My Exception (My Escort #2) (13 page)

H
ayden and I lounged on the outside sofas, ordering bottle after bottle of various wines. The nightclub was near the reception, attached to the veranda where this morning I saw all the day lounges preoccupied. We were waiting eagerly for the nightclub to start. The DJ was obviously still preparing because the music had not yet started. We sat there reminiscing, and after a day without any food, the wine was rolling straight to my head.

“What about that guy who had like seven piercings in his lip? He asked you to watch him skate in the local competition,” Hayden said, pointing at me and laughing. I laughed at the memory as well, recalling it vividly; in class that guy and I had never really spoken, but suddenly he professed his undying love quite unexpectedly in the middle of the Students’ Union. It was Hayden who rescued me, claiming he was my boyfriend.

“What about, that time, when…” I got overly excited by the story and spilt a bit of sparkling white on my green maxi dress. Much to my surprise, I actually snorted in laughter before covering my nose and mouth as I laughed harder.

“Did you just snort?” Hayden laughed, offering me a napkin and holding my drink for the moment so I wouldn’t spill anymore. Wiping at the stain, I shrugged it off. Who cared? I certainly didn’t care how I looked.

“I’m grabbing us some tequila shots,” I announced.

“Are you sure that’s a smart idea, Clover?” Hayden said, standing up with me. “We both have to work tomorrow and you are pretty drunk already. Why don’t we get you some food instead?”

“Hayden Zilch,” I stated, putting both hands on my hips. “Since when have you ever said no to a tequila shot?” Music began pounding and I couldn’t help but be distracted by it. Finally the music had begun. How long had it been since I had danced? I grabbed my drink from Hayden’s hand and knocked it back. I grabbed his wrist, dragging him to the nightclub.

“Come on, let’s dance!” I said giddily. Following my lead, Hayden also downed his drink and placed it on a table as I lead him to the dance floor.

I hadn’t danced for so long and it was nice, especially in a foreign place where you could just feel free. In the morning I would probably regret most of this. But yet my hips swayed erotically, making me feel both beautiful and free.

Hayden’s dancing had not improved since university. He always went for the awkward-looking kind of dancer, which often raked him in some women that would help him and teach him how to dance.

“Don’t use that stuff on me, Hayden. I know you can dance,” I said, bouncing in a circle and freely letting my arms follow around. My head kept spinning and I stopped. Hayden rested his hand on my waist, helping me to stand straight.

“Are you okay?” he asked. Finally everything had stopped spinning and I smiled.

“I remember you doing the worm at a party once,” I pointed at him accusingly. “I want to see the worm.” I took a step back from him as the music changed into a more Latino-like beat. “Do it! Do it! Do it!”

He studied me for a moment before a smile crept over his face. “You, in comparison, could never dance,” he laughed.

That much was true.
Even with Damon, I couldn’t
... I cut off my thought of him, erasing that train of thought. Luckily Hayden quickly distracted me, dropping to the floor where his muscled body began doing the worm along the floor. A few others who had since entered the nightclub cheered as he made his way back. Just as elegantly, he jumped back up in rhythm.

“I’m surprised I can still do it,” he laughed to himself, holding my waist and spinning me around to the music.

“Please, you haven’t changed a damn bit since university. You’re still as maxed out as ever,” I laughed as he spun me. Suddenly he grabbed me, spinning me and flinging me back. His face hovered over mine as one of my feet lifted from the ground.

“Have you been perving, Clove?” he asked huskily. The sensuality of the moment made me feel suddenly sober. In that moment, everything stopped for me. With Hayden’s face so close to mine, I understood that I was inviting the wrong sort of attention. Even though I knew Hayden would never try anything, I was playing a dangerous game. I was only with a friend, and yet I felt as if I was being dishonest to Damon. His name and face again reappeared, instantly cutting through my happiness.

“You wish,” I said, trying to smile so Hayden couldn’t see my awkwardness. But already it was there. He lifted me back up, releasing his firm hold of me. A small breeze swept through my hair, grabbing my attention. The moon glimmered on the beach water.

“I think I need some fresh air. I don’t think my legs will be the same tomorrow,” I said. We had been dancing for some time now.

“I’ll come with you,” Hayden said reassuringly. “But wait for me there for a second. I need to grab something.” I waited, as instructed. Shortly after he returned with two sandwiches and a packet of chips.

“First, you need to eat something. I haven’t seen you eat anything since I picked you up from your apartment.” Admitting defeat, I took the packet of barbeque chips. I did have to work tomorrow.

We followed the manmade path down to the beach. I took my shoes off, enjoying the sand between my toes. I had to continuously tuck my curly hair behind my ear as the wind continued to tear at it.

“What will you do?” Hayden asked seriously. I knew he was referring to Damon. That one subject I actively tried to avoid.

“Have you ever been cheated on, Hayden?” I asked. Had he? How had he reacted, what did he do? Damon had been cheated on by his high-school sweetheart. He was expecting the child she carried to be his, when it was his best friend’s. So how could he have done this to me, after knowing that pain?

“A few times. But that was my fault. They thought I was too over-familiar with other women. I didn’t give them enough attention. I didn’t spend enough money on them. They wanted to settle down and get married with children after only dating for two months. I guess I have never really taken a woman seriously. I can be very charming. I love pleasing women, it’s the only thing I’ve ever really been good at, but I do want to settle down. In fact, I have been trying for the past few months to find only one woman. It’s harder and lonelier than I thought.” He looked at me, slight red spreading across his cheeks. “I’m sorry, I’ve said a lot more than you asked for.”

“That’s okay,” I said interlocking my arm around his and resting my head on his arm. “I really hope you find someone, Hayden. Despite your playboy ways, you can be a great guy. Any woman would be lucky to have your full attention.”

After a long moment, Hayden’s husky voice spoke out. “Clover, I have actually always had my eyes on you. You are the only woman I have looked at for a long time and not lost interest. You are a beautiful woman, sincere, funny, teasing, erotically sexy, and very smart as well.” His confession lingered in the air, unsettling me to the core. Damon had been right. Damon, Damon, he continuously went through my mind.

“Hayden…” I said, looking for words to break this tension.

“I know Clove, I can see it. You don’t feel the same about me. I realised that when we went to your mother’s birthday party. The way you look at Damon, the way you inhale him, and think about nothing but him. I can see it in your expression when you go silent. I know I could treat you better. I could show you so much more love and make sure you are never upset. But I know that’s not what you want or think. I know for you, Damon is everything. And let me assure you, I know that more than anyone because that pain is very strong for me. It hurts me to see you like this. I don’t know what to do to help you. I just… I don’t know what to do,” he said honestly.

“Thank you, Hayden,” I said, pressing a kiss to his cheek, which startled him. “…For understanding me and for helping me. I’m sorry I can’t return your feelings, but I truly am grateful to have you back in my life. This moment is very important to me. I feel lost and you are grounding me. Someday you will find a wonderful woman worthy of you, and I will give you my blessing.”

He smiled and rested his other hand over mine. “Thank you, Clover,” he said huskily, looking forward.

After a long moment of silence, I had to ask that one particular question that had been on my mind ever since the party. “I thought you might have had feelings for my sister? I was even beginning to suspect that something had happened between the two of you. The way you two acted those two days in Ithaca, I suspected something was there?”

Hayden looked at me, surprised. He thought about it for a moment, and for a brief second I thought I saw a shade of red as if he had just realised something. “Actually, we’ve ran into one another a few times over the past few months. We didn’t intend to tell you, so when we met we pretended that we hadn’t seen one another for years.” Seeing my expression, he rushed to defend himself. “I would never.... I know how much she means to you, and you always had that rule of your sister being off limits. And I respect you and her, and I-”

“Hayden,” I placed my hand on his shoulder, stopping his rant. Perhaps he did just realise that his affection was actually meant for someone far closer to him than he had realised. “I think you’ve confessed your feelings to the wrong sister. I’ve never seen you this flustered. And you are right, my sister has always been off limits for you. Until the day you might actually consider her seriously.”

Hayden’s expression held an expression of surprise, as if I had opened a new world for him. He looked back towards the beach, now deep in thought. We didn’t speak much after that as he escorted me to my room.

Hayden was warm, and his scent was manly yet subtle. But despite his allure and my vulnerability, this could never happen. Hayden was a wonderful man and I wished him the very best in finding the right woman, but he never would be my man. And thinking of that ultimately made me face my demons. I knew it would be a very heavy seven days while I figured out how to act with Damon. When I thought of him I was cloaked in pain. Was this really what love led to?

I
tossed and turned, trying my hardest to sleep but was unable to. All I could think of was Damon’s betrayal and how I would face him. I didn’t want to be without Damon, but I was so pained that he had done this to me. Damon. Damon. Damon. How would we work together if we had to break up? Could I overlook his betrayal or was it something too severe? I had always said if a man cheated on me he wasn’t worth keeping and deserved everything he got. But now, in this situation, I couldn’t so easily say it.

I gave up on sleep, deciding it were best if I had a long shower instead. My clock read that it was 4 a.m. I hadn’t got any sleep. I must have been in the shower for thirty minutes until the steam made my head foggy and I began to feel lightheaded. I sat on the toilet for twenty minutes, simply staring, my mind blank. I put some long pants on and a lightweight shirt, preparing for the hot weather of the day.

I began brushing my hair as I walked out of my room, stopping and nearly dropping the hairbrush as my eyes reached Damon’s. He sat on the end of my bed, his demeanour tense.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” he asked angrily. This was the maddest I had ever seen him. His usual charismatic self had completely vanished.

“What are you doing here?” I gasped; it was the only response I could give.

“Answer me, Clover. Why have you been avoiding me? I thought you had been hurt until Hayden called me yesterday. Why would you run to him instead of me?”

“Because you cheated on me!” I yelled.

There was a silence in the air, a very thick haze coming between us. I gasped, shocked and mortified by my outburst. How ugly a statement it was. Damon frowned, a scowl that seemed foreign on his face.

“What?”

“I don’t know her name. That brunette you’ve been seen with. She gave me your apartment key and told me how you had escorted her before and she has been at your apartment for the month. And that she wanted you to treat her to dinner again. But you would never show me your home. So maybe she was very special for you.” Tears began to stream down my face. “You would have escorted so many women in your escorting days. How do I know if she was the only one!” I shouted, hoping that it would hurt him.

“So you think because I was an escort that I sleep around?” Damon refrained from yelling. “So you thought you would hop on a plane and runaway before asking me about it?”

“I don’t know, Damon. You were an escort once. I don’t know what that means you had to do. You have women falling at your feet to have one moment with you. So why…” my voice and hands shook. “Why me? I don’t even know what I am thinking anymore. I can’t think straight. I can’t act normal. I can’t even do my job properly in this state. I don’t know what to do!” The last sentence shattered me and I looked away from Damon, feeling vulnerable.

“Clover, look at me,” Damon’s voice was no longer as rough, but I didn’t dare look up into his beautiful blue eyes. I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. “Clover,” he growled, his hand taking mine. Still I refused to look at him. What would I see in his eyes? I wasn’t prepared for what might eventuate from this. I had never experienced this before, and all rational thoughts had left me a very long time ago. I was nothing but a bitter, hurt woman right now.

“Clover, you have to believe me when I say I have not even looked twice at another woman. The reason why she was at my apartment for the last month, and the reason why I haven’t yet shown you it, is because it has been renovated.”

I looked at him, shocked. Weight felt like it had been lifted from me in that one sentence. Although his eyes were pained, he tried to slip me a small smile.

“I have never been with another woman I have escorted, ever. Only you. You have and always will be my exception. Can’t work properly? Clover, I left running my magazine at a drop of a hat, having Michelle temporarily replace me, so I could find out where you were and what was wrong. You alone can unhinge me in such a way. I was going crazy thinking of what was happening, and was even angrier when Hayden called me and told me that you had gone to him. I’m grateful as I found out you were safe. But so angry. I am not barred from jealousy, Clover. I can see how he looks at you. And I don’t like it when others look at you in such a way. You are mine, and I tell myself all the time how ridiculous, selfish, and unattractive that is to have as a trait. But I cannot help it. My thoughts are utterly consumed by you, for you to not talk to me for a day feels like a year to me. I cannot and will not let you run away ever again. Especially into the company of another man.”

Tears began to stream down my face as his eyes softened and he cupped the back of my neck. “Clover, I swear to you that I have never and never would be with another woman. You are my only and I never want you to think that you are not good enough for me. Because it is me who feels I am not good enough for you. Please understand that,” he said, letting go of my hand and gently wiping away my tear. “Please understand that I love you so unconditionally that I would fly over the world to make sure you are okay.”

“I love you too.” It came out so quickly that my tears began to stream faster as if releasing all the pain I had held. “I’m so sorry,” I gasped, cupping my face and hiding it from him. What kind of girlfriend was I?

“Clover,” Damon said, pushing aside my hands. “Please don’t make me this crazy again.” It was a plea unlike any other I had heard. “I just can’t control myself when it comes to you.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I repeated, wrapping my arms around him and falling into him. I had never held him so tightly. With his hands on my back he also held me tightly, leaving kisses on my cheek. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered again shakily.

Damon kissed my lips, the fire behind them so passionate and raging that I felt as if this Damon was foreign to me. Little did I realise my hands were already breaking apart his shirt, to touch him, to mark him, to claim him once more as mine.

Damon lifted me up by my bottom, wrapping my legs around his waist as he leaned me up against the wall. Through another shaky kiss I cupped his face, taking his tongue and lightly pulling my fingers down his hard chest. Every touch of his hot, sexy skin was mine to enjoy. He was mine to claim and never would I let him go. This is what my body would express to him.

Damon’s low growl of dominance rumbled down my throat as he kissed me, cupping my nape. “I will never let you feel so unloved and vulnerable again,” he growled as he returned to my lips. “You are mine, Clover. Now and forever.”

He spun me around, throwing me onto the bed. His hand trailed up my pants as he hovered over me, taking my lips again dominantly. I was Damon’s and he was mine. Never would I let myself forget that. A small moan passed my lips as his hand began to caress my nipples underneath my shirt. His warm large hands pleasing me like only Damon could. Damon, my Damon. My wonderful amazing, sensual Damon.