Lucy was feeling completely embarrassed now. Since this wasn't the way she had envisioned the night when she made her plan hours earlier.
Things like these usually happened in stages in most of the movies she had seen. One minute a lady would be drinking alone. The next minute, she would be chatting with a guy. Then they would be kissing and groping in the dark as they try to undress each other and find their way to the bed or end up on the couch or on the floor. Who cares where?
When she was making her list, she never imagined or planned for someone else to see it apart from her best friend, Sonia, to whom she had planned on sending a picture of her checklist.
'Okay! Lucy, you can't chicken out. You want to do something daring, here is your chance. You've got a sinfully gorgeous man offering to be your one-night stand. You're going to grab this opportunity now,' She told herself and then gulped down the remaining content of her glass before flashing him a courageous smile.
"How about we have that drink first?" She asked, making him smile.
"Sure. Let's do that. And then we can dance, and then we will go over to my place or yours."
"Yours. Yours is absolutely fine," She responded quickly.
Of course, she didn't want a one-night stand knowing where she lived. The last thing she wanted in her life at the moment was a one-night stand who might decide to show up on her doorstep the next day wanting another stand.
She was not interested in a relationship of any kind with any man. All she wanted was this one-time experience, and then after that, she would return to her loveless workaholic life. That was exactly the way she loved it. She loved being a career-driven lady who was able to take care of herself and her loved ones.
The last thing she wanted was trouble and distraction, which was usually associated with being in a relationship. Those boring long calls, spending hours visiting and doing sweet nothings, incessant and unnecessary misunderstandings, etcetera. Those were things she was avoiding.
"My place it is, then," Tom said with a nod.
"I see you've gotten yourself a friend," Sam observed as he handed them both their glasses.
"Yeah, she has. Get her more glasses. She needs to get drunk," Tom said to Sam, who gave him a questioning look before glancing at Lucy for approval.
"Yeah. I need to get drunk," She assured Sam with a small smile of gratitude, and then he gave her a nod before returning to his position.
"So tell me about yourself," Tom said as he sipped from his glass slowly while looking at Lucy with interest.
"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be telling a one-night stand anything about myself," She murmured to herself, and then realized she had just spoken out loud when she heard him chuckle.
"What are the chances of seeing your one-night stand again? It won't hurt to tell me something about yourself. I'm a stranger to you, after all, and you may never see me again. You could tell me something you've always wanted to tell someone about yourself," Tom said with an encouraging smile.
Lucy felt her face pull back into a responding smile. Maybe it was the effect of the alcohol, which was slowly beginning to move in her bloodstream or something, but soon her tongue gradually loosened up, and before she knew it, she heard herself starting to say some things to him.
He laughed at something she said, and soon she realized she was moving. Her thighs started feeling kind of heavy, while her head felt very light.
She felt his hand on her waist and heard herself laughing unusually loud as she swayed her waist to what she believed was the tune of the music. Soon, she realized that they were on the dance floor.
"Kiss me!" She heard herself say to him. By now, the alcohol had completely taken over her entire being.
Tom smiled at the invitation, "I don't think you're ready for that yet," He said, and then she felt him dragging her away from the dancefloor.
Her vision was kind of blurry, so she couldn't focus, and she just followed in whatever direction he was leading her. She soon heard him say goodnight to Sam, and then a minute later, she felt the evening breeze on her bare shoulders, telling her they were outside now.
"Did you drive?" Lucy heard him ask. She murmured some gibberish, which he took as a no. Next, she felt herself being carefully placed in the backseat of a car.
This was definitely not the way she had envisioned her 'wild' night, so she knew she had to do something else, or she might end up being knocked out in the back seat of a stranger's car.
'What if he was a psychopath? What if he goes to bars and picks up random girls, then chops off their legs as those guys do to their victims in the crime novels she always reads?' She asked herself drunkenly and then shook her head.
"Sam knows him, so I'm sure I'm safe," She assured herself out loud. Tom, who was still trying to make her stay put in the backseat, smiled.
She sat up as quickly as she could manage and wrapped her hands around him before he could leave.
"Kiss me," she ordered again with puckered lips. Lucy pushed her lips forward, with her eyes closed, as she waited for his lips to meet hers.
Tom sighed as he watched her. Who would have thought he would meet someone this interesting while waiting at the club for his self-centered girlfriend, Anita? He did no doubt that he had been stood up once again, but that was fine.
He had planned on finally breaking up with her tonight anyway, so it was probably for the best.
Tom brushed his lip on hers, "Now, stay still. I need to get us out of here before I do anything," He told her softly before shutting the door.
She honestly did not want to fall asleep. So she sat up and crawled into the front seat of the car before he could get around the car.
"Turn on the stereo," She ordered him as he got into his seat.
"I guess you don't want to sleep off," He said in amusement as he turned it on. Luckily, it was on her favorite station, and Kenny Rogers' Coward of the County was playing. So she sang along in her not-so-pleasant voice.
She dozed off after a while and came awake when she heard him shut his car door before coming around to her seat to help her out, "We are home?" She asked, squinting her eyes to see if she could make out the environment in the darkness.
"Yes. Now I can kiss you," He said, and before she knew it, their lips were locked in a passionate kiss, and his hands were all over her body.