Chapter 20
She rubbed at her eyes, she shouldn't be nervous, she really shouldn't. She had no reason to be, this was only a semi-date, not like she had to worry about something happening.
She looked down at her watch sighing. He'd be there any moment and she was waiting on pins and needles. She stood, she'd walk a bit, walking always relaxed her, walking was good for her. It was exactly what she needed right now.
She screamed when the doorbell rang. She whirled around, he was there. If this is what it was gonna be like everytime he came by, but wait. That'd mean that he'd be coming by a lot and that wasn't an option.
Walking quickly, she made her way over to the door. Taking a deep breath, she threw the door open.
"Good evening Jordan."
"Hi Howie." She smiled, grabbing her purse.
"All set?"
"I am, ready when you are."
"Ok let's go."
She followed him out, locking the door and starting over to his car. Once inside, they took off, following Jordan's directions, they went to the first club. Howie paid the cover charge for both, even at Jordan's objection.
The music was loud and fierce, pounding through her body, stirring her senses. Howie lead her over to a table and they sat. She watched as he looked around, watching the dancers out on the floor and smiled. He was so intent, he looked so focus.
Still she was not surprised that after only being there five minutes, he was asked to dance. Per her insisting, he finally agreed and led the young woman out to the dance floor, moving seductively to the music. Jordan watched him dancing with the woman in fascination, she'd never been the most graceful person and dancing wasn't easy for her. She'd just assume sit back and watch the couples out on the floor. He flowed easily with the music, holding the woman by her hips, and moving her against him.
Suddenly her mouth went dry, clearing her throat she sat back in her chair. She needed to stop watching, it wasn't polite. Her gaze wandered around. She never came to clubs often. Michelle had tried to get her into the whole club scene, but it never worked.
She wanted a drink, but since she'd planned on showing how more clubs, she didn't want to over do it, not that she ever had. She sighed; sometimes her inability to let loose even bugged her.
"Hey baby, wanna dance?"
She turned her head at the voice. A much older man stared down at her, ogling her. She rolled her eyes. It was guys like him that made her remember why she was so straight-laced, why she worked consistently. It was gratifying to know she could one up this man intellectually at any time.
Of course she was making assumptions, get some alcohol into even the most disciplined CEO, and he'd be acting like a blubbering idiot as well.
"No thank you."
"Aww come on, I'll show you a good time."
"I'd much rather have a good time by myself thank you."
The man stared coldly at her. " You cold bitch"
"Does it deflate your ego that much that I don't wanna dance with you? I'm a cold bitch cause I don't swoon at your beck and call as you stand there and try to undress me with your eyes? You think that's going to turn me on and I'll dissolve into a puddle of mush below your hands? I don't think so. So be it, I'm a cold bitch. Now, if you leave me alone, I'd appreciate it."
He stared coldly at her before turning, making his way back into the crowd of people. She shook her head. Wasn't the first and certainly wouldn't be the last time she'd be called a bitch.
"Jordan?"
She looked up.
"You ok? Was that guy giving you a hard time?" Howie asked, concern etched his face.
She waved it off. "It's fine, no big deal."
"Really Jordan, cause I could..."
"Howie, don't worry about it. Did you enjoy dancing?" She asked, desperate to change the subject. She was no cream puff.
He stared at her a moment before responding. "Yeah, I did."
"You looked great out there."
"Thanks." He still watched her intently. "Howie I'm fine. You should know I can take care of myself."
And surprisingly, he did know. In the short amount of time they'd known each other, he'd learned a lot about her from what she did, not so much from what she said. She really didn't tell him much about her personal life. He turned as another woman asked him to dance. He looked at Jordan, ready to refuse, when she shot him a look. He sighed.
"Sure, I'd love to." He led the woman out to the dance floor, wrapping his arms around her waist.
Still she watched. She turned down numerous offers, she remained seated. Howie on the other hand, was never in his chair for long. He'd try to stay there with her, but there was always someone else and she always convinced him to go. She smiled as he made his way over once again to the table. "Having fun?" He looked at her. "Why aren't you out there? And why have you turned down every offer? Don't you dance?"
She shook her head.
"At all?"
"Nope."
Howie frowned.
"It's ok, it's no big loss. Wanna head over to another club?"
He was quiet for a minute. "Sure."
They headed out and back over to Howie's car. She watched the way his hands moved over the steering wheel and she felt herself flush suddenly. Images of him dancing came flooding back at her suddenly. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"You alright?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah, fine." She groaned inwardly.
They arrived a few minutes later at the club and went in. Finding an empty table, they sat. Jordan looked around, watching the people dancing. She stilled; she felt his eyes on her. Slowly bringing her gaze to his.
"What?"
"You danced with me at the ball."
She blinked.
"Admit it."
"There's nothing to admit Howie. You didn't give me much of a choice." She pointed out.
Howie grinned. "You hadn't danced all night. You were turning down offers then too."
"I don't dance Howie, simple as that."
Howie continued to watch her.
She squirmed under his gaze. "Stop that!"
He grinned suddenly, cocking his head to the side. Standing suddenly, he winked before heading into the crowd. She swallowed hard; noticing her breathing was irregular. She shook her head, taking a deep breath. She stood; it was much too warm. She walked over to the bar and ordered a drink, bringing it back to the table. Time passed slowly, she continued to watch Howie dance with various girls, everytime he was with someone new, she felt this unwelcome twinge.
Jordan took another long sip of her drink; she could barely taste it as her gaze rested on him. She slumped in her chair. If she wanted to be out there so bad, she could, all she had to do was stand up and go out there, simple as that. So why wasn't she out there? Howie watched her sitting there. He could feel her eyes on him. She looked at him, not passively, but with some sort of determination and perhaps disappointment. But he had a feeling it wasn't directed towards him. There was a longing of sorts in her gaze and he knew then that she wasn't totally indifferent to seeing him out there. He felt empowered. Grinning, he excused himself from his current partner and started towards the table. Her eyes widened as Howie walked purposefully over to her. She looked around, suddenly nervous, she looked everywhere but his direction. She felt him come up and stand beside her.
"Jordan."
Slowly she looked up at him.
"Yes Howie?"
"Dance with me." "No thanks, you look great out there, I'm sure there's someone else who'd want to..."
"I don't want to dance with anyone else but you." He whispered, reaching out and taking her hand from the table, gently pulling her to her feet.
"Howie, no..." She whispered softly.
He looked at her intently. "Yes." He turned, pulling her out onto the dance floor.
She felt everyone watching her as they stopped in the middle of the dance floor. She looked around nervously. "I really don't think this is a good idea."
"Ya know what?"
She looked at him. "What?"
"Don't think, it gets ya into trouble."
"Hey! I don't..." She was silenced as she was spun around, her back brought close to his body.
"Shhh." He whispered.
"But Howie...I can't dance." She whispered frantically.
He just smiled, starting to move against her, his hands resting on her waist gently. She couldn't do this; she'd end up stepping on his feet or something. She felt herself slowly starting to loose control, it was an unfamiliar feeling and she didn't like it. She had to get away. She started to pull away, when Howie wrapped his arm around her, pulling her back against him again.
"Relax Jordan, just relax. Feel the music, move with it. You can do it." He murmured in her ear.
She felt her body suddenly give up, weaken against his touch. She unconsciously started moving with him, her eyes slowly closing. She couldn't even begin to explain how good it felt to be with him then, moving with his body pressed close to her. When she opened her eyes again, she was in front of him again. He looked at her and she stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, she felt him grind his hips into hers and a soft sigh escaped her lips.
Jordan was no longer aware of the people around her, only of him, of the man whose arms she was in. Her breath caught as he leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on her neck. She felt her body shiver slightly and she tightened her hold on him a fraction.
"You're very good at this Jordan, a lot better than you give yourself credit for. And you said you couldn't dance." Howie whispered in her ear, taking the lobe into his mouth.
She called out softly. "I-I never thought I could." Her labored breathing, made her voice sound breathless and airy, she gripped his shoulders.
"Mmm, I knew you could."
She could tell he was smiling, she could hear it in his voice, but she didn't care. All she knew was she felt good, and so did his mouth. Her head spun and she felt herself longing to know what he tasted like. Suddenly he pulled away, looking into her eyes.
"Ready to head out?"
She blinked, her surroundings coming back to her suddenly. She stepped away. "Y-yeah, I'm ready."
Howie smiled and nodded, taking her hand and leading her back to their table. They gathered their things and headed out the club.
The drive back to her place was a quiet one; her mind kept drifting to their dance. Her body still longing for his. She shoved a hand through her hair in frustration.
"You ok?" Howie asked softly.
She felt his voice throughout her body. "Yeah, I'm alright."
Howie continued to smile, it was as if he knew something she didn't.
She stared back out the window. She had to take her mind off of what'd happened tonight. She tried desperately to think of work, but she couldn't. All she could see were those brown eyes, boring straight into her soul.
And they were still there when they pulled into her driveway. Howie slipped out and came around, opening the door for her. They made their way up her driveway to her house.
"Well, I had a nice time Howie, thanks for coming out with me."
" My pleasure believe me. Have a good night Jordan."
She nodded, and went to say good night to him, when he stepped forward, brushing his lips over her cheek gently before turning and walking down the steps and over to the car. She stood there, stunned and shaken. Quickly she turned, opening the door and stepped in.
A few seconds later, she heard the car take off and she slumped against the door.
She was in trouble.
