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CHAPTER FIVE
MIKELINA’SHEARTWAS thundering in her chest. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. After Abbie had given her the tour of the VIP rooms, she and Cody the bartender took off never to be seen again.
It had been beyond awkward to sit on that cushy couch and drink expensive champagne all by herself. Like she had won the loser lottery or something. Everyone out there was dancing and having a good time. And she was all alone, the way she had been all year. It wasn’t fair. So when her jam came on, she’d finished her champagne, closed her eyes and pretended she had Mr. Right in front of her.
And then after the song was over, it was like she had summoned him. He resembled Luke Macfarlane—the Killjoys version, not the Hallmark Christmas special one. Five o’clock shadow, dark hair and sexy eyes. She wasn’t about to let this opportunity slide by.
So maybe she was a little bit forward. And maybe she was jumping into things without thinking it through. But it wasn’t as if she was going home with a man whose name she didn’t even know. There were places in the club where they could play around in relative privacy and safety.
Mikelina had the Flow card she had been given in her purse, if he turned out to be a creep. All the VIP cards had a plastic slide on the back. In an emergency, if she pushed the slide, security would come to her rescue. They could track her anywhere in the club. It made her a little more confident to push the envelope with her mystery man.
“Have you been here before?” she asked, pushing aside the velvet curtain.
“No, this is my first time.”
Mikelina took his hand. “A virgin?”
He snorted. “Touched for the very first time...today.” She liked that he repeated what she’d said to him earlier. She liked his voice and the easy way about him.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Are names necessary?” she asked.
“That’s usually how two people get to know each other.”
“I think we know all we need to know about each other.” The last thing she wanted was for him to recognize her last name. She didn’t want to talk about Tanner Presley. She didn’t even want to think about him and she was sick of being treated like a pariah because of his crimes. Swallowing her trepidation, she touched her handsome MMA announcer on the arm. He had nice biceps and she squeezed one as she rose up on her tiptoes. Brushing a kiss across his surprised lips, she put her hand on his shoulder. “Unless I’m reading this wrong.”
“No, we’re good.” His arm snaked around her and held her tight. He returned her kiss with one that Mikelina felt straight to her toes. She wasn’t going to go home with him, but fooling around seemed like a good idea.
His mouth was warm and enticing. She bit back a moan, leaned into his hard body. It felt good to be naughty. But if she didn’t stop him now, they would be making out in the middle of the hallway.
Breaking away, she was breathless and giddy. She led him down the corridor to the first set of doors that Cody had shown her. “Do you want to go for a swim?”
“I didn’t bring a suit. And if I’m going to skinny-dip, I’d prefer not to have an audience.” His voice was gruff and sent shivers up her spine. She wanted to hear it in her ear as they danced.
“You’ve got to see the pool area, though. I’d be a bad tour host if I let you go back home without seeing this.”
The pool room was set up to mimic the beach. And if Mikelina hadn’t known this place used to be a warehouse club a few months ago, she could easily be convinced that they were outside. The lighting was brilliant and there was even a cool ocean breeze blowing through the space. They had to be piping it in from the air-conditioning because outside was muggy as hell.
The house DJ was playing Jimmy Buffett and it was a more chill atmosphere than the part of the club they just left. Sturdy paper lanterns floated in the enormous pool along with about one hundred people in the water.
“Why don’t they just go outside?” he asked.
“Because it’s dark out. It’s never-ending sunshine here.”
Squinting up at the ceiling. “Heat lamps.”
“You’re such a spoil sport,” she teased. “Enjoy the fantasy.”
“Let’s go back to the main area and dance.”
“I’ve got something better in mind.” She took him through another set of doors and the crisp air conditioner kicked on as they stepped into a 1920s-style speakeasy.
“It’s like the Tardis in here,” he said. “Bigger on the inside and lost in time.”
“You’re a Doctor Who fan?” Mikelina was thrilled to find a fellow nerd. As they walked past the jazz band to the bar hand in hand, they talked about the science fiction series.
“It’s nice to have a conversation with someone in a bar that doesn’t result in screaming over and over into their ear because the music is so loud,” she said, handing him a gin rickey from the sampler of drinks.
