Dare Me Not | 18+ ✔

18. Temptation (Xander)

I'm crazy for taking Parker's challenge, but the daring look on her face has thrown my rational mind out of the window. And those eyes. The eyes that always carry the same fierceness are downright dangerous, yet alluring. The more I spend time with her, the more I'm pulled into her web of hazardous escapades.

It happens so fast. Right after bidding our goodnight with Mr. Corn, Parker calls our company driver, only to send him home. Leave it to Parker to find the best excuse at the very last minute.

"We're staying back with Mr. Corn and the team under Tim's instruction, huh?" I say, chuckling.

"It's better than telling him we're going clubbing. You know what he's going to think." She smirks, her dark eyes twinkling under the lobby's golden light. "Or do you secretly want people at work to talk about us going out after the gala and doing unthinkable things?"

I know better than to respond to Parker when she starts to talk like this. I'd be the one who got tormented if I did. "All right, smart ass, how are we going to go to the club?"

"Hang on, smarty pants. I'm taking care of it," she says before walking to the big man standing by the entrance door.

He startles when she starts talking to him, but a smile breaks across his face in the next few seconds as he listens to her. He then nods and brings his walkie-talkie to his lips. Parker flashes a friendly smile to him before swiveling on her heels and sauntering back to me.

"Our taxi will be here soon," she says.

"I didn't know you took that kind of public transport."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. Safety reasons? Or some people might find it gross to sit on the backseat that random people also use?"

She rolls her eyes. "Jeez. Some people just think too highly of themselves. Plus, we're kind of invisible if we go with a taxi. No gossip or headache afterward."

I nod, agreeing as she has a point. But dammit, why am I excited right now? It feels like we're teenagers who have a secret rendezvous. It's thrilling, yet I keep questioning if my decision to go will bite me in the ass later.

I'm debating with myself while watching her check her phone screen before she slips it into her bag; a bag that is as big as my palm. I don't understand why women even bother bringing that sort of bag if it barely holds anything inside. It's probably just enough to keep a phone, cards, and lipstick. I wonder if she keeps condoms in her purse too.

"Let's wait outside." Her voice pulls my mind out of her purse. Before I can say anything, she already strides to the entrance door as the hem of her dress sways gaily around her luscious legs.

I follow her outside while admiring the view before me. I'm always amazed at how she looks gorgeous in anything she wears. I saw her in her hoodie and jogging pants, in her office attire, in her skimpy dress —hell, I even saw her nearly bare breasts, and now this. Her elegant black dress, though, brings out a different side of her. She looks more mature and captivating, nothing like a lost girl who doesn't know what to do with her life.

Her brown hair is pulled into a bun, displaying her bare long neck adorned by a golden chain attached to her dress. The back side of her dress is cut open in the middle, in a vertical line along her spine, and it ends at her waist level. If she bends over or tilts her shoulder, the gap between the fabrics shows some part of the skin. And again, no trace of a bra. She probably uses that silicon stuff girls like to plug over their breasts. I saw Emma do it sometimes.

Having the name popping up in my head gives me a sudden sharp jab in my chest. It'd been days since I left my house, and there was no news from Emma until Blair texted me this afternoon with an Instagram link to Emma's account. When I opened the link, Emma's face was the first thing staring at me, displaying her elegant smile. A man's arm was around her shoulders while his lips were pressed to her temple. I've seen that guy before, but I can't recall where or when.