“Do you need to see yourself pee?” Eliza asked.
She turned to face the woman as her words were met with a surprised bark of laughter.
“Don’t you?”
Even with the awful lighting, Eliza could tell that the woman was stunning. She radiated an air of confidence, not shying away as her mouth turned up into a slight grin while Eliza appraised her.
“So, are you down for a nightcap or to drown your puppy-filled sorrows?”
“Nightcap? Oh, no, I’m not staying at the hotel. A friend dragged me along but ditched me to dance with someone who looks like the owner of this Barbie Dreamhouse. Said owner referred to me as her mother. Hence, the ego bruised mood,” Eliza replied.
She was a little ashamed to admit that the blonde woman’s words stung, but she had always been one for honesty.
“Wait, the Barbie doll called you her mother? Are you sure she wasn’t trying to flatter you, like…pop-icon-style Mother?”
Eliza took a sip of her drink as she tried to understand the question.
“Pop icon style…I have no idea what you’re talking about. But no, alas, I don’t think she was trying to flatter me or gave much thought to me at all. My friend, Lee, and I look quite similar, and they do look younger, so she assumed Lee was my daughter. Because apparently in a place like this, I appear ancient. Pink is not my colour.”
Eliza was beginning to feel ancient too. She had never been one to concern herself with fretting about her age. In fact, her forties were by far the best she had ever felt in her skin, and it was freeing. But the day had already been difficult enough, and nights out usually provided an ego boost. Dancing, flirting, turning heads of all genders, it was something she was used to.It had become a little energy rush at the end of a long week or month when she needed it. The idea that that time might be coming to an end was depressing to say the least.
“Well, if it helps at all, I certainly don’t think you look like anyone’s mother tonight.”
But I am.
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but Eliza held them back. Yes, it was true that she was a mother tonight and always, but that was irrelevant to the conversation. The look on the woman’s face hinted at the fact that the words weren’t her point, the meaning behind them was.
“What do I look like, then?”
It was shameless compliment fishing, but Eliza wasn’t below asking for what she needed. Right now, she needed to feel like her life was more than her job and her kids. She was still a woman in her prime who deserved the attention that her ego craved.
“You look like you could use more than a drink to get your mind off whatever it is running around that beautiful head of yours.”
Eliza’s eyes widened briefly before she assumed her usual mask of indifference.
“I don’t mess with drugs if that’s what you mean. I might not be old enough to be Lee’s mother, but my wild days are definitely behind me.”
The woman chuckled and ran her fingers lightly over Eliza’s shoulder. She stopped briefly as if to be sure that the touch was welcome. When Eliza didn’t move away, she settled her fingers more firmly on the spot.
“I didn’t mean drugs, although I am interested in hearing about those wild days. You said you’re not staying here tonight, but I am. And quite frankly, I’d like to be the one to clear your mind, along with my own. Do you want to come back to myroom?”
Eliza had to work to stop her jaw from dropping at the statement. It was so matter-of-fact that Eliza had to appreciate the woman for getting straight to the point.
“I don’t even know your name, you don’t know mine, and you’re asking me to go to your room? I could be anybody.”
The woman shrugged as she finished her drink and set the glass on the table.
“That’s kind of the point. You could be anybody, and who you are or who I am doesn’t have to matter. What does matter is that you haven’t stopped your eyes from wandering over every inch of me since you turned to face me. I’m certain you’re already picturing how good it would be to see the rest of me. There’s been this instant spark between us since the moment you stood next to me, and I’m not one for ignoring sparks. I’m here for one night only, and I’d rather not waste more of that time tiptoeing around what I want when I could be spending it getting what I want instead. If it’s what you want too, of course.”
Eliza’s body thrummed with electricity at the cool, calm delivery of the hot as hell pitch. She had had one-night stands before, more than once. She had no time for relationships, but she loved sex, and one-night stands or casual hookups were a terrific way to get the latter without the former. This wasn’t unfamiliar territory for her by any means, but something about it was different.
Before she could analyse it any further, she slid her hand into the woman’s waiting palm and moved away from the bar. The spark was there for sure, proven by the zap of electricity that shot straight to her core at the skin-on-skin contact as their hands met. This might not be how she had planned tonight going, but suddenly nothing was more appealing than losing herself in this stranger’s body and ignoring reality for one night.
“I still don’t know your name,” Eliza said as they stepped intothe elevator and her companion pushed the button for the tenth floor.
“Concerned you won’t know what to scream out?”
Eliza had learned to suppress her blush behind the mask she had perfected throughout the years. But she was sure if anyone could bring her blush back again, it would be this woman. The lighting in the elevator was marginally better, and she saw for the first time the flaming red hair tied back into a ponytail and smiled. It stood out against pale white skin and certainly fit the woman’s fiery personality.
