Balance Beam

I smiled at the brunette behind the Starbucks counter as she handed me my coffee. Turning on my heel, I left the store and headed East. My destination was an upscale bar that Lucinda told me to be at in approximately sixteen minutes. The magazine published it’s first issue about vampires four days ago. So far, it’s the best in the country and third in the world. Lucinda decided to throw a party in celebration. I wasn’t one to turn down a party.

Quinn wasn’t tagging along with me because he went out of town for the weekend. Which is probably a good thing since he couldn’t get the interview Lucinda wanted. She was pissed but I think she secretly realizes it was a ridiculous request. She will never admit it though. Anyway, that fuck of a best friend of mine went with his ex-girlfriend to the mountains.

I stood in front of the bar, peering through the window to see who was inside. The place was crowded and I didn’t see anyone I recognized. After finishing my coffee, I tossed the empty cup in the trash bin and walked inside. The warm air greeted me and I found myself removing my leather jacket. I took a seat at the bar and scoped out the place while I waited for the bartender to come my way.

My eyes grazed the dance floor, looking for someone hot enough to take home. I had given up on my neighbor. I’ve been way too busy this past week and haven’t had any time to talk to her. Giselle hasn’t particularly went out of her way to schedule this dinner date either. I’m not chasing after her. I doubt she puts out anyway.

“Well look who finally decided to show up,” I turned around to see my boss grinning at me. I chuckled at her as she turned to the bartender. “He’ll have some Crown.”

The bartender quickly poured a few shots and sat them in front of us. Lucinda took one immediately and I followed her lead. She pushed a second one toward me, silently telling me to take it. I obeyed almost immediately.

“I have a proposition for you Bram,” she said. Lucinda ordered more shots. She normally paced herself when drinking at these events so something must be on her mind. I took another shot feeling the alcohol burn the whole way down.

“Which is?” I asked cautiously. You had to be careful when Lucinda mentioned something about a proposition. It normally meant you doing something you did not want anything to do with.

“My daughter is back in town and driving me fuckin’ nuts. Think she could stay with you for awhile?”

I stared at my boss, my eyes wide as saucers. Good thing I wasn’t holding a drink in my hand, otherwise I would’ve dropped it. Did she really just ask me to take in her daughter? If she’s driving her insane, I’m sure she’s going to drive me up the wall too. I took the last shot that was in front of me.

“I dunno Lucinda,” I shrugged.

A loud sigh escaped her lips as a young blonde came up and stood beside Lucinda. My eyes looked her over. She was hot in her short black dress and stilettos. Her blonde hair was down and straight; her makeup was done perfectly. She looked like she was a model. The hottie flashed me a smile that I instantly returned.

“Bram,” my eyes darted to look at Lucinda, “This is my daughter Alexa. Alexa, this is Bram Reid, one of our top writers.”

Alexa smiled at me as she sat next to her mom. “It’s very nice to meet you. I read your articles all the time,” she chuckled.

“It’s nice to meet you as well Alexa,” I smiled back. “Would you like a drink?”

Lucinda chuckled and winked at me before standing up. She wasn’t stupid, she knew I found her daughter attractive and would not mind having her around for the remainder of her stay. My boss excused herself from us and I informed the bartender to get Alexa whatever she wanted. She was cute, fiddling with her fingers as she asked for some girly drink. The bartender placed her drink in front of her and sat a couple more shots in front of me.

Alexa sipped from her straw, wiping her lips when she was done. “Thanks for the drink,” she smiled before laughing quietly. “Of course I should be buying you a few drinks, you deserve it for working for my mother.”

I chuckled at her before taking another shot. “Lucinda’s not that bad,” I mused. Alexa scoffed after she drank some more of her fruity drink.

“Now you’re just sucking up,” she grinned. “Would you like to dance?”

I nodded even though I hated dancing. Throwing back one more shot, I offered her my hand as I stood. Alexa took it and lead me to the dance floor. A fast song was on and she started grinding her hips against me immediately. My hands found her waist and my body danced against hers. Usually I was a shitty dancer, but the alcohol improved my skills.

After a couple more songs, Alexa excused herself to the ladies room. I was thankful for this, I was getting tired of dancing. It was uncomfortable grinding against my boss’s daughter, especially when Lucinda was in the same room watching. I went back to the bar and ordered a few more shots and a beer. Alexa could order her own drink if she wanted one. Of course, she already seemed intoxicated so I don’t know how much more she could handle. I took the couple shots quickly, feeling buzzed.

“Switched over to beer, huh?” Alexa asked me as she sat next to me.

I raised my eyebrows at her but she didn’t notice. I watched her as she ordered the same beer as me. She was so cliché and obvious. Alexa Streeah was the typical blonde college party girl. No wonder she got on her mother’s nerves. Lucinda was probably sick of seeing her drunk and sleeping with horny men, horny men like me.

“So I heard you’re in college,” I said before taking a swig of my beer. Alexa nodded as she took a gulp.

“Yeah, I’m in film school. I leave in four days to go back,” she smiled.

I nodded as I continued to drink my beer. So Lucinda wanted her to spend the next four days over at my place. Well since it was Friday, Quinn wouldn’t be home until late Sunday night. She could stay until then, but she had to be gone Sunday afternoon. We had a strict rule of not letting a chick spend the night more than once in a row. Not only would Quinn would not be happy with me breaking that rule, he wouldn’t be down with me trying to sleep with our boss’s daughter either.

“You wanna come back to my place?” I asked as I placed my hand on her bare thigh. Her brown eyes looked at my hand before looking back in my eyes. Alexa’s lips turned up in a smile as she nodded.

What Quinn doesn’t know won’t hurt him.