Electric Love

Chapter Two

         “Kaine.. What are you doing out here?” I asked hesitantly. I wanted to stay alert in the even that him being out there wasn’t just pure coincidence, but for some reason that wasn’t the vibe I was getting as he stood there, a nervous look settling on his face.
          “Well, I was actually waiting for you. Its late and you shouldn’t be out alone. I didn’t want anything bad happening to a beautiful woman such as yourself.” He stated with a shrug.
          “I appreciate the concern, but with all due respect, I can take care of myself.” I huffed, his comment bristling my feathers slightly.
          “I’m sorry.. I wasn’t implying that.. I just—this is not going at all the way I imagined in my head. Yes, I wanted to make sure you made it to your car safely, but that’s not the only reason I waited out here for you..” he rambled and with a frustrated sigh he continued, “What I mean is—god I’ve never been so awkward in my life, but could I take you out sometime?” He looked down at the concrete under his feet and ran a hand through his hair. When he looked back up, his eyes held a glint of hopefulness and his cheeks were tinted pink with embarassment under the dim street lights. I was so busy admiring his strong jaw line and the peppering of late night stubble lining it, that I had yet to answer him. I could tell he was getting discouraged as I watched the glint in his eye slowly diminish.
         “…Why?” I asked, snapping out of the trance his striking features had left me in. I was in awe. “I mean, why me? I am flattered, I  mean I almost don’t believe it, but why would a man like you want to give me the time of day? Sure I’m a decent bartender, but I’m nothing special.. almost certainly not like any of the woman I’m sure you’re used to wining and dining. I jus—” He cut my incessant babbling off with a finger to my lips. His index finger was rough and yet he was so gentle. It took a lot of restraint on my end to not wrap my mouth around the tip of it just to see what kind of face he would make. The dirty things I thought about doing to this man and the things he could do to me ran wild in my imagination. It took everything in me to stifle the moan threatening to slip from all of the images in my head. Noelle Rayne Mitchum, pull yourself together! This is getting to be a little ridiculous, you're acting like you've never seen an attractive man before! You're getting crazy with this little imagination of yours.. focus on what the man is going to say, and stop ogling at him for fuck's sake!
           “A man like me?” he copied with an arched eyebrow.
           “Well.. Yeah,” I started, a blush spreading over my cheeks. I cleared my throat nervously before speaking again. “I mean you’re smart, I'm assuming you're successful, you're… Handsome. Why would you want to take me, a measly bartender, out on a date? You probably have women throwing themselves at you left and right everyday. So, why me?” I finished, fiddling with the unlit cigarette in between my index and middle fingers, suddenly finding it super interesting.
           “Tell you what, how about we smoke a cigarette and I’ll answer your question. Deal?” He compromised, probably noticing how much his interest in me had rattled me into a ball of nerves as I ran my fingers through my hair for what seemed like the hundredth time that night.
          He pulled out an orange filtered cigarette much like my own, as well as a black zippo lighter from the front pocket of the dark fitted jeans he wore. I admired the way they hung on his hips as he lit his own cigarette between his full pink lips with a smooth flick of the flame coming from the zippo. I mimicked the action as he flicked the lighter in his extended hand, towards the end of mine. I took in a long draw and let the smoke curl in my mouth, before exhaling the pungent smoke into the air around us. I glanced in his direction to find him staring back at me with his cigarette raised to his lips. He cleared his throat and took a quick drag, before breaking eye contact.
           “I haven’t always been the gentleman i am today.. I was young and dumb and flaunted my money around as a way to bring girls around. I used to love the attention I got from women; I had my fun and left it at that. I never took it any further because none of them were ever into me as a person and at the time that was fine with me. They were into my money and the idea of what I could provide for them-- clothes, shoes, fancy dinners, the works.                
           "But as I got older, I started getting bored with the repetitiveness of going out all the time. After a while, I just stopped even trying to go out and I got so buried in my work-- Obsessed with trying the be the best of the best more so. I wanted to make a name for myself, ya know?” He paused to take another draw from his cigarette and I did the same, waiting silently for him to continue afraid that if I made even the smallest noise he wouldn’t carry on the conversation.
           He flicked his ashes and spoke back up, “I became even more successful than I’d ever dreamed of being. I have more money than I know what I do with and an empire that will go on well after I leave this earth-- a legacy to carry on my name. I’ve done everything else I’d set out to do, but in the process of working so hard to get where I am today I’ve realized just how lonely being at the top can be. I’ve done a little dating, but with every woman its been the same outcome. They don’t try to get to know me, they don’t want to hold a conversation. They want what I can give them, the status they could have with me.
           “Then I came to this place for a business meeting, and I met this amazing bartender. She is independent, she is beautiful, she’s a hard worker, mature.. but most of all, I was treated like a fucking person for once and it was so refreshing. You didn’t know how much money I had and you tried to give back the tip I was leaving you. You're a modest woman and I haven't been around too many women like that in my line of work. I want to get to know you outside of your bar; not as Ray, the Incredibly Skilled Bartender. No, I want to find out more about Rayne, but only if you’ll let me. I'm getting older and I don't want to play games. I'm gonna go for what I want, and what I want is to take you out on a date and learn more about you, if you say yes that is...” He trailed off, searching my face for any indications of an answer, but I was speechless; eyes wide open, and mouth gaping like a fish out of water, struggling to find the words to say.
           When he said he’d answer my question, I never expected him to completely open up they way he did. I looked away from him, trying to let his words sink in while crossing an arm over my chest as I hit my cigarette one last time before stomping it out under my shoe. I took in a deep breath, gathering my thoughts into coherent words before I looked back up to meet his intense gaze. The moment I opened my mouth to speak, the ringing of my phone broke the silence. I scrambled to pull it out of my pocket, quickly peering at the name flashing across the screen. I mentally slapped myself for not telling Sydnei I was off of work already. I debated on just letting her go to voicemail, but I knew if I did, not only would she continue calling until I answered, but she'd start a search party and would probably bitch at me for an hour straight when she finally did get a hold of me.
           “I’m sorry, its my roommate, I need to answer this really quick. Ill just be two minutes, tops.” I gave him an apologetic smile and took a few steps away from him before answering. “Hey—” I began, only for her shrieking to cut me off.
           “Ray, where are you?! I’ve been getting worried over here bitch!” she exclaimed, her voice going up an octave.
           “Syd, chill. I am fine, I’m a grown woman, you know? I’m right outside in the parking lot at work, but I’ll be home in a little bit. I’m talking to someone at the moment but as soon as we’re done, I’m leaving.” I rolled my eyes, trying to calm her down. I stole a quick glance at Kaine, who was watching me with an amused look. ‘sorry’ I mouthed to him.
           “With who, Frankie?” She asked.
           “Goodbye, nosy ass.” I told her, ignoring her question.
           “Fine,” she mumbled, “See you in a little bit.”
           “Love you, bye.” I ended the called without waiting for a response and walked back over to the green-eyed man with godlike features who was waiting patiently for me to continue our conversation. I took a deep breath, trying to shake the nerves from my voice as I answered his question.
           “Yes, you can take me out. I am off for the next four days.” His eyes widened and he tried to hide the smile trying to make its way onto his face.
           “Great! Um, what night works best for you?” he stuffed his hands into his pockets. I paused for a minute, thinking about my plans for the days ahead before coming up with an answer.
           “How about Friday night?” I offered and he nodded.
           “Friday is perfect,” he agreed, “I’ll pick you up around seven, would that be okay?”
I nodded and he pulled his phone out, handing it to me to put my number in. I obliged and returned his phone to him. He walked me to my yellow Jeep, opening the door with a smile.
           “Thank you.”
           “My pleasure. I’ll see you in two days, beautiful.” He said as he leaned in to me. His scent filled my senses and I breathed in the intoxicating combination of sandalwood, cedar and smoke. It was addicting to smell and if I died of an overdose right then and there, I would’ve been fine with that. I bet he tastes just as good as he smells.  His face was smooth against my skin and his lips lightly brushed my cheek before he pulled away and put a little distance between us. I could feel my face heating up as I nodded, afraid my voice would give away what the small touch of his lips did to me.
           “Goodbye, Ray.” He said turning in the direction of a car I hadn’t realized was parked on the opposite side of the parking lot, running idly that whole time.
           With one last look at his retreating back, I ran a hand through my long hair and with heavy sigh hopped up into the driver’s seat and shut the door. I threw my bag into the passenger seat beside me, starting the engine. I glanced at the break lights of the car he got into as it drove away before I pulled my phone out, and getting on my Pandora app. I picked a random station as background noise while I backed out of my spot and drove off in the direction of the apartment I shared with my best friend. I hummed softly to the song playing through my car speakers and reached for my cigarettes. The nerves that man gave me made a permanent home in the pit of my stomach as I thought about how our date Friday would turn out. I silently sent up a prayer, that this man wasn't one of the shitty ones. Lord knew I'd had my fair share of them, and I was done with them. Pulling out a cigarette, I fished around looking for my lighter and groaned.
           "Dammit... I don't have a lighter now." I muttered. I put the cigarette back in my pack of Camels and sighed. I turned up the volume of the music and continued the drive home, where my bed and a gigantic glass of wine would be calling my name.

A/N: Hey guys, i'm sorry i'm a little late on posting. :/ With everything going on lately i've been super stressed. I'm a bartender and server of a popular chain of restaurants and we learned that we're basically out of a job today. I'm freaking the hell out, trying to figure out how i'm going to pay my bills and i'm a little sad because i know i'm going to have to postpone my wedding and this shit sucks so bad! Ugh, anyways, thanks again to those of you who have taken the time out of your day to read this story! I'm so excited to be able to write this and go on this journey with my characters!
Isn't Stephen James so freaking sexy?! ugh, i could stare at him all damn day!
Any comment/vote/follow would be appreciated! Let me know if you're liking the story so far!
Ya'll stay safe wherever you are!
-Tay