Chapter 4

She found herself searching the crowd, looking for the blonde mane of hair and ocean blue eyes that always seemed to invade her thoughts. Of course, he was usually with a woman. But she wasn't going to let that stop her. She was going to pay him back for his little dance. Tonight was going to be the night, as long as she still had the courage to do it.

She danced alone, feeling freer than she had felt in quite some time. Her hips shook in unison with the music. Her eyes kept closed, as she felt the music flow through her system. She had stirred up a little crowd of male admirers, but none of them were close to him. None of them could look into her soul. They couldn't make her feel what she had felt with him. That intense energy and passion. Extreme passion, she never knew could exist between two people. No one measured up. There was no one like Brady Black.

Feeling a bit nervous and a little apprehensive, she decided she needed a drink. Chloe walked over to the bar and ordered a screwdriver. The bartender handed her the glass and gave her a little wink. "On the house."

"Thanks, Rob."

"No problem, pretty lady."

She had been coming to this club ever since she came to New York. Of course, back then she had to lie about her age. Rob had always treated her right, helping her out in a bind. When guys she didn't particularly care for hassled her, Rob was always there to throw them out. He was polite and always gave her drinks for free. He was caring and sweet towards her. He was extremely handsome with dark brown hair and piercing green eyes. One might say that he was the perfect man. Too bad he was gay.

"Hey Rob, you didn't happen to see a tall blonde guy tonight, did ya?"

"You mean the one you danced with last weekend?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"No, not yet."

"Well, are you sure?"

Rob produced a low laugh. "Honey, trust me I would know if I saw him again."

Chloe indulged him with a small laugh of her own. "He is kinda unforgettable. I'll see ya around."

"All right. Take care now, pretty lady."

Chloe waved as she made her way through the crowd, searching unconsciously for Brady. Patience, Chloe told herself. He'll be here. He always is.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

But he wouldn't come. The truth was he had been and gone before Chloe even got there. Well, that was not entirely true. Brady had arrived at the club an hour earlier than usual. A girl had latched onto him the moment he entered the club. His reputation was well known. If you ever needed a rebound guy, a one night stand, Brady was the man for the job.

Halfway to being completely intoxicated, he saw her come in, her body shimmering with glitter. Oranges, pinks and purples reflected off of her skin and onto the walls. She walked with presence, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her dress hugged every curve of her body and was just short enough to make Brady feel light-headed.

Finally pulling his attention away from Chloe, he looked down at the woman in front of him. Her hand slid inside of his shirt, playing with his bare flesh. Undoing the top two buttons, she fused her mouth to his hard chest. She had told him her name not twenty minutes ago, but it had already escaped him. All thoughts resided with Chloe. He had to get out of there.

Before she had a chance to survey her surroundings for Brady, he was already out the door, bringing the nameless girl with him. It always had to be this way. He wasn't going to let someone get close to him. Better for him that he didn't know this girl''s name. It wouldn't matter in the morning anyway. They knew the deal. Brady told them straight up that he wasn''t the commitment kind of guy, that a one-night stand would never lead to a relationship. If they didn't like the terms, they could bail. But if they did, then game on.

It was definitely game on tonight. He wound up at her house, in a part of town that was unfamiliar to him. In the cab on the way over, she had taken his shirt completely off. By the time they got inside the door, his pants were already unbuttoned. He picked her up by the waist and walked her up the stairs to her bedroom. She ripped off her clothing and pulled him down on top of her. Pleading with him to do the same. He kissed her neck and massaged her breasts between his hands, but he wasn't enjoying himself. As much as he wanted to be, he just couldn't get into it.

"What's wrong?" the woman, whose name was Vanessa, asked in a raspy voice.

"Nothing. I'm fine." They continued to kiss and explore, but Brady's thoughts kept going back to Chloe. Before he knew what he was doing, he sat up on the edge of the bed.

Vanessa came behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and licking his ear. "What's wrong, baby? Playing hard to get?" She rubbed his shoulders and nipped his neck. "You're so tense. I think I know a way to help you."

"Look, I don't know what's wrong."

"Hmm. Let's just see if we can find a way for you to relax." She jumped off the bed and kneeled in front of him. "Why don't you take these off?" She motioned to his pants and slid them down his hips. "There, that's better. Well, I see that you're not having a problem in this department." Vanessa coaxed her way inside Brady's boxers and began to manipulate his body. She took him in her mouth and did her best to satisfy him. When she was finished, he picked up his stuff and left. Much to Vanessa's disappointment.

He walked the unfamiliar streets, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Any other day, he would have been all for sleeping with Vanessa. It wasn't like he didn't find her attractive, because she was. It wasn't like him to back down from sex, once he had started. But tonight, he got a fucking blow job and still felt like shit. He was being a punk, he told himself. Once, he had promised himself that life would from now on be about mindless pleasure. Now, here he was walking the streets, sober, no less. His cheeks and noise red with chill. Without having been laid, and a part of him felt better for it. The other part of him was frightened. He wasn't going to let Chloe get the best of him.

Twenty minutes later, he found himself in front of a door. Taking a deep breath, he knocked. Vanessa opened the door, almost shocked to see him. "Back for more, huh?"

He didn't say anything; he just picked her up and took her to her room. This time he didn't wuss out. When she fell asleep, he picked up his clothes and left. He walked home to clear his head. He had to figure out why he was acting so strange.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Brady was hunched over the hood of a blue Toyota when she approached him. "I looked for you the other night."

"Why?" he said, not even looking up.

"I usually see you, and I just wanted to say hi."

"Is that all?" Brady mentally cursed himself. What had he wanted her to say?

"Why else would I be looking for you?"

"Maybe you wanted another dance."

"You're so full of yourself, Brady Black! What makes you think I would want to go anywhere near you again?"

"Look, baby, you were the one that interrupted me to tell me you were lookin' for me, so don't get all hostile."

"Do you always have to be such a jerk?"

"Only when I'm near you. Let me ask you a question now. Do you always go around harassing people when they're trying to work?"

"You know what? You're impossible."

"Fine. Whatever. Are we finished?"

"You really piss me off, you know that? Here I am, trying to be nice, trying to become your friend; and you''re being a complete ass."

"I already have enough friends. So why don't you take your butt back to the office and do what I pay you to do? Work!"

"You know what? I hate you!" She paused to push him into the hood of the car. He fell backwards into the exposed interior mechanics of the car. Looking down at him, a slow, satisfied smile crept onto her face.

God, she was feisty. He really liked that about her. He picked himself up and smiled back at her, just as brightly. Placing his hand on her hip, he drew her close to him. "You don't hate me, Chloe. You far from hate me."

She couldn't say anything because she knew he was right. She didn't hate him, not one bit.

"In fact," he continued, pressing his lips to her ear lope but not quite touching her, "I think you wanted to see me. I think you like having me around, and I know you liked that dance we shared. You pretend to be repulsed by me, but the truth is you want me."

"Get a hold of your ego there, Black."

She made a move to leave, but he clasped onto her tiny wrist and pulled her even closer. "You know I'm right. Stop fighting it."

"I don't need you to tell me what I'm feeling because you''re wrong. Now, let go!"

He slid his fingers away from her trembling hand and crossed his arms across his broad chest. "No problem."

"I...I gotta go," she said flustered, before she ran off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that day, Brady heard a knock on his door. Jared walked in and took a seat. "Hey man, what's up?" Brady said, looking up from his magazine.

"The game's on tonight. You gonna come over?"

"I dunno."

"Come on……Giants versus the Eagles. I know you can't resist that." Jared smiled.

"Yeah, all right, but ah……Chloe's not going to be there, is she?"

"I have no idea. She comes and goes as she pleases."

"So have you two...ah, you know?" Brady inquired, hoping the answer would be no.

"God, Brady, is that all you think about?"

"No, just curious."

"She does have some body though."

"Yeah, I'll give her that, I guess."

"You guess?" Jared said, shocked.

"Yeah, she's not really my type."

"Oh I didn't know you had a type these days. I thought anyone with tits would do."

The guys exchanged a few hearty laughs.

"She's your type though, isn't she?"

"I don't know what you're talkin 'bout," Jared said, trying to maintain his self-respect.

"Come on, Jar, I see the way you look at her. Are you trying to tell me there's nothing but friendship going on?"

"I didn't say that...it's just..."

"Just what?" Brady was definitely interested as to what Jared had to say.

"I don't think she's interested."

"Come on, a great guy like you? What more could she want?"

"The infamous Brady Black." Jared rolled his eyes, staring at Brady contemptuously.

"Fuck off! You know there's nothing going on." Brady laughed.

"Brady, do you even know how many times girls have fallen for you when I was interested? Why should this be any different?"

"Because she hates me. She told me herself just today."

"God Brady, half the women you fuck tell you they hate you, and the next minute you're screwing them in your office."

"Look, I'm not interested in this one."

"You swear?"

"I swear," Brady said sincerely. But in his mind he knew he was kidding himself. There was definitely more going on between Chloe and him than he had let on.

He had made a promise to his best friend, now if he could only keep that promise. It was going to be hard, but he wouldn't betray him. He knew what that felt like, and he knew he never wanted to make anyone else feel that kind of betrayal.