Taking Chances (Learning to Love) (13 page)

The guy at the door was easy enough to charm to let me in to wait, but once I was there, I had second thoughts.
What if Sam thought I was using this as some desperate attempt to see him again, as Kat suggested I do?
No, I couldn't let myself think like that. I was going to give him back the tie and leave, nothing more. It didn't matter how hot the sex was, once was enough. I needed to stop letting Kat get in my head.

I waited about fifteen minutes before partially clothed, sweaty strippers started wandering out into the lobby. I felt the temperature rise at least ten degrees in the room, or maybe that was just me. Sam was one of the last few to come out and he immediately noticed me standing there, a confused smile danced across his face.

"Hey you," he said, walking over to me and pulled me into a quick hug.

"I wanted to return this to you." I held the tie out to him as an offering.

"Thanks, but uh... that's not mine." He looked at me confused, head tilted up a bit to the side.

He wasn't the only one confused.

"Yeah, it's from..."

"Hey, Brooks, man how are ya?" a short Italian in a wife beater and long white shorts said, slapping Sam on the back.

"Anthony, how ya been, dude? This is Lexi. I'll meet you over there, okay?"

Well at least he remembered my name. Anthony gave me the once over, lingering on my boobs a little longer than necessary, and licked his lips before finding my eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Lexi. We should hang out," he said, offering me his hand. I took it expecting a brief shake, but he lifted it to his mouth and left a slobbery kiss on the top. It was all I could do to stop myself from rolling my eyes in disgust. Once I got my hand back, he gave me a quick nod and a wink, then jogged over to a group of guys near the back room.

"Brooks?"

"My last name. Sam Brooks."

I glanced down at the tie, the delicate script letters, 'SM'.

"So this isn't yours then?" I asked, my brain starting to go places I was not sure I wanted it to go.

"No, sorry. Listen, I gotta run but I think it might be a good idea for us to talk about something. Why don't you give me your number and I'll text you?" he asked and handed me his phone to input my number.

I complied and gave it back, then looked down at the tie once again.
If the tie did not belong to Sam, then who did it belong to?
Sam kissed my cheek and went to catch up with his friends. I stood there for a few minutes not really sure what to do. It was Sam who gave me the room key and if it wasn't Sam in that room, who the hell was it?

I looked down at the phone still in my hand as it buzzed. The text was from Sam, it read
'talk to ya soon'
. I quickly saved his info into my contacts and shoved the phone into my pocket. I waited until I was sure all the guys were gone, before heading out to my car. I didn't want to run into any more strippers. I had enough on my mind.

Once in my car, I set the tie, still folded, on the seat next to me. I just didn't know what to make of it. My phone buzzed. I picked it up, expecting it to be Sam again, but it was a number I didn't recognize.

'Good things come to those who wait.'

I figured it must be a wrong number or something so I sent back a quick reply asking who it was, thinking the sender would realize their mistake, they didn't. My phone buzzed again.

'Someone you know better than you think'

My heart did a little swirl around in my chest. Could it be from '
him'
? I glanced over at the tie next to me. It seemed like a strange coincidence that not even ten minutes after I gave Sam my number, I was getting strange texts from someone. Maybe Sam was playing some sort of game with me, pretending like it wasn't him last week. It just didn't make sense. Why would he do that? I ignored the text and drove back home. Kat would know what to do.

***

"So, he asked for your number?" Kat mused, completely missing the point.

"Yes, he asked for my number. Are you forgetting the part where I told you the tie wasn't his? It was not him at the hotel that night. I have no idea who it was," I stressed, trying to get her to understand this was not about a hot stripper wanting my number.

"No, silly, I got that, but why does it even matter? You had a great time and you already said, you have no interest in seeing him again, so who cares? He did use a condom, right?" Kat asked, looking briefly worried.

"Of course he used a condom and I
don't
want to see him again, but I do want to be able to say who it was I've fucked!"

"Babe, you didn't even know Sam's last name. Would it really make you feel better to be able to say you screwed Sam the stripper?"

I thought about what she said for a minute. I hated the thought that I had no idea who it was I had sex with, but she was right, it really wasn't much better to know his first name. It wasn't like I knew anything about Sam, other than his occupation, well and now, his last name. It also wasn't like I would take back what happened. I got what I asked for, regardless of who it was.

My brother pushed open the door and stood looking at me.

"Who the hell is Sam the stripper?" he growled.

I sure hoped that was all he heard through the door.

"Matty, what are you doing here?" Kat asked, rushing over and wrapping her arms around his neck. She was trying to deflect, but we both knew it wasn't going to work.

"Are you planning on answering me, Lexi?" Matt asked, prying Kat's arms off him and walking halfway through the living room to stare into me, waiting for an answer.

"No, actually, I am not planning on answering you. I'm a grown woman and I can screw all the strippers I want," I snorted and stomped into my bedroom. The last thing I needed was to explain everything to my big brother. It was none of his business.

I could hear them arguing from the living room. He was blaming her for encouraging me to hook up with random strangers. I stuck my ear buds into my ears and turned up the music so I didn't have to listen to them. The last thing I remembered before drifting off to sleep was Maroon 5 thumping in my ears.

I woke up to banging on the door. Confused and sleepy, I stumbled out in the dark to see what was going on. Squinting at the clock on my way past the kitchen, I realized it was nearly ten. Kat and my brother were nowhere to be found. The incessant banging continued until I pulled the door open angrily.

"What?" I yelled before realizing Sebastian was standing outside my door, soaking wet, with rain dripping down his nose.

He just stood there looking at me, breathing hard, as if he had been running and was out of breath.

"Sebastian? What are you doing here?" I asked, suddenly awake enough to be confused by his presence, rather than angry.

He didn't speak, only stared. He had a strange look on his face that seemed almost… hungry. I was about to offer for him to come in when he hooked his arm around my waist and pulled me fast against him. Before I knew what was going on, his mouth was pressed onto mine. His kiss was rough and unforgiving, needy and hot. The air rushed from my lungs leaving me lightheaded and off balance, but I gave in to it, completely. I'd been dreaming of that very moment since he kissed me out by the pond the night of Jamie's wedding. In fact, I was having trouble keeping it out of my head. I still didn't know what it was about him that made me lose all rational thought. I just knew that I wanted him like I'd never wanted anyone before.

When he pulled back from my mouth, allowing me enough oxygen to keep from losing consciousness, he was panting. The kiss seemed to be having the same effect on him as it did on me. I couldn't help but smile a little knowing at least some part of him wanted me too.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked, regaining a bit of my brain functioning.

"No. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here. It was a mistake," he said and turned to leave.

"Hey! What the hell? You show up at my house banging on the door like a nut case and kiss me, then you say it was a mistake? Do you have some sort of mental illness or something?"

He turned back to look at me. I couldn't tell if his expression was irritation or amusement, either way, he was pissing me off.

"I'm sorry, you're right. I shouldn't have done that. Please forgive me." And with that, he hurried down the walkway, got into his car, and sped down the road.

I stood there in my doorway, getting wet from the rain, speechless. I was positive he was purposely trying to make me lose my mind. Turning around, I found Kat standing there watching me silently, her large green eyes wide and her lips pursed together. She knew something, I could tell by that look and I was going to find out what it was.

"That was interesting," she mused, settling down on the sofa and picked up the remote.

"Oh no you don't," I warned, taking the remote from her hands. "You know something and you are going to tell me right now."

"I don't know what you're talking about. How was your nap?" She tried to feign innocence, but it wasn't working.

"Kat, you can't fool me, now spit it out. What's going on?"

She looked at me for a few moments, trying to decide if she had a chance to get away with the act, I was sure. When she realized it wasn't going to work, she took a deep breath and began.

"I talked to Jamie," she said, and paused, waiting for me to take the bait.

"Okay, and?"

"She said Sebastian has been texting Justin since the wedding rehearsal, wanting to know about you. She also said that he's been texting him even during the honeymoon."

"What the hell for?"

"Well, tonight, before he came over here, Jamie said Justin was telling him that he heard you were with that stripper at the hotel today and that you two slept together."

"Justin told him I was with Sam today? How does he even know that?" None of this made sense. Justin was thousands of miles away on his honeymoon, what could he possibly know about where I was today and why would he even care?

"I don't know babe, but after Justin told him, Sebastian got angry and then showed up here. He must have rushed right over because Jamie was on the phone with me telling me all this when he got here."

"Wait, why would Justin tell him I slept with Sam today? I saw him for all of about five minutes."

"I have no idea, hon. Jamie said that Justin wouldn't tell her where he heard it from because he knew she would go right back and tell you," Kat said, twirling a section of her hair around her index finger like she always did when she was nervous about something.

None of it made any sense. Justin couldn't possibly have known where I was, and clearly he had it all wrong anyway. Not to mention, even if I was with Sam and we did have sex, why would that be any business of Justin, or Sebastian? I had a few conversations and two life-altering kisses with the man, it wasn't like we were engaged.

"What is it with this guy anyway? He tells me he's not interested, then he kisses me like his life depends on it, and gets all stalkerish in my business. When I ask him what he wants from me, he has no answer," I said, frustrated.

"Jamie said he used to be married and he never really got over it," Kat mentioned, walking over to the refrigerator, and poured some orange juice.

Well that explains a bit why he was all hot and cold with me. It was also one more example why people should never get married.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I took it out to read the text.

'I'm sorry.'

It was the same unknown number as the texts earlier. Kat peeked over my shoulder to read the text, being nosy as usual.

"Who's that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I have no clue. I totally forgot to mention it before." I scrolled through the earlier messages for her to read.

When she was finished, she pulled the phone from my hand and poked the buttons.

'Tell me who is this right now or I will block this number.'
Kat typed and waited for a reply.

There was a long pause before the phone buzzed again.

'Sebastian.'

She handed the phone back to me, showing me the text.
How did he even get my number?
Nothing made sense and thinking about it was giving me a headache. Matt walked out from Kat's room.

"What the hell is going on out here?" he asked, wiping his eyes and yawning.

"Sebastian stopped by for a minute," Kat said, looking away.

"What for?" He took a seat at the table and eyed me suspiciously.

"I have no idea."

"He just showed up this time of night and had no reason for the visit?" He raised an eyebrow at me, clearly thinking Kat and I were keeping something from him.

"Yes, Matt, he showed up, kissed me, and left. That was it. Men show up out of the blue and kiss me, and I sleep with strippers. That's who your sister is." I was so not interested in dealing with my overprotective brother at that moment.

"Babe, can I have a few minutes with my sister alone please?" he asked, and flashed her a fake smile.