01~Letting Lose

[Emily]

'Emily, I'm sorry, but we have to let you go, ' were the words my manager said as he handed me a termination letter. I stood on the footpath outside the multi-storey building I'd been working at for the past five years, staring at the letter in my hand, completely blindsided by this.

I wanted to cry as I stood facing the building that had been my second home for years. I had been confident, maybe too confident, that I hadn't seen this day coming.

Each step I took away from the building moved me farther away from the stability I had once known.

I walked briskly, my mind replaying the conversation with my ex-boss over and over again, the words echoing in my head repeatedly. "The company is undergoing restructuring, and your position has been eliminated."

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I had invested so much of myself in that job, sacrificing personal relationships and leisure for the promise of professional success, only to see it come crashing down. Now, my carefully constructed world was crumbling before me.

I didn't know where I was going, but I found myself in front of a dimly lit bar with a long line of people waiting to get in that seemed to beckon me with promises of solace and escape.

I couldn't believe the idea was even crossing my mind. I turned to leave, but the gentle music from inside and the excited smiles of people waiting their turn seemed to pull me in like a magnet. With a heavy sigh, I found myself joining them.

A few minutes later, the bouncer, a rather scary-looking man, checked my ID before allowing me to enter.

The sound of laughter and the clinking of glasses enveloped me as I made my way to the bar, taking a seat on a worn stool. I'd been to a bar many times, but that had been many years ago when I'd been forced to by the man who had birthed me.

The bartender approached me with a sympathetic smile, "Rough day, huh?" I didn't know how he knew, and I was too depressed to care, so I simply nodded, my voice cracking as I ordered a drink, a strong one.

"Here's a Cuba Libre. Guaranteed to help you forget all your problems," the bartender said, placing a glass in front of me and a bottle of the said drink.

I'd told myself never to go near alcohol, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Glass after glass, the burn of alcohol became a numbing embrace, blurring the edges of the unexplainable pain and sadness I felt. The minutes turned to hours, and soon the bar was a blur of faces and colours. The weight of the current situation seemed to lessen with each sip, replaced by a reckless desire to forget, if only for a while.

Sweaty bodies covered the dance floor as a song I recognised blasted through the speakers. My drunk mind could not remember the name, but my body swayed to the rhythm, pulling me from my seat to the busiest part of any club. I slid through the dancing bodies, shaking my body as I'd never done before. After almost an hour being grinded on and tipsy enough to not care, I made my way back to the stool I'd sat on earlier.

The only problem now is that my seat was occupied by someone. If I'd been in a normal state of mind, I would have simply gotten another seat, probably the empty one next to his, but my drunken mind couldn't seem to process that. I slammed my hand on the table, drawing the attention of a hunk of a man sitting on my stool.

I had to strain my eyes to see his face and was left stunned at how gorgeous he looked. He had the bluest eyes I had ever seen. They were utterly enchanting, their allure pulling me in like a magnetic force, captivating my attention and igniting my curiosity.

His black hair was slicked back, giving him a very serious look. He looked very fit in the buttoned-up white-collared shirt he was wearing. I just stared at him, completely forgetting why I had gotten his attention in the first place. I blame alcohol for my raging hormones!

On the contrary, he looked at me as though I was a mad woman before asking, "Are you alright?"

I continued to stare, somehow shocked that he was talking to me.

The bartender placed a bottle in front of the man, taking his attention away from me. "Here's your Heineken." The bartender said, and the man's arms flexed as he grabbed the bottle, and I gulped at the tightness it caused in my lower region.

The man nodded before placing the bottle in his mouth and downing its contents. I watched his mouth as some of the liquid trickled down his chin, mesmerised. He placed the bottle back on the table and licked his lips. The action caused a turmoil of emotions within me, one of which stood out was lust. I'd never truly experienced being with a man who wanted me before.

My first time had been a rushed intercourse that had transpired between a guy I'd met at my high school graduation party. I had been very drunk, and he'd been a selfish bastard. The second, third and last boyfriend, whom I had been with two years ago, had been equally horrible. It seemed I was only attracted to insensitive men. Still, I'd always wondered how it would feel to be truly pleasured.

The desire to be held in another's arms hit me with full force as the man's warm eyes looked at me once more.

I wanted to say something. I needed to say something.

"R-rough day, too?" were the words that tumbled out of my mouth. I was genuinely starting to hate the drunk me.

The man chuckled bitterly, swirling the bottle in his hands. "You could say that."

"Me too. I just lost my job." Why the hell did I say that? I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. Jeez, I sucked at small talk.

"Sorry, I guess," the man replied, and it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Mind being my drinking buddy?" I continued, trying to keep the conversation going. It was a huge achievement for me, since I never did.

He nodded, but the small frown on his face spoke of what he wanted: to be left alone. Well, I wasn't going to allow that. We ordered more drinks and talked about a lot of things, mostly about me. It seemed drunk; I could only talk about my problems with the hot guy I'd met.

"He gave me a damn letter! Seriously, after everything I've done for that company. I feel cheated." I took the tissue from the man's outstretched hand and blew down my nose. The tears had finally stopped, but the aftermath, a runny nose, remained.

"I think it's better to be where you're wanted instead of where you aren't. You should enjoy yourself tonight and think about your problems the next day," the man said reassuringly while I stared at him with stars in my eyes, as if he'd said something revolutionary.

He brought the glass to his mouth to take a sip.

"Then have sex with me tonight." The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

He spat the drink out of his mouth in shock and turned to look at me with widened eyes. "What?"

"You heard me the first time." Drunk me was confident and fearless, and I loved it. The man's eyes raked my body from head to toe, landed on my breast before settling on my lips.

"Okay," he said, and I could hear the excitement in his voice.

Without another word, we got up from our seats. He paid for both our drinks, although I insisted he didn't before we made our way out of the club. I could have sworn I saw the bartender smirking at us when I turned to wave him goodbye.

He walked towards a car in the parking lot, and I followed him. A man, who ought to be his driver, opened the passenger seat for him before he sat in and ushered me to join him. The car slowly eased its way out of the parking lot and onto the busy streets. Still processing the fact that he had a driver, I didn't see him leaning close until I could feel his breath on my neck. I turned only to realise that our faces almost touched. My heart sped up, and I felt a shiver run through my body.

"Let's go to mine. I want to see you naked in my bed," he whispered in my ear, causing my pulse to quicken. His hand gently brushed my arm, swept over my shoulder and claimed my cheek, which was surely flushed by now.

My breath became short and ragged as he continued to caress me before tilting my head and leaning in. The car stopped, and the driver announced that we had reached our destination before our lips could meet.

We stepped out of the car, and my mouth nearly dropped at the building that stood before me. It was huge and looked expensive just from the outside. Before I could fully take in where I was, I was being ushered inside by a hand on my waist. We entered an empty elevator and arrived at the door to a hotel room. He opened the door and waited for me to push past him. My body brushed against his slightly as I did. The place was dark, so I couldn't make out a single piece of furniture. I heard the door shut behind me before I was pulled into the strong arms of the man. His hands gripped my hips before he leaned in and tilted my head to meet the soft layers of my lip and pressed his mouth into mine.

It started as a slow, sensual kiss, but soon turned to a hunger-filled, lustful caress of our mouths. I could taste the drink we had earlier, forcing me to push further into his mouth. Our tongues twisted together until we had to pull away to catch our breath. I wrapped my hands around his neck, and he carried me and navigated us to his bedroom. He dropped me on the bed, and I let out a squeal before he was on top of me, kissing me again.

He left small kisses on my neck, pulling my hair out of the way. He kissed my shoulders while my hands roamed his muscled body under his shirt. I couldn't help but let out a moan as pleasure so deep surged through my body.

My lower region ached for release. Soon, our dresses came off. His heated gaze roamed over my body before he kissed every part of it, leaving me hot all over. I could barely catch my breath before his face was over me and his dick was pressing in between my legs.

From just one look, I knew I would be sore the next day.