I glanced around the main floor of Club V. Being a weeknight didn’t usually stop it from being filled with club members, but it did seem particularly tame tonight. And by that, I was basically noting that there was no one openly fucking on the floor.
“Here’s your wine,” Celeste said as she placed the thin glassware in front of me. “Our very best. I hope you like it.”
I swirled the wine in the glass and took a sip. “You know, I honestly don’t know much about wine, but I do like the taste and this is phenomenal. Thank you.”
“Sure thing. Seriously, you look great tonight. Any reason to put yourself together so nicely? That dress is going to draw some serious attention.”
I shrugged. “No reason really. Just felt like making myself feel like a woman for once. I spend all day in dirty jeans and covered in grease. Sometimes I forget what it feels like to be clean and in a dress with my makeup done and hair not pulled back in a bun or ponytail.”
“I can’t say that I personally know what that’s like, but I do sympathize. However, your day look sounds like a lot of lesbians’ dream girl.” She punctuated the statement with a laugh. “I’m allowed to say that.”
I grinned and rolled my eyes. “How is Amber doing?”
Celeste brightened more at the thought of her wife. “Incredible. I mean, I didn’t think I could love the woman more, but she is more beautiful every day. And the fact that she is growing that child inside her…it’s kind of mind blowing, you know?”
I nodded. I really hadn’t thought about children, figuring I was much too young and that it wasn’t the right time for me to consider the possibility. The idea of growing a human inside me was beyond anything I could imagine.
“How much longer?”
“Two more months,” she said as she pulled her phone from her pocket and opened the photo gallery. “This is her most recent ‘bump’ photo. You know, those used to disgust me when I would see people sharing them on social media, but now that it’s my baby—totally different story. And here—” she swiped to another photo. “Here’s the last sonogram. We’re having a girl!”
I smiled as I looked at the 3D image. It was a baby, that was certain, but my untrained eye couldn’t tell much more than that.
“I’m so happy for you. Have you guys picked out a name yet?”
She sighed at that. “Well, I’ve got a few ideas. My mom’s name was Anita and I’d really like to do something to honor her memory. Amber is really into the name Bryn. We’ll work something out, but I have no idea what it’ll be yet.”
Just then, a man in a finely tailored suit took a seat two barstools away and smiled in my direction, ignoring the fact that I was in conversation with Celeste.
“Would the lady like another drink?” He asked, interrupting us.
“And here is contestant number one, ladies and gentleman,” Celeste whispered with a smile as she moved down the bar to take the man’s order.
Chapter 6
“So, tell me a little about yourself?”
The guy at the bar had moved down to sit next to me, once he realized that there was no one coming to meet me, in spite of my insistence otherwise. And he was no longer just some random guy sitting beside me at the bar, he was Chadwick Fontaine, heir to some kind of soap fortune. I might have been young, but I had been around long enough to know that when a guy wants you to know what he’s worth right out of the gate, he doesn’t have much else going for him.
“Well, I work for my father and I’m set to inherit the family business some day. Only child, you know.” I said with a grin as I drained the rest of the wine from my glass and gestured for Celeste to refill my glass. It was already that kind of night. I had decided that if I was going to be stuck at the bar talking to this guy, I was going to have a little fun.
“Oh really? What business are you in?” He asked with genuine interest. These types always wanted to know what they were marrying into. Best to check the horse’s teeth before buying.
“Autos,” I said, adding a slightly more New England affect to my voice.
&
nbsp; “Importing?”
I nodded as I took another sip from my refilled glass of wine. “Most of our work is with imports, yes.”
“Fascinating. That is just so wonderful that you’ve been able to learn from your father all these years. Do you have a timeline set for when you’ll be taking over?”
I looked him dead in the eye with a smile on my face. “Well, considering I’m barely 21 and my father is barely out of his 40s, I’d imagine that’s pretty far in the future.”
The man was taken aback, clearly shocked that I was only 21. That was a lie, of course. I was only 19 but I didn’t want that guy knowing this and getting Celeste in trouble for serving someone underage. It was enough to get the club shut down if the wrong person found out. I knew that I looked older than my age. It was the body and the fact that I carried myself with a little more confidence than most young women my age.
Whatever shock registered on his face quickly disappeared when he considered the other perks of talking to a 21 year old at a bar. Feeling bold, he put his arm around me and rubbed my shoulder. I tried to shrug it off, but he pulled me closer, tight against him.