Daring to Fall |18+|

02 | miro

NOVA

I curled my hand around the thick glass holding my liquor of the night—silently regretting my choice as I sat at the bar. White rum. What the fuck was I thinking? It was unusual choice that ran expensive.

However, that wasn't my main concern.

A man was dangerously close to me, hovering almost as I felt his body temperature on my bare arm.

From the corner of my eye, I could tell he was tall and brunette. A combination I would have taken home with me on any other day. Tonight, I wasn't looking for a quick fuck. I wanted a quick drink and a long night of enjoying the music.

"Can I help you?" I asked, averting my gaze to the brunette nearly leaning over me.

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes at the sloppiness in his body language. He had a lazy smile on his face as he learned his elbow on the countertop, watching me with a grin that didn't reach his eyes. I let out a sigh, finding the lust written all over his face too unflattering to look at.

"Nah. Can I help you, though? You seem a little tense," he whispered, barely audible over the live band playing in the background.

I inched away from the alcohol fumes on his breath but it wasn't his overly confidence that caught my attention. Or the cartoon print on his t-shirt. No, it was the silver band wrapped around his ring finger. The asshole even lacked the decency to take it off.

My brows pinched together into an unstoppable frown. If it wasn't an old fuck hitting on me, it was a man with a wife and kids at home and both made me feel equally disgusted. I didn't say anything but I closed my palm over my glass when I looked away from it.

"No?" he asked, chuckling as if I were his entertainment.

"You're married," I breathed, irritated.

"That's a problem?" he asked, stroking his ring with the pad of his thumb. I was too taken aback by his shamelessness to say anything else.

I should take my ass home.

"Okay," he murmured, shrugging. "I can take it off if you want."

I scoffed, finishing off the last of my rum.

"Please," I emphasised, giving him a look that must have translated into pure disgust. "Just go away." He wasn't my type anyway.

"Look—I pay well," he said, hurriedly pulling out his wallet. "Whatever your rate is, I'll double it."

My jaw dropped, but it was still hard to be surprised. In a way, my brain found it as a stupid compliment and I looked down at my pretty little dress. Yes, it still fits.

"Oh, you're not..." he trailed off, his own face turning bright red. "Fuck. I'm sorry. You're just—you were sitting all alone so I assumed you were selling—I mean."

"Go."

"Yes, I'll fuck off now."

The man rushed off and I let out the eye roll I'd been holding back on. Honestly, it wasn't the first time I'd been mistaken for an escort. I was sitting alone—all dolled up as I eyed the place. Could I blame him? No. Could I wish his wife left him broke and lonely? Yes.

I let out a sigh, realising the night was not turning out how I thought it would.

Maybe I should have put an end to my attempt at enjoying myself right then.

But I didn't.

Regretfully, the casino I sat in wasn't my first choice. It wasn't my second either. Every other place was packed to the brim. If it wasn't outrageously full, it was unbelievably empty—dead. The casino was small and mostly bar, but it was the only place I managed to find on the strip that didn't feel life threatening.