Love Far Away (A Spicy Contemporary Romance) (6 page)

“H
ow do you say ‘Cheers’ in French?” Megan asked
the handsome waiter who brought us our drinks.

“In French, we say ‘
to health
!’” he replied. “So you
would say,
Santé
!”

The four of us clinked glasses together and chorused,
“Santé!”

Ashley had the grace to wait until he was out of earshot
before she said, “That’s boring. You should have asked him how to say ‘Here’s
to a wild and crazy night!’”

“I’m starting to get kind of scared what you’re planning,”
joked Becca. “We all know I’m not a very wild and crazy person.”

“You can cut loose,” urged Ashley. “We all can.” She took a
huge sip of wine. “We eat here and have a few drinks, then leave in search of a
good time. I may not have danced on a table for a few years now, but I still
have the moves in me.”

“I don’t know about on a table, but I’m looking forward to
just doing some regular, floor dancing,” I admitted. “I can’t remember the last
time I did that. Not in years.”

“Well, we’re all going to have a good time tonight,” Megan
declared.

“Remember,” added Ashley, “no planning! Tonight we’re going
to go with the flow. Right, Julia?”

“That’s right,” I said, hoping I wasn’t going to be getting
in over my head.

Our food arrived soon, and the duck confit I’d ordered was
heavenly. We’d ordered a bottle of wine for our table and it flowed freely- the
waiter had to bring out a fresh bottle more than once. I lost count after the
third bottle appeared at the table.

I thought I was stuffed full, but when Becca ordered a crème
brûlée, I just had to have one too. “This is heavenly,” I said, closing my eyes
as I took a bite. “I can almost feel my pants not fitting tomorrow.”

“Who cares,” said Becca. “It’s worth it!”

“Better than sex?” teased Ashley.

“I think so,” I said.

“Bradley obviously hasn’t been doing very well, then,” she
said. “Just you wait, Jules. We’ll find you someone you wouldn’t dream of
comparing to dessert.”

I rolled my eyes and took another bite of crème brûlée,
Ashley’s comment had stuck in my head and I couldn’t help think about what she
had said. Bradley and I had been together since high school. He’d been my
first, and my only. I’d always felt satisfied when we had sex. I’d never
thought that I was missing out on anything when my friends talked about some of
the different guys they had dated. But Ashley’s comment made me start to
wonder- had I been missing out? Was sex with Bradley in reality just average?
Could it be better? I used to be horrified at the prospect of being with
another man. But to my surprise, for the first time, I felt somewhat curious
about being intimate with someone else. Would he feel different? Would he try
different things?

We finished our meal just before midnight and paid the bill-
rather, Bradley paid our bill- and then set out in search of a place to dance
the rest of the night away. The concierge at our hotel had directed us to an
area with lots of fashionable restaurants and nightclubs, but we’d arrived in a
taxi so I had no idea where we were in relation to our hotel. At any rate, we
turned a corner down a narrow street and saw crowds of people lining up to get
in various clubs. The thumping bass was so strong that if I put my hand on my
chest I was sure I could feel my heart vibrate.

“Is this where we’re going?” asked Becca nervously. “I’m not
sure if I’m cool enough to get in to a place like this.”

“Just show some cleavage and we’ll get in anywhere,” Ashley
advised her.

“Which place do you want to go to?” asked Megan, looking
around. “It looks like there’s a line everywhere.”

We stood in the middle of the street while fashionable clubbers
hurried around us in both directions. I felt like it was the first day of high
school again- had I dressed okay? Would the other kids laugh at my outfit?

“Julia should choose a place,” said Ashley. “That place down
there with the strobe lights looks cool, but it has the longest line. Or Club
Techno, that one looks cool too.” She pointed to the lineup nearest to us. “But
I think Julia should pick. It’s her night, after all.”

I took a deep breath and looked up and down the street.
Across the street, one of the lineups seemed to feature fewer teenagers and
more people our age. Maybe that would be more comfortable for us- after all, I
wasn’t even sure if I liked techno music.

But that wasn’t what this trip was about, I reminded myself.
It was about pushing my boundaries and doing things differently. Creating new
experiences. Who knew, maybe I’d end up liking techno music. “Club Strobe
Lights,” I said, pointing down the street at the longest line. “If the line is
the longest, then I think that means it’s the best place.”

Ashley cheered, and the four of us linked arms as we walked
down to get in line behind the velvet rope.

We waited for about fifteen minutes before we reached the
front of line. I’d noticed a few people ahead of us hadn’t been let in, which
Ashley assured me was a good thing because it meant they had standards. When it
was our turn, the bouncer looked us all up and down before he nodded and
stepped aside. We paid the cover fee and entered the club.

It was so loud I couldn’t even hear myself think. I was
grateful when Megan grabbed my hand and pulled me after Ashley, who was heading
towards a seating area just outside the dance floor. Despite the line outside,
it wasn’t very crowded inside. So we were able to find a seat. We had barely
sat down before a bartender came by and asked if we’d like anything to drink.

“A round of shots,” said Ashley.

“It’s been ages since I’ve done shots,” I protested.

“Up for anything, remember?” Megan reminded me.

I sighed and nodded, and when the bartender came back with a
small tray of shot glasses, I took one and knocked it back just like I was back
in college.

Since the dance floor wasn’t yet full, we ordered fruity
drinks and sat down for a while, talking. Since it was half past midnight at
that point I was a bit worried I’d chosen badly and we’d picked a dud, but the
girls assured me that things would pick up after one. “I must be old,” I
sighed. “By one, I’m just about ready for bed.”

“Well, I’m not out every weekend like I’m twenty-one again,”
said Megan, “but we’re on vacation, and it’s kind of nice to go out like this,
isn’t it?”

I had to admit it was. I’d gotten way too accustomed to yoga
pants and my minivan. It did feel great to be wearing a cute dress and high
heels and sit down in a hot nightclub with a drink in my hand. It felt like I
was living someone else’s life for a minute instead of my own humdrum
existence.

The girls were right and the club did pick up after one.
People started filling up the dance floor, and once we’d finished our drinks we
joined them. I’d always been self-conscious dancing, but somehow in this crowd
of people I didn’t care what anybody else thought and just let loose and
enjoyed myself. It was noisy and crowded and I thought I didn’t like techno
music, but before I knew it I could almost feel it inside me, pulsing. We
danced until our feet were sore, and we made our way back to where we’d been
sitting before. Another group of people were sitting there, so we found some empty
spots in a booth with a few other women.

“Mind if we sit here?” asked Becca, sliding down to an empty
seat. “Um, excusez-moi...”

“Oh, it’s fine, no problem!” said the woman with a big
smile. I was relieved to hear she was American, since I knew there was no way
I’d be able to remember any of my high school French when I was drunk.

“Thanks,” I said.

“I’m going to go get us another round of shots,” said
Ashley, and she disappeared towards the bar.

“So are you having fun yet, Jules?” Megan asked me.

“I’m having a blast!” I exclaimed. “God, I haven’t gone out
dancing in forever. This was exactly what I needed. Just some drinks and
dancing with good friends. And I’m excited to explore Paris a little further
tomorrow….. in the afternoon, at least. I’m going to be paying for this
tomorrow morning!”

“Is this your first time in Paris?” asked one of the other
women we were sitting near, leaning in so I could hear her over the thumping
bass.

I nodded. “We all came here together for the first time, on
a- a sort of girls trip, I guess.”

“Oh, fun!” she said. “We’re here on a similar trip. My
friend over there- Amy- she’s turning thirty-five this year- we’re on a trip
for her birthday. We got here the day before yesterday.”

“This was our first day here,” said Megan. “We got in late
last night, just did a bit of shopping today before we went out to dinner. I’m
Megan- this is Julia and Becca.”

“I’m Claire,” said the woman, holding out her hand. “Besides
Amy, that’s Sarah and Nicole. What are you guys up to after this place?”

Becca and I exchanged a look. “
After
this place?” I
repeated. By my best guess, it was at least two in the morning. I’d already
started imagining what my bed would feel like after a night of dancing in high
heels.

“Yeah,” said Claire. “It’s Europe; things are only getting
started!”

“Umm,” said Becca.

“We haven’t thought that far ahead yet,” said Megan.

“I think we’re having a bit of a party at our suite
afterwards,” said Claire. “Amy’s arranging the whole thing. I don’t want to
sound weird, but you girls are more than welcome to come if you’d like!”

“Like...what kind of party?” asked Becca.

“Just a few of us, some other friends we’ve met here,” said
Claire.

Ashley showed up just then, her hands full of shots. “Shots
all around!” she said cheerfully, handing the glasses to Becca, Megan, and I.
“What’re we all talking about?”

“We’re just making new friends here,” I said. I gestured to
our new friend. “This is Claire- Claire, this is our other friend, Ashley.”

“Hey!” said Claire. “I was just asking your friends if you
guys had plans for after this place.”

“After this place?” repeated Ashley, and I was relieved I
wasn’t the only one who hadn’t thought about an after-hours party. “No, I don’t
think so, we don’t have anything planned. We’re just going with the flow
tonight.”

“Well, in that case, you guys should totally come,” said
Claire. “We’re having some people over to our suite after this place closes
down- at three, or whenever. I can give you the address if you’re interested.”

Unlike Becca, Megan, and I, Ashley didn’t hesitate. “Sure!”
she said, and pulled out her phone. “Here- just write the name of the hotel in
here and a number we should call when we get there.”

I stared at my friend in shock as Claire tapped away at the
phone’s screen. Was Ashley insane? Just meeting strangers at nightclubs and
going back to parties at their hotel rooms?

“Are you nuts?” I whispered in her ear, once she had her
phone back and had squeezed on to the banquette next to me. “Just going to hang
out with a stranger like that?”

“It’s not any different than a one night stand, really,”
Ashley shrugged. “Ohhh, wait. You’ve never had one of those, have you? Just
Bradley….you poor dear.” She patted me on the head, then gave me a little hug.
“You just have to go with it sometimes, Jules. If we never talked to people we
didn’t know, how could we ever make new friends?”

She was right in a way, but she was also totally wrong. You
met new friends at yoga class or chatting on the playground, not when a
stranger invited you back to their hotel for a party.

We stayed at the club a bit longer- having another round of
drinks, going back out to the dance floor, before we decided it was time to go
and stumbled outside.

“I’m about ready for bed,” said Becca, yawning. “I had a
great time, but I’m tired.”

“Me too,” I agreed. “Sorry, Ashley, I just don’t think I’m
up for an after party.”

“But that’s not fair,” said Ashley. “You agreed- whatever
happens, happens! Maybe we’ll have a great time. And hey, if it turns crazy, at
least we’ll have a great story, right?”

“Right, like waking up in a bathtub with a missing kidney,”
said Becca. “Ha ha ha, that was such a great time!”

“Don’t be a party pooper,” said Ashley. “Come on, it’ll be
fun!”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Megs?”

“I’m up for it,” she declared. “Ashley’s right- it could end
up being a lot of fun. Go with the flow, remember, Jules?”

She was right. Becca rolled her eyes at us but came along
anyway, claiming that someone would have to call the police when Claire and her
friends tried to hold us hostage. I was tired, but couldn’t help but feel a
twinge of nervous excitement as we piled in to a cab on the way to Claire’s
hotel.

It was a large, fancy hotel, and when Ashley called the
number Claire had given her we were told to get in the elevator and go right up
to the penthouse suite. We crowded in together and when the doors opened, we
were right in the penthouse suite.

I looked around. There were several chairs and small couches
set up in a seating area, with a big open space in the middle. For mingling, I
assumed, or maybe dancing. A bar was set up in one corner of the room and about
ten other women were hanging out in the room.

When she noticed we’d arrived, one of the women broke away
from the group she’d been chatting with and walked over to us with a smile.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m Amy- I’m hosting this party tonight. My friend Claire met
you at the club we were at earlier, didn’t she?”

We all nodded, and introduced ourselves. “Great,” said Amy.
“Once everyone gets here, we’ll get started. Have you been to a party like this
before? Did Claire fill you in?”

“She said it was a party,” I said. “Is there more to it?”

Amy smiled. “Oh, you’re in for a treat,” she said. “We’ve
got some great guests coming tonight. It’s CFNM- clothed females, naked males.
We’re going to have some men here to serve us, there will be games and so on-
really, it’ll be a great time! No pressure to touch, but if you want to, it’s
up to you.”