“We are dressed a bit formally for a nightclub Miss Collins.” Christopher pointed out when we arrived in the city centre. He was right, hmm; once Henry had ended the call I asked if he had any scissors. He parked outside the club and opened my door, the queue was longer than I thought it would be, tension began building up again.
“Well I have never turned up here in a Bentley before, what do you need scissors for?” he asked helping me out of the car. There were a few whistles of appreciation for the car from passer-bys.
“You’ll see.” I walked around the car to where Henry was standing. I gave him my purse to hold and took the scissors from him. After a couple of minutes my three and half thousand pound vintage dress went from being floor length to mini dress with help from Christopher cutting round the back when I couldn’t reach myself.
“Ta-da! Let’s get this over with.” I said without much enthusiasm taking my purse back from Henry.
“Do you want me to wait?” he asked.
“She will be fine Henry, I will walk her back to the hotel personally.” Christopher said trying not to laugh, obviously the few drinks he had at the ball had made him braver.
“I will be fine, go home and enjoy your day off tomorrow.” He gave me a stern look before getting in the car, there was going to be a chat at a later date, I guess I will have to remind him who is boss.
“You sure make feel lucky to have you on my arm Jas.” he said making his way to the back of the queue.
“I hope you feel more than lucky about me,” I said coyly squeezing his thigh, “And we are not queuing.” I said pulling him towards the doors.
“Welcome Miss Collins.” One of the doormen said stiffly as they let us straight through, I smiled my thanks with my head held high. I felt superior again, you could tell it wasn’t a club for the exclusive, they obviously wasn’t used to expressing politeness.
The music was loud and the base boomed through my head, this couldn’t be good for my health or lack of. I only agreed to come here so I didn’t have to explain myself to him fully about my life and have him thinking I was a freak. I will endure it for the minimal amount of time and seduce him back to the hotel. On the way to the bar he was searching for his friends, luckily he couldn’t see them and we were still on our own. I was dreading to think who would be here tonight.
The owner of the club, who left when I dismissed him, like I was going stand around so he could kiss my platinum, personally served our drinks. I drank both the beer and two shots of Sambuca to calm my nerves, I hadn’t had a beer in years, and being with Christopher made me feel like I could be my old self again.
“You like acting like that don’t you?” he shouted over the music in my ear, looking over to the owner.
“I don’t act,” I shouted back, “Let’s dance.” I shouted again dragging him to the dance floor.
I didn’t know the name of the song but it was booming through the club, once we were in the middle of the other dancers I began moving my body to the beat of the song. Christopher held me from behind and moved his body in time with mine. I turned my body so I was facing him, he pulled me back so I was close to him, and bent down to kiss me. I broke the kiss and danced around so my back was to his chest again, I swayed my hips against his groin knowing the effect I had on him. He held me tighter letting his hips move in time with mine again.
“You’re killing me here,” he shouted in my ear.
“I know.” I replied turning back around wrapping my arms around his neck. His bright smile had me melting in his arms.
“Hey you made it.” Jase shouted as he leant on both of us, he was staggering drunk, I didn’t know what to do and I had no Henry to save me. The affects of the earlier drinks had worn off since we had been dancing and I was feeling anxious. Christopher pulled him of me and pulled me closer to him rubbing his thumb in small circles on my arm. How did he know I was anxious? I wasn’t that obvious was I?
“Yeah, we have been here a while. Who else is here?” he asked shouting over the music.
Maybe I should start seducing him back to the hotel now? Standing here in the middle of a crowded club I felt two inches tall, not the powerful businesswomen I usually am. This was not good. I signalled to the barman I wanted another drink, perhaps if I drink my way through tonight I might survive it.
“Everyone, come on were over there,” he shouted leaving us to go back to his friends. I turned to Christopher; he must have seen I was nervous.
“I don’t know if I can do this.” I said honestly.
“Of course you can, if I can survive that ball you can do this. You know them Jas.” He held my hand and pulled me to the table they were surrounding. I don’t know them, I knew who they were. It has been over thirteen years for god sake. If this brain tumour doesn’t kill me now my anxiety will. Here goes.
Christopher was pounced on as soon as we arrived at the table, and then everyone was staring at me. I was internally screaming.
“Guys, this is Jasmine Collins, remember?” he said holding my hand tightly. It was quieter over this side of the club so he didn’t have to shout as loud. I knew who some of them were, Leigh – one of the lads who wanted me in secret, he would regularly text me behind his girlfriends back and was the main one I never wanted to see again. Alex – another lad who wanted to use me in secret and Zach also wanted me in secret.
The rest I didn’t remember or know. They all got up introducing themselves while kissing my cheek, the girls begrudgingly got up and did the same. One of the girls hugged me harder than the rest while one didn’t bother to introduce herself at all.
“Oh my god Jas, it has been so long. Where have you been?” she asked, she knew me then. I looked at Christopher who was by my side like he promised, listening.
“Hayley Roberts?” he said in my ear quietly trying to jog my memory. I decided to wing it and pretend. He had told me her name so I wouldn’t look like an idiot asking for it. Time to plaster my false smile on.
“Hi, I have been working away, I just got back.” I replied.
“Ahh, what do you do?” she asked.
Jeez what was it with the inquisition? Calm down!
“I work in cosmetics.” It was the truth just not all of the truth.
I felt like a freak show, everyone was still keeping their eyes on me whilst trying to get back to their conversations as before. More alcohol needed. I made eye contact with the bartender who had been serving us and signalled for drinks for everyone at the table mainly so I could get comatose. When he arrived with an additional bartender to help carry the trays of shots I shot him a look not to say who they were from, the whole table erupted with cheers and downed them all, not before I got hold of three shots of my own and downed them one after the other.
“Oh my god, are they real Laboutains?” Hayley asked looking down at my shoes.
“Yes.”
I felt so uncomfortable, not in the shoes but making conversation with her, I truly can’t remember who she is. Ha, you don’t have to talk if you’re dancing.
“Come on, let’s dance.” I suggested taking her hand.
She followed me without argument, all eyes followed us as we made our way to the dance floor. I knew how to move my body and it wasn’t long before I felt hands on my waist joining me, move for move. I smiled and turned around, only to be faced with Leigh, I tried dancing away from him but he kept his hold tight around me.
“Miss me?” he shouted in my ear, “I have missed you, I think about you sometimes and your tight little ass.” And to make his point he placed his hands on it trying to grind against me.
If he had shown me this attention years ago in public I would have been ecstatic but now he made me feel violated, also feeling like the timid teenager I once was. I couldn’t tell him no, I froze. I looked back to the table where everyone was, I had to get Christopher’s attention, and he finally looked at me and saw I needed him. He came straight over and pulled us apart putting me slightly behind him.
“Hey man
, hands of my girl.” Leigh held his hands up and swiftly moved on.
“Thank you but I am not your girl.” I reminded him.
“Until Monday morning you are.” he said tipping my chin back to kiss me.
On the way back to the table I instructed the same barmen I didn’t want an empty glass for the rest of the night, and thanks to him taking me at my word the rest of the night was soon to be a blur of a distant memory I wouldn’t remember.
OH MY GOD!! My head is booming, my eyes are closed and yet it is still too bright. I take a quick inventory of my body before opening my eyes. I haven’t got any clothes on and my stomach feels like I haven’t eaten for a week.
I moan while slowly trying to flutter my eyes open, this is hard work.
“Morning sleepyhead, it is about time you woke up.” Christopher said.
He was sitting up next to me in bed using my laptop. What was he doing using my laptop?
“I was using your wi-fi, checking my Facebook.” He explained noting my confused look. He leaned down to kiss me and stopped just before his lips touched mine.
“Maybe you should brush your teeth first, your breath wreaks of Sambuca.” He chuckled.
“Ha-ha, I am not sure if I can move yet.” I said with an evil hangover from hell.
“You should have one hell of a hangover today the amount you drank last night, here I had some painkillers and orange juice sent up for you.” He teased.
I changed the topic of conversation before he could tell me all the embarrassing things I did whilst under the influence.
“What are you looking at?” I asked him, finally able to sit up beside him careful to keep the sheets covering my body.
“The photos that have been uploaded from last night. You had fun once you relaxed.” He said clicking through photos of us and everyone else.
Apparently he wouldn’t have to tell me what happened as he could show me. Urgh, I hated social networking sites immediately.
“Hold on, go back one.” I asked sitting up straighter and grabbing the laptop from him.
It was me sitting on Christopher’s lap with my dress hitched up my thighs and kissing him like there is no tomorrow.
“No no no. You have to get rid of this.” I said panicking. I tried deleting the image but it was still there, damn it, why wasn’t it deleting?
“Calm down, here I will do it,” he took the laptop back and deleted the picture.
“I need you to get whoever took those photos and get them to delete it.” I tell him grabbing for my phone.
Henry answered on the second ring.
“Henry I need you to search for photos of me on the Internet from last night and get rid of them.”
I offered no further explanation and hung up on him. I grabbed the painkillers and downed them with the orange juice, which was now warm.
“What is wrong Jas?” Hearing him call me Jas tipped me over the edge.
“What is wrong?” I screech, “ What is wrong is that I am Jasmine Collins, I am CEO of Jasmine Enterprises and because I lost control and listened to you last night, there are obscene photos of me plastered on a social networking site!”
This couldn’t be happening, what is going on with me? I felt like my head was going to explode. Breathe Jasmine.
“She doesn’t know who you really are Jas, she didn’t know not to post them,” he said defending whoever it was.
“Who was it?” I asked losing my patience with the situation.
“Hayley, Hayley Roberts.”
Of course it was little miss chatterbox.
I picked my phone back up to call Henry letting him know whom it was who took the photos.
“That is a tad extreme isn’t it?” He said it like he was disgusted by my actions.
“What would you know about it? I have an image to keep and I don’t want it smeared with those photos. Look, you think you know me but you don’t, you know who I was and that is completely different to who I am now.” I snapped whilst getting something to wear, all appeal of Christopher Jenson had vanished.
When I walked back into the room he was putting the laptop back in my case, he stopped when he noticed something, oh shit, it was the folder Henry had given me on him.
“What is this? It has my name on it.” He asked holding it up.
“Nothing, it is business.” I lied.
“Oh so I am business now?” He shouted.
He opened the folder and scanned through the information on himself, his face getting brighter every second. There was no getting out of this now.
“Its common knowledge, anyone can get a hold of this information. I thought I recognised you the other night so I had Henry see who you were. That is all, I am not explaining myself any further.” I said.
The painkillers weren’t doing anything for the blazing pain shooting across my forehead.
“Your right, you are not who I remember, the Jas I knew wouldn’t have gone all stalker on me.” He walked into the en-suite and five minutes later came out wearing the clothes he came in, “I have to go.”
He paused before he opened the door but he didn’t say anything, then he left.
This wasn’t how the weekend was supposed to end and not this soon. I kept telling myself this was what I wanted, he would leave and I would go back to throwing myself into work. Instead I dropped to the floor and cried for the first time in ten years. I had never felt so alive than what I had in the last forty-eight hours, I struggled to fathom how he could have had this strong effect on me in such a short amount of time. I had slept through the night for two days running, I hadn’t done that for years. And from the photos I saw this morning I had had fun in a crowded nightclub with some people from my past, what the hell has he done to me?
After spending two hours staring into space trying to think everything over I called Henry, I didn’t want to be here anymore. To make myself feel like my normal self again I had someone come and pack my cases for me while I waited in the hotel bar for Henry to arrive.
I couldn’t face anything alcoholic so I opted for sparkling water. Get a grip Jasmine Collins, you had a fantastic weekend and it ended. You knew it would and you wanted it to, you were the one who told him you would be the one to disappear on Monday morning from his life again.
“Excuse me Miss Collins, this just arrived at reception for you,” the man from the front desk said pulling me from my thoughts passing me an envelope, great another envelope, because the last one handed to me worked out so well.
I opened it curiously and pulled out copies of the photos taken at the ball last night of Christopher and I. There was no denying we looked good together.
Right, I shoved them back in the envelope and stashed them in my bag. Time to get back to reality.
Part Two…Christopher
When I woke the next morning I forgot where I was, I rolled over to see Jasmine still sleeping and was reminded of last night. There hasn’t been a night previous to this that I could top, it was immense. I slipped out of bed quietly as I could not to wake her; she was stunningly beautiful even when she was sleeping. I didn’t know how much longer she would sleep for and I had to get rid of this morning glory, I turned the shower on and stayed under the water longer than I usually would at home. It was like a massaging shower. When I turned to get out she was standing by the door, she looked like she was trying to figure something out.
“Good morning.” I smiled at her.
It made me happy to see she had the same effect seeing my body as hers did me. I purposely took my time getting a towel,
“I didn’t wake you did I?” I asked her.
“Actually quite the opposite Christopher.” she said.
What the hell did she mean by that?
“Is it worth me getting dressed?” I asked. Even her blush turns me on.
“Depends on what you want for breakfast?” she said walking towards me while undoing her robe.
She had brought me clothes I couldn’t believe it. When I asked her about it s
he acted like it was a normal thing to do. Whoever she is now I haven’t got a clue about her. My day got a thousand times better when she agreed to spend the weekend with me, although I would have to attend some kind of ball with her. She had been cagey when I asked her about what she does for a living, I would find out tonight though at this ball. She had bought me a tux and mask for the occasion, at the moment she was in the bathroom with a hair stylist. I would have to bring up about going to the club afterwards. She genuinely didn’t recognise Jase in town earlier, I wondered what she had been doing all these years to forget us all, and it hadn’t been that long really.
I felt bad when I called her Jasmine this morning, catching her off guard for once. She looked scared as if me being here was the worst thing ever. When she said she would disappear again on Monday morning it made me anxious, she was the only girl I have ever wanted to spend time with which was confusing as she had only been back in my life for two days. I had had girlfriends over the years but they meant nothing and they never lasted long.
I was dressed in my tux when she walked out of the en-suite ready to go, she looked like she belonged on the cover of a magazine, I was speechless.
“You don’t need to put that on till we get there,” she said pointing to the mask in my hand.
“You look sensational.” I said finally finding my voice.
“Thank you, you don’t look so bad yourself Mr Jenson,” she said standing away from me, I could guess why if she was thinking the same as me.
“So, are you going to tell me what it is you do?” I asked her again.
She had a habit of evading any questions I asked her.
“I work in cosmetics,” she said.
Somehow I think she does more than just work in cosmetics. She got a text and asked if I was ready, and I honestly didn’t know if I was but I took her hand and we went down in the lift.
“Does he always drive you?” I asked her watching Henry holding the door open for us.
“Yes, that is what I pay him to do.” she said bluntly.
Once we were in the car I decided to probe her further about her work again,