Chapter 7 Elsa
seven
Elsa
After taking a hot bath and eating the food that was waiting for me on my bed, I lay down and slept through the night into the next day. It wasn’t until Jack woke me up with his light knock on my door around four in the afternoon, with a tray of food, that I finally crawled out of bed.
“Eat up and get ready. We have a speakeasy to go to tonight,” Jack says, sitting in a chair next to my bed, scrolling through his phone as I eat the fluffiest pancakes I’ve ever had in my life.
“Mmm.” I moan around a bite. His eyes snap up and meet mine. The hunger in his eyes has nothing to do with food. But it’s enough to make me feel bold. “Want a bite?” I hold out my fork, with the world’s best pancake bite on it.
Calling my bluff, he leans toward the bed, opening his mouth for the pancake.
I lift it to his mouth, watching as he wraps his lips around the fork and takes the whole thing in one bite.
He chews slowly, never looking away from me, still leaning toward me.
I watch him swallow, my eyes following the path.
“Delicious,” he moans. I squeak in surprise and jump back, almost spilling the rest of my food.
“Make sure to finish the rest of your food like a good girl.” He stands and walks out of the room, leaving me speechless.
Does he know it was really me he slept with and not Ember?
***
I’m still thinking about the pancake encounter hours later at the speakeasy, The Velvet Arrow. The candlelight gives the room a romantic glow, and I can’t help but wish this were a real date.
The concierge sent a beautiful, beaded dress to our room for me. Its style is perfect for the speakeasy vibe. The concierge also sent up a black pinstriped suit for Jack, making him look like an old-time gangster. I love it, but he hates it.
“Relax and enjoy yourself.” I take a sip of my drink, which the waitress calls a Gin Rickey.
“You look hot in that outfit.” I smile over the rim of my glass, savoring the surprise in Jack’s eyes.
This is only my second drink, but I’m such a lightweight that it’s already going to my head.
“Dance with me, Jack.” I stand, holding out my hand.
Reluctantly, he takes my hand and leads me to the dance floor.
His arms rest on my hips as we sway to the music.
I run my hands up the front of his suit, then behind his neck.
I rise onto my toes, pressing my lips to his ear.
“You know what else I want from you, Jack?”
He clenches his jaw, his eyes locked on my mouth.
His head lowers, closer and closer to my lips.
Our lips are almost touching when his phone vibrates against us.
“Sorry, but I have to answer this.” He steps back and pulls his phone from his pocket.
I can only hear his side of the conversation, and even though he doesn’t say much, it seems serious.
He ends the call and then puts his phone back in his pocket.
“We need to go back to the hotel now.” There’s an urgency in his voice that makes me obey.
He laces his fingers through mine, leading me through the crowded bar and out onto the city streets, where a car is waiting for us.
Back at the hotel without so much as a goodnight, he ushers me into the hotel room and down the hallway to my bedroom.
It takes me a while to fall asleep, wondering what could have been so important on that phone call we had to rush back to our hotel room.
It's only a few hours before I find out exactly what that phone call was about and how it would change my life forever.