One Night Stand (The Complete Story) (3 page)

“I’m trying to find my clothes so I can head home and let you sleep in peace,” I told him, looking away to hide the pink blush that crept up my cheeks.

“It is late. You can sleep here tonight. I’ll make sure you get home safe in the morning,” he assured me.

I nodded and covered a yawn. I was finally feeling the effects of the late hour and the alcohol, now that my sex-induced energy was sapped. Sleep sounded wonderful right now, and sleeping on silk sheets next to the hunky sex-god Lorenzo sounded like heaven.

Lorenzo helped me back to bed, tucking me in and turning off the light before climbing in next to me. I felt the warmth of his muscular body next to me. Against my better judgment, I snuggled up against him. Lorenzo put one arm around me and pulled me up against his chest. I closed my eyes and let myself drift off to the slow, steady beat of his heart against my back.

“Good morning, gorgeous.”

I blinked my eyes sleepily. The harsh morning light was shining down on me and I groaned. Why did I feel so exhausted? Where was I?
Oh, right.
I looked up at Lorenzo’s chiseled face and wondered how he looked so peppy after such a long, alcohol-fueled night. My question was answered when he handed me a large, steaming mug of coffee.

“Thanks,” I croaked, desperately trying to smooth down my wild morning hair.  It was a losing battle. It was no fair that Lorenzo could wake up and look just as sexy as he had last night while I looked like a creature from the sea with my tangled hair and smudged eye makeup.

A few sips of delicious coffee later, I was feeling more awake. Lorenzo sat on the edge of the bed and smiled at me as I sat the mug down on the bedside table.

“Could I possibly rinse off before I leave? I’m feeling a little…sticky from last night.”

His laugh was deep and sincere. “Yeah, no problem. The bathroom is right down the hall and you can use any soaps and shampoos you find in there.”

His eyes lingered on me as I pushed off the sheets covering my body and stood up. My clothes were still strewn across the floor down the hall, so I had to walk there completely naked. One look at Lorenzo’s face told me he was enjoying the view.

“Mmm, keep walking just like that. I love watching your little ass wiggle.” He grinned mischievously as I turned and stuck my tongue out at him. “I can come up with some great uses for that tongue as well…” he warned. I shook my head, turning to hide the smile that crept over my face.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I really liked Lorenzo. The sex had been incredible, but I liked him for more than just that. I was kind of hoping he would ask me out on a date, but I knew better than to get my hopes up.

His bathroom was just as large, clean, and fancy as the rest of his apartment. For the first time, I really considered how rich he must be to afford such an incredible apartment in this part of the city. I didn’t know if it was family money or if he had a lucrative career. In fact, I realized I had no idea what he did at all, other than go out to clubs and bring home girls like me.

I mulled it over while I got in the shower. He seemed a few years older than me, so he probably wasn’t still a student. He didn’t really strike me as the grad student type anyway. But I couldn’t really imagine Lorenzo’s cocky smile meshing well with a boring office job. I looked around the large glass shower until I found his shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. They all had a manly, peppery scent, but it was a muted, fancy smell unlike those cheap body sprays that so many guys in college wore. I washed up quickly and left the shower feeling refreshed and awake.

“You all cleaned up? We could grab some breakfast if you like. I would have cooked for you, but my fridge is almost empty and all I can really cook is a bomb spaghetti and meatballs.” He laughed sheepishly and I found myself grinning at the door. Damn, he was so cute and sweet to me, but he was also really fucking hot and alpha when it counted.

“I’ll be right out,” I called and quickly finished drying off. I wrapped the towel around me before opening the door. Lorenzo was standing there with the small pile of my clothes from the night before nicely folded in his hands.

“So…I know this isn’t really a morning outfit and I
could
lend you a shirt or something, but you looked really fucking hot in this dress and I want you to wear it to breakfast. Please.” He gave me a pleading look that melted me and I knew I couldn’t say no to him.

“I’m going to look like your hooker at breakfast, but if it makes you happy I’ll wear it.”

“Nah, you are much sexier than my usual hookers,” he laughed.

“Yeah, yeah…laugh all you want. But remember we are going to breakfast in
your
neighborhood so
your
neighbors will be the ones who are shocked and scandalized.”

“Suits me just fine.”

“So what is it you do then, anyway?” I asked as I pulled the tiny dress over my head and tried to wiggle it back into place on my body.

“I work at an art gallery,” Lorenzo replied, the smirk now gone from his face. He looked almost uncomfortable.

“You must be really good at…selling art or whatever to be able to afford a place like this,” I added. Lorenzo’s face went cold and he turned away from me as I pulled on my heels.

“Hey, you know, breakfast might actually be a bad idea. I have some errands I need to run today. Why don’t I call you a cab?” he said, with his back still towards me.

I straightened up, looking over at him in confusion. “So…would you like to do breakfast another time?” I asked hopefully.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ll go call a cab now.” Lorenzo didn’t meet my pleading gaze as he turned and walked past me to get his phone.

“Don’t bother. I can get back on my own,” I replied defiantly. Apparently, Lorenzo had just realized he didn’t want this to be anything more than a one night stand, and I wasn’t about to hang out at his place for the next ten minutes while he desperately wanted me gone.

“Are you sure?” At least he had the good grace to look a little bit guilty as I nodded and grabbed my purse.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Bye, Lorenzo,” I said casually as I walked towards the door.

Lorenzo stepped up and opened the door for me. “Bye, Emma.” His voice was a strange mixture of sad and cold. Maybe he regretted bringing me back here in the first place. I wanted to turn around and ask him if I was really such a bad lay, but my pride held me back.

I squared my shoulders and walked towards the elevators without looking back. It wasn’t until I heard the click of the door shutting behind me that I allowed myself to cry. It was silent, but I could feel the warm streaks of fat tears running down my cheeks. The elevator dinged its arrival and I wiped my face clean with the back of my hand.

Exiting Lorenzo’s building, I looked around to get my bearings. I was only a short walk to my apartment, despite the fact that Lorenzo’s neighborhood was much fancier than mine. I didn’t feel like spending any money on cab fair, so I decided to hobble along the sidewalk as best I could in my ridiculously high heels. It would be my ultimate walk of shame.

I kept my head up and walked down the street, turning left after two blocks to head towards my neighborhood. The crowds on the sidewalk thinned as I moved away from the fancier area, and I started to feel less self-conscious about my outfit. I turned left again after a few more blocks as I approached my street. 

An uneasy feeling settled over me as I walked. I felt someone behind me, watching me. I turned, but none of the few people walking behind me looked very menacing or even the least bit interested in watching me. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being followed.

I finally reached my building and rushed to the door, grabbing my key from my purse and fumbling with the old lock.  I turned and gave the street once last scan before slipping into the building and shutting the door behind me. My heart was racing in my chest and I slumped against the banister, suddenly feeling very silly.

Who would follow me? I was just an incredibly unremarkable college student on her walk of shame home from a one night stand. Lorenzo’s interest had faded in me so quickly this morning that it was highly unlikely he would be following me back to my crappy apartment. I was being ridiculous and paranoid.

Annoyed at myself, I trudge up the stairs and let myself into the small apartment I shared with my two roommates. I was hoping to slip into my room unnoticed, but unfortunately  Ava and Riley were in the kitchen sipping their coffee from our chipped, old pink mugs we had picked up at a yard sale shorting after moving in together.

“Look who the cat dragged in! Holy shit Emma, was it incredible? Was he really as hot as I remember?” Ava shrieked as I walked in the door.

“I can’t believe you stayed the night! You must really like him. Or maybe he just has a really big cock,” Riley added with a giggled.

I walked over to the empty third chair and slumped into it. I hadn’t meant to tell my friends about Lorenzo until after I had time to sort out my thoughts, but it was obvious they wouldn’t let me get away with being vague.

“It was incredible. He was incredible. I really like him. And it seemed like he liked me…until he basically kicked me out this morning,” I said glumly.

“What do you mean? He kicked you out? Like right when you got up?” Ava sounded furious on my behalf and I felt grateful for her protectiveness.

“Well, not exactly. He was sweet at first. He made me coffee, let me take a shower, and even suggested going out for breakfast. But then, like, we were talking and he suddenly turned really cold and said I should go home.”

“What were you talking about?” Riley asked.

“I was just asking him about what he does for a living and about his apartment because it was seriously huge and gorgeous.”

“Well, maybe he is a criminal and doesn’t want you to know about it. He could be a drug dealer or a pimp!” Ava looked excited, like she was finally in one of those Lifetime movies with a mystery to solve that she loved watching every week.

“Or maybe he is just embarrassed about something, like a trust fund,” Riley added, always the more reasonable one.

“Yeah, he didn’t really strike me as a dealer or a pimp,” I responded, starting to wonder if maybe Riley was right. Maybe I had just been really rude, asking about money, and Lorenzo had been really turned off by it. “It was just so weird how quickly he turned from super sweet and funny to suddenly wanting me gone. But I guess it was always just going to be a one-night stand anyway. It isn’t like I have time for a relationship with all my schoolwork.”

Ava rolled her eyes and Riley shook her head, but they both stayed mercifully silent. I knew they thought I was ridiculous with my single-minded focus on school, but I needed to keep my grades up in order to maintain my scholarship and get into the best graduate schools. Not to mention, boys had always been a bit of a disappointment for me. I had dated a few guys through college, but they never felt like anything special and I always had a nagging feeling that I was wasting my time with them. Maybe it would have been the same with Lorenzo.

“Well, at least you finally got fucked right,” Ava replied. That girl had no filter, but she was right. The problem was, now I was spoiled for other men. No one had ever fucked me like Lorenzo had and now I might never be fucked like that again.

I headed to my room and decided to see if I could find him on Facebook. Maybe it would show me something to explain his reaction to my questions. After typing in his name and limiting the search to our city, I started to scroll through the pages of Lorenzos. Apparently there were a lot of guys with dark hair named Lorenzo around here. Then I saw his picture. It was unmistakably him, with dark hair and that slightly mysterious, cocky smile. Damn, he was so freaking hot.

I clicked on the picture and his profile popped up. Most of his information was set to private, but I now had his full name. Lorenzo Romano.
Why does that name ring a bell?

And then my blood ran cold. Romano. The Romano crime family was filled with the leading gangsters in our city. They had plenty of money, but it was all gotten through shady deals, gambling, possibly even murder. I wasn’t one to follow the crime news too closely, but I knew that they were bad news.