“Caitlyn…Caitlyn Chase,” I stammered.
“Would you have a drink with me, Caitlyn?” he asked.
“Um, I can’t. I am still working,” I said.
“I am staying in the hotel. When your shift is over, I would like to learn more
about you.” He smiled.
I checked the time. What did I have to lose? A night of Peter attempting to
convince me to try out the latest sexual position he saw on the internet? Or, perhaps, watching my mother fall asleep on the couch to an old black and white
movie?
“Ok, where should I meet you?”
“I have a room at the hotel.
I raised my eyebrows.
“I assure you my intentions are not nefarious, Caitlyn. I am in the
presidential suite on the 21st floor,” he said, takin my hand. “We’ll be able to have a nice chat and drink out on the balcony.”
He really would’ve been a more appropriate fling for my mother, but there was something so comforting about him. I knew better than to go out with a nice
man. Didn’t I find out how easy it was to be drugged and raped by one? Even with this knowledge, something led me to him.
At the end of my work shift, I said goodbye to my mother, lying that I was
going to spend the night with Peter. She frowned at this but didn’t comment. She
would be even more disappointed if she knew I was meeting an older man alone
in his hotel room
Nick hadn’t lied. He was staying in the presidential suite and it had two balconies. The room was luxurious. I felt giddy, like a schoolgirl. Like one of the sappy RomComs I loved to watch came to life.
“What would you like to drink, Ms. Chase?” He led me by my elbow to the
bar.
“Whatever you have in a sealed bottle.”
He raised his eyebrows and opened the mini bar. “Help yourself.” He smiled.
I took a can of sparkling fruit-flavored mineral water and a bottle of vodka. I
poured them both into a glass and took a sip. “Would you like one?” I dropped
several ice cubes into my glass.
He poured the leftover sparkling water into a glass and dropped a few ice cubes. He left out the vodka. “Shall we adjourn to the balcony?”
I nodded and cautiously followed. Instead of taking the available love seat, he chose the long couch. He motioned for me to sit. “I’ll not bite, Caitlyn.”
Sighing, I sat down an arm’s length from him. “The view is beautiful,” I commented. The ocean waves were mesmerizing.
What are you doing here? my inner voice cried. You promised Marcus no more strangers.
I dug my fingernails into the palm of my hand.
We sat in silence, staring into nothing, before Nick finally spoke. “You deserve better than the boy from the bathroom,” he stated in a serious tone.
Now the truth comes out, I thought.
“I do, huh?” I glared.
“I don’t mean to offend, but a real man would never have interrupted your work shift for his bestial desires. He was clearly focused on his own sexual needs with no regard for your situation.”
“He is young and dumb,” I explained.
“You deserve to be treated like a queen, not a prostitute.”
I set my drink down and stood. “I am not sure what you’re playing at, but I
