Out of the Ashes (7 page)

“Hell ye
s, you couldn’t keep me away.  We’re going to do you up right.  The man thought you were stunning after just seeing you a few times, wait until he sees you tomorrow night!  He won’t be able to keep his eyes, and probably his hands, off you.  I’m so jealous; just so you know.”

“Gav, I don’t want him to…  Oh
never mind.  What’s the use?  I don’t know what I want.”  After the other night, I would almost give up the job just to be with him again but it doesn’t seem like that’s what he wants.  “It doesn’t really matter what I want anyway.  Despite a few innuendos, he was completely professional and seems to really want me to join the company.”

“Celeste, I’m sure this is
all very confusing for you but how many times have you told me about this dream job?  Couldn’t he be your dream man too?”  His face darkens and turns serious, “I’ve gotta throw out a warning though.  Don’t give up your future for a man.  I know that better than anyone.”  Oh no, Gavin, I want to say; I know it too, learned it the hard way as a matter of fact.

Returning to his playful self, Gavin grins
at me over our drinks that have just arrived and holds up his glass.  “To hot bosses, hot dresses, and
stunning
roommates.”  He always knows how to bring me out of any funk; and my earlier tangled emotions over the end of my time with Ian, the meeting with Rebecca and the news about Natasha and Dean are forgotten as I reach the bottom of my third glass.

After a couple more drinks, Gavin stands and indicates that it
’s time to begin our rounds at the clubs.  “Can we run home for a couple minutes first?  I’m not exactly dressed for a night out.”

“Sure but no taking hours to get ready.”  He winks at me.

I rush to the apartment when we step out of the elevator and run into my room.  I have already had way too many at the restaurant and no dinner to top it all off.  But what the hell! I want to get out, have some drinks, and dance my ass off.  I slip into the black and silver sequin banded dress and the black studded Louboutin’s Gavin brought home for me.  They are sky high and I’ll probably be on my ass by the end of the night but they look hot.  Hooking my stockings into my garter, I step into the shoes and then quickly run into the bathroom to check my makeup.  Despite my earlier episode, my face doesn’t look too bad.  Dabbing a little highlighting cream under my eyes and then some lip-gloss, I am ready to go.  I grab my earrings off the dresser and put them in as I walk into the living room to find Gavin waiting for me.

“Holy hell
, woman.  Are you trying to give all the men at the club a heart attack?  We all know how this turned out last time.  Maybe we should find a sack or something for you to wear.  Then again it probably doesn’t matter what you wear, a hot woman is a hot woman.”  He winks at me and I roll my eyes in return.  “Hey, gorgeous when you’ve got it, you’ve got.  And you, Celeste, you definitely have it.  If I was straight…  Well let’s not get into fairy tales, but you know what I’m saying.”

T
he night with Ian made me more fearless and in my alcohol fueled state, I felt emboldened and ready to take on anything.  Maybe even find me a hot man of my own to bring home for the night, no that thought needs to be erased from my brain.  There was no way I was EVER making that mistake again.  Once is enough for me; thank you very much.

I turn
to the door.  “Are you just gonna stand there or are we gonna go shake our asses?”  Giving my ass a shake for good measure. 

Gavin le
ts out a long whistle and then is right beside me at the door.  “Let’s go but I can see I’m going to have a keep close eye on you tonight.  Now no running off with any hot men, least of all ones you will be working for the next day.”  He nudges my shoulder with his and gives my ribs a tickle, feeling very playful tonight.             

When we arrive at the club, the line i
s around the corner; I figure there is no way we are ever going to get in.  Instead, Gavin walks straight up to the security guard. “Hey Brett,” he says with a wink.  The large bouncer gives him the once over then smiles.  “Hey, Gavin.  You going to be here long tonight?  I don’t finish until close but if you’re here, make sure you find me before you leave.”  And with that, no paying cover or anything, he pulls the cord back and lets us through, staring at Gavin’s backside as he walks past.

Staring in disbelief at Gavin, he just shr
ugs.  “I met Brett last week at the gym and we hit it off.  He mentioned that he works here as a bouncer and that I should stop by some night if I had time.  And since this is one of the hardest clubs in New York to get into, I thought what better night than tonight.  Now it looks like the night just got better because not only do I get to dance with the hottest woman here and make all the straight guys jealous; I’m going to go home with that hot piece of ass.  Oh but don’t worry, I’ll be home in plenty of time our little shopping excursion.”  Then with a wink, he’s gone up to the bar for drinks.

Handing me a vodka and cranberry, we scan the crowd.  This place is packed, and I can tell why.  The DJ is awesome and in
the VIP section you can actually catch a peek of some real celebrities, not that they’ll be coming out to mingle with us but it’s still pretty fucking awesome.  Once I have downed my drink, I grab Gavin and drag him to the dance floor.  The music is thumping and I lose myself in the rhythm.  Gavin’s right there with me. 

The dance floor is packed and it’s not long before I feel a strong pair of hands come around
my waist and turn me toward their owner.  Gavin glances at me to make sure I’m okay and I give him a nod looking toward the stranger.  He’s cute in a rugged sort of way; looks like he could use a shave but the look works on him. We dance a few songs with his hands at my waist and then they start to slip lower and he uses the leverage to pull me into him.  I can tell he’s really interested; no, I can feel on my stomach how interested he is.  Well, we have been grinding on each other for the last twenty minutes, so what did I expect?  He hasn’t really said much but it’s wonderful to just get lost in the sea of bodies and have this hot guy with me. 

His embrace tightens and he turns to lead me off the dance floor.  Oh no, this
definitely isn’t what I had in mind.  I shake my head at him indicating that I intend to stay out and dance some more.  His tugging becomes more insistent.  I look around for Gavin but can’t see him the crowd.  I try to shout over the music to the guy who now has a death grip on my waist but he either can’t hear me or is completely ignoring me.  I try to push him off hoping that will get his attention.  All it gets me is a tighter grip to the point my feet aren’t really on the floor and he is carrying me off the dance floor.  Holy shit!  Panic courses through me and I think I’m in serious trouble here. 

Suddenly the tight arm around my waist
is a little more relaxed and I’m back on my own feet.  The guy carrying me has stopped moving and he’s trying to look casual, like we were mutually in agreement to leave the dance floor.  He tries to step to the side around whatever is blocking his path and finally, I see what stands in front of us.  There is Ian Jacobs flanked by two of the largest men I have ever seen and Connor is directly behind them.  What the hell?  That seems to be becoming my new mantra this week.

“I don’t think the lady is ready to leave the dance floor, sir.” One of the bouncers says. 

The guy with his arm on me just smiles.  “Oh, I’m pretty sure from the way she was dancing with me just now she’s more than ready to leave the dance floor.”

“Miss
, did you want to leave with this gentleman?”  Unable to speak at the sight of Ian, I simply shake my head no. 

Turning back to my captor, the bouncer goes on,
“Sir, I must ask you to let go of the lady and leave the premises immediately.  If you cannot comply then we’ll be forced to escort you out.” 

Stubble guy looks confused for a moment; he looks down
at me like a child who is about to have his candy taken away.  After several long minutes his gaze drifts back to the security guards trying to gauge how serious they are.  Apparently, he hesitates a little too long because the guards are on him in a second and now he’s the one being carried to the front door. 

Ian and Connor continue to stand in front of me. 
Ian hasn’t said a word and the look on his face is one of pure rage.  Is he angry with me or stubble guy?  What did I do?  I just wanted to dance; it’s not my fault stubble guy couldn’t handle that dancing was all I wanted to do.  Seeming to recover, Ian acknowledges me with a tip of his head and a small smile, not the panty dropping one, and walks back toward the VIP section, where I see him join a group of people.  Repeat mantra, WHAT THE HELL?

I go up to the bar to order another drink and take a few minutes to bring my heart rate back within a normal range.  As the bartender hands me my drink, Gavin appears out of the crowd.  “
Where the hell have you been?  I’ve been looking all over for you.  You started dancing with that guy and then suddenly I couldn’t find you anymore.” 

Oh shit, I
’m in trouble now.  I thought Gavin had moved off to dance but in actuality, stubble guy had purposely led me away from him.  Gavin’s expression isn’t as severe as the one Ian was sporting a few minutes ago but I can definitely tell he’s not happy with me.  “Then I see the bouncers dragging his sorry ass out of here.  What the hell, Celeste?” 

Yeah
, that’s pretty much been my thought all night.  “I’m sorry Gav.  The guy picked me up off the dance floor and was trying to make his way god knows where, to do god knows what with me.”  Oh, I didn’t even want to think about that right now.  I down the other half my drink in one giant gulp and signal to the bartender that I want another.  I need to get my mind off of what almost happened, what could have happened.  “Then suddenly,” I continue, “Ian, Connor and two of the biggest bouncers I’ve ever seen were blocking his path.  The bouncers, um, escorted him out of the club.  Sorry to have caused a panic.” 

I gi
ve him my sorry eyes hoping that will alleviate some of his anger.  For a moment his eyes narrow, he’s obviously thinking about what could have happened. Then his gaze softens.  “I really need to keep a better eye on you. No leaving my side for the rest of the evening, understand?” 

“Yes, dad.” 
I try to joke but can see it’s lost on him.  He doesn’t need to tell me that, there’s no way I’m going to let him out of my sight for the rest of the night.  The bartender arrives with my drink but as I reach out to grab it, Gavin swoops in and drinks it down in one drink.  “Hey!” I protest loudly. 

“Oh no
, babe, I am cutting you off.  We can stay and dance but it’s water only for you for the rest of the night.  I should have insisted that you eat something earlier.”  He says shaking his head.  Gavin always seems to know when I need to be taken care of without taking it too far and making me feel like a child; it’s been that way since we met.

Gavin was walking out of NYU’s art school
, where he had been modeling for one of the school’s art classes and I was staring at a map trying to find the administration office and ran smack into him.  It was like running into a brick wall.  I started to stumble backward off the curb and Gavin caught my arm just before I landed in the street.  “Whoa, slow down there.  Also it often helps to walk with your eyes up here,” he said tipping my chin up, “rather than looking at your feet.” 

“Sorry first day here. I’m terribly directionally challenged and was trying to figure out where the hell I am on this map.”  I looked up to finally see the face of the wall I had run into.  Holy hotness.  Despite my recent history, I was totally captivated by him.
  He was one of the most gorgeous men I had ever seen.  Gavin offered to walk me over to the administration office saying something about wanting to save others from being mowed down the way I had him.  I thought about pointing out that I was the one who almost ended up on their ass but then thought better of it and let him lead the way to the building.  He was so easy going and pleasant to talk to that we quickly hit it off.  He made feel completely comfortable almost like I could tell him anything, I said almost, even after such a short time.  I totally would have snatched him up but always my luck I am the wrong gender for him to even be interested as I found out when we met for lunch that day.

I explained to him that I just moved here a week ago and was getting ready to start my MBA at NYU.  In the meantime I was living out of a suitcase in a hotel room until I could find a place.  I had already looked at a couple
places, both were people advertising for a roommate; but one was too far away and the other was a male roommate, a pervy male roommate.  He spent most of the time staring at my chest and my legs and didn’t even bother to give me a tour of place except to show me his bedroom.  Yeah, not happening.  Gavin mentioned that he had recently moved to the city; his parents had bought him an apartment right on 5
th
Avenue across from Central Park. Oh shit, that must have cost a fortune.  He told me to come by the next day and he would give me a tour. Rent would be cheap in spite of the location because the apartment was paid for and his parents paid the fees so all we would have to do is split the utilities.  For a little while, I was worried that his parents would be upset that he had a roommate considering they were essentially paying for everything.  But then I met Mrs. Shaw, or Kathleen, as she insisted I call her from the moment we met.  She was a wonderful woman and I could see where Gavin got his easygoing nature.