At the bar, she took a seat on one of the bar stools, and ordered a
Cosmopolitan. Watching people dance to a song that went straight to her, well,
heart and lower located places, she was waiting for the magic to begin. The
first sip of an amazing drink. The first eye contact. She’d bring home a favorable impression of
NOLA after all.
The first woman to casually stroll her way was a cute blonde with curly,
shoulder-length hair. She stopped to order a drink, giving Payton a long
sideways look and a smile. She wore jeans and a low-cut top, revealing an
average-priced wardrobe to Payton’s schooled eyes. Payton wasn’t a snob. She
appreciated people choosing clothes that fit their personality and body.
“How come you are all by yourself?” the woman asked.
“I’m a tourist—kind of,” Payton told her. “I had the choice between getting up at five
to catch my flight, or simply stay up. I thought this place was worth checking
out. I’m Payton.”
“Maryann,” her companion said. “Good choice. This is a cool place,
awesome drinks—as you already found out—and you can meet interesting people.”
You have no idea, Payton thought, amused. She was, after all, an
interesting person if the tabloids were to be believed.
“Sounds great to me. So, Maryann…” For some reason, her gaze fell past Maryann
and locked on a woman who stood leaning against a pillar, beer bottle in hand.
It might be the one cocktail she had almost finished, but Payton stared,
unabashedly, long enough for the woman to catch her doing so and smile smugly
in acknowledgment. Payton felt her cheeks flush, more with excitement than
embarrassment. She tore her gaze away hesitantly, her voice breathless when she
asked, “You live here?” Truth be told, she had come here with the intention of
not wasting any time. Her approach seemed to work with Maryann, but all of a
sudden, Payton wasn’t so interested anymore.
“Yes, I moved here for work a few years ago. I love it here. It’s where
all my favorite lesbian detective novels take place.”
Payton smiled at that before she tried to unobtrusively check for the
other woman again. She hadn’t moved from her vantage place, still studying
Payton and Maryann with interest. Maybe she was looking for more than one
partner for tonight…This time, the heat welled up and went everywhere. Payton
was willing to experiment—maybe not that much tonight. She signaled the bartender
for another drink, barely able to wait until it was ready.
“I like those novels too,” she said to Maryann. It was the truth, except
it had been a long time since she’d had the leisure to sit down and read.
Working on her designs was quality time these days, when she didn’t have to
attend this charity dinner or that runway show. The
cocktail arrived, and she stood, picking it up. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.
My date just arrived. Have a great evening.”
She didn’t wait
for Maryann’s reaction, the pang of guilt fleeing quickly as she made her way
through throngs of people to her intended target, the woman she really wanted
to get under tonight.
Payton had met
women like her before, gorgeous, with the attitude and the skills to back it
up—they usually didn’t stay in her life for long, but she never regretted the
time spent together. Her hair was long, but the buttoned down white shirt and
black jeans told Payton a lot about who’d hold the door open for whom. Well,
she didn’t mind any opening of doors, as longs as things were equal in the
bedroom.
“Funny,” she
said, craning her neck a bit when she stood in front of her, even in her own
three inch heels. “Maryann just told me I could meet interesting people in
here. I think she was right.”
“What else did
Maryann tell you?” the woman asked, amused. Her voice had a warm, dark timbre,
and Payton silently congratulated herself on her choice. This one was a winner.
Tonight, she’d be all hers. If all else failed, few women could resist the
temptation of a luxury hotel and unlimited room service. Payton didn’t think
she’d have to work so hard with her.
“Honestly—I met
her five minutes ago. When I saw you, I thought it wouldn’t be fair to get her
hopes up too high.”
“Really. Now
you’re messing with my hopes instead?”
Payton smiled
behind her cocktail glass. “I wouldn’t call it ‘messing’. I’m in a city where I
don’t know anybody except my super-annoying clients, and I’m a little lonely. I
really don’t like to sleep alone.”
She hoped that
wasn’t too direct. There was a type of woman who liked to stick to a certain
protocol. It wouldn’t work for Payton in a relationship. Then again, she wasn’t
looking for a relationship at the moment, but someone to spend the night with—a
few hours, anyway, until she had to go to the airport.
“I can take care
of that.” The woman reached out to brush her fingers over Payton’s cheek, her
voice dropping to a whisper that caused a pleasant shiver easing down Payton’s
spine. She could feel her toes curling slightly, a nice kind of foreboding.
“Can I buy you a drink first? I’m Rose, by the way.”
“Payton—and yes,
you can. I just had to make sure no one else was snatching you away from me.”
Rose’s reaction
was a throaty chuckle. “It sounds very convincing when you put it that way.”
“Good, that was
the plan. What do you say we postpone the drink and get out of here? We can
always go down to the hotel bar later. They have a pretty good selection as
well.”
Rose seemed to
hesitate for a moment, then she nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that.” It was subtle,
but present, the negotiation for some sort of balance. When they left the bar,
Rose’s arm was around her in what could have been a practical move as the place
had filled up even more. However, it had the feel of something more emotional,
possessive. Payton was fine with that. She loved knowing she belonged.
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