Chapter One: Tessa

"Girl, you have to let loose!" Sana yelled over the music as we sat at the club. 

"I don't want to party," I mumbled even though I knew she couldn’t hear me so much. 

I was uncomfortable in this place that was filled with drunk strangers dancing all over the place. 

I literally just went through a breakup and all she wanted to do was get me drunk and high? 

I did not need any of that. My heart was broken. 

I wasn’t even much of a clubber in the first place so this was way out of my comfort zone. But the situation at hand led me here. 

My boyfriend of three years just cheated on me with the person who had been my best friend for over ten years now. What could be more depressing? 

It happened just hours before this. 

I had just got home to the apartment I shared with Austin, my now ex boyfriend. I was away on a work trip and thankfully the trip had been cut short by a few days because my team was able to accomplish what we went for in a record number of days.

While the rest of the team wanted to stay back and have fun before returning to base, I insisted I wanted to rest at home with my man. 

I decided it would be best to make it a surprise and that was how I stumbled on the shock of my life. 

Austin was in my bed, pounding into Clarissa without mercy while she screamed and moaned.

I froze on the spot, not knowing what to do or say. 

I wasn’t a confrontational person. They were too caught up in their ecstasy to notice I was there. So I just turned and left.

With tears blurring my vision, I grabbed my car keys and drove off to Sana’s place where I told her everything that happened. 

She was empathetic but Sana was also the wildcard in our friend group so her instant solution was us being out here so I could unwind and solve my problems later. 

She shook me out of my thoughts by whispering in my ear.

“There’s this hot dude staring at you,” she said, gesturing in the direction of the VIP section. 

I looked up and when I saw him, I froze. 

He looked like a dream. The way he stared into my eyes made me feel some type of way like he was boring into my soul.

I felt naked even though I was fully clothed.

He beckoned us over and I scoffed. He seemed arrogant.

“I’m not interested.” I told Sana.

Sana rolled her eyes. “Girl I’m not asking you to fall in love, just get laid and get that asshole off your mind for a bit.” 

I hesitated for a second but this dude’s eyes were still on me.

Choosing to be a little bit reckless, I finally got on my feet and joined him. 

“Hi,” I said, suddenly feeling a wave of shyness now that I could see him up close. 

He looked like a Greek god with a sharp jawline that could cut through steel. His nose was pointed and his full lips looked fuller due to his neatly trimmed beards. His hazel green eyes contrasted with his short raven black hair that was styled to perfection. Even in his seated position, I could tell he was a tall man. 

No wonder every woman around looked like they wanted to throw themselves at him. 

“I’m Tessa.” I introduced myself.

“Nice to meet you Tessa.” He said, offering me a drink. 

The drawl in his deep baritone floated into my ears and I was immediately entranced. 

For safety reasons, I wasn’t supposed to just take stuff from strangers but something about him just made me lose every form of security consciousness.

From then on, it was one drink after the other. I lost count of how many margaritas and shots of vodka I had downed in a few hours. 

I was drunk in no time. And so was he.

When we kissed, it was inevitable. 

Maybe it was the alcohol, but for the first time, I felt sparks and butterflies when my lips joined with someone. It was an unusual feeling.

They started off as slow but eventually deepened.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said in my ears.

I giggled. I could barely see his face but I agreed anyways. 

So many things happened as I followed him out of the club. There was fun, pleasure and chaos.

And somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I would probably regret it but I chose to let loose for once in my life. If only I knew what all that would lead to. Maybe I would have chosen a different path. 

~ 

I woke up in a strange bed the next day.

My head was aching. I had the craziest hangover. It felt like my head was too heavy for my neck. 

Squinting my eyes, I tried to get a glimpse of where I was. It was a hotel room.

I was wrapped in a blanket, butt naked underneath. I felt soreness between my legs.

“Shit,” I cussed under my breath, realizing I had a time the previous night. 

Flashbacks of that stranger blowing my back out and me screaming profanities hit my mind just then and I hid my face in embarrassment. It was a good thing I’d never see him again. I had confessed way too much about my sex starved life to his hearing. A part of me hoped he wouldn’t remember it. 

I searched for my phone on the bedside so I could at least know what the time was. 

It was intact. But there was a card on top of a wad of hundred dollar bills. 

I frowned, feeling insulted. Did he think I was a prostitute or something?

I didn’t take anything but my phone and purse as I dressed up and checked out of the hotel. The staff could do whatever they wanted with the money.