“Marcus... is it just the fact that I want this girl?” His eyes are locked on to my hand holding his. “Or is it more than that?”
“I thought I asked for a meeting?”
Hunter’s deep voice vibrates down the alleyway, causing Marcus to snatch his hand from mine.
Hunter looks over to Marcus. “I asked you to get him. Not come play handsies at the back of a bar.”
I shift my gaze to Hunter, who is standing tall at the end of the walkway. Of course, he is dressed to the nines, with his fitted black suit on and freshly shaved face. His dark-brown hair is neatly made to look perfectly messy yet put together. He is all sexy businessman today.
“Yeah.” I peel myself off the wall, following Marcus’s lead toward him. “And what is this meeting about?” I huff out as I pass Hunter.
His heavy hand lands on my shoulder. “Not here. Back to the room.”
18
Eden
Iwas surprised when Samuel said yes this morning to going out again with Lianne. It was when he told me he didn’t want me to get lonely in this house that I made sense of why he is allowing it. His new role is taking up more time than he would have liked. So, if he couldn’t keep me company, he is letting the next best person do it, Lianne.
I don’t have to take much with me. Lianne is the one in charge of the outfits. She told me two things: One, I don’t have clothes that would be fashionable in the real world, and two, she didn’t want to risk Samuel seeing me packing anything but my purse, wallet, and phone. I was happy with that—giddy, even—at the suspense of what kind of person she would dress me up like today.
She spotted me at a rest stop this time, not wanting to weird out the gas station clerk, with us going in and coming out looking completely different. This time, she told me I’m getting “the works,” which includes hair and makeup. She styled my hair in what she called “space buns” high on my head, pulling a couple of strands loose.
The makeup is simple—thank the Divine because I don’t usually wear much. My outfit this time is simple, too. A nude bodysuit topped with a short-sleeved, sparkly, loose, sheer top. The jeans are form-fitting again and washed a light blue, and the same chunky heel I sported last time finishes it off.
“So,” she asks, looking me over in the bathroom mirror behind me, “does it feel like something Elliott would wear for a day out on the town?”
I grin at her reflection. “Yes.”
* * *
Lianne is extra cautious about where we end up, just like the rest-stop change. She doesn’t want to take any chances. It’s the same town as before but a different bar. I don’t know a town would need more than one, but Lianne says people have preferences and like variety.
This bar has a dance floor this time around, as well as a karaoke station, at which Lianne has already signed up with four songs. She told me to put my name in, but I don’t want to torture the other patrons.
“Two fuzzy navels, my kind sir,” she tells the bartender.
“Make thatonefuzzy navel and one scotch on the rocks.” I grin at Lianne, and she smirks.
I don’t know why he is still on my mind. It was weeks ago. He probably is with another girl who could actually give him the time of day. But if I couldn’t have him, I wanted to relive that moment I had with Kameron again. The taste of the scotch he ordered was horrible, but I liked the way it burned going down. So, even though I wouldn’t get a moment with him again, at least I could feel the burn of his drink of choice.
“Elliott is out to play today,” Lianne bellows.
The bartender whips up our drink quickly, and we find an empty table close to the dance floor. The place is practically empty, with it being midday on a Tuesday. I don’t think it’s exactly party hour for most. But I am going to take what I could get.
Bringing the glass to my lips, I anticipate the taste. The warm amber liquid hits my tongue. The taste is all wrong, and I scrunch my face at Lianne. The burn is there when I swallow, but that taste. Yuck.
“That’s what you get for letting them pour you bottom-shelf scotch.”
The deep voice behind me makes me shiver in my seat.
I don’t even have to look behind me fully to know it’s him. If my reaction wasn’t enough to convince me, the look on Lianne’s face sure does it. Her smirk as she watches me turn to him has my body humming.
My eyes finally land on him. He is even more handsome than I remember. He is in a much different attire this time, with dark-blue dress pants and a blazer to match, a white button-up, and brown dress shoes. What is he all dressed up for?
“Need me to take that drink back for you, gorgeous?” He develops that delicious smile that shows me those perfect teeth.
I smile up at him.
