Thirteen

            When I got home, I looked in the fridge for something to make myself for dinner, and saw that Ray had wrapped up some Chinese food for me. It was my favorite.

I took an eggroll, some chop suey, sweet and sour ribs, and two chicken balls. I took my time eating everything, savoring the taste.

Once I was done, I went up to my room and changed into a darker, tighter shirt. I left my same jeans on, figuring they would do. I redid my makeup, grabbed my purse and coat, and headed to work.

 

By law, nightclubs, bars, etcetera were supposed to stop serving alcohol at 4am. Normally, that was when clubs would close their doors and lock up, but Danny closed down Steam at 2am.

This, I learned to appreciate, as Danny sometimes asked me to close up for him. I was like a daughter to him, so yes, he trusted me with the responsibility of closing up Steam around 2:30 in the morning. And I usually didn’t mind doing it�"it meant getting paid for overtime.

That night, I was working until two, and Danny asked if I could close up for him. I agreed, knowing that he would pay me extra for the task.

A little after two, once everyone had emptied out of the club�"including Danny�"I finished wiping down the bar. I went around on the upper level, flipping chairs over and placing them on top of the tables. The cleaning crew usually showed up around six in the morning, and I knew they appreciated this.

I shut off all the lights and walked to the front doors, making sure that Danny had locked them before he left. Check. Now all I have to do, I thought, is lock the back door behind me when I leave.

 I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out my keychain. I searched for the key that Danny gave me for closing up�"it wasn’t there. I ran through all the keys at least five times, and I couldn’t find the large, oddly shaped metal key.

            I went behind the bar, onto the top level, into the washrooms�"I searched high and low for the key. I couldn’t find it anywhere.

I cursed under my breath and tried to clear my head. I stood in front of the thick, windowless back door, trying to figure out what to do.

Just as I was about to take out my cell call Danny, there was pounding on the front door of the club. I quietly tiptoed to the front of the building and peeked out a window to see who was banging on the doors. To my surprise, it was Ethan.

I quickly unlocked one of the doors and let Ethan in, shutting and locking it behind him.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, completely shocked to see him out and about so late at night�"or early in the morning, depending on how you wanted to look at it.

He avoided the question and slowly walked onto the dance floor, looking around at everything. “So this is where little Heidi works…”

I scoffed at him. “Little?”

“Well, you’re shorter than me,” he replied, looking at me for a moment and then directing his attention back towards the DJ’s area on the balcony.

“Whatever,” I said, laughing. My eyes followed Ethan as he walked up the winding staircase to the DJ area and started pressing buttons. Suddenly, a song came on, and I jumped in reaction to the sudden noise.

Ethan continued pressing buttons until the song changed to a quieter, slower song. He climbed down the stairs and walked over to me.

I could feel my palms beginning to sweat out of nervousness. “So what are you doing here, anyway?”

He reached into his pocket and grabbed something small. When he opened his hand out to me, I saw that it was Danny’s key for the club.

I gasped. “You took it from me?”

“No,” he said simply.

I just looked at him. “Then how did you get it?”

“It was on my couch. I just found it there like half an hour ago.”

“Oh. Well it must’ve fallen off my keychain while I was there. Why are you bringing it to me now? You could’ve waited until tomorrow or something. It’s a little late, don’t you think?” I was glad that he’d decided to show up with the key, since I needed it to lock up, but he didn’t know what the key was for. Why would he have driven to my work at almost 2:30 in the morning just to bring me a key that might’ve not even been important, for all he knows?

He shrugged. “Maybe I wanted to see you.”

“How did you know I was here this late?”

“I called Ray and asked him where you were.”

I nodded. “Well, thanks. It’s a good thing you brought this to me. I need it to lock this place up.” I reached to take the key from his hand, but he snatched it away quickly, smiling playfully.

“Ethan! Give it to me! I gotta lock up!” I yelled, unable to suppress a smile.

“You only get it back on one condition…” He shoved the key into his pocket as he spoke.

I sighed. “And what would that be?”

He paused. “Dance with me.”

Before I could react, Ethan scooped me up in his arms and pressed his body against mine. He stared down into my eyes and I couldn’t look away. After a moment, we were swaying in time to the soft, slow music and I was really getting into it. I leaned my head on Ethan’s shoulder and breathed in his scent.

Then the thought hit me�"before I could even consider what it meant, or stop myself; I want him to be mine.

I was shocked that the realization was just occurring. I’d obviously been trying to prevent myself from falling for Ethan. Clearly, my heart had already, and my mind was finally just catching up.

“Heidi,” he mumbled into my hair.

I wrapped my arms tighter around him in response to his gentle voice, and felt the electricity run through us. Just touching him made my nerves on end, and every simple bit of contact I was aware of, as it felt a hundred times more intensified.

We continued to sway back and forth, in a slow circle, even after the music was done. I let myself lose track of time and just live in the moment.

“Heidi?” This time he wanted a response.

“Yeah?” I answered.

We stopped dancing as he leaned back to look into my eyes. “Do you have any idea how special you are to me?”

No, I thought. Not after you spent a week avoiding me.

“What does that even mean?” I asked, ruining the moment.

“It means, I think you’re amazing. And… I really like you.”

“I really like you too,” I replied quietly, staring up at him longingly. The moment was back, and this time I wasn’t going to screw it up�"or take it for granted. This time I made the move.

I pushed myself up onto my tiptoes and pressed my lips to Ethan’s. He openly accepted the form of affection, and leaned down into me, parting his lips slightly as they met mine.

Kissing him for the third time, it still felt the same�"just like the first time. My knees weakened, and I let myself fall into Ethan. My mind instantly went blank, and I couldn’t focus on anything other than the way he smelled, the way he tasted, the way he felt…

He pulled away slowly, and gave me a crooked smile.

“Come on,” he said suddenly, grabbing my hand and dragging me off the dance floor.

“Where are we going?” I asked, letting him yank me away. I still felt a little dizzy from the heat of the moment.

“I want to show you something.” He reached into his pocket with his free hand and tossed the key back to me.

I ran up the stairs, shut off the music, and followed Ethan out the back door, locking it behind us. I followed him out to his car, then stopped before getting in.

“What about my car?” I asked, unsure.

“We can come back and get it later,” he said easily, and got in. I felt as if I had no choice, so I got into the passenger seat and gave myself over to Ethan.

We drove for about fifteen minutes, until we were out of the town limits. I began to grow suspicious.

“Where are we even going?” I asked.

He swung his head to look at me. “You should know not to ask that by now.”

I laughed. “Well I don’t mind surprises, as long as they’re from you.”

I saw him smile as he concentrated on the dark, winding road. “What’s so great about my surprises?”

“They always involve spending time with you,” I replied honestly.

He looked at me again, and gave me a sweet smile. Then he took my hand in his and held it as we continued driving.

Eventually, Ethan pulled the car off the road and into a large, open field that seemed to go on for miles. He got out of the car, went around the back and pulled a tattered blanket out of the trunk.

I zipped my jacket up to my neck, preparing myself for the cold night air, and got out of the car as well. Ethan walked over to me, laying the blanket out flat on the hood of his car.

We lay down on our backs on the blanket, staring up at the stars.

“So this is what you had in mind, hmm?” I asked, nudging him with my elbow playfully.

“Yeah, well I thought you might enjoy it�"the peacefulness and all.”

I curled up into his side, absorbing his body heat. “I love it,” I whispered, as he slowly ran his fingers through my hair. “It’s perfect.”