One Night in London, Page 3

  “Thank you for a beautiful night. Have a safe trip home.”

  I took in a deep breath and let it out. I picked my clothes up off the floor, grabbed my purse, and headed back to my room. Just as I inserted the card key, I heard Sienna coming down the hall.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Oh, nothing.” I opened the door and stepped inside.

  “Why are you wearing that robe and why are you carrying your—Holy shit on a cracker, you had sex last night!” she yelled.

  “Shh.” I held my finger to my lips.

  “Don’t you tell me to shush. You better tell me who, what, when, where, and why, right now!”

  “I will. Can I make a cup of this pathetic shit they call coffee?”

  “Hell no! Fuck the coffee. You are telling me exactly what happened right now!”

  Sitting down on the bed, I cupped my face in my hands.

  “Chloe, he didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  Shaking my head, I looked up at her.

  “No. Just the opposite. I can’t explain how he made me feel.”

  With a small smile, Sienna sat down on the bed and hooked her arm around me.

  “It was that good, huh?”

  “Mind-blowing. Superb. Breathtaking. Fantastic.”

  “Okay. Okay. I get it. Now tell me who this mind-blowing man was.”

  “The most incredible and perfect-looking man I’ve ever seen in my life,” I spoke as I looked at her.

  “Name?”

  “I didn’t get his name. No names, remember?” I cocked my head.

  “Shit. I didn’t teach you right. If he’s that incredibly good-looking, it’s always good to put a name with the body.”

  Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “We didn’t exchange names. We just exchanged passion and, oh my God, Sienna, he was—I’d never felt—the orgasms were—”

  “Wow. I have never seen you like this before. What the fuck did he do to you?”

  I got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom to start the shower. She followed behind.

  “He was gentle and sweet and he said things to me no other man ever had.”

  “You made sure he used a condom, right?”

  “Yes. He used a condom.”

  “How many orgasms?” She smiled.

  “I lost count.” I bit down on my bottom lip.

  “So how did you leave it with him this morning?” she asked, leaning up against the sink.

  “I woke up and he was gone. I found this note on the dresser.” I pulled the note from my robe pocket and handed it to her.

  After reading it, she looked at me and clasped my shoulders.

  “Congratulations, Chloe, on becoming a full-fledged woman.”

  “Get out of here,” I lightly smacked her hand.

  “Don’t be too long. We have to pack and head to the airport.”

  Stepping into the shower, I realized I had forgotten to ask her about Sam.

  “How was Sam last night?” I yelled.

  “Nothing like I expected. A bit disappointing. He’s rather sloppy in bed. I had to take control and I wasn’t happy about it.”

  I laughed as I shampooed my hair. There was nothing sloppy about the man I was with last night. He was perfect and always in control.

  ****

  Landing in Boston, Sienna and I hugged good bye. She had a flight to catch back to New York and I had a flight back to L.A.

  “I hate leaving you.” She pouted.

  “I know.” My eyes began to tear. “I wish I could move back to New York.”

  “Then do it! Besides me, your parents would be thrilled.”

  “There aren’t any jobs available. I’ve been looking.”

  “Then maybe you need to switch careers.”

  “You know I can’t and won’t. I love art too much.”

  She looked at her watch and gave me another hug. “I’m boarding in five minutes. I’ll skype you later tonight.”

  “Bye, Sienna. Have a safe flight.”

  “Bye, sweets. You too.”

  Dragging my carry-on behind me, I headed to my gate. My flight didn’t board for another hour, so I stopped and grabbed a coffee. I moved to Los Angeles a year ago when I landed a job at an art gallery as an assistant art curator. I had just graduated with my master’s degree, and the owner of the art gallery that I interned for in New York offered me the job at his L.A. gallery. I really didn’t have a choice. There was no position for me in New York and I needed a job. Leaving Sienna and my parents behind was the hardest thing I had ever done, but being on my own in L.A. was a great experience. I had always been independent and I adapted quickly and made a few new friends. But Sienna and I would be best friends for life. She was like my sister. We shared everything and we skyped every single night or facetimed. That was what calls were: facetime. We very rarely did regular phone calls.

  Stepping off the plane at LAX, I headed to baggage claim and saw Corey standing there holding up a sign with my name on it.

  “You dork.” I smiled as I hugged him.

  “How was London?”

  “Fabulous. We had the best time, and the galleries and museums over there are to die for. You would have loved it.”

  “I’m sure I would have,” he spoke as he grabbed my suitcase from the belt. “So did you meet any hot Englishmen over there?”

  I shrugged. “A couple but—” I smiled.

  Corey looked over at me with a small grin. “But?”

  “I met an American man. A really hot and sexy American man.”

  “Oh. His name, please.”

  “I didn’t get his name. We just had wild and amazing sex and the next morning, he was gone.”

  I continued walking and then stopped when I noticed Corey was no longer next to me.

  Turning around, I spoke, “What? Why did you stop?”

  “You, Chloe Kane, had sex with a man and didn’t get his name first? What’s the matter with you? Who are you?” He smiled.

  “It was on my list.”

  “What was on your list?” he asked as we continued walking.

  “Sex with a stranger in a foreign country.”

  He slowly shook his head. “You’re weird. He could have been dangerous, Chloe.”

  “Oh, he was deliciously dangerous.” I grinned.

  ****

  It felt good to be back home. After I showered, I made a cup of tea and curled up on the couch, still thinking about the man from last night. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get him out of my head or the feel of him on my body. Every time I touched my lips, I could still feel them trembling from his kiss. As I was fantasizing about him, my phone rang with a facetime call from Sienna.

  “Hello, lovely.” I smiled.

  “Look at you, all cozy in your jammies already.”

  “As much fun as I had in London, I’m happy to be home.”

  “Me too. Sam keeps texting me. He said he misses me already and wants to plan a trip to New York to come and visit.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Are you going to let him?” I asked as I sipped my tea.

  “I don’t know. Even though sex with him was utterly boring, I kind of like his company. How are you doing? After that wild night of sex, you must still be thinking about that hot man.”

  “No, I’m not. He’s a distant memory now.”

  “You’re lying. I know you, Chloe, and you get involved, even though I clearly try to teach you differently.”

  I sighed. “Okay. So what? I am still thinking about him and I can’t help it. I just wish I would have gotten his name.”

  “Tsk tsk.” She waved her finger. “Goes against the stranger rule. Besides, even if you did get his name, what were you going to do? Stalk him? Google him? Find a thousand guys with the same name in the US and then call them one by one, asking if they were the sexy guy who made you orgasm multiple times in London?”

  “Why do you have to be like that?” I rolled my eyes.

  “You love me and you know it.
Anyway, I just wanted to check in and make sure you made it home safe. I have to go shower because I need to be at work bright and early tomorrow morning. I have a big client coming in and his demands for the perfect ad are annoying, so I have to be on top of my game.”

  “Have a good night and we’ll talk tomorrow. Good luck with your meeting.”

  “Thanks, love. Ta ta.”

  Chapter 6

  Two Months Later

  Arriving at work, I set my bag down as Silas called over to me.

  “Chloe, Mr. Black is here and wants to talk to you.”

  “Really? I didn’t know he was coming.”

  “We didn’t either. He was here before us.”

  Walking into the back office, I smiled when I saw him sitting behind the desk.

  “Good morning, Connor. Welcome back to L.A. Silas said you wanted to see me.”

  “Good morning, Chloe. Have a seat.” He smiled.

  Taking a seat across from his desk, I was a little nervous as to why he was here and why he wanted to talk to me. I didn’t think I was in trouble for anything because my work was impeccable. Oh God, maybe he was laying me off. A thousand reasons were swimming around in my mind and it started to worry me.

  “You’ve been working here for a little over a year now, correct?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you like it here, Chloe?”

  I thought that was a strange question to ask and he caught me off guard.

  “Yes. Very much.”

  “More than New York?”

  “Well, my friends and family are in New York and I miss them, but so far, L.A. is working for me.” I smiled.

  “Have you made friends here?”

  “Some.”

  “Are you currently seeing anyone?”

  Okay, now this was getting weird as far as I was concerned.

  “No,” I replied in confusion.

  He chuckled. “Okay, I’ll get right to the point. I can see you’re getting a little irritated with all my questions. How would you like to move back to New York?”

  I was stunned by his question. “Are you serious?” I asked with a hint of excitement.

  “Yes. I’m opening up a new art gallery. Much bigger than the one you interned at and way bigger than this one. The reason I offered you this position here is because I didn’t want to let you go, but at the time, I didn’t have anything available in New York. You’re an excellent employee, Chloe, and Ellery and I would love for you to manage the new gallery. Your passion for art and history is exactly what this new gallery needs. You did such a great job when you interned for us and, to be honest, Ellery was quite pissed at me for not creating a position for you in New York. I thought it would be best for you to work here for a while. You passed the test. You’ve done an outstanding job helping out, but you aren’t developing your full potential being an assistant.”

  I sat there in shock as I listened to his praise. Words wouldn’t escape my lips. I felt like I was dreaming and any moment I’d wake up in my bed.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything?” He smiled.

  “I would be honored to run your gallery back in New York. I’m sorry, Connor, but this is such a shock to me. I wasn’t expecting this.”

  “A good shock, I hope.”

  “Of course. New York is my home and I’d love to move back there.”

  “Good. I was hoping you’d say that. Ellery will be extremely pleased. How soon can you move back?”

  “I don’t know. I still have my lease here for another three months on my apartment.”

  He waved his hand in front of his face. “Don’t worry about your lease. I’ll take care of it. I would like you back in New York as soon as possible. Even as early as next week. I will hire a moving company to move your belongings, so you don’t have to worry about that. You’ll be on a salary with health benefits, vacation time, sick time, and a 401k plan.”

  “Wow. I don’t know what to say. Thank you, Connor. Something like this has always been my dream.”

  “You’re welcome, Chloe. I have the gallery scheduled to open in a couple of months. That should give you plenty of time to get settled and get everything set up. I want the opening of this gallery to be the biggest and best, so the work involved is going to be quite intense.”

  “I know, and I promise you that I can handle it.”

  “I know you can.” He smiled. “That’s why I offered you the job. Also, I’m going to have my realtor get in touch with you. He’s one of the best and he can help you find an apartment. In fact, I’ll text him your phone number now.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and grinned. “I received a text message from Ellery asking if you took the job.”

  “You can tell her that I fully accept and I can’t wait to get back to New York.”

  “I certainly will.”

  “Connor, I have one question.”

  “What is it?” he asked as he turned around before walking out the door.

  “Why are you opening up another gallery in New York?”

  “For Ellery, of course.” He winked.

  As soon as he left, I did a happy dance and silently screamed as I jumped up and down. I couldn’t believe that I was moving back to New York. My parents and Sienna were going to be so happy.

  ****

  Saying goodbye to Corey was hard, but he promised to come to New York and visit. This was a new start for me. It felt like the beginning of a new life. My parents were beyond thrilled that I was moving back and staying with them until I found an apartment. They told me just to live with them and they promised to give me my privacy. As much as I loved my parents more than anything in the world, living with them permanently wasn’t an option. They were, how do I say it, a little different from your average parents. They were modern hippies. Throwbacks from the sixties living in today’s modern world. Being the free-spirits they were, growing up was a lot of fun, but also embarrassing at times. When I called and told them about Corey, they were happy for him, that he finally re-birthed himself and accepted who he really was. I agreed, but the way they said it was as if I shouldn’t have been hurt or upset by it. I spent nine months with him in a relationship. As happy as I was now for him, it did hurt a lot when he told me.

  As soon as the plane landed at JFK, I stepped off and took in the New York City air. It was good to be back home.

  “There’s our baby girl,” my mom shouted as she ran to me. My dad followed behind.

  “Hi, Mom. Dad.” I hugged them both.

  “Do you have any idea how happy we are to have you home?” She hugged me tightly again.

  “Yeah. Actually, I do.” I tried to breathe.

  My dad grabbed my two suitcases and we hailed a taxi back to their apartment. Stepping into my childhood bedroom, I smiled. I’d forgotten how much I’d missed this room when I was in L.A. As I started to unpack, I heard a knock on the door and a voice that was music to my ears. Running out of my room, I ran to Sienna and threw my arms around her.

  “Thank God you’re home for good. I’m sorry I couldn’t be at the airport. That damn meeting I was in ran late.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” I smiled.

  “Hi, Sienna,” my mom spoke. “You’re just in time for dinner. I’ve made a vegetarian macaroni and cheese.”

  Sienna made a face at me. She wasn’t fond of my mother’s cooking, but being the sometimes polite woman she was, she graciously smiled and took a seat at the table.

  “So tell us how work is going, Sienna,” my mom asked as she scooped some macaroni and cheese onto her plate.

  “Oh, the usual. My coworkers are backstabbing bitches, my boss won’t stop hitting on me, and one of my clients hated the advertising campaign that took me two months to develop. But overall, it’s going well.” She smiled.

  “Are you seeing anyone?” my father asked.

  “No. Not really. I did meet this guy on the plane on our way to London. He lives there. He’s supposed to come to New York to visit next month.” br />
  “He is?” I looked at her in shock. “You didn’t tell me that.”

  “Oh. Guess what? Sam is coming to visit next month. Too bad you don’t know where Mr. Sexy lives. You could have invited him and we could have double dated.”

  “Who’s Mr. Sexy?” my mom asked.

  “The guy she met in London. Didn’t she tell you?” Sienna opened her big mouth.

  “No,” my dad replied. “Tell us about Mr. Sexy, Chloe.”

  I shot Sienna a look and she gave me the “oops” face. “I’m sorry. I thought you told them. You tell them everything.”

  She was right. I did tell my parents everything. We always had an open relationship and no subject was ever off limits. Hell, my mom was so sexually open that for my sixteenth birthday she bought me a vibrator. But I didn’t mention what happened in London to them.

  “He’s just a guy I met at the hotel bar on our last night there. That’s all.”

  “What’s his name?” my mom asked.

  “I didn’t get his name.”

  “Why wouldn’t you get his name?” my dad asked.

  “Don’t people who meet usually introduce themselves?” my mom chimed in.

  “We had sex. I didn’t want to know his name, and I didn’t want to know anything about him. It was on my list.” I took a bite of macaroni and cheese.

  “What was on your list?” My mom cocked her head.

  “To have sex with a stranger in a foreign country. We did. He was beyond amazing, and when I woke up the next morning, he was gone. So now you know. Can we please talk about something else?”

  There it was. The reason I didn’t tell my parents about him. The truth was not a day went by since that night that I hadn’t thought about him. No matter how hard I tried to push him out of my mind, I couldn’t. Even though I planned on leaving him before he woke up, it bothered me that he left first. Having sex with him affected me more emotionally than I thought it ever would have.

  After dinner, I hugged Sienna goodbye and went to my room. My mom followed me and sat down on the edge of my bed while I hung up some clothes in my closet.

  “Are you okay, Chloe? I can sense something is going on with you. Your chakras are all out of whack.”