Ellie

I held the invitation between my sweaty palms, standing outside the door to apartment thirty-one, feeling like I had swallowed a ton of bricks. One night of anonymous, hot sex sounded great in theory, but in practise I wasn’t quite sure if I was cut out for it. Last week when I had come back from my shopping trip, there had been a white envelope on my doorstep, a stylish, shiny invitation to a private party. There was no return address or even the name of the host on the back.

“Are you planning on going in?”

A clipped annoyed voice pulled me out of my thoughts. A blond woman stood behind me in an expensive black cocktail dress. For a split second I was ready to run away, but instead I nodded shyly and knocked. It was time to let go of my insecurities and just get on with it.

Behind the apartment door I could hear other people enjoying themselves and soft slow music. It seemed like the party had been going on for a while. A few seconds later, the door opened and a tall, good-looking man in a well-tailored suit appeared, eyeing me with interest. I couldn’t avoid his eyes: they were a piercing cobalt blue that stared right into me. He looked like the sort of guy that no one would mess around with. Tall, confident and intense looking, he was certainly imposing. I told myself that I was ready for this, but my head kept on rehashing events from a few weeks ago, reminding me that my confidence had shrunk after my foolish affair with a married man.

“Veronica, nice to see you again,” the handsome man said with a bright smile, looking behind me. “How are you?”

“Fabulous, darling. As usual, you look well,” the pretty woman replied as she passed me on the way in.

His eyes sparkled with mischief when he finally glanced at me.

“I see that you received my invitation. Welcome to my home. I’m Harry, the host,” Harry said with a bright smile. I waited, worried that he would make out who I was, but when his face didn’t show any kind of recognition, I relaxed. No one in Edinburgh knew who I was and the surname that I had chosen to use was common enough.

“Yes, I did,” I said, trying to sound like I was excited rather than nervous. Only two weeks had passed since my purchase of the apartment had gone through and I hadn’t had a chance to make any new friends in Edinburgh yet. I was hoping that my old bunch of girlfriends would reach out and we would go out like we used to. They didn’t; they all pretended to be too busy. Deep down I knew that it was because of the mess of the scandal. They didn’t want to be seen with me.

“The rules at my parties are simple and straightforward. Everyone here is single and available for sex. I don’t expect you to drop your knickers down for anyone straight away. We are all civilised adults, but I always mention that my bedrooms are available to use if needed. Most people show up here to get to know each other first, before any kind of interaction can take place.”

Harry was having this bizarre conversation with me on the threshold and we hadn’t even been properly introduced yet. Meanwhile, my heart hadn’t stopped racing since I made the decision to come here. I really needed to get a grip on myself. This was my opportunity to be anonymous for at least one evening. I needed to blow off some steam from all the stress in my life and everything that had recently gone wrong. I had given Andrew my heart and he stomped on it and then wrecked my whole life. I was tired of feeling sorry for myself.

“I’m Ellie Frasier,” I introduced myself. Harry kissed my palm and opened the door wider to let me through. I caught the scent of his cologne and I liked it. It was very masculine. I reminded myself that I needed to hook up with a complete stranger, someone I wouldn’t ever have to see again after tonight.

“I hope you enjoy yourself tonight, Ellie,” Harry added. He seemed charming and very confident. The kind of guy that I needed to avoid like the plague. I bet his blue eyes hid a corrupted soul and a darkness that could swallow you. After my affair, I had learned how to recognise those types of men.

Harry’s apartment was much bigger than mine with a large open plan living room and a bog standard kitchen. There were people standing around, chatting and drinking as if it were a normal get-together. The invitation had said that food and entertainment would be provided and I assumed that the pole in the middle of the room was supposed to arouse the atmosphere of power and make you surrender to it. My heart leapt in my throat and I was seized by an intense moment of total deja vu. A year ago I had taken some pole-dancing lessons to impress the man that I’d thought I loved. My teacher had always praised me and I managed to start creating my own complicated routines. All of this had to stop when I was forced to leave Glasgow.

I used to attend parties like this one all the time when I was Daddy’s favourite daughter. Now I was no one, just a broke twenty-five-year-old woman trying to make it as a reporter and erase the memories of a scandal that everyone still fed on.

I circled around the room for some time, watching the men and women. A few handsome guys smiled and showed an interest, but I was too scared to actually approach anyone. Everyone here was so glamorous and probably wealthy. Doubts started creeping in, making me feel vulnerable and quite lost.

“Champagne?” asked a shorter, dark-haired guy that suddenly appeared at my side, holding out a glass of bubbly for me to accept. He had a very thick Edinburgh accent and nicely cut suit. I hesitated for a split second before I accepted it. He wasn’t bad-looking, not really my usual type but cute enough. He had bulky, defined eyebrows and a nice smile, so I assumed that he would be appropriate. Not too handsome or ugly either. I imagined him undressing me and then letting me forget who I was, at least for a night. Tingles of excitement travelled down my spine. It was obvious why he was here.

“Thank you. I’m Ellie,” I finally said, smiling.

His eyes gleamed with curiosity and many unanswered questions. “Gavin.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Gavin.”

“Ellie—I like that name. You’re new here, and presumably available and open to possibilities?”

I nearly choked on my champagne when he asked that question. Yes, I was available and I wouldn’t mind getting myself acquainted with this stranger at all, but this whole thing was happening fast, maybe way too fast. My own deep-seated insecurities were slowly accelerating my sudden panic. Maybe I wasn’t ready, maybe it was too soon? In the end I decided to improvise.

“You could say that, Gavin,” I replied, moving my finger over the edge of the glass. “Have you been to many parties such as this?”

He arched one bulky eyebrow, moving closer to me. I had to admit, I wasn’t too keen on his aftershave. It was strong and too overpowering.

“A few, and I never leave empty-handed. I’m feeling particularly on edge tonight and you’re very beautiful, Ellie.”

Wow, he didn’t waste much time. I drank some more champagne, feeling braver than usual. I felt sexy wearing my long red dress that emphasised my slender figure. I could do this. Sex was something that I wanted and Gavin appeared to be aiming for exactly the same thing.

“On edge, hmmm… what do you mean by that?” I teased, biting my lip. Soft, sexy music was blasting from the speakers that were set at the corners. A few couples had already formed. The invitation had said that there was going to be some sort of entertainment later on, a stripper or a dancer, so the pole in the middle suddenly made sense.

“I’m going to cut to the chase, darling. I haven’t fucked for over a week and I want you, so how about I take you to one of the bedrooms back there and we get to know each other better?” Gavin asked, shooting me a heated look.