...AND SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH A HOOKER

Chapter 6.

The cab ride to the benefit was a surprisingly comfortable one. Adrian seemed to let his persona drop a bit when he asked Rose about her Pokémon cards, and they fell into an essay conversation about their favorite characters and mutual love for the franchise.

They were in the middle of a discussion about which was the better Pokémon when the driver slowed the car to a stop. As Rose took off her belt seat, she was surprised to find Adrian already handing a wad of bills to the driver and getting out of the car. She frowned questioningly as she craned her neck to watch Adrian speedily jog around the back of the car. The door beside her popped, and Adrian stood aside to let her out.

Rose paused a moment, biting her lips, before accepting the date-like gestures of Adrian paying the cab fair and opening her car door for her. She stepped out onto the red carpet leading up to the stairs in front of them and glanced upwards.

At the top of the French doors of the ballroom, the venue stood open, laughter and clinking noises of a party in session reaching them.

‘’I could have paid for that, you know’’, Rose said, looking at Adrian.

Adrian shrugged, tilting his head as he stuffed his hands back into his pockets, something he seemed to be doing a lot. ‘’I know, but I wanted to,’’ he said, winking. ‘’I’m supposed to be your date, right? Might as well act the part.’’

‘’Of course. Um, act like a date.’’ Rose hesitantly smiled back. ‘’Because we don’t want them to know you’re a hired escort. 'I would never live it down,’’ She added before turning and beginning walking up the stairs.

Adrian fell into step beside her, and Rose looked over at him when she heard him snigger under his breath.

‘’Don’t worry. I’ll be a perfect gentleman, and I promise to behave,’’ he said as his eyes fell to Rose’s mouth, and Rose felt her tongue dart out to lick her dry lips before she could stop it. ‘’If you promise to keep that tongue in check. It makes me want to do wicked things to you right here. Right now.’’

Rose was beginning to think that scarlet was a skin tone she was going to have to get used to, judging by the amount of blushing she was doing. She had never been this easily affected by someone before. Words didn’t usually get to her. She’d been forced to listen to many more graphic things being blurted from Jenny’s mouth, like when she’d decided that Rose simply had to hear details about how one of the guys she was seeing had piercings in places that God never intended us to decorate with jewelry. The mental images alone had left Rose resolutely not speaking to Jenny for two days.

But somehow, Adrian’s suggestive flirting had her continuously flushing like a virgin bride on her wedding night. And wasn’t that a fine analogy to make in the situation?

Rose rolled her eyes, both in response to Adrian and at her own reaction. Speeding up her steps, she quickly reached the open doors. She heard Adrian’s laughter ring out behind her, followed by the rhythmic tapping of his feet against the carpeted stairs.

A steady hand on the small of her back had Rose smiling secretly to herself as she gently guided further inside a marble entrance hall softly lit by crystal chandeliers. The men and women milling around the space were dressed in their best evening wear, talking and laughing, while servers dressed in white jackets gracefully navigated the crowds, carrying trays laden with canapés and champagne flutes.

‘’Wow, this is posh, don’t you think?’’ Rose asked as she scanned the room and turned to raise her head to look at Adrian, who had raised his hand to beckon one of the servers over. The girl who greeted them with a smile as she extended the drinks towards them.

Adrian plucked two of the delicate flutes off the tray, nodding at the girl in thanks, and handed one to Rose while the server disappeared into the crowds once more.

‘’It certainly is.’’ Adrian smiled before lifting his drink and inclining his head towards Rose. ‘’To posh parties!’’

Rose smiled back politely as they clicked their glasses together carefully.

Just when she tipped the sparkly drink into her mouth, Adrian leaned closer to her ear and whispered, ‘’And to your ass in those tailored pants.’’

Gasping around the sip she’d just swallowed, Rose sputtered and coughed as the champagne burned her windpipe. Wheezing a bit as she caught her breath, Rose stared at the glass in her hand, not knowing where else to look.

‘’Careful.’’ Adrian admonished with a laugh as he gently tapped Rose’s upper back before letting his voice drop again, ‘’ or I might be tempted to suggest something else you could choke on.’’

Rose’s eyes widened in disbelief, and she whipped her head around to stare incredulously at Adrian. The blond man was smirking at her again, and Rose considered asking him if these not-so-subtle s****l innuendos were something she was going to be forced to endure the entire night. But Rose didn’t have time to form a response before she heard someone call her name.