Unexpected Arrivals(21)
It was a good thing Hannah had never been a temptation for me. While Cora was dressed to go out, Hannah was dressed to stay in…with Neil. I almost reconsidered wasting time on the streets of New York when I could have Cora naked in our bedroom instead—almost. Cora needed to get out and do something. While I was gone all day, she spent her time cooped up in a classroom or in our living room doing homework. She’d found something she loved, but Cora wasn’t a homebody. She didn’t have to be painting the town red, but she loved culture and art and music.
Cora started talking the moment I walked in the door. “I found a band playing at a warehouse club just outside the city. Five-dollar cover charge. Hurry, go change. They hit the stage at eight, although I’m sure they’re playing all night.”
She followed me to the bedroom, encouraging me to make things quick. She was excited and bouncing on her toes.
“Do I want to know what seedy part of town we’re going to that only charges a five-dollar cover? Or worse, do I need to bring earplugs to drown out the band that doesn’t warrant a higher entry fee?”
“Who cares if the band sucks or the place is located in a skeevy part of town? We’re going out. Together. That’s all that matters. And even if the music blows, I can either grind my body against yours on the dance floor all hot and sweaty or sway to romantic ballads and listen to your heartbeat.”
I tossed my shirt over her head. “You’re a real romantic at heart, Cora.”
“Or we could get wild and crazy and see how far we can get before someone interrupts or throws us out.”
Publicly making out with Cora was always a huge turn-on. She’d figured out years ago that I had a bit of a voyeur in me, yet we’d only tiptoed around the idea—never really given it any merit.
“Don’t play games.”
She dropped her tight ass down on our bed and pressed her knees together with her hands, leaving her arms extended. “Totally not playing, James. We’re in New York. Anything goes, and no one cares. We can make tonight whatever we want it to be.” She’d gone from innocent love goddess to sexy siren with just the way she shifted her brows. The arches were high as she posed her statement like a question.
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her to me. “Don’t toy with me, woman.”
She smacked me on the ass and winked. And silently dared me to follow. Which I did like a puppy on a leash. That woman could lead me into the fiery depths of hell carrying a gallon of gasoline, and I wouldn’t question her motivation.
***
“Thank God for GPS. We would never have found this place. The outskirts of town—try Timbuctoo.” The club was nondescript from the exterior—the owners hadn’t believed in curb appeal, that was for sure.
“Obscure can be good, right?” She hopped out of the car before I had a chance to answer.
Hand in hand, we went to the back of the line. The place was packed. The club was well run, or the band was a local favorite—either way, something brought customers in droves. While we waited, we determined it wasn’t the band that had people flocking to the place.
“James, the music is horrible. We don’t have to stay.” Suddenly, Cora looked around at the crowd surrounding us as if she were turned off.
“We’re already here. We might as well see what’s going on inside. If we don’t like it, we can leave, right?” It hadn’t dawned on me until Cora’s eyes darted from person to person that we were slightly out of place. However, no one besides us seemed to notice or care.
We paid the cover, and a bouncer opened the heavy, metal door to allow us entrance. The noise from the band was like a frontal assault. It could be felt like a wave of heat crashing through the open door. It was bad, but the light show already had me intrigued, and with each step we took, something else caught my eye. Whoever had designed the club clearly aimed to appease the visual—the aesthetics were artistic, and it didn’t take me long to realize why.
After making our way to the bar, where the line went surprisingly fast, I ordered while Cora moved to the beat of the music. Her fingers were tucked into the pockets of my jeans to prevent accidental separation, and it allowed her to sway without paying attention to me.
The bartender slid the shots across the counter, and staring me straight in the eye, asked, “You want any E with that?”
“Excuse me?” I couldn’t have heard him correctly. I swung my head to the people flanking my sides wondering if they’d witness what I just did.
“E? You want any? It’s twenty a pill.”
I didn’t have a clue what to say so I tried to play it cool. “Nah, we just got here. I’ll be back.” I was in the fucking Twilight Zone.
Cora tossed her shot back as quickly as I’d handed it to her. I ordered two more thinking both of us needed to loosen up and let go. Ever since leaving Chapel Hill, our lives had been filled with stress like we’d never witnessed before. Owning and running a business was far different than going to college and pretending like I had the knowledge I needed to succeed. And while I believed Cora would be successful as an engineer, she had to work her ass off at Cornell. Couple that with not having time for the one thing the two of us loved—each other—and it was a recipe for a stress-filled disaster.
I’d never done any drugs, not even smoked pot. And to my knowledge, neither had Cora. Yet here in this warehouse, where the night was endless, the music put a pulse in my body, and the lights were art, I thought it was time to live a little.