Marrying My One Night Stand

KIESHA'S POV I had a simple plan, one night, no names, no consequences. By sunrise, I’d broken at least one of those rules and I still didn’t regret it. But that's getting ahead of myself. I sat on my bed after my shift at Brandy's, still smelling like fryer oil, scrolling at the store listing for the tenth time that week like it might change if I looked at it long enough. I did the math again even though I already knew it by heart. I didn’t have enough yet. My mother's recipe book sat open beside me, the spine soft from years of use, a smear of old vanilla still faintly staining the page I always landed on without meaning to. "Somebody with real money's going to snatch that place up before you get close," a coworker had said earlier, not unkindly, just stating it like you’d speak about the weather. I hadn't argued. I never did. I just kept scrolling. Not everyone would see the vision, just like my father never did. Vanessa took one look at my face when I walked through our door and set down whatever she'd been doing. "Okay. What happened?" "Nothing happened. That's the problem." I dropped onto the couch. "I graduated two months ago and I still don't know what my life is supposed to look like. I still haven't heard from my father, I'm saving for a dream everybody thinks is cute and unrealistic. I just want one night where nobody gets to ask me what I'm doing with my future." Vanessa's eyes lit up in a way that should have worried me. "Then let's give you that." "Ness—" "Tonight, you're not Richard Roberts' daughter." She was already up, already digging through her closet. "You're not anybody's disappointment. You're not anybody's anything. Tonight you're just Kiesha." I resisted for exactly as long as it took her to hold up the dress. Then I thought about another night alone with my laptop and my calculator and gave in. The club swallowed us whole the second we walked in. It was loud, hot, thick with perfume and spilled liquor. I stood against the wall for the first twenty minutes, clutching a drink like my life depended on it. Then Vanessa dragged me out, and a shot became two. “Come on, be free! Dance!” she exclaimed, and somewhere in there I stopped thinking about rent, recipe books, or my father's silence. I just moved. This was my night, the night where I got to forget about anything that was plaguing my mind. Here, I was carefree. Nobody was asking what I was doing with my life, or measuring me with their version of success. For the first time in longer than I wanted to admit, I was simply a girl on a dance floor, and that was enough. I let myself get lost in the music as I moved my hips against Vanessa, grinding into each other. “Never knew you had moves like that, hot s**t,” Vanessa whispered into my ears, making me throw my head back in laughter. I looked forward and our gazes locked. In all of this chaos, he wasn’t in the middle of anything. He was sitting in the VIP section, drinking alone like he was unaffected by anything, but the way he looked at me drew me in. He raised his glass to his mouth, finishing what was in his glass without taking his gaze off me. Something about that made me feel like he was drinking me in instead, and my body suddenly felt wrapped up in heat. I was probably more drunk than tipsy because I did something I would never dream of doing in a million years. I walked seductively towards him and stopped at the small bar close to where he was lounging, using my eyes to draw him in. He took the bait as he stalked towards me like a tiger walking towards his prey. A feeling of danger seeped through me, leaving a shiver down my spine, and instead of running, I found it very hot. "You look like you are trying to run away,” his voice caressed something deep in me, almost making a moan tear out of my throat as I fought to control myself. I cleared my throat. “Maybe I am.” I smiled in what I hoped was a flirtatious smile. "From what?" he asked, darkness swirling behind his grey orbs as he watched me. "Everyone," I said, and it came out truer than I meant it to. He moved closer until there was less than an inch of space between us, and all I could smell was his cologne, which carried a warm air of wood and spice. My breath hitched at our closeness. He stared deeply into my eyes before leaning in, his jaw grazing my skin as his breath tickled my ear, making me shiver. “Let’s get out of here.” His low voice floated into my ears, making goose bumps rise on my flesh and my heart beat skip. “Yeah,” my voice sounded more like a whimper than a whisper. We ended up somewhere quieter, and I found myself rambling on about things I wouldn’t tell a soul. I don’t know if it was the alcohol that ran through my veins in a dizzying amount, or his intoxicating scent and aura, but I spoke clearly about owning a place, how my mother had instilled this passion into me, and how I carried this little recipe book that was the only real thing I had left of her. "Then why haven't you opened it yet?" he asked. "Money, family, everyone telling me it's unrealistic, among many things.” "Then stop asking everyone." "You always give strangers business advice?" I raised a brow while flicking my tongue over my dry lips. His gaze followed my tongue like he was imagining what he wanted to do with it. "Only when they're wasting time." I didn't have an answer for that. I still don't know if I ever will, but that night, it felt like something clicking into place, like the first person who'd ever actually agreed I should just do the thing instead of explaining, again, why I couldn't. The rest of the night moved fast and slow at once. He put some stray hair behind my ears, then his hand trailed through my jaw while we were locked in some kind of staring competition. My body hummed, and I fought to keep a sound from coming out of my mouth by putting my bottom lip in between my teeth while his eyes darkened with desire. I didn’t let myself think as I stood up and threw myself at him, capturing his lips, and he took charge, pulling me towards him as we clashed against each other, teeth and tongue moving around and fighting for dominance. His grip on my waist tightened as he pressed me against him, and my core brushed against a part of him that had already thickened. I moaned into his mouth as he deepened the kiss with a grunt. We broke the kiss only when I started to feel lightheaded and needed to breathe. We stared at each other, taking in deep breaths, and the desire I saw swirling in his eyes almost floored me. I was sure I had something similar in mine too. He led me to his hotel room around the corner, and I followed him, eager to have him pressed against me again. We barely made it into the room dressed, him pulling my dress right out of my body while I pulled on his shirt, the buttons shattering everywhere, but neither of us cared about that as our lips found each other again like starving animals. He pulled me onto the bed, and his lips trailed down my neck, licking and sucking. I knew he would leave marks, but I couldn’t care less as sounds I’ve never heard before left my lips. “f**k, I need you,” I said almost pleadingly. He paused for a bit, looking at me with a heated gaze. “Are you sure you want this? Because I am about to mark you as mine, and I need to know you are willing.” “Make me yours,” I whispered. I woke up to sunlight on my face and for one second, I felt peace, almost joy, until I looked around and threw my hand over my mouth to prevent myself from screaming. Where am I? I asked myself until I looked beside me and saw a man. I groaned as I landed on the ground from being startled by his presence. Fuck, did I wake him? I slowly raised my head to check him, but he was still fast asleep. Look at his lips. My gosh, he is so handsome. I could definitely get used to this. What was that? I instantly canceled the thought from my mind as I scrambled to my feet, throwing on my clothes but not being able to find my panties. I looked around and still couldn’t find them. I guess I was leaving a little gift for room service. I have to leave. He could open his eyes anytime soon. I had opened the door when I realized I could not leave without a note. Fun night. Buy coffee? I quickly scribbled, dropping my last hundred dollars and using his Rolex to hold it. I tiptoed to the door and closed it as silently as I could before sprinting a couple blocks and finally slowing down when I was sure there was no way he could have followed me all the way. By the time I reached the apartment, I was exhausted and dragged my feet through the front door to find Vanessa smiling at me like a Cheshire cat with a cup of coffee in hand. “Don’t,” I warned. “Coffee?” she offered. “Yes, please,” I groaned. “Now speak,” she said, handing me the coffee. “No, I am already embarrassed as it is. I followed a stranger and you let me! He could have been a serial killer. I don’t even know his name!” “You had to lose your one-night-stand virginity at one point.” She rolled her eyes. “You're glowing,” Vanessa said the second I walked through our door, coffee already in her hand. “It was incredible,” I admitted, and I actually was glowing, grinning like an i***t over a man whose last name I didn't know and would probably never learn. My phone rang before she could ask anything else. My father's name lit up the screen for the first time in months. "Come home tonight," he said, no hello, no explanation. "Why?" I asked, already feeling the night's warmth start to drain out of me. "It's about your future." A pause, long enough to make my stomach drop before he even finished. "And it can't wait anymore." He hung up before I could ask what that meant. I stared at the screen after the call ended. One night. That was all I'd asked for. One night where nobody else got to decide what happened to me. And somehow, my father had already found a way to take it back.