“I’m sorry.”
“Like I said, don’t be sorry for me. It’s not my life. I don’t even see her anymore.” I sighed. “I went away to college and took out as many loans as I could to survive. I never wanted to be like her. I wanted to be far away from her and that life.” My breath caught. “I’ve never had casual sex with anyone since I left home. Just boyfriends. Just safe and dependable boyfriends. I’ve been waiting all my life for my Knight in Shining Armor to come and whisk me away and out of this life.” I laughed. “I guess I got fed up of waiting.”
“That’s why you took the job as the stripper?”
“I took the job as a stripper for one night to help my friend and to make some money to pay my bills and all those student loans I told you about.” I sighed.
“And what about Grant? Why did you leave with him?”
“I left with him because playing my life safe for so many years has resulted in absolutely nothing. And all those safe boyfriends have meant nothing. Not one of them has made me feel as alive as I’ve felt the last couple of days. The sex was boring and I was never fulfilled. Safe doesn’t equal happy. Safe doesn’t equal pain free. I’m broke, single and living a life I never wanted for myself and I’m still in my twenties. I don’t want this monotony anymore. I want to be wild and crazy. I want to be free. I want to be loved and love. I want to be hurt and to hurt. I want to feel something. Anything other than this never ending boredom and safety. I left with Grant because I was ready to go skydiving.” I stared at Tyler. “I was ready to ride the rollercoaster and to hell with what society thinks or what even I think.”
“You took a dangerous risk.”
“A dangerous risk that took me to you.”
‘You’re happy you’re here with me?” His expression changed and I could see that my answer was important to him.
“Being with you is anything but safe.” I laughed. “I have no idea what to think, what to feel, what to say, what to expect. I have no idea what’s going to happen and a part of me loves that.”
“So you prefer me to Grant.”
“I choose you over Grant, Tyler.” I nodded. “I choose you.”
“Good.” He said simply. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” I said in a surprised tone. “We just got here.”
“I’m going to make you feel even more alive.”
“Oh?”
“Trust me.” He grinned. “As long as you’re with me you’ll always feel alive.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because you make me feel alive. I know that because you do the same thing for me.” He grabbed my hand as we walked to the door. He paused and looked back into the room and thought for a second before turning to me. “You’re changing the man that I am, Evie.”
“I hope that’s a good thing.” I said softly and he just smiled as we walked out of the room, down a narrow hallway and out the door we had entered through. His Porsche Carrera was sitting in its spot right outside the door and we walked over to it quickly.
“Where are we going?” I turned to him as he opened the passenger door for me.
“You’ll see.”
***
“Where are we?” I asked as we got out of the car, once again in a location that I didn’t recognize.
“Brooklyn.” He grinned. “And more specifically Greenpoint.”
“What are we doing in Greenpoint, Brooklyn?” I frowned. “Is it famous for something?”
“No.” He laughed and grabbed my hand. “Let’s go inside.” He pointed at the big grey building in front of us.
“This isn’t the club is it?” I bit on my lower lip. Had he changed his mind? Did he want me to do the dance after all?
“No, this isn’t a club.” He grinned. “It’s a stunts training center.”
“Stunts?” I made a face. “What do you mean stunts?”
“I mean like big budget Hollywood movie stunts, we’re going to go rappelling.”
“Say what?” My eyes grew wide. This was not what I expected at all. “Rappelling?”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “Down the Empire State Building.”
“What?” I shook my head, my heart racing. “Are you joking?”
“Well, we’re not going to go down the real Empire State Building. I don’t think they’ll let us, not even if I offer a million dollars.”
“You love to throw your money around, don’t you?”
“No.” His voice was soft as we walked into the building. “It’s quite the opposite actually. Why do you think I became the driver? Why do you think I don’t tell anyone I’m a billionaire?”
“I don’t know. I thought it was a part of the game the two of you played.”
He stopped and looked at me then, his eyes keen as he surveyed my face. “You’re too smart for your own good, Evie.”
“Not smart enough though, obviously.” I shivered as I looked the tall mock building in front of me. “You expect me to climb down the side of the building?”
“We’ll do it together.”
“I don’t want to do it period.”
“I need you to show me you trust me, Evie. I need you to step outside of your comfort zone.”
“This is outside of my comfort zone.” I pointed at him and then myself. “Everything that’s going on is outside of my comfort zone. Being with you. Being around Grant. Talking to Eu...” I cut myself off and looked at the ground. “I don’t know if I can do this, Tyler.”
“I won’t let you fall.”
“You can’t guarantee that.” I looked up at the building again and all the ropes. “No one can guarantee that.”
“Trust me.” He grabbed my shoulders and looked into my eyes. “I need you to trust me. I need to know I can be all that someone can need.”
“I, I...” My voice trailed off at the intensity in his gaze. The look in his eyes made me feel wanted. It made me feel loved. Odd, I know, but the fact that he seemed to care so badly that I trusted him, it made me feel like I was important. And that was a feeling I’d been craving half of my life.
“Will you do it?” He asked again softly.
“Okay, I’ll do it.” I took a deep breath. “I hope I don’t piss my pants.”
“Oh Evie.” He burst out laughing. “It won’t be that bad.”
“Let’s hope so.” I gave him a look and he gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me to stand where I was and that he would be back. I watched him walking away as he went to talk to one of the workers. I stood where I was and realized that this was almost like a date. Our first date. It felt weird to think that. It was almost like we were a normal couple, but we weren’t. Nothing was normal. I chewed on my lower lip as I realized that I needed to call Hailey. She’d be freaking out. Possibly. Hailey was no stranger to weird and unusual activities. It came with her job. It was something that I’d always been in awe of; scared for her, but in awe. She’d done some really crazy things with men. Like the time, she’d slept with a Congressman at the White House by pretending to be his assistant. Or the time she’d pleasured a famous rockstar with a dildo. I couldn’t believe it when she’d told me who he was. Or the time she’d been spanked by a famous news anchor. Hailey had some stories out of this world. And I knew that she did more than stripping in her job. She was somewhat of a stripper/glorified escort, which was shocking and glamorous and confusing, all at the same time. I lived vicariously through Hailey and now, well now here I was, living my own sexual adventure. Only mine was tinged with something darker, something more real than what she experienced. I had already committed a cardinal sin by starting to fall for one of the guys. Though, I was hopeful he was falling for me as well. I was a fool. A big old fool.