Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Chloe
My eyes flew open, and for a second, I couldn’t remember where I was. I looked over to the other side of the bed; it was empty. I sat up and looked around. There didn’t appear to be any sign of him. Climbing out of bed, I slipped on the robe that was hanging on the back of the bedroom door and quietly walked into the living area of the suite. He wasn’t anywhere. When I walked back into the bedroom, I noticed the suitcase I saw sitting in the corner last night was gone. He had left. Glancing over at the dresser, I saw a note. Picking it up, I sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Thank you for a beautiful night. Have a safe trip home.”
I took in a deep breath and let it out. I picked up my clothes off the floor, grabbed my purse, and returned to my room. Just as I inserted the card key, I heard Sienna coming down the hall.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Oh, nothing.” I opened the door and stepped inside.
“Why are you wearing that robe, and why are you carrying your—holy shit on a cracker, you had sex last night!” she yelled.
“Shh.” I held my finger to my lips.
“Don’t you tell me to shush. You better tell me who, what, when, where, and why right now!”
“I will. Can I make a cup of this pathetic shit they call coffee?”
“Hell no! Fuck the coffee. You are telling me exactly what happened right now!”
Sitting down on the bed, I cupped my face in my hands.
“Chloe, he didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Shaking my head, I looked up at her.
“No. Just the opposite. I can’t explain how he made me feel.”
With a small smile, Sienna sat down on the bed and hooked her arm around me.
“It was that good, huh?”
“Mind-blowing. Superb. Breathtaking. Fantastic.”
“Okay. Okay. I get it. Now tell me who this mind-blowing man was.”
“The most incredible and perfect-looking man I’ve ever seen in my life,” I spoke as I looked at her.
“Name?”
“I didn’t get his name. No names, remember?” I cocked my head.
“Shit. I didn’t teach you right. If he’s that incredibly good-looking, it’s always good to put a name with the body.”
Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “We didn’t exchange names. We just exchanged passion and, oh my God, Sienna, he was—I’d never felt—the orgasms were?—”
“Wow. I have never seen you like this before. What the fuck did he do to you?”
I got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom to start the shower. She followed behind.
“He was gentle and sweet and said things to me no other man ever had.”
“You made sure he used a condom, right?”
“Yes. He used a condom.”
“How many orgasms?” She smiled.
“I lost count.” I bit down on my bottom lip.
“So, how did you leave it with him this morning?” she asked, leaning up against the sink.
“I woke up, and he was gone. I found this note on the dresser.” I pulled the note from my robe pocket and handed it to her.
After reading it, she looked at me and clasped my shoulders.
“Congratulations, Chloe, on becoming a full-fledged woman.”
“Get out of here,” I lightly smacked her hand.
“Don’t be too long. We have to pack and head to the airport.”
Stepping into the shower, I realized I had forgotten to ask her about Sam.
“How was Sam last night?” I yelled.
“Nothing like I expected. A bit disappointing. He’s rather sloppy in bed. I had to take control and I wasn’t happy about it.”
I laughed as I shampooed my hair. There was nothing sloppy about the man I was with last night. He was perfect and always in control.
Landing in Boston, Sienna and I hugged goodbye. She had a flight to catch back to New York, and I had a flight back to L.A.
“I hate leaving you.” She pouted.
“I know.” My eyes began to tear. “I wish I could move back to New York.”
“Then do it! Besides me, your parents would be thrilled.”
“There aren’t any jobs available. I’ve been looking.”
“Then maybe you need to switch careers.”
“You know I can’t and won’t. I love art too much.”
She looked at her watch and gave me another hug. “I’m boarding in five minutes. I’ll Facetime you later tonight.”
“Bye, Sienna. Have a safe flight.”
“Bye, sweets. You too.”
Dragging my carry-on behind me, I headed to my gate. My flight didn’t board for another hour, so I stopped and grabbed a coffee. I moved to Los Angeles a year ago when I landed a job as an assistant art curator at an art gallery. I had just graduated with my master’s degree, and the owner of the art gallery that I interned for in New York offered me the job at his L.A. gallery. I really didn’t have a choice. There was no position for me in New York, and I needed a job. Leaving Sienna and my parents behind was the hardest thing I had ever done. But being on my own in L.A. was a great experience. I had always been independent, and I adapted quickly and made a few new friends. But Sienna and I would be best friends for life. She was like my sister. We shared everything, and we Facetimed every single night.
Stepping off the plane at LAX, I headed to baggage claim and saw Corey standing there holding up a sign with my name on it.
“You dork.” I smiled as I hugged him.
“How was London?”
“Fabulous. We had the best time, and the galleries and museums over there are to die for. You would have loved it.”
“I’m sure I would have,” he spoke as he grabbed my suitcase from the belt. “So did you meet any hot Englishmen over there?”
I shrugged. “A couple, but—” I smiled.
Corey looked over at me with a small grin. “But?”
“I met an American man. A really hot and sexy American man.”
“Oh. His name, please.”
“I didn’t get his name. We just had wild and amazing sex, and the next morning, he was gone.”
I continued walking and then stopped when I noticed Corey was no longer next to me.
Turning around, I spoke, “What? Why did you stop?”
“You, Chloe Kane, had sex with a man and didn’t get his name first? What’s the matter with you? Who are you?” He smiled.
“It was on my list.”
“What was on your list?” he asked as we continued walking.
“Sex with a stranger in a foreign country.”
He slowly shook his head. “You’re weird. He could have been dangerous, Chloe.”
“Oh, he was deliciously dangerous.” I grinned.
It felt good to be back home. After I showered, I made a cup of tea and curled up on the couch, still thinking about the man from last night. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get him out of my head or the feel of him on my body. Every time I touched my lips, I could still feel them trembling from his kiss. As I was fantasizing about him, my phone rang with a Facetime call from Sienna.
“Hello, lovely.” I smiled.
“Look at you, all cozy in your jammies already.”
“As much fun as I had in London, I’m happy to be home.”
“Me too. Sam keeps texting me. He said he misses me already and wants to plan a trip to New York to come and visit.” She rolled her eyes.
“Are you going to let him?” I asked as I sipped my tea.
“I don’t know. Even though sex with him was utterly boring, I kind of like his company. How are you doing? After that wild night of sex, you must still be thinking about that hot man.”
“No, I’m not. He’s a distant memory now.”
“You’re lying. I know you, Chloe, and you get involved, even though I clearly try to teach you differently.”
I sighed. “Okay. So what? I am still thinking about him, and I can’t help it. I just wish I would have gotten his name.”
“Tsk tsk.” She waved her finger. “Goes against the stranger rule. Besides, even if you did get his name, what were you going to do? Stalk him? Google him? Find a thousand guys with the same name in the US and then call them one by one, asking if they were the sexy guy who made you orgasm multiple times in London?”
“Why do you have to be like that?” I rolled my eyes.
“You love me, and you know it. Anyway, I just wanted to check in and make sure you made it home safe. I have to go shower because I need to be at work bright and early tomorrow morning. I have a big client coming in, and his demands for the perfect ad are annoying, so I have to be on top of my game.”
“Have a good night, and we’ll talk tomorrow. Good luck with your meeting.”
“Thanks, love. Ta ta.”