“This is really nice,” I gushed, as I followed him into a huge room. I was starting to feel like a robot, but didn’t really know what else to say.
“Let me go and get you some pajamas.” His voice was rough, and he walked towards the door.
“That’s okay.” My voice was feeble. “I can sleep in my clothes.” I spoke louder, wanting to show him that this situation wasn’t making me uncomfortable.
He ignored me and continued walking to his room, and I sighed while running my fingers through my hair. I wanted to run into the bathroom and check my reflection in the mirror. I had a bad feeling that I looked like a mess, and I wasn’t sure if I had smudged my eyeliner and mascara when I had been rubbing my eyes earlier.
“Here.” Zane appeared in the doorway again. “You can wear this.” He handed me a pair of boxer shorts and a soft blue t-shirt, and I looked up at him with a thankful glance.
“These look really comfortable.” I smiled gratefully. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” He continued to stare at me and it looked as if he was debating whether or not to say something else to me. My heart started pounding as he gazed into my eyes and I could feel my inhibitions going away. I had a feeling he was going to ask me to sleep with him. I also had a feeling that I wasn’t going to say no. “Lucky, you can tell me to mind my own business, but why did you drive your car out late at night if you knew it had mechanical issues?”
“What?” I frowned in confusion. I had been preparing myself to accept his caress; I hadn’t been expecting a lecture.
“I just don’t think it’s safe for you to be driving around late at night in a car that isn’t very reliable.” He frowned and leaned towards me. “I don’t even want to imagine what might have happened to you if I hadn’t been there.”
“Why exactly were you there?” I shot back defensively. “It seems kind of suspicious to me that you were driving right behind me. I thought you had already left the party.”
He looked away quickly and ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “I wanted to make sure you made it home safely.”
“What?” I gasped. “You were following me?”
“I wasn’t following you per se.” He shook his head. “And you should be thanking me. I saved your ass.”
“My ass didn’t need saving,” my voice rose. “You are a creeper. I can’t believe you were following me.”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay, Lucky. You’re too nice of a girl to be going to those types of parties.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The girls at those parties know the deal. They fit the lifestyle.” Zane paused. “I didn’t want to see you getting hurt.”
“So what deal is that Zane?” I frowned. “Do you mean these girls are all a part of ‘The loose legs for Zane club’?”
“The what?” He looked at me and laughed. “Did you just make that up?”
“You know what I mean.” I glared at him. “It seems to me that you seem to think you are the only one who can look after himself.” I went off on a tangent. “I may be a girl, but I don’t need you to come save me Zane. You can save that for the $2 whores you take out every Friday night.”
“That’s a low blow, Lucky.” He frowned. “And I’ll have you know I don’t sleep with every girl I take out.”
“Oh really? So you didn’t sleep with any of the girls I’ve seen you with at Lou’s.”
“Well, hold on.” He grinned. “I never said that.”
My heart fell at his words. I was hoping he was going to say that he had never slept with any of them. That he was looking for Mrs. Right, and that was why he had gone on so many dates. In my heart of hearts, I had pictured him telling me that he had also been saving himself for his future wife. and then, I would tell him that I had been saving myself as well, and we would ride off into the sunset together.
“So you’ve slept with most of them?” I looked up at him curiously, the causal expression on my face hiding the urgency behind the question.
“I’d rather not talk about my sex life with you, Lucky.” He peered at me with a serious expression. “I’m sorry that you were uncomfortable with me following you, but I thought it was for the best. And it turns out, I was right. I followed my gut Lucky, and my gut was telling me to make sure you got home okay.”
“What about Angelique?” I bit out angrily. I was mad that he didn’t want to tell me more about his dating life.
“She got home fine, I’m sure.” He sighed and turned around. “I’m going to let you get some sleep. In the morning, we can call a tow truck and have it towed to the shop.”
“I don’t have any money to pay a mechanic yet.” I sighed softly. “Well, I have some money, but not enough.” I looked down at the lush cream berber carpet beneath my feet, feeling embarrassed.
“We’ll figure something out.” He reached over and grabbed my arm. “I promise, Lucky. It’ll be okay.” His blue eyes crinkled warmly as he reassured me, they seemed to be trying to communicate to me in some unknown language, and I felt myself trying to understand his silent message.
“I hope so.” I sighed, letting my long brown hair cover my face. I was starting to feel even more confused, and I could feel a slight melancholy build up in me. A wave of exhaustion hit me, and I yawned loudly.
“Point taken, Lucky.” Zane grinned and winked. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night.” I watched him as he walked out of the room and quickly shouted. “And thanks.”
“No problem.” He didn’t look back as he sauntered down the hallway and I quickly closed the door before pulling off my clothes and putting on his boxers and t-shirt. I sniffed the t-shirt to see if I could smell his scent, but it smelled like fabric softener. I laughed at myself for my cheesiness before getting into the king sized bed. I moaned out in pleasure as I slipped in between the sheets. They reminded of hotel sheets, and I knew that they had to be 500-thread count Egyptian cotton. I moved my legs back and forth, loving the luxurious softness against my skin. I lay back with my head against the down feather pillows, and I wondered what Zane was doing and thinking. I felt a warm thrill in my stomach as I thought about him being concerned for me. It had been a little creepy that he had waited for me, but part of me felt exhilarated and cared for. He had to like me a bit if he had been worried about whether I’d get home safely. Unless he just saw me an innocent, guileless, local girl and he felt a responsibility for me because he saw me every Friday at Lou’s. I felt disappointed then. Maybe he didn’t really care for me at all. At least not in the way that I wanted. I felt my eyes drooping and I yawned. I rolled over exasperated with myself for continuing to hope that I meant something more to him. He doesn’t even know you Lucky, I thought to myself as I drifted to sleep.