AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I clutch the edge of the white marble countertop, struggling to catch my breath while trying to keep myself from falling over. “Yes, um, was there a cell phone found in the bar? Sometime in the last hour?”
The woman peels her eyes away from what must be the spectacle of my smeared makeup and sweaty visage, clothing askew. Don’t think about it, Lex, she’ll never see you again.
“I’m sorry, miss. No one’s found a phone but if you leave your name and contact information, we can reach out to you if it’s found.”
I swallow. Damnit. I’m panicking—without that phone, I can’t call a friend for a ride, or get an Uber, or…. I’m screwed.
Huh. In more ways than one…
The woman is waiting for my info, which I give to her and then I swallow and summon up my courage. “Can—can you please ring”—I pause, fighting through the panic to remember Evan’s last name—“Mr. Evan Kohl, please.”
The woman brushes a strand of dark hair behind her ear and glances at the clock on the wall behind me. “It’s after midnight. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to leave a message instead?”
I shake my head. “No, nope. Definitely not. It’s urgent. Massively urgent. Please ring her—uh, I mean him—now, thank you.” I try not to sound panicked, but given the circumstances, that’s not even close to possible.
“O-okay.” She picks up the phone and dials a number. She seems to be avoiding my gaze as she listens to the ring tone and waits for an answer. For me, that wait is agonizing, and I tap my foot, glancing around the lobby like someone is going to jump out at me.
“Yes, this is the front desk,” the woman says into the receiver. “I have a—” She pauses and glances up at me expectantly.
“Lexi Anderson,” I supply.
“Lexi Anderson here for you.” The woman nods, smiles, and says, “Yes, thank you.” Then she hangs up. She waves to a uniformed bellboy, who is standing on the other side of the lobby. “Thomas, can you please escort Ms. Anderson up to Mr. Kohl’s suite?”
“Yes, of course,” Thomas says.
Inside the elevator, Thomas uses a special key card key to access the penthouse. I’d figured something like that would be needed, despite the panicked button pushing from earlier. I clench my teeth and hug my own arms to me as the elevator climbs to the top floor. The doors slide open to reveal Evan’s gorgeous silver-veined, white marble entryway.
Maddy is waiting for me, swathed in a white silk robe, her brows pinched in concern. “Lexi! Oh, my God, is everything okay?”
As soon as I step off the elevator, I dissolve into a puddle of tears in her arms. “I-I didn’t know. I had no idea. I went into the room, and he was there. It was dark, and…” Just the memory has me sobbing even harder, unable to finish the sentence.
Evan walks into the foyer, wearing pajama bottoms and nothing else. His hair is tussled, eyes red, like he just woke up from a dead sleep. “Is that Lexi?” His critical gaze slides over me. “What happened?”
I just shake my head, unable to get all the words out. I trust Maddy implicitly, but even admitting what just happened to her is difficult, never mind her intimidating partner, a near-stranger to me, like Evan.
“Evan,” Maddy chides. “Just give us a minute.”
He doesn’t budge, eyes narrowing as he looks me over. “Something has obviously happened. Let me call security.” He’s all power and control.
“No!” I practically lunge at him. “I mean, um, no, thank you. It’s really not that kind of issue.”
While holding me in her arms, Maddy twists to look at Evan. “Can you make us some tea, please? I think I have some lemon ginger in the cupboard.”
With a dubious look, he nods and walks off toward the kitchen, which is on the other side of the penthouse, far out of earshot.
“Come on,” Maddy whispers, guiding me to the sofa. I sit down, and she plops down next to me, taking my hands in hers. “Sorry about that. He’s a natural problem-solver so he slips into that mode easily.”
I have nothing to say in response so I merely nod.
She peers at me. “Now tell me, what happened? Whatever it is, we can work through it.”
Her warm hands are wrapped around mine, lending me strength. I take a minute to compose myself, breathing deeply. Every possible explanation that’s passing through my brain right now sounds downright ridiculous.
“Well, um…so you know how I came to your engagement party tonight with David?” She nods, while I sniff loudly and continue, “Well, I had this plan that we’d, um, finally seal the deal with our relationship tonight. You know, take it to the next level? But we got separated during the party, and I had to wait around for a bit. Then, he had a note delivered to me, asking me to meet him in the room he’d taken here for the night…”
“Okayyy…” Maddy says, her voice soothing and nonjudgmental. I dread telling her the next bit, because I know that understanding tone will quickly shift to abject horror and probably harsh judgment.
I swallow and gather all my courage. “So I go to his room obviously. But when I get there, he’s already in bed with the lights off. I figure why not take advantage of the room and the ambiance and…so I decide I’m going to be sexy and adventurous. I take off all my clothes and slip into bed. We immediately start fucking—” I choke on a sob.
“Okay. That all sounds perfectly reasonable to me,” Maddy says, trying to comfort me.
I shake my head again. “I’m not finished yet…. So it’s happening and it’s going really well, until halfway through, I realize it’s not David. I must have gone to the wrong room, and…” I swallow. “I had no idea it wasn’t David while he was literally inside me.”
Maddy pulls back, that abject horror I knew was coming, written all over her face. “What?”
“Yeah,” I choke out. “I fucked a complete stranger.” I shake my head, fresh tears falling now. “And what’s worse…it was absolutely amazing.”
