“Hey, you don’t have to take me home. I’m fine with taking a cab. Thanks anyway,” I said, slowly removing my arm from his grasp.
He tightened his grip. “No, I’m taking you home. What kind of man would I be if I let you go home completely drunk in a vehicle where a cab driver could possibly take advantage of you?” Looking over his shoulder, he quickly eyed me up and down. “Especially in that dress,” he hissed while dragging me through the crowd.
My stubbornness instantly kicked in. Who the hell does he think he’s talking to me in that tone? And what’s wrong with my dress?! I yanked my arm from his rough grip. “And what? Shall I get in the car with you, a stranger! What if you take advantage of me?” I yelled over the loud beat of Beyoncé’s voice singing Single Ladies.
He shook his head and laughed then grabbed my arm again. This time it was tighter than before, and he practically dragged me to a side door with a sign that read EMPLOYEE’S ONLY written in white bold letters. The loud pounding sound of the music was drawn out, and the bright light from the hallway made me squint. We walked down an endless hallway. I was stumbling along, trying to keep my balance.
“You can’t even stand up straight on your own, and you want to get in a cab? Have you not heard about those four females in Boston within the last year? All four were too drunk and were driven in a cab alone…but never found again!”
Trying to pull on his grip was useless. “Yes, I heard! And I can’t stand straight because my heels are too high, thank you very much!” I rolled my eyes. I quickly made my judgment on DeLuca: he was an asshole, and that was that! Ugh, I didn’t even know if I wanted to work for this guy.
He shook his head, “I don’t understand why women put themselves through that torture.” Looking over his shoulder, his eyes seductively traced my entire body, then he fixed his gaze back in front of him, “and you’d look just as good in that dress in flats.” He mumbled as he continued down the hallway. I wasn’t sure whether to take that as a compliment or not.
When we finally reached the end, there were two very tall, overly built men standing by a metal door. The one dressed in black pants and a navy blue muscle tee reached in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. “Hey Boss, you want me to pull the car up?” the guy asked as he looked at me.
“No, we can walk to the car. Finish the job. Meet me back at the house when it’s done and with the details.” Muscle tee nodded and handed the keys over to DeLuca. The other man wearing a button down light blue shirt opened the door and looked out into the private parking lot. “Good to go,” he said as he held the door open for us.
We walked out to a breezy night, but the cool air felt good against my warm skin. I breathed in the night air as he continued to lead me across the parking lot. We were finally in front of a black, shiny, tinted Mercedes, of course. He unlocked the door and helped me into the passenger seat. I was drunk, but I managed to remember to strap on my seatbelt. He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side. He got in and pressed a button for the ignition. It was so quiet that if it weren’t for the dashboard lights, I wouldn’t have known the car was on.
He looked at me, “So where to?”
I was suddenly exhausted and nauseated. “You don’t know where I live?” I mumbled.
“Why would I?”
Rolling my head along the headrest, I turned to look at him. “Do you know where Jeremy lives?”
Gorgeous brown eyes stared back into mine. “Yeah,”
Yawning, I was super tired. “We’re roommates.”
With furrowed brows, he said, “Oh, he didn’t mention that.”
“I can tell.” He reversed the car and pulled out of the driveway.
Chapter Three
Bang, Bang, Bang. “Mia, open up! Miaaaa!” Bang, Bang, Bang. I was awakened by a loud noise. The rude interruption startled me. I looked around and realized I was home in my room on my own bed. Thank God. My heart slowly returned to a normal pace. I was in my panties and bra with last night’s dress lying beside me. Managing to sit up, I felt dizzy. Uh, it felt like I was hit with a hundred-pound-weight ball.
“Mia, open up!” Jeremy’s voice trailed from out front. Jumping out of bed, I quickly threw on a t-shirt then headed for the living room. When I opened the door, I was greeted with a relieved grin. Jeremy said nothing as he walked by and headed straight for the guest bathroom leaving the door wide open as he undid his fly and peed. “Ahhh,” he moaned. I slammed the front door and walked towards him. He shook Thor twice, then zipped back up, and headed for the couch.
I rolled my eyes as I entered the bathroom. I had to flush the toilet because he always forgets to do that small task! Sitting down, I released all of the alcohol I’d consumed the day before. Feeling queasy as I stood to flush the toilet, I hesitated before washing my hands. Once the urge to throw up passed, I joined him on the couch. Jeremy’s eyes were shut with his head slumped back onto the sofa’s armrest. “So, where are your keys?” I asked suspiciously, but I knew the answer already.
Slightly lifting his head, he opened one eye. “I don’t know. I lost them somewhere. I searched everywhere possible.” He mumbled.
Both eyes were open, and he sat up at my glare.
Leaning over him as I stood by the end of the couch, I raised my hand to chastise him. “Jeremy, this is the third time we’ve changed the locks due to your irresponsible behavior. You lose your keys, and I get stuck with making the phone calls and waiting all day for the maintenance man to replace the lock!” With both hands on my hips, I waited for his explanation. He had none.
He rubbed his head, disgusted with himself or with my attitude. “I know, I know, I’ll make the phone call. I promise.” With his right hand against his chest and his left palm in the air, he pledged this time he would.
I scowled at him. “We both know that it will take months before you call. Ugh, I’ll just do it later.” I decided there was no point in continuing to argue, so I headed back to my bedroom and searched for my sweats. He followed me and jumped on my bed. Before I could even remember it, he was holding my vibrator up with a crooked smile.
“So I take it you didn’t get laid last night.”
Embarrassed I jumped over the bed and snatched my toy that was swinging in his hand. After I secured it in my drawer, I made a mental note to clean it later. I refused to clean my toys in front of him. It would have just given him something to tease me about for the next few weeks, and I had no idea where his hands had been. I don’t remember using it either!