Sufferable Acceptance

One

Amelia

He was beautiful. Like the dangerous turn your ass back around because only criminals and movie stars look like that, kind of beautiful. I wasn't even supposed to be here tonight. I should have gotten into a cab and left after the job back to the hotel, but something pulled me into this bar. Something in my brain told me that my night was barely over, and so there I was sitting across from a man in a bar who looked like a month's worth of mistakes.

What the hell, I haven't enjoyed myself in a while. It had been ages since I had done anything but work and tomorrow I could wake up and forget about the night before. I had no jobs for the rest of the weekend to prepare for, so with a sick feeling in my gut I smiled back. Amelia, what have you done?

Just a smile. That's all it took for him to decide to walk over to the seat next to me. Damn, God really does have favorites. He was tall, broad shoulders, and a smirk that would have knocked me out if I wasn't already sitting. He left his table in the corner of the room and walked towards me slowly. His tie was loosened around his neck and the first button on this shirt was undone. The dim lights in the bar made it hard to see him clearly until he was right in front of me. The closer he got, the more I regretted walking into this bar. Damn, that face. Those dimples, that curly hair, those warm, caramel eyes. That regret I was feeling washed away as soon as he sat down.

Lord have mercy, that smile.

He extended his hand and took mine in his, "At risk of sounding like a cliche, you may just be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen" He hummed into my ear.

I was going to need another drink.

"Well how about getting the most beautiful woman you've ever met, another drink?" I said.

He didn't protest, he kept his eyes locked on mine and held up a hand signaling to the bartender behind him to bring over another drink.

He took a sip from his drink and smiled, "Theo, I- I'm Theo, nice to meet you."

"Elena", I lied. Oh girl, you've done it now. You know very well that's your one night stand name. What have you done!? You haven't spent five minutes together and you're already admitting defeat.

"How did someone like you end up at a place like this, Elena?" He asked.

"I'm visiting, only here for a few days for work", another lie, I said. "I am here in New York for some professional development conference that my boss thought would make all of us "stronger and more passionate educators" I mimicked. "It ended up being a bore so I snuck out, only to find this little place and I just couldn't resist taking a look".

It wasn't far from the truth, before I became a contract worker I always dreamed of being a teacher. For tonight only, I would play the part.

"A teacher, I never would have guessed," he said.

"Well, believe it sir, you're looking at the best 10th grade history teacher Maine has to offer", I chuckled. Maine?... Maine? Where did that come from? You've never stepped foot in Maine, not even for work you idiot.

"What about you, how did you end up in a place like this on a Friday night? Don't you have better things to do than this?" I questioned.

"I am 100% sure there are no better things to be doing than this", he confirmed. I could feel him relax a bit. He calmed his shoulders and leaned back.

I could feel my heart racing, which was a rare occasion for me. Professionally I had to remain calm in situations like this. This wasn't the first guy in a bar, either for pleasure or business, so why did it feel like my heart was going to jump itself out of my chest? He interrupted my thoughts before I could answer that question - "I promised to take a few of my workers out for drinks after the week we've had. But I'm sure the guys will manage to celebrate without me. If I'm being completely honest Elena, I haven't been able to stop staring at you since you walked in here".

"Oh please, I don't buy that for a second. That line may work on others but it won't work tonight. Are we both going to pretend that girl at the bar wasn't crazy about you, or the look you gave that cute waitress? You're going to have to do a lot more to convince me than that!" I blurted out. Crap, good job Amelia, now he knows you've been watching and stalking him all night. Great job dumbass.

He let out a little chuckle of defeat, "Well someone's observant. But for the record sweetheart, I'm not kidding, all I've been able to think about is the despicable, dirty things I would do to you if I got you alone". His voice got colder, and it gave me the chills. Something in him changed just then. The same warm pair of eyes I had been entranced by ever since he sat down, had gone cold. "I wasn't focused on a waitress or a girl drunk at the bar, all I could think about was slipping this little black dress of yours off and kissing every twist and turn of your body. All I could possibly imagine was that mouth of yours holding back moans and screams of my name".

As he said that he slowly ran his fingers down my back, only stopping at the end of my waist. It was electric, and I couldn't handle it for a second longer. I looked into those eyes of his for a few more seconds before slowly inching myself closer to him. Our thighs were side by side, and soon our faces were inches from each other. I was hesitant to make the first move, but either out of fear or excitement I couldn't wait any longer and I closed the space between us.

That was all it took for him to connect his lips to mine and start slowly kissing me. The polite cliche man that walked over to my table was gone. In front of me sat a man who knew what he wanted, a man who I had a feeling got his way often. He slid one hand down to my hips and the other he kept on my cheek. The kiss started to heat up. He changed his slow, taunting kisses into fast, passionate ones. We both forgot where we were. There was an unspoken connection. I felt a fire start to burn in my chest. He grabbed me by my waist and pulled me as close to him as possible like he was afraid if he didn't hold me tight enough I'd vanish. After minutes of neither of us taking a break, he leaned back. He looked at me like he wanted to say something, but he changed his mind and started to give me slow pecks on my neck. He mumbled into each kiss as he made his way up to my ear. "Let's get out of here, I know a place a bit more private", he moaned. I barely had enough time to stand up and grab my purse before Theo dragged me out the door and into his car.