogs, but traveled so much that he thought it was unfair to have one. He loved Mexican food and jazz and collecting first edition books. He was also 35. When he first told me that, I felt my heart stop beating. 35 sounded so much older than me. 35 was old enough to be my dad, if he had had sex at a young age. 35 made me feel guilty for having him think I was 22, about to turn 23. 35 made me keep my real age a secret. I didn’t want to stop talking to him. I didn’t want his calls to end, and I very much wanted to go on that dinner date with him. 35 made me realize that I couldn’t let him know that I was 18, even though I very much wanted to be honest about my age.
“I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.” He whispered into the phone. “I’m going to take you to dinner and then we can go dancing if you want.”
“That would be nice. Do you know what club you’re thinking of?” I grabbed my laptop so I could check yelp to see if they let in people under 21.
“Oh, not a club.” He smiled. “I was thinking we could go to some salsa classes.”
“Salsa?”
“Yes, you know, the Spanish dance.”
“Oh, yeah. I just never heard of a date where people went to classes.”
“What are you used to, Katie? Burgers and movies?”
“Something like that.” I laughed.
“Then that just means you’ve been dating boys, and not men like me.”
“Yeah, that could be right.” If he only knew just how true his words were.
“Men in their twenties are still chasing the almighty dollar and trying to get laid. Men in their thirties know that money and sex are not important.”
“It’s not?” I’d had neither and still hoped for both.
“I mean, we need it to live, of course. But it’s not worth losing your life for either.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“So tomorrow, shall I pick you up from your apartment?”
“My apartment?” My body burned as I stared at my roommate’s empty bed. “Uh, no. I’ve got a late day at work tomorrow. I can meet you at the restaurant.” I couldn’t believe how easily the lies slid from my mouth.
“Okay, that makes sense.” He yawned. “Tomorrow will be our first date.”
“I know.”
“I can’t wait to see you again.” He chuckled. “And if anyone I knew heard me say that, they’d think someone had stolen my body.”
“Why?”
“This isn’t me, Katie. I’m not a romantic guy. I don’t do relationships.”
“Oh, I didn’t know.” I felt disappointed and confused. “Why are you talking to me, then?”
“I don’t know. I guess there was something about you that touched me as I walked by.”
“You mean my puke?” I joked and he laughed.
“Thank God, no.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not really sure why I stopped and took you home though. I’ve asked myself several times what I was thinking. You could have been a psycho.”
“I could have been a psycho? You could have been a psycho.”
“I’m glad neither of us are psychos.”
“Me too. Sweet dreams, Brandon.”
“Sweet dreams, Katie.”
“Have a good day at work.”
“You too.”
“Thanks.” I’ll be doing the assignment I didn’t do tonight because I was waiting for your call.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you then.” And then we hung up and I lay in my bed and hugged my pillow tightly. I was so excited. This was going to be my first proper date and it was with a man that knew the world, and he was interested in me. I couldn’t believe it. I was worried about what we would talk about. What if I sounded like an idiot?
“You up?” The door creaked and Meg walked in with a handful of books.
“Yeah,” I sat up and looked at her with a guilty pang. I hadn’t studied all week. It was only the first week, but I knew I had to keep up or I was going to fail out. Everyone in my class at Columbia was smart, and they all seemed to know more than I did. There was no way I was going to be able to sail through my classes without studying like I did in high school.
“How was Mr. Wonderful?” She giggled as she sat her books down on the desk and then pulled out her pajamas.
“He wants to take me salsa dancing.”
“But you don’t know how to salsa.” She frowned as she pulled off her t-shirt and pulled on her nightgown.
“I know, but he’s taking us to classes.”
“Wow.” She looked impressed and the fell on top of her bed. “I’m so tired.”
“Aww.” I gave her a sympathetic look. “You don’t have to go hardcore right away.”
“I do, I need to get a 4.0 GPA if I want to get into Harvard or Yale law.”
“We just started undergrad, Meg.” I giggled.
“I know that, you know
that, but does Mr. Hastings know that as yet?”
“No,” I groaned and lay at the ceiling. “I can’t tell him, Meg. Not yet. He won’t want to see me if he knows I’m 18.”
“You never know.”
“Trust me, I know. He’s working on Wall Street, living in a swanky apartment and I’ve just started college living in the dorms, with a roommate in single beds.” My stomach tightened in knots. “He wouldn’t give me the time of day if he knew.”
“You’re still you. He’ll still like you.”
“No, he won’t. He’ll think I’m a kid.”
“I don’t know, Katie. I just have a bad feeling he’s going to figure out you’re not 22.”
“I’ll tell him eventually.” I sighed. “Once we get to know each other better. I’ll tell him then.”
“Okay.” She yawned. “Shit, I’m tired. I’m falling asleep already.”
“Sweet dreams, Meg.”
And in response, she started snoring.
The next day was crazy, Meg lent me one of her dresses and another pair of heels, and I walked to the station on 116th with a huge grin on my face. I knew I looked good because I had caught several guys eyeing me as I walked down Broadway. I was so excited I thought I was going to throw up. I was going on a date with a hot man, a very hot man, and all I wanted to do was sing and smile. I changed trains in Herald Square and then looked on my phone for the best directions to get to the restaurant. I got a little lost and ended up arriving about ten minutes late. I saw Brandon waiting outside for me and his eyes lit up as I ran over to him quickly.
“Sorry,” I gasped, slightly out-of-breath. “I can’t walk fast in these heels.”
“You should have caught a cab.”
“I, uh, prefer the train, it’s more environmentally friendly.” I lied. I only had a thousand dollars to last me a few months and I certainly wasn’t going to waste it on cabs.
“I do like a girl that thinks of the environment.”
“That’s me.”
“I thought you were going to stand me up.” His blue eyes sparkled as he surveyed my appearance. I looked him over hungrily: he looked even more handsome than I had remembered, with a crisp light blue shirt that illuminated his eyes and a pair of grey slacks. He had on flat black leather shoes that looked expensive and shiny.
“Oh, sorry. I got a little lost.” I made a face and he laughed before reaching over and kissing me lightly. I stood there looking at him stupidly, and he laughed and ran his hands through his hair.
“Sorry, I’ve been waiting to kiss you for a week.”
“No need to apologize, I liked it.”
“You’re always so honest. I love it.”
“I try.” I smiled back weakly, thinking about the big lie I was keeping from him.
“We can skip dinner if you want.” He leaned in towards me and I could feel the warmth of his skin even though he wasn’t touching me.
“Oh? You want to go straight to the salsa classes?” I asked stupidly.
“No, I was thinking we could go back to my place.”
“Your place?” I stared at him for a moment, before it clicked. “Oh. Oh.” I blushed and bit my lower lip as I wondered what to say. “I don’t have sex on the first date.” I blurted out finally. “I’m not a prude or anything, but I’ve always thought that...”
“No need to explain.” He grabbed my hand. “I respect your want to wait. It will make it more special.”
“Exactly.” I nodded in agreement and walked with him into the restaurant.
“How was work today, Katie?”
“Uh, pretty good. You?”
“It was the same. Only it wasn’t as bad, as I knew I was going to see you this evening.”
“That’s sweet.” I blushed. “I thought about you today as well.”
“I guess that’s a sign.”
“Sign of what?”
“That we’re meant to be.” He winked at me and I felt my heart explode in happiness. This was a man who knew how to worm his way into a woman’s heart.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re approaching San Francisco International Airport. We should be landing in about 30 minutes. Please put your seats in the upright position.” The Captain speaking diverted me from my memories again. I made sure my seat was upright and my seat belt tightened, and smiled at the memories of that first weekend. I had stayed the whole weekend at Brandon’s apartment and we had stayed up all of Friday night watching French movies on Netflix, and then on Saturday he had taken me into Brooklyn and we had brunch at a cute little place in Park Slope. It had been perfect. He hadn’t even tried to touch me. Just two long, intense kisses before bed and then he fell asleep. He fell asleep while I lay there staring at his back, wanting to touch him and feel his skin next to mine. Only I was too scared and pathetic. I was still a girl, pretending to be a woman.
Chapter 2
“Welcome to the Diva Hotel, Mrs. Raymond.”
“Ms.” I smiled at the front desk clerk. “It’s Ms.”
“Sorry, Ms. Raymond. Would you be preferring two full size beds or one king?”
“King, please.” I handed her my credit card for incidentals and waited for my room key.
“Is there anything else we can help you with today?”
“No, that’s all, thanks.” I took my credit card back, grabbed my suitcase and walked over to the elevator. I saw a doorway to my left that led to a Starbucks, and I figured I could grab a coffee there in the morning before the orientation started. I was going to need to be as alert as possible as soon as I arrived. I walked into the elevator with its fluorescent purple lights, and I was immediately taken back to the night I had convinced Brandon to go to a nightclub with me. It had been the second week we had been seeing each other. We’d gone out to dinner and were walking back to his place when we passed Doug’s. I grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Let’s go in.” I grinned and nodded towards the door. The strobe lights and booming top-40 music crept through the doorway and he shuddered. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“I don’t do clubs.” He shook his head with a small smile.
“Just for five minutes.”
“I guess I could do five minutes.” He grabbed my hand and we walked in easily, without being carded, just as I knew we would be. I wasn’t dumb this time, and we bypassed the bar, going straight to the dance floor. I grabbed his hands and started dancing. At first, he was a bit stiff. I could tell that he wasn’t one for bumping and grinding, but he seemed to get into the swing of things very quickly. One of my favorite rap songs came on, and I pushed back against him excitedly. He seemed to enjoy it, and allowed his hands to roam freely over my stomach and all the way up to the underside of my breasts as he held onto me. I can remember the next moment clearly. A purple strobe light illuminated us in the room and we danced slowly in the crowd of people. I laughed and shimmied, enjoying the vitality I felt in the room, and then his hands slid all the way up and I felt them cupping my breasts as we danced. I paused for a split second, startled by the feel of his hands kneading my breasts. It felt different and it felt good. I looked around quickly to see if anyone had noticed, but no one was paying attention to us. They were too caught up in what they were doing. Doug’s was filled with people, but in that moment as the beats ruined our hearing and our bodies moved together as one, it felt like we were all alone and my body felt like it was on fire. His fingers became more aggressive against my breasts and as he pinched my nipples I backed into him hard, crying out in pleasure, though the sound was muffled by the music around us.
Brandon pulled me around and into him, and then his lips came crushing down on mine. I kissed him back eagerly, my tongue entering his mouth and exploring every part. I sucked on his tongue eagerly, enjoying the faint taste of chocolate from the shared dessert we’d had at the restaurant. His hands lowered from my back to my ass, and he cupped my asscheeks as he pushed me into him. I gasped against his mouth as I felt something hard pressing against my belly. I kne
w without a doubt that it was his erection, and a secret thrill ran from the tips of my toes, up my legs, through my belly, to my tingling breasts and to my eager mouth. I had done that to him. I had turned him on and he wanted me. It made me feel heady with power. Here was this handsome, rich, and captivating man, and he wanted me. Even though I didn’t have a lot of experience, and I didn’t dress in fancy clothes or know how to apply makeup. Even though I talked about movies too much and rambled on about poets and writers late into the night. He still wanted me. I kissed him back harder then, pushing myself into him, running my hands through his hair. I was caught up in the moment as I ravished him harder than he ravished me. Sometimes I think that if he had wanted to, I would have even let him make love to me right there on the dance floor.
“Now, now, Katie.” He pulled away from me with lust-filled eyes. “This isn’t the place.”
“Let’s go, then.” I grabbed his hand without thinking and pulled him off of the dance floor. “Let’s go back to your place.” His eyes grew dark with desire at my words and he pushed me against the wall, and ran his fingers down my neck. He stared into my eyes with such intensity that it was all I could do to not reach over and touch him.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” He growled into my ear. “Because if I take you tonight, there will be no letting go. No turning back. I will make you mine. I will possess you.”
“I want you to take me.” I swallowed hard at his words.
“I want you so badly, Katie.” He shook his head as if to clear his mind. “Ever since the morning after I took you home, I’ve wanted you.”
“So then take me.”
“We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.”
I laughed then, big happy and immature laughs. “Of course I’m ready. I’ve practically been begging you for the last ten minutes.”
“Then let’s go.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the club. We ran like schoolkids down the road to his apartment. Both of us aching to touch and be touched by each other. It was only when we got to his apartment door that I really stopped to think about what I was about to do. I was about to lose my virginity to a guy I had known two weeks. Was I a slut? Was I doing the right thing? But my thoughts quickly dissipated as he picked me up, carried me into the apartment, and plopped me down on the bed.
The Ex Games Page 2
