Chapter 3: Ian

Stevie couldn’t stop talking about their encounter for days. She kept replaying every minute of the night, analyzing what she’d said and done and what Ben Stanovich must think of her.

She’d had the photo of her and Mallory and Ben printed and showed it to everyone she knew.

“Look at how his arm is around my waist,” she would explain. “He was holding onto my waist. See? I swear I can still feel it. I’ll never wash that shirt again.”

They’d stayed at the bar another hour, chatting and milling about. Stevie still couldn’t talk to Ben without drooling and had avoided looking in his direction altogether. Instead she’d ended up in a long, secret discussion with Jake the Bass Player.

Barry continued to pester Mallory, offering his spare bed once again. Ben sat within earshot for twenty minutes before he finally decided to retire to his room. Mallory wished she had brushed off the drummer and thought of something witty to say to Ben.

When the memories of that evening crept into her mind during a slow day at work she tried to shut them down. Why was she so concerned about what Ben Stanovich thought? Was she just starved for attention? She’d had Barry’s attention and she didn’t give a crap. But when Ben looked at her she felt something like pebbles in her stomach. She saw something in his eyes.

No! Stevie was a huge fan of this guy. She’d had a crush on him since she was old enough to have crushes. She’d vowed in the eighth grade that she would marry him one day, becoming Stevie Stanovich, no Stephanie Stanovich, no Stephanie Piotrowski-Stanovich.

Mallory laughed out loud. Nurse Rochelle gave her a quizzical look and then went back to her magazine. The doctor had gone home early and nobody wanted to do the work they were supposed to do. But as long as Rochelle was slacking off then it was okay for everybody else to do the same.

But Mallory didn’t want to slack off. She wanted to busy herself. She wanted to stop thinking about those eyes and that smile. She was being stupid. It’s not like he was some guy in town. She would never see this man again. Even if he was “Stevie’s man” it’s not like she was going to snatch him away from her.

So maybe a little fantasy couldn’t hurt. She began to imagine ditching Barry and sitting down with Ben. She would say witty things and he would find her irresistibly charming. He would call her right now and ask her to come on the road with him where they would share four-star rooms and he would shower her with gifts.

As if by magic the phone rang and interrupted her thoughts. Of course it rang. This was a doctor’s office and she was the receptionist. It wasn’t going to be Ben Stanovich on the other end. That would be ridiculous.

“Dr Casper’s office, this is Mallory.”

“Hey, Babe.” It was Ian. His voice was just the right amount of sexy. But she was annoyed at him for breaking her fantasy. She hadn’t seen him on Sunday after all. She’d even let Monday and Tuesday go by without calling him for emotionally un-involved sex. For some reason she just hadn’t been in the mood. Instead she’d caught up on the shows that were crowding her DVR.

“Hi,” she said quietly. Rochelle was a gossip and she didn’t know about Ian. Not that she would get much info from a one-sided phone call. But Mallory didn’t want to field questions about a man who she was sleeping with but who wasn’t her boyfriend.

“I’m going to Story’s Bar tonight. Wanna come?”

“Okay. Should I pick you up?” This was a loaded question. What Mallory was really asking was “Are we going to end up having sex at your house or my apartment? Or do you think maybe there’s a chance you’ll run into some other girl you know and we’ll end up going our separate ways after I give you a quick handy in the parking lot?”

“That sounds great.” Sex at his place.

Mallory hung up the phone and smiled. Even though he wasn’t her boyfriend, even though they were just having fun, even though he wasn’t her type at all, she always got a thrill from hearing his voice. He smiled when he talked. He smiled all the time. She had never known anyone like him, who saw the bright side of everything. When he was around she could see the bright side, too.

She suspected he was on some kind of prescription uppers. Nobody could be that happy with life all the time without pharmaceutical assistance. But when he did coke his cheery disposition turned to downright irritating. He would prattle on for hours about some crazy idea he had, seeming to be talking in hyper-speed. Mallory had to only experience this one time.

She had told him, “Next time you do coke, don’t call me. Do it on your own time.” She wasn’t telling him not to do it, just to spare her the wasted evening. Because frankly, his junk didn’t work when he was coked up anyway.

Ian may have been high the first time they met. He had been unable to sit still and talked a mile a minute. Mallory had found him juvenile and annoying. She wrote him off without a second thought.

The second time they’d met he was quite normal. It was just a few months ago, early in the summer. Mallory’s friend Marsha had a thing for Ian’s friend Luke. She wanted to meet him at a techno dance club downtown that was hosting a foam party. Mallory was curious about the prospect of dancing in a club filled with soap suds. So she agreed to accompany Marsha and keep her out of trouble.

The line at the club was long. The cover was ten dollars. Mallory was beginning to think she should have stayed home. She’d much rather be sipping six-dollar Moscato in front of her TV.

Inside the club was almost insane. Multicolored lights bounced off of the black walls. Beautiful young women in bikinis danced on the stage. The entire dance floor was flooded with white soap suds at least two feet high. A crowd of people writhed together to the techno music in the cloud of suds and smoke.

Marsha found Luke drinking a beer with Ian and introduced both of them to Mallory. Ian looked amazing. He was tan and his blond hair almost shimmered in the weird lighting. He smiled broadly at Mallory, sending a wave down her spine. He was gorgeous.

“I think we’ve met before,” Ian told her.

“I don’t think so.” Mallory would have remembered.

“Sure. You two were at The Motion Club with some other chicks. I mean girls.”

Mallory frowned. Oh. He was that guy. Too bad. His gorgeous ratio dipped slightly.

The four claimed some stools at the bar and Luke bought a round of drinks. They sat and watched the pulsating crowd for a while. Mallory looked over to see Marsha and Luke making out like teenagers. His hand was lodged into the back of her pants and her leg was wrapped tightly around him. Ian caught her watching them briefly and grinned. She looked sheepishly away when he held up his beer and winked. Damn, he was gorgeous in the bouncing lights.

This prompted her to excuse herself to the ladies’ room. Usually she would motion for Marsha to go with her, but her friend currently had Luke’s tongue lodged in her mouth. So she braved the tiny bathroom by herself. She reapplied her lipstick and adjusted her clingy top. It gave her time to contemplate what a crappy evening this was turning out to be and how she wished again that she’d stayed home.

When Mallory returned Marsha and Luke had disappeared. Ian motioned for her to sit next to him and offered to buy her a shot. Ah, what the hell.

“Cuervo,” she told the bartender. “No lime. No salt.” Ian raised his eyebrows and smiled at her. Damn that smile. They clinked their shot glasses together and tossed back the tequila.

“I don’t think those two are coming back anytime soon,” Ian told her. “We might as well dance.”

Mallory reluctantly obliged. When was she again going to get the chance to dance in soap suds? Maybe if her washing machine overflowed.

When they were in the middle of the crowd the two began dancing to the sultry beat. The white suds covered Mallory’s feet and reached to the middle of her calves. Her jeans disappeared into the foam which was pulsating blue, pink, yellow, red, and green. Ian put an arm around her waist and pulled her in so her belly touched his. He was only a few inches taller than she was and the two of them fit perfectly together as they gyrated in the sea of foam. His touch sent electricity through her, or maybe it was the tequila. The man could dance. She straddled his leg and draped her arms around his neck.

Ian looked at her and smiled. He wasn’t trying to grab her ass, wasn’t trying to cop a feel. They were just dancing very, very close. As cliché as it was, Mallory felt the rest of the club melting away and only the two of them remained, moving and grinding to the constant and steady beat.

She couldn’t help herself. He smelled so good. His hands felt so amazing on the small of her back. She leaned in and pressed her head to his ear. He nuzzled into the soft dip at the base of her neck. Mallory’s heart beat so fast she thought it would break out of her chest.

Ian seemed to be trying to resist her. He wasn’t pushing away, but was reluctant to do more than brush his velvety lips over her bare collar bone. But soon his resolve melted and he opened his mouth and licked her there. She threw her head back and absently put her hand on the back of his neck. She didn’t want him to stop. His tongue glided up her long neck to the very back of her jawbone, just under her ear. Then his lips were tugging on her earlobe. She felt that she could melt right into his muscular chest.

Mallory couldn’t wait any longer. She wanted to show him how hot he was making her feel, how much like a hungry animal. Still moving to the throbbing techno music, she turned her head to meet the lips that had just explored her neck. His arms tightened around her as their mouths came together. Their tongues danced with fierce desire. She may not like him, but he was definitely turning her on. What harm could a little kiss do?

Ian’s hands found their way down and cupped Mallory’s ass. He lifted her closer with his leg so that she could feel the evidence of his desire. Everything about the two of them there was perfect. Their bodies fit. Their kisses meshed. They were hot.

Stopping short of ripping each other’s clothes off, the two left the dance floor and finally found their friends by the door. Marsha wanted to go. She pulled Mallory aside.

“Luke’s going to drive me home,” she told her. “He lives by me. You don’t mind giving Ian a ride home, do you?”

Crap. Mallory had just made out with Ian. Marsha obviously hadn’t seen. Now she was going to have to sit in a car with him with nothing to say. But she agreed, if only to help her friend.

They all stepped out into the night and parted ways. Mallory trekked up the block to her car with Ian in tow. She didn’t want this to be awkward.

“They’re totally gonna do it,” Ian said when they were finally in the car. “Luke’s wanted her for so long.”

“Maybe. Or he’s just being nice because he lives close.”

Ian laughed. “Luke lives across town. They’re gonna get it on.”

Mallory sighed. “Good for them. Marsha really likes him.”

“They’re good for each other.” An unlikely voice of reason.

They drove in silence for a few minutes. When they came to a stoplight Ian put his hand on hers. She looked at him, at his crystal blue eyes, his infectious smile. She couldn’t help herself. She leaned in and he kissed her again with heat and passion. They couldn’t get enough of each other, hands everywhere. She was nearly in his lap when a car pulled up behind them and honked. The light was green. Mallory gunned it.

Ian directed her to the house he rented with two roommates. She pulled into the driveway and they sat looking at each other for a minute.

“Do you want to come in?” He wasn’t being smarmy or smooth. There was a hopefulness in his voice, maybe he was even nervous.

“I can’t.” She wanted to. But she didn’t know how she felt about him now. Her mind was too clouded with lust and booze to make any decisions. So she lied to him. “It’s late. I have to get up in the morning.”

He didn’t even ask her why. It was Friday night. What did she have to do on Saturday morning? With most girls he would press it and then forget about her if she still refused. But Mallory was different. He didn’t know how, but she was.