Chapter 5

Athena gulped, staring at the man beside her, he had deep brown hair in a slicked back style, his face was oval with sexy cheekbones, his nose was perfectly pointed. His lips so succulent with the lower lip fuller than the upper and light red in color, his eyes, a beautiful shade of hazel and his lashes so long that she would have been jealous if she wasn t a little tipsy. A sexy line of bears graced his cheeks and jaw and for some reason, she wanted to run her fingers through them. Her eyes trailed from his face to his fair neck and his body, he was dressed in a navy blue blazer with white shirt underneath and white pants. He had broad shoulders and his athletic body complimented his blazer making him look godly sexy, she gulped once more, her eyes going back to his face to meet with his smiling eyes. "Like what you see?" he asked with a soft chuckle, "I m beautiful, I know," he winked and pulled the stool next to her, sitting on it, he looked back at her, "you don t mind me inviting myself over, do you?" Athena got over her drooling and tucked her hair behind her hair then she nodded once without looking at him. "I have been watching you, you looked like you needed a partner in crime so I came over to offer myself. I won t be arrested for my good deed, will I?" Athena shook her head as an answer. "You don t speak much?" he asked, his voice was deep yet enticing and she had a sneaky feeling to listen to him talk all day. She didn t reply to him so he continued, "it s my first time coming here, a friend said it might look poor outside but the inside is really cool. I have been thinking about finding him tomorrow and dipping his head in deep water for deceiving me but then I saw you and I was like, maybe it aren t so bad after all, don t you think?" Athena licked her lips and kept her gaze from him, she kept staring at the empty glass before her, wondering what to say to him. She was a good talker when it comes to the boys in her area, they talk, laugh and drink together, but here, she was afraid of showing herself before she would be mistaken as not being ladylike. "You didn t answer my question," the voice behind her brought her from her thought, she glanced up at him, caught up again in his hazel eyes, wondering what question he was referring to, "I asked if I could buy you a drink?" He clarified. Athena glanced away and slowly nodded, the man smiled and called for the bartender, he ordered what Athena was already taking and when the shots were served, he picked one and downed it in one go, then he looked at her and licked his lips, "let s play a game, the best drinker." Athena glanced at him sharply and for once since he approached her, she smiled, "what s the prize?" The man chuckled, a low, deep, sexy sound, "okay, let me see…hmm, the loser gets to pay?" Athena snickered, "are you a good drinker?" He laughed, "that is something they would call cheating, you want to know my tolerance before accepting the steaks, that s bad." Athena thought about it, if she loses to him, she doesn t have enough to pay for both their drinks, but if she wins, she won t have to spend at all. It was a good steak and she has a very high tolerance, maybe she would win? She glanced up at him, but he looks like he is a pretty good drinker as well, she thought, she could run away if she doesn t win. Yeah right, good luck with running when drunk. "Fine, let s do it this way, if you put up much of a fight, whether you win or lose, I will pay, how about that?" Athena grinned, now that s the best steak ever, she gets to drown herself in alcohol like she wants and she won t spend a dime, "I m in." "Good," the man smiled, picking up another shot, "bottoms up," he gulped it down just as Athena downed hers. *** "Really, and he told me that I am not the woman for him," Athena snarled, picking up another shot and drinking, "can you believe that? After everything, after six years of relationship, he is an asshole," she slapped the shot on the table. They have been drinking for God knows how long and she was telling him how she ended up in the bar. The man with her concurred with her, although she didn t tell him much of the story but the one she told him was enough for him to side with her, "he is an asshole." "Yes," Athena said, "a big one, the biggest one…ever," she slurred. "So what are you going to do now?" He asked. Athena calmed like the sea, soon she started sobbing, "I don t know, I never thought this would happen between us. I had thought we would grow old together." "Hey, there, there," he cupped her cheek, "it s normal for relationships not to work out." "But I have been with him all my life," she cried. "Hey, how old are you?" "Twenty two." "Then your life isn t over, from my understanding, it s just starting. Come on, you are only twenty two and there are many men in the world. Just pick someone else and start dating him." She looked up at him with her tear filled eyes, "it s not that simple, its not that easy." "I know, I understand but you shouldn t kill yourself over one man. It might be hard getting over him but if you give someone else a chance, you will be surprise to find your heart loving again. My mother used to say that we find new love every single day," he smiled to her, his finger traced her cheek. Athena kept his gaze and slowly, she leaned forward and pressed her lips on his, he didn t push her away, rather he curled his fingers at the back of her neck and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. Athena pulled back after a while, "I m…sorry, I didn t mean to do that." He smiled, "I don t see myself complaining," he grinned then glanced at their table filled with empty glasses, "should we order more drinks?" "Actually, I think it would be okay if we danced," she chuckled. "That s a great idea," he got down from the stool and grabbed on to the table to stable himself, "you never know how drunk you are until you stand up," he laughed and helped her down. She collapsed into his arms and he wrapped his arms around her. "Tell me about it," she said and they laughed. "Come on, we still need to make it to the dance floor," he chuckled and steadied her, he grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the dance floor. Athena hit her foot at someone s table and the person glared at her, "sorry about that," he apologized for her. When they staggered to the dance floor, they hugged each other, laughing and supporting the other. "I can t remember the last time I had so much to drink." "Me neither, I always win the ten dollars back at home because my neighbors are all such a wimp, it s the first time I am meeting a worthy opponent." "And it s my first time of meeting a woman with such high tolerance in alcohol, believe me, I have met tons and I will have every reason to believe that if any of them could drink, they would prefer to act weak to get the men to care for them. I live in a world of fake lives, which is what makes you different and the funny thing is, I like that difference. It s not every day you will meet a woman as open as you in my world." Athena glanced at him with a frown, "in your world, are you an alien?" "What?" He asked shocked and they both laughed, "why would you think that?" He asked, still laughing. "You kept mentioning your world, forgive me if I had to think so far," she giggled. "Ah, to be honest, those in my circle often classifies themselves as a different world, a bigger world and more." "Wow, I will like to be in that world." He looked at her, for once since talking to her, he didn t smile, "I wouldn t want you to, it would stain you, take away that innocence that makes you different and soon, you would be just like them, with nothing to differentiate you." "That s not true, nothing can change me." He smiled then, "ah my dear, you don t understand, it changed your darling Frank, and it will change you too. It changes anyone who finds themselves in its midst." "What about you, it didn t change you?" He didn t answer for a while, then he whispered, "it did, I think I am the most changed of all." "How?" He gazed deep into her brown eyes, he said nothing and then he closed his eyes, when he opened them, he smiled, "I like this song, let s dance," he moved her to the beat. "Em, I forgot to mention one thing, I can t dance, and I know I suggested this but really…" she chuckled drunkenly. "Don t worry, I can, very well, in fact. One of the good things that come with being in my world," he smiled, placing her hands on his shoulders and placing his on the small of her back. "I can teach you," he whispered. Athena placed her head on his chest, it s been a long time she had been that close to a man, although she knew she should be wary of him but after spending the past hours with him, she felt like she had known him forever and what s more, she enjoyed his company, it was strange when she thinks of it but it felt like she had known him somewhere before. "What s your name?" he whispered above her head. "Athena." "Hmm, in Greek, Athena was the goddess of wisdom, are you like her?" "I don t know if I would say I am wise, but my mom always said that when she first looked into my eyes, it was filled with wisdom and the name came to her immediately. She said she had wanted to call me Marla but then it changed and she never regretted calling me Athena. Though now, I can t help thinking she might be wrong." "Parents are never wrong with names, the truth is, a child comes with their own names. That s why you can say that someone s name suits them perfectly." "Speaking of names, what s yours?" She asked. "How dare you? That s my girlfriend," someone yelled on the dance floor and everyone stopped dancing to stare at the drunken man who was about fighting with another man dancing with a girl. "I will kill you, I will kill you," he yelled, swinging a punch to the man and a fight started. A bouncer approached them to stop the fight but it looked like it won t be stopped soon. "What you say we get out of here, we shouldn t be included in the fight, don t you think?" he asked her. "I am right behind you," she answered. He laughed and they left the dance floor, passing the bar, "hey, we haven t paid yet." "Don t worry, it would be taken care of," he answered, leading her to the door. Athena caught the bartender staring at them and she hid her face, praying that he would not accuse them of trying to run away, but she was surprised and also relieved when they were outside and nothing of that such happened. He led her to the parking space and a man approached them, opening the backseat door of a black Benz for them. He helped her in and followed after her, when the car was in motion, he turned to her, "do you have anywhere to go?" Athena sighed, "its too late to go home now," she whispered. "Would you like to spend the night with me?" He asked, his voice softer and deeper than usual. She glanced at him and although the car may be dark, she could still feel the intensity of his gaze on her and she shuddered, gulping, she nodded, "yes." "To the suite, Smith," he ordered the driver and before she could say anything else, she felt his lips on hers. *** Waking up the next day, Athena was surprised when she found herself in a strange room, she tried to recall what happened last night but all she could remember was Frank pushing her away, she, crying and entering a club. She remembered ordering for a drink and planning on drinking herself to death. Then it hit her, someone had approached her, they had drank till they were drunk, then they had danced and someone had started fighting so they left and he offered for her to spend the night with him and then… "oh God," she gasped, clutching onto the duvet so tightly that her knuckles turned white, "what have I done? Frank would kill me," she muttered to herself and forced herself to sit up, when she did, that was when she saw the sleeping man. She froze when she saw his face, he looked more handsome than she thought he was, than he looked last night, his hair was disheveled and she recalled running her fingers through his hair. There was a bite mark on his smooth neck and she remembered doing that, she had bitten him but he didn t complain. She grabbed tightly onto her hair as details of the previous night flashed in her mind. How he had carried her out of the car into the elevator, how he had kept kissing her in the elevator and then they had showed up at the foyer, he didn t stop there and picked her up, carrying her into the room and removing her shoes and tossing them somewhere on the floor. In her memory, she hadn t repulsed his actions; she had welcomed them gingerly and had even craved for him, for his touch. The way he took his time with her, handling her with gentleness and care as if she was something breakable, she had not been treated like that in a long time, not even by Frank. "Oh God, Frank," she cried, she had just cheated on him, even if the stranger was kind and gentle with her but she had cheated on Frank, she had cheated on him and she had sworn never to do that. She climbed out of the bed immediately, she saw her underwear lying around on the floor and she hastily put them on, then she searched for her gown. It was on the other side of the bed and she quietly dragged it out so that the sleeping man wouldn t wake up. He turned on the bed and she stilled like a statue, when she heard his heavy breathing, she continued dressing, he was facing her but he was asleep, she was grateful for that, she wouldn t want him to see her leaving, she wouldn t even want to see him for the rest of her life again because he would be a constant reminder of what happened last night, the night she cheated on Frank. When she was done dressing, she ran her hand through her hair, wiped her hand on her face and rushed to the door, she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned to the sleeping man on the bed, he looked so peaceful sleeping and she was surprised at the urge to walk forward and caress his cheek. She shook her head, heaving a deep sigh and opening the door, she closed it gently behind her but what she didn t know was that as she closed the door, the man on the bed opened his eyes.