Chapter 2 - Generous Stranger

How on earth was she ever going to accomplish such a huge feat? She wondered as she looked around the club for any prospective candidate. Had Sam been a younger guy, maybe she would have considered him, but Sam looked way too old and that was not the kind of person she had in mind to lose her virginity to.

She noticed several guys staring at her like they were waiting for a sort of signal from her before approaching her, but neither of them looked attractive enough to her taste, so she looked away from them.

She did not doubt that she was going to be needing lots of alcohol to build up her courage level, she thought to herself as she gulped down the content of her glass and called out to Sam for another shot.

"Hey, sweety! Heard you're new around here. Need me to show you around?" An average-looking young man asked with a suggestive wink as he let his eyes travel down Lucy's legs.

Ewwww! She thought as she tried not to look at him repulsively, "No thanks." Lucy said with a forced smile.

"Are you sure? There's plenty of places I could take you to if you know what I mean." He said as he leaned closer to her and placed a hand on her exposed thighs.

"Thanks for your offer, but I'll pass," Lucy muttered through gritted teeth.

He was so close that she could perceive the alcohol on his breath mixed with something else she couldn't tell. The idea of having someone like him on the same bed with her was so repugnant that she was beginning to feel like retching.

"She said NO! Why don't you get lost." The young man who had been sitting quietly beside her growled ferociously, making the guy with the bad breath scurry away.

Of course, she had been aware that someone was sitting beside her, but she just hadn't taken note of him until she heard his voice, so she turned her head slightly to look at him and froze when their eyes met.

He was staring directly at her and she noticed a smile was dancing playfully on his lips as he looked at her. His eyes looked as though they were laughing at something funny. His voice had not sounded like he was having fun a moment ago, so what was he finding funny? she wondered as she cocked her head to the side and raised a brow as though asking him what he was finding so funny.

Tom tried not to chuckle as he looked down at her journal which was lying open on the table between them, before looking into her face once again. He grinned when her eyes widened in mortification and chuckled when she quickly snapped her journal shut.

Lucy blushed a deep shade of red as she quickly looked away from the handsome devil.

Although their gaze had held for only a few seconds, she had gotten a clear picture of his facial features before turning away. The brown-looking handsome devil was blessed with an oval-shaped face with a prominent lower jaw and chin. And his face was decorated with the finest hazel eyes she had ever seen on a man, and a well-defined straight nose with full symmetrical lips.

Lucy silently pray that he wouldn't say anything or expose her to the others. The last thing she wanted on her first day here was to be labeled as a pervert or a man-eater. That would be very bad for her reputation around here.

"Since we just shared such a deep secret, don't you think it's safe to say we are friends now? And as such shouldn't we at least say Hi to each other?" The handsome devil asked her, breaking the silence which she had just begun to be thankful for.

She gritted her teeth, and then pasted a smile on her face before turning to look at him, "Hi!"

"You can call me Tom. I heard you say your name is Lucy earlier. I can call you that, right?" He asked with a grin as though he knew something she didn't.

"Sure." Lucy said, and then cleared her throat, "About what you may have seen..."

"May? Not may. I actually did see it." He assured her in a very confident tone leaving her speechless.

Had it been a less embarrassing situation, she probably would have demanded an apology from him for invading her privacy by sneaking a peek from her journal, but she couldn't do that for fear that he might decide to expose her to the world. So instead she forced a smile, "Uhm..."

"There's nothing to feel embarrassed about. Nothing at all. It's normal. People do these things all the time. I can assure you it's not a big deal. I could just pretend like I didn't see anything." He said with a straight face but she could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Yeah. Thanks. I'll really appreciate that." Lucy said with a smile of gratitude, grateful that he was responsible enough to let her off the hook so easily. She decided she was just going to drink really quickly and disappear from the club before she embarrass herself any further.

"Sam, can I get another glass, please? And get one for the lady too." Tom called out to Sam before looking at her, "Since it's your birthday, permit me to buy you a drink."

"Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I'm almost done here." She quickly assured him.

"You can't say you've been to a club or had a double martini if you did not get drunk or get on the dance floor. Plus I don't see any man leaving with you either. Aren't you going to check that on your little list?" Tom asked, wiggling his brow playfully as he glanced at her journal which she had tucked into her purse.

Lucy felt her face heat up again, "You promised to pretend..."

"I didn't promise. I said I COULD just pretend." Tom reminded her with a wink, "So how about I help you tick that? I'm feeling very generous tonight.." He said with a grin, showing her he was really enjoying himself at her expense.