Page 49 of Please Don't Leave Me

Once we all started mingling together, the older men were hitting on the younger girls so hard. Most got rejected, but some of the girls sought out the better-looking ones andhave been flirting with them. It occasionally reminds me of my dad and his young girlfriends, but I try to shake that thought from my mind any time it pops up. I am not letting the thought of him ruin my night.

Brian is flirting with one of the guys from the younger group who says he has a wife, but Brian whispered to me earlier that he's for sure a closeted gay man. My brother and Brian aren't in a serious, committed relationship, so I'm not bothered by the fact that he clearly wants to get in that man's pants, but I do feel bad for his girlfriend. I think her new year might start off on the wrong foot if Brian gets what he wants.

A few girls have flirted with me, and I've flirted back, but they all were too drunk for it to go anywhere. I'm not above a one-night stand, but I do not fool around with super drunk girls who likely won't remember it the next day.

I have to admit that I feel sort of strange up here, separated from the rest of the club. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have the space to walk around without getting drinks spilled on you and not have to wait in line at a bar. But something about it feels elitist, and sometimes I like being smashed body to body on a dance floor. There are fewer eyes on me down there. Up here, I feel like I'm in a fishbowl being observed by everyone.

I tell Brian I'm going to step out for a second, but he doesn't seem to care. I walk around the booth and into the back hallway where the bathrooms are, but I keep walking past them. I reach the end of the hallway, which leads out to the main area of the club. I want to go say hey to Quinn and see if he needs anything. I know there are workers who check in on him, but I wanted an excuse to walk around the club for a bit.

I maneuver my way through the crowds and up to theDJ booth. I wave to get Quinn's attention. Once he sees me, I step around toward the back and wait for him. He'll likely play a couple more songs and then put on a long track that he uses when he takes breaks.

While I'm waiting, someone bumps into me from behind, and I feel cold liquid running down my back. See, this is what I was talking about. Right as I'm whirling around to see who spilled their drink on me, I hear a barely audible female voice, "Oh my god, I am so sorry!"

When I'm fully turned around, I see a gorgeous woman picking up an empty plastic cup off the ground. She stands up once she retrieves her cup and looks at me with a guilty look on her face. "Someone ran by me and shoved me into you; I am so sorry." She grabs my arm and turns me around so she can take a look at the damage she did to the back of my shirt. I'm wearing white shirt, so you can see the full contents of her pink drink soaked into my back.

"It's all good. This place is crowded." I have to yell so she can hear me since we're right by a set of speakers.

"Follow me; I'll help you clean it up." That's really not necessary, but if I don't have to live with a sticky back for the rest of the night, that would be great.

I look up at where Quinn is and consider letting him know I'm leaving, but he'll figure it out when he doesn't see me standing here anymore.

We walk through the crowd, and she leads the way. When we get to a packed section, she reaches back and grabs my hand so we don't lose each other. We weave in and out of groups and make our way toward the front. Once we get out of the crowd, she goes to turn left toward the public bathrooms, but I tug her arm over to the right.

I nod my head toward the private area of the club. "Let's go this way."

She gives me a skeptical look like she knows we're not allowed back there. Well, she doesn't know yet thatI'mallowed back there. She lets up on her resistance and allows me to guide her to the ropes that block off that area.

The security guard recognizes me and lets us in, not even questioning the fact that I came back with another person I didn't leave this area with. Men must bring back women from the crowd all the time. That makes me feel a little sleazy, but I figured the bathrooms would be way less crowded back here.

Her eyes get wide when he lets us through without question. I feel like I need to explain so she doesn't think I'm some super-rich guy who does this all the time.

"My brother is the DJ; that's why I was standing over there by the booth. I was waiting for him to go on a break. The club gave him a booth, so I'm just here with him."

I can't help but notice the slight look of disappointment that crosses her face, but I don't care. I don't want to get women to like me by deceiving them.

I realize I'm still holding her hand and let go since there's no need to be guiding her in an empty hallway.

When we get to the bathroom door, I open it and let her in first. The bathrooms back here are single rooms with locked doors, so I shut the door behind us but don't lock it. I don't want her to feel trapped in here with me since she probably didn't know we were going to be shut in a room together.

"Here, it'll be easier if you take it off." She walks toward me and grabs the hem of my shirt, lifting it up. She's much shorter than me, so I have to help her get it over my head. Once my shirt is off, she grabs it, turns towards the sink, and turns on the water. She pumps a handful of soap, and before she puts my shirt under the water, she looks at me inthe mirror and asks, "This isn't some super expensive fabric that I'm going to completely ruin with hand soap, is it?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

She runs it under the water and gently scrubs the soap in. The pink stain immediately starts to lift, and I just stand there, watching her. I feel a little bit like an idiot because I didn't really need her help with this. But I guess subconsciously, I liked the idea of having the company of a beautiful woman.

At some point, she must feel me staring at her because she looks up at me in the mirror and smiles. Her eyes travel from mine down to my bare chest, and it's my turn to smile at her for clearly checking me out.

I step closer to her and press my bare front to her back. I pull her hair off her shoulder and lean forward to press my lips to her neck. She sinks back into me and rubs her ass into my jeans. One of her arms lifts up and wraps around my neck, holding me close. I continue kissing her down her neck and across her bare shoulder. She drops the shirt and turns around to face me, leaving the water running. I reach around her to turn it off, making her giggle.

I brace my hands on the counter on either side of her and lean into her. Her wet, soapy hands wrap around my neck and pull me even closer until our lips meet. The tension between us has been building since she grabbed my hand on the dance floor, so at this point, we both snap.

I grab her hips and lift her onto the counter. Her hands explore my chest, my stomach, my back. Our lips devour each other. I can't remember if she had lipstick on, but I don't care right now. If she did, then it's all over my face because her lips run wild over me. I slip my hand under the skirt of her dress and touch her.

I'm so caught up in the moment that I forgot mymanners. Stopping, I pull back and remove my hand. She looks confused and annoyed, but I have to ask. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" She nods. "If you want me to stop at any point, I will." Her eyes soften, and I think she can tell I'm being genuine.

"I don't have a condom on me, so unless you do, I'd like to stop before we get to that point." She looks a bit nervous. Like she thinks I'll get mad or want to just stop right now.

Damn it. I hadn't even gotten that far in my head yet.

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