The smile on John’s lips, or rather Lucas’s lips, drops immediately as he lays his eyes upon me. Casey holds on to his arm happily, none the wiser, waiting for me to respond.
Lucas clears his throat, trying to find his voice as he nervously extends his hand out.
“Nice to meet you,” he says, his eyes burning into me.
I choke down the anger that rises inside and offer my hand to shake his.
Lucas shakes his head quickly, looking slightly panicked.
“And, Roxanne,” Casey continues happily, not catching on to the tension in the air, “this is Seth.”
“Hello, Seth,” I seethe, plastering a big fake smile on my face.
Joe, I mean, Seth, chuckles darkly. “Hello, Roxanne, a pleasure to meet you,” he replies.
And then he leans in to whisper in my ear, “What are the fucking chances, huh? Guess you’re stuck with me after all.” He pulls back and smiles.
This night just went from incredible to terrible in a matter of minutes. Casey looks from me to Seth and back again, and she claps her hands together.
“Well, guys, shall we get some fresh drinks? Maybe do a little dancing or something?” Casey asks cheerfully.
Lucas finally recovers himself and answers her, “Sure, babe, sounds good. Let’s, uh, let’s go grab a spot over there.” He points to an empty group of sofas in the corner.
“Ooh, way cozier than a table.” Casey giggles, reaching up to kiss Lucas.
“Shall we?” Seth offers his arm to me, smiling—clearly amused by this turn of events.
Lucas and Casey lead the way, and I unhappily take Seth’s arm, trying to hide my discomfort. We follow a few paces behind them.
“So, Roxanne,” Seth whispers, “what are we going to do about this little situation here? What do you think of our man John now?”
“This is just... so wrong,” I whisper back irritably.
“But it just felt so fucking right, didn’t it?” He smiles roguishly.
“Geez, Joe... sorry, I mean Seth. Oh god!” I whimper.
Seth pulls his arm from mine and wraps it around my shoulder. We stop walking for a moment, and he holds me back out of earshot of Casey and Lucas, who are already seated.
“Relax, Roxanne. Everything will be fine. Just pretend it didn’t happen,” he says, turning me to face him.
“Easy for you to say,” I grumble, looking sidelong at Casey who is laughing at something Lucas is saying to her.
“Not really, I don’t want to forget it happened. It was too good. But how about for the rest of the night, we’ll just pretend and play nice for your friend’s sake?” he suggests.
I try to take a big cleansing breath, trying to calm myself and act natural.
“So, Seth, huh?” I frown at him.
“Yeah, not Joe.” He laughs out loud.
“You know, this isn’t really funny. How can you be so calm?” I ask him incredulously.
“Well, it’s kind of funny… But I suppose it’s also kind of messed up. Of all the women Lucas could have chosen, he chooses you, his girlfriend’s best friend, like shit!
“Then to top it all off, you were unknowingly meant to be my date tonight. Unfortunately for me, you are more interested in Lucas, who is obviously more unavailable than he let on.
“So, you know what? I think you should give this guy a chance.” Seth points a thumb at himself. “I think the two of us could have some real fun together,” he coaxes.
I stare down at the floor.
“I just feel so bad for Casey,” I say quietly, feeling guilty.
Seth puts two fingers under my chin and lifts my face to look at him.
“Hey, cut yourself a little slack. You had no idea—we had no idea. It was supposed to be completely anonymous. We never thought we’d see you again,” Seth admits.
“Except Lucas asked me for my number, and I gave it to him. If I had been a stranger in this situation, he’d be running around with both of us.
“How am I supposed to live with that knowledge and not tell my best friend that her new boyfriend is a cheating asshole?” I challenge.
“Hey now, I don’t know your friend over there, but they’ve only been dating three weeks. Do you know if they’ve even agreed to be exclusive?” Seth argues.
“Well no. The first and only time we talked about Lucas before tonight was only a week and a half ago when she told me we had invitations to this thing,” I say.
“So at that point, they had only known each other for a week and a half, yeah? Come on, Roxanne, that’s hardly serious.” He tilts his head, trying to persuade me to see things his way.
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Who knows how long this thing will last between them? Obviously, he’s not too emotionally invested, and Casey tends to get bored easily…”
Now I find myself trying to talk myself into the idea that this situation is at least sort of okay. I take a deep breath and smile at Seth. Maybe we can turn this night back around after all.
“See? There you go, love. Now, before we go over there, laugh loudly at the hilarious joke I’m telling you.
“Pretend that I’m the sexiest man you’ve ever had the pleasure of having a blind date with… That’ll really show ’em.”
Seth flashes a devilish smile at me, and I can’t help but smile back.
He really is the sexiest blind date ever, so I decide to just go with it. I laugh out loud as he has requested and smack him on the chest playfully, just to really bring it home.
“Good girl. Now let’s go join our friends, shall we?”
He puts his arm back around my shoulders, and we make our way over to where our company sits.
Lucas and Casey sit on one side. Lucas has his arm draped on the back of the sofa behind Casey, and she’s got a hand on his upper thigh.
Lucas’s eyes are glued to us as Seth and I take a seat on the sofa across from them. Seth mirrors Lucas and drapes his arm on the back of the sofa behind me.
“You two seem to be getting along quite nicely,” Casey says with a suggestive smile.
“We’re getting along great.” Seth flashes her a wide grin.
“That’s good.” Casey giggles as she winks at me.
“So, Seth, how long have you and Lucas known each other?” Casey starts the conversation when nobody else does.
“We’ve known each other about ten years, met in college,” Seth responds. “How long have you and Roxanne been friends?” he adds.
“I’ve been best friends with Roxie since high school,” she replies.
“Roxie, huh?” Seth nudges me.
“She hates it when people call her that, so only I can do it,” Casey says, rolling her eyes.
“It sounds like a stripper’s name,” I retort. “I’ve only just recently started to like my actual name,” I add.
“And why is that? I like it.” Lucas finally speaks up, staring at me.
“I know, right? I love her name,” Casey agrees with him, but I ignore his question.
“Personally, I think it’s a sexy name,” Seth announces, and I feel him start brushing the back of my neck with his fingers.
“Who has a sexy name?”
The four of us look up at whoever has just asked the question. My eyes go wide when I recognize Mr. Spence Manfredi from earlier.
Seth and Lucas stand up immediately and go over to the man to shake his hand. Casey looks over at me in confusion and quickly comes to sit next to me as the men talk in hushed tones.
“Who is that?” she whispers.
“It’s Spence Manfredi,” I tell her.
“What? Really? Awesome!” she squeals quietly.
I’m thinking though that this is definitely not awesome. He will obviously recognize me too, and this could be bad.
So I’m hoping the guys are filling him in on the situation right now before anything is revealed.
Finally, the guys break away, and Casey hops back over to the other sofa as Lucas and Seth resume their places next to us.
Spence decides to join us, and he goes over to Casey first and extends his hand to her.
“Hi there, I’m…,” Spence begins, but Casey stands and eagerly cuts him off as she takes his hand and shakes it vigorously.
“I know, Mr. Spence Manfredi. I’m so happy to meet you, sir.” She smiles and curtsies, and Spence laughs out loud, clearly amused by this greeting.
“Please call me Spence, beautiful,” he says, shaking his head, still chuckling.
Casey giggles and takes her seat next to Lucas as Spence turns around and extends his hand to me.
“Roxanne, how nice to see you again,” he says, and then he winks at me.
“Nice to see you again too, Spence,” I say as he bends slightly, taking my hand and lifting it to his mouth, planting a kiss on top of it.
He then sits down on my other side.
“So, Lucas, Seth, are you two staying out of trouble?” Spence asks the guys.
So, he is in on the whole “John” thing earlier.
I put the pieces together and remember what Casey had told me about her boyfriend working for Spence, which is how he got tickets, and when Lucas...aka John had said he was in the hotel business.
“Never,” Seth says, leaning over to grab his drink.
Spence suddenly waves his hand in the air, and I realize why is that when a waitress rushes over.
“We need another round over here,” he orders.
“Yes, sir, what can I get for you?” she asks, looking around the table.
“Something from the private selection please,” Spence clarifies.
The waitress looks confused for a moment, and then surprisingly, Spence quickly lifts his mask, revealing his identity to the waitress.
Her eyes go wide with recognition as he snaps it back down into place.
“Yes, sir, right away, sir,” she breathes and rushes off.
“Isn’t that against the rules?” I smirk at Spence.
“They are my rules, so I can break them,” he replies in a conspiratorial tone and flashes that megawatt billion-dollar smile of his.
“We didn’t even tell her what we wanted,” Seth chimes in.
“No problem, I’m sure that whatever she brings will be good. I’ve personally chosen everything in that selection.
“Don’t get me wrong. Everything that is served here tonight is of the best quality, but my private bar is the best of the best,” he brags.
I was hoping to get another glass of that wine from the said private bar.
“So, Seth, do you work for Spence too?” I ask him, remembering his easy interaction with him earlier.
“Actually, Spence used to be married to my older sister,” Seth reveals.
“Wife number two.” Spence laughs heartily. “But I think Seth and I got along better than she and I did,” Spence adds.
“We stayed friends even after the nasty divorce, despite my sister’s protests. Whatever though.” Seth shrugs, then reaches behind me and smacks Spence on the shoulder.
“Then I introduced Spence to Lucas, and that’s how they know each other.”
“And you work for Spence now?” I direct my attention to Lucas momentarily. Now that I know who he is, he doesn’t need to be so vague anymore.
“That’s right.” Lucas nods.
“What do you do for him?” I prod.
“Lucas is kind of my right-hand guy. He does a little of everything. Whatever I need him to do, he does it…no questions asked,” Spence answers for him.
It’s still somewhat ambiguous, but I think he means it to be. I get the vibe that he wants me to drop it.
Spence stands up suddenly and looks at Casey.
“Casey, sweetheart, would you care to dance?” he asks her.
She looks up at him in awe and then looks over at Lucas, as if to see if it is okay with him. He nods at her.
“Have fun!” Lucas encourages her, and so she stands up.
Spence takes her hand and leads her away, leaving me alone with Lucas and Seth.
I wonder idly if this was on purpose, because immediately after Casey and Spence are a safe distance away, Lucas leaps up from his spot and comes to sit next to me.
“Fuck, Roxanne!” he groans. “I had no idea.”
“You’re a fucking asshole,” I say through my teeth. “You cheated on my friend.”
“Roxanne, I’ve only known her for a little over three weeks. I never said that we were exclusive,” he tells me.
“See, I told you,” Seth interjects, and I shoot him a look that says “shut up.”
“Well, she seems to think that you are,” I inform him.
“Well, that’s something I need to talk to her about then,” he retorts, and I suddenly feel panicked.
“You’re not going to tell her what happened…,” I whisper.
“Oh fuck no! I’m just going to tell her that I see other people. She’s free to do the same if she wants.”
“Well, even so, you can delete my number from your phone,” I tell him.
“Aw, don’t say that,” he leans in close. “I don’t think that’s what you really want,” he says into my ear, his hot breath tickling me, causing me to shiver.
“How would you know what I really want? I just met you.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“Hey, Luke,” Seth interrupts, “Rox is my date now, remember?”
“Fuck you,” Lucas grunts at him.
“Nah,” Seth chuckles.
“You know what?” I butt in. “Seth is right. He’s my date now, and you are Casey’s. So let’s keep it that way, shall we?”
I boldly place my hand on Seth’s knee, and he grins.
“We’ll see,” Lucas says quietly. “This,” Lucas points between me and him, “is not over.”
“Yes, it is. It never really was there anyway,” I finish.
Lucas stands up and walks back over to the other sofa just as Casey and Spence return. They take their seats, and the waitress shows up with a tray in hand.
She sets the tray down on the table, takes a bottle of Dom Perignon off it, to leave on the table along with five champagne flutes.
“Good choice, miss,” Spence compliments her. “I guess we’re celebrating tonight.”
“What are we celebrating?” Casey asks breathlessly, obviously still a little starstruck from her dance with Spence.
The waitress expertly removes the cork with a loud pop and starts pouring. We all lean in and grab a glass from the table.
Spence lifts his in the air to make a toast. “To new friends,” he says loudly.
“Here, here!” Seth agrees, while we all lift our glasses and clink them together.
“I’ve never had Dom before,” Casey comments as she lifts the glass to her lips.
She takes a sip, and her eyes go wide. “Yum.” She licks her lips and leans back into Lucas.
Seth leans in close to my ear and whispers, “I think I’d like to drink this out of your belly button.”
“You’re considering that, aren’t you?” he whispers knowingly.
“Considering what?” Spence asks, leaning in close on my other side, obviously having caught the last part.
“Oh, I was just telling Roxanne here that I’d like to drink this Dom Perignon out of her belly button,” Seth says casually, like it’s the most ordinary thing to talk about with someone.
Spence chuckles darkly. “I bet that would taste pretty good,” Spence croons, glancing at me.
“Uh-uh, I ain’t sharing this time.” Seth shakes his head at Spence.
I look nervously toward Lucas and Casey, hoping she can’t hear this conversation.
Luckily, she seems too wrapped up in her conversation with Lucas, and the loud music provides decent cover to our hushed tones.
“Excuse me, but don’t talk about me like I would be okay with it even if you were. Just because we did what we did doesn’t mean I’m good to go for that whenever with whomever,” I say heatedly.
“Hey, hey, Roxanne, I don’t think of you that way. I just think that you are sexy as hell and that you seem like someone who is not afraid of a little adventure…
“I happen to really like that, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better. I don’t believe in the whole slut thing.
“I believe in ‘to each their own,’ and if we’re being safe, and we’re not hurting anyone, then why not? And despite what you may think of me, I’m really not a bad guy,” Seth explains to me.
I am stunned silent by his admission. He has just won a few points in my book, and I instantly feel more relaxed around him, knowing that he’s not judging me after what we did.
“I don’t think you’re a bad guy,” I tell him, making him smile.
“And as for me,” Spence interjects, “I find you intriguing. You are a very beautiful woman, Roxanne, and I personally don’t care what you did with these guys.
“I appreciate a woman who is comfortable with herself and her sexuality,” he states.
“I’m flattered, Spence, but I just want you to know that what I did with Seth and Lucas was the first time I’ve ever done something like that.
“Before them, I’ve only been with three guys, and they were all boyfriends. I’ve never been promiscuous, so this is completely out of the norm for me.”
I have no idea why I decided to just declare all of that. Maybe I did it because I don’t want them to have this impression of me, even if they are not judging me.
“Well, even so,” Spence says, “as long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters. Life really doesn’t need to be so complicated, Roxanne.
“I’ve learned to just go with the flow sometimes. You never know where it’ll take you.”
