Fiction/Young Adult/Betrayal
Worth The Risk — Chapter Seventeen
Are you willing to lose it all
“Chels, where are we going?” Marcus noticed we didn’t take the exit to his hometown.
A secret smile crept its way across my face, one that signaled I was keeping silent about what I was doing.
I kept debating back and forth in my head the whole time I was supposed to be driving him home if that’s what I wanted to do tonight… take Marcus home and leave him there.
Finally, I made my decision.
“You’ll see.”
Marcus nodded he was all right with whatever I had planned. He leaned back and watched us whiz past all the other traffic.
I pulled into the valet service for The Plaza Hotel and handed the attendant my keys.
Marcus grabbed hold of my hand before I could exit. He looked all around, like maybe we were lost or something. “Chelsey, what are we doing?”
Now it was my turn to be confused. “Um, I thought we’d stay away from everyone tonight. I don’t want to go home. I don’t know, maybe this was a mistake.” I reached for my keys from the attendant’s hand, but Marcus grabbed my hand before I snatched them back.
“I don’t have the money for this.” Marcus ran his hand over his face and looked back to the luxury hotel.
I let out an internal sigh of relief. It wasn't that he didn’t want to spend the night here with me, but more on the lines that he didn’t have the money for this sort of extravagance.
“I didn’t ask you for money. If you’re uncomfortable, I can take you back home and then come back here myself. I’m not going home tonight.” Maybe I was being forward and a bit unkind, but he was the one who just got done telling me I needed to do what I wanted to do and not what everyone expected of me.
The inner argument Marcus was having with himself was written all over his face. After several seconds and a loud sigh of impatience from the attendant, Marcus looked like he’d reached a decision. “Okay, but I pay for the pillow mints or something.”
I had to giggle at his request. It was too cute not to.
We both got out and my car disappeared down the garage ramp. Marcus followed me into the building with his hand on the small of my back.
“I have to use the restroom. See what kind of suites they have available.” I motioned to the customer service desk that lay straight ahead.
Marcus nodded and walked towards the personnel waiting for him.
I went into the bathroom and washed off the paint that was on my hands and cheeks. My clothes were hopeless since the paint had already dried and settled in. I did one last look, realized there wasn’t much more I could do, then walked back out.
“They don’t have anything left.” Marcus met me at the entrance of the restroom.
“What? Are you kidding me?”
There was no way that they could be sold completely out.
“That’s what she said.” Marcus nodded in the direction of the woman standing at the counter watching us.
“Let’s see.” I took Marcus’s hand and led him back to the welcome desk.
“How may I help you?” The middle-aged woman looked us over like we weren’t worth speaking to. She had on a black business suit with the name tag ‘Rachelle, Head of Guest Relations’. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her face was as taut as it appeared she recently had some sort of facial lift done to regain her youth.
I was not in the mood for attitude tonight. I slapped down my driver’s license and credit card, the one that had my dad’s company logo imprinted on it. “We’d like a suite for the night.”
Rachelle slid them both across the desk and looked at the name. Her face went a shade paler as soon as she saw who I was. Now she took a whole new outlook as to who she was speaking to.
“Um, Ms. Winters, what a pleasure to have you here this evening. Let me see what’s available.”
I saw Marcus out of the corner of my eye, he looked flabbergasted at Rachelle’s split personality from the time we entered until I handed her my information.
“Is one of the Legacy Suites fine for this evening?” Rachelle now had a bright, happy smile plastered on her face.
“Whatever.” I waved for her to continue with the paperwork.
“Will there be luggage delivery?” Rachelle looked up from the document she was signing.
“Nope. If we need something, I’m sure we will be able to have it brought to our room.”
I loved to play this game. The one that these people would roll over and do anything to make our stay wonderful, even though they looked at us like we were shit when we first came in. It was all about the name and money to get anything, which sucked sometimes.
“Would you like Rafael to show you to your room?” Rachelle handed me the room card as she motioned behind me.
I looked back at who she was referencing. A young man, maybe a year or two older than Marcus and me, stood at the back of the lobby. He was dressed in the usual hotel servant uniform, a black suit he looked way too uncomfortable wearing.
“Nah, we’re good. Thanks, though.” I took the card in one hand and Marcus’s hand in the other. We walked over to the elevator that was coming to a stop on our floor.
An older man, maybe about sixty or so, and a much, much younger woman, no older than legal drinking age, stepped off. He was dressed in an Armani suit and she was just attired in the bare minimum of what would be considered a dress and not a t-shirt. His hand was on her ass, so it eliminated them being any sort of family, like father and daughter going out while the wife slept or something.
It was kind of creepy, like a forty-year difference, which was kind of disturbing.
They both politely smiled at us and went on their way.
Thankfully, the elevator was empty when Marcus and I entered.
“Okay, what the hell was that?” Marcus appeared to be dazed by everything that had happened in the past several minutes.
“Which part?” I leaned against the wall of the elevator and pulled him closer to me. “Rachelle for being an ass or the old guy with his sexy playdate?”
Marcus began to nibble on my ear. “All of it?”
His kisses went lower, and I tilted my head back so he would have better access to wherever this would lead.
The ding of the elevator signaled that our fifteen seconds of pleasure were over. Before we got ourselves straightened out, the doors slid.
I opened my eyes to find four people silently staring at us like they’d never witnessed anyone making out in the elevator.
Marcus kept his head down low as we walked past them, allowing them to enter.
I heard a ‘tsk’ sound coming from one of the women but didn’t react to her disapproval like I wanted to. I kept Marcus’s hand in mine and made a beeline to get out of everyone’s sight.
Not only were people just plain rude, but I didn’t want anyone who knew my parents to give them a call telling them where they’d seen me and with whom.
I opened the door and waved my hand for Marcus to go on through. I’d seen these sorts of hotels all my life—corporate parties I had to attend when I was younger—so I wasn’t impressed with the whole layout of such supposed luxury accommodations.
Marcus walked around with a look of amazement on his face. He lightly touched the gold-plated fixtures as if they would break or he would be reprimanded for doing so.
“Holy shit, Chels.” Marcus looked out over our view of Central Park.
I plopped down on the sofa and clicked on the TV. “Yep, not too bad, right?"
Marcus turned around and spread his arms out wide. “My entire house could fit into this room.” He came over and sat down beside me. A long strand of my hair fell down on my face, which Marcus quickly brushed away but kept his hand on my face. “Chelsey, what are we doing here? Why did you need to get away?”
I snuggled against him and laid my head on his chest. “I’m so tired of everyone.” I kissed his hand resting on my shoulder. “Not you, but everyone else—friends, family, enemies.”
I closed my eyes and breathed in Marcus’s own personal aroma, the one that relaxed me but also made me tingle in certain spots that had remained untouched, for now.
“I wanted it to be us... alone... for just one night.” I reclined back and looked him square in the eye. “Is that okay?”
Marcus chuckled, and a slight smile played on his lips. “It’s more than okay, but we could’ve gone somewhere a little less expensive. I mean, this is nice and all, but I personally don’t have the money for any of this stuff. Fuck, the soap in the bathroom costs more money than I have in my wallet.”
“Guess it’s a good thing my oh-so-gracious daddy is paying for this.” I scrambled away from him and grabbed the hotel food menu. “I’m hungry. What do you want to eat?” I moved back towards Marcus so he could read what the chefs had to offer.
“Um.” Marcus was once again hesitant to spend any more money that wasn’t his.
“It’s okay, seriously. My dad doesn’t see these bills when they come in. They’re sent to the corporate office, and the secretary automatically pays them off.” I nudge him with my elbow. “C’mon, I don’t want to eat alone.”
Marcus let out a sigh. I knew I won this debate. I started naming off all the items we should get—some I had before, some I hadn’t, and there were some I couldn’t even pronounce.
I think all together we ended up ordering like ten different things for each of us.
“I can’t eat anymore.” I rubbed my stomach I wanted to burst.
The smell of the food was making me nauseated. The last thing I wanted to do was vomit all over the place, which wouldn’t be a pretty sight.
Marcus and I ended up ordering steak, shrimp, baked potatoes, a vegetable platter, several Asian dishes, some kind of pasta with crème sauce, and Mexican dishes he hadn’t had in like a couple of years.
“There’s still chocolate cake.” Marcus held up the small, two-person cake we ended up ordering to share.
“Ugh.” I held up my hand so he couldn’t come any closer with that evil-looking stuff. “I’m going to throw up if I eat anything else.”
“Maybe later.” Marcus took a swipe of the icing, licked his finger, then covered the dessert back up.
“How can you not be sick from all that food?" I stood, it felt like I was waddling as I walked over to the sofa. I sat down and kicked my feet up on the coffee table.
“I’m a growing boy. I need all that food.” Marcus flexed his arm muscles like he was modeling for some type of bodybuilding competition.
“Yeah, well, I don’t need all those extra calories and fat, especially not with a dance competition coming up.”
Now guilt over what I just did settled into my head. I was always so strict with my diet, but today I went overboard. The amount I ate should be considered a month’s worth of food.
“I’m gonna have to burn off all these calories. What do you want to do?” As soon as I saw Marcus’s face, I knew exactly what he was thinking.
Shit, would he be expecting something like that tonight?
I mean, what else would a guy and girl our age do at a hotel?
Not that it hadn’t crossed my mind, but was I ready?
Were we ready?
We didn’t have any protection. Well, at least I didn’t. I wasn’t sure what Marcus carried in his wallet. Guys store that type of shit in there, right?
Marcus’s faint snicker brought me out of my line of thought.
“Wow, what’s going on up there?” He looked quite amused at me in a panic state.
“Nothing. Why?” I reeled in my favorite line of defense, making them think whatever they were considering was utterly wrong.
Marcus walked over and placed a soft kiss on the top of my head. “I didn’t mean anything by that. It looked like you were contemplating something.” He sat down beside me and took my hand in his. “Chels.”
I looked over at him and melted with the softness in his eyes.
“Nothing will happen, you know.”
I nodded I understood where this conversation was going and Marcus continued.
“We both have to be a hundred and ten percent committed. I don’t want you to have any regrets.” He snuggled closer and leaned over so his lips were next to my ears. Soft kisses were planted along my jawline. “You know we have that great big bed in there and no one around for the whole night.”
I giggled over his comment and also at the fact that his chin stubbles were tickling my neck.
“Oh. So now you’re laughing at me.” Marcus moved away and slumped against the back of the sofa. His expression of being sad was severely ruined by the smile making its way out.
I crawled over on top of him and straddled his lap. “You.” My lips touched his right cheek. “Look.” Another kiss was planted on his left cheek. “So cute when you’re trying to be upset.” I softly planted my lips on his.
“Chelsey, I think you better stop, or I don’t know if I will be able to.” Marcus’s tone was huskier than usual.
I didn’t realize I had been rocking back and forth, grinding on Marcus’s pelvis the whole time I’d been sitting on his lap. I tried to pop up, but Marcus held my hips firmly in place with his hands. He started to move my hips once again so I could continue the motion I’d previously unintentionally been doing.
I leaned against his chest and began to kiss his jawline, down his neck, and onto his chest. I heard the rapid beat of his heart, and the pace of his breathing had picked up several notches.
A low growl rumbled in Marcus’s throat and in a two-second span, he had me flipped over and I was now lying on my back underneath him. He kissed the tip of my nose, then stood.
My body had a sense of vacancy without having him next to me.
“What’s wrong?” I thought everything was going right. This was something we both wanted.
Wait, maybe this was something I wanted, but perhaps he didn’t.
“Chels, I want our first time to be perfect. I know, go ahead and laugh, I sound like a virgin, teen girl.” Marcus ducked his head down like he was embarrassed.
“Hey,” I said, lifting Marcus’s chin so our eyes met. “I want my first time to be with someone I trust, someone that makes me laugh, someone I would give up everything for, someone I,” I stalled saying the next word. I was falling hopelessly in love with him.
What if he didn’t feel the same way?
What if I said I loved him, and he didn’t?
Marcus touched my cheek to capture my attention. “Chels, what were you going to say?”
“Someone I love. That’s how I feel about you.” There, I said it.
I wanted to cover my ears and eyes and wish myself away.
I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the worst.
Marcus rubbed his cheek against mine and kissed me. “I love you, Chelsey Winters.”
I cracked my eyes open. Marcus stood before me, perfect in every sense. I took his hand and walked him through the living room and into the bedroom.
I was scared to death.
I wanted this to happen. I wanted to be as close to Marcus as I possibly could. In my world, he was my light in the darkness, my smile through the tears, my warmth when I felt cold and alone—he was my everything.
I lay down on the bed with Marcus beside me. Slow, tender kisses turned passionate. Gentle touches were now claws of desire. Clothes that once hugged our bodies were discarded.
Marcus propped himself up so I wasn’t being crushed by his weight, but I needed him closer. I needed his body with mine. My fingertips gripped his back and pulled him closer.
“Chelsey, are you sure?”
“I’m more sure of this than anything else in my life.”
We melted together as if we were one.
I spooned up to Marcus. His labored breathing had come down a notch as our recent bout of activity had taken a toll on both of us. I felt…alive. true happiness. loved. like I couldn’t love anyone as much as I loved Marcus right at this moment.
A soft kiss was placed on my shoulder, my neck, and every inch of my face until my lips were covered with Marcus’s. The kiss was longing as if we never wanted to be parted from one another.
“I love you, Chelsey.”
I snuggled back in close to Marcus’s side, “I love you too.”
“I hope I made this worth the wait.” Marcus sounded unsure of himself at the moment.
“Every minute,” I said, nipping at Marcus’s neck and continuing southbound. “Every second was so worth the wait.” I licked a straight line down to his belly button, circled around his navel, and then down to the area where curly, dark brown hair descended, but Marcus was still.
There was something wrong.
With every move I made, I didn’t get the response from Marcus I hoped for.
I worked my way back up his body. Marcus’s gaze wandered about as if he were in deep thought.
“What’s wrong?” Self-consciousness ripped through me.
Maybe I wasn’t what he expected.
Maybe I sucked at this whole sex thing.
Maybe he was the one having second thoughts about us being together.
“Nothing. Why?” Marcus tried to cover up the fact that his mind was elsewhere.
Well, shit, that was a fucking lie.
I was feeling kind of used here.
Let’s see, Marcus got what he wanted and now I’m the one getting dumped.’
“Okay, whatever.” I scooted closer to the side of the bed. I was one who never cried. That showed too much weakness, but I couldn’t stop the trickle of tears rolling down my cheeks.
“Fuck, Chelsey, don’t cry.” Marcus rolled over and curled in beside me. “Please.” He brushed back my hair and kissed me all over my face.
“What’s wrong? Is it me?”
After our wonderful, intimate time together, I needed answers.
“No. No. No.” Marcus pulled me closer to his chest. “Just…” And he stopped. It was like he couldn’t find the words he wanted to say.
“What? Tell me.” I laid my head down and listened to the beat of his heart. It was such a soothing sound, almost hypnotizing.
“Chels, I can’t be a superman or some other superhero that girls always want to have ride up on a white stallion, the only thing I can promise is to be truthful and committed to only you.”
I planted soft kisses on his chest. “I’m not looking for some superhero or fairytale happy ending. I want someone who will always be there, someone who will kiss me and love me, someone who will miss me when I’m not by their side.”
I rolled over so I was now lying on top of him. I never had someone look at me like Marcus was looking at me now, with such love in his eyes.
“Us. Together. We don’t need anything else.”
Marcus wrapped his arms around me. “Am I worth the risk, Chelsey? Are you ready to risk everything?”
My head tilted to the side. I questioned him with my eyes. I wasn’t sure what he meant.
Marcus’s cheeks swelled and he let out a heavy sigh. “It was quite obvious your parents didn’t think too highly of me. Am I worth all the trouble? Are we worth the fucking hassle everyone is going to give us for the rest of our lives?”
“Fuck everyone else, including my parents. I don’t want anyone else but you, Marcus Eduardo Alejandro Diego Vasquez.”
Marcus’s eyes popped out of his head when I said his full name.
I had to laugh at his response. “I have my way of finding out stuff.”
Marcus flipped me over to my back. “Oh, so do I, Chelsey Veronica Beatrice Winters.”
Now it was my turn to have a look of shock. He knew all my middle names, the ones that made me sound as if I were one hundred years old.
“Ugh, my grandmothers' names I was so blessed with being given.”
Marcus began to slowly nibble on my ear, then down my neck. “I love your names. Maybe I can give you the nickname Ronnie.”
“Yuck, like no way.” I tried to squirm away from him, but Marcus held me in place.
“Okay, maybe Betty.” Marcus chuckled at his own creation.
I wiggled beneath him trying to work my way out. “Never. Don’t you dare tell anyone my middle names. Jeesh, I don’t even think Amber knows.”
Marcus took hold of my arms and held them above my head so that I couldn’t work my way out of his hold. “Nah, I’ll keep them all to myself. They can be my pet names for you.”
Marcus took me for the second time that night. He wasn’t as gentle as the first time, and I experienced how animalistic and sensual lovemaking could really be.
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