One Wild Night

Tom raised a brow as he waited to hear her response, while he stared at her directly. Her gaze shifted from her wineglass to his face, and once their eyes locked, her heart hitched. 

This person before her didn't look like Tom, her driver or neighbor. He just looked like... Like a man. This reminded her once again that the person asking her this question wasn't her driver or her neighbor, but the man she had a one-night stand with. 

Lucy cleared her throat and raised her glass of wine to wet her lips and throat which suddenly seemed very dry. Why did she have to be so flustered by such a simple question? All he wanted to know was if she thought he was irresistible, right?

"I don't think there is a single woman who wouldn't find you irresistible," Lucy said with an awkward smile as she shifted her gaze away from him and returned her attention to the food in front of her.

They had not even gone halfway with their meal and it was getting cold already because they were too busy talking. It would be so sad for such fine food to be wasted. 

"You are going round my question without giving me an answer, Lu."

Her heart skipped a beat when he called her name like that. Why did her name sound so different coming from his lips? Wasn't it the same name that Sonia and her family called her often? Why did it make her heart flutter every time he called her that way? Maybe it was the wine. She was drinking too much again. Every time she had too much to drink she always made a mistake. She didn't want to make another mistake tonight. 

"What more do you want to hear?" Lucy asked warily as she pushed the glass of wine away from her front. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of their first night where she would be too drunk to remember anything. 

"I believe a simple yes or no to my question will do."

"And if I say yes?" She asked, looking at him with a slightly furrowed brow. She really did not want him to misunderstand her and start to think that she was developing feelings for him or wanted anything to do with him, apart from being neighbors and maybe colleagues at work. 

"I already told you. It would give me the confidence I need to pursue the lady I'm interested in," Tom said, and Lucy nodded. 

If saying yes would help him gain confidence, then yes it is. She would only need to arrange her words in a way that wouldn't give room for any misunderstanding.

"Although I'm not interested in guys and the whole relationship package, I think you are pretty cool, and I would find you irresistible if guys were my thing," Lucy explained making Tom roll his eyes. 

"So?" Tom asked, making her frown.

"So what?" Lucy asked with an annoyed frown.

"I said it's a yes or no question. No need for all that explanation," Tom told her dryly. 

Lucy swallowed, "As long as you understand the explanation, the answer is yes," Lucy said, and Tom flashed her a smile which did more harm than good to her nerves. 

So she found him irresistible? That was very good to know, Tom thought, and his smile widened into a grin, "That wasn't so hard now, was it? Now I have all the strength and motivation I need to pursue her relentlessly," Tom said with newfound confidence.

"Yes! You shouldn't give up!" Lucy said with an enthusiastic smile that made Tom chuckle since she was giving him the go-ahead to keep bugging her life. 

Lucy on the other hand assumed he was laughing because he was happy, "Now that I have answered your question, can I eat before the food gets completely cold?" Lucy pleaded with a small smile, and Tom nodded vigorously, using his hand to gesture to the food in front of her, to go ahead. 

Seeing how happy he looked, she could only hope that Tom wouldn't get hurt by Anita. One thing she had learned from spending time with Anita was that Anita wasn't the type who might be contented with a simple person like Tom. There was something about Anita. Something she couldn't exactly place her finger on, but it made her want to be careful around her. 

"A penny for your thoughts," Tom said, as he had been watching her for a couple of minutes and noticed that she seemed like she was lost in her thoughts. 

"My thoughts are worth more than a penny. You'll have to pay more if you want to hear them," Lucy said as she continued eating. 

Tom smiled. He liked how no matter how uncomfortable he made her feel, she always seemed to bounce back, and their conversations always remained easy. "I guess I can't afford to hear it. But can I ask you a question?" Tom asked, and Lucy shrugged indifferently. 

"Assuming you were into men, would you marry for love or money?"

"Are those the only two reasons people get married?" Lucy asked with a scoff, as she continued eating. 

"What other reasons do people get married?" Tom asked as he watched her eat with interest. 

"There is friendship, trust, protection, and a lot more. I don't think I can be in a relationship or get married to someone I don't trust, or who doesn't trust me. So whether I marry for love or money, I'd rather he is my friend. And not only my friend, but also someone I can trust, and rely on to protect me... That is IF I was into guys," she finished.

Friendship, trust, and protection. "Of the three things you mentioned which of them is most important to you?" Tom asked after a while. 

"Trust. If I can't trust a person to always be honest with me, then I don't want anything to do with them. We can't be friends, and I don't think he can protect me either," Lucy said, making Tom's heart skip a beat. 

"I see," Tom murmured.

What was he going to do if he ended up winning her heart and then she leaves him because of all the lies he has told her? Would she understand him?

Lucy looked at him, "By the way, earlier, I was just wondering... What would you do if she turns you down? I mean the lady you like," Lucy asked, trying not to sound too concerned since it wasn't really her business. 

Tom sighed, feeling his heart grow heavy at the thought of that, "I don't want to dwell on that possibility," Tom said, making Lucy sigh. 

He must really love her a lot. She had to try her best to make things work out for him. Not just because she wanted him out of her life, but even more so because somehow she didn't want to see him get hurt or heartbroken.

Even though she had thought the worst of him, and assumed him to be a playboy initially, she had also noticed that no woman has come over to his place, and he didn't seem to have many friends either, else why would he try to spend every spare time he had with her? The fact that he had not slept with her when she was drunk was also another point. He was naughty with words no doubt, but he also seemed like a decent guy regardless of his playboy looks, and she genuinely wanted him to be happy. 

"I have a feeling that I might have asked this question before, but I can't recall your response. How many ladies have you dated in the past?" Lucy asked, wanting to change the subject, and at the same time find out how much experience he had when it came to handling women. 

Tom looked at her for some seconds without saying a word, as he tried to come up with the best way to answer her question since he didn't want to add to the many lies he had already told her, "Three."

Just three? "How long did those relationships last, and why did they end?" Lucy asked, wanting to know who had done the dumping. 

"You seem very curious about me tonight," Tom said with a small smile.

"Not exactly. I'm just trying to know how much experience you have when it comes to relationships so that I can know how to help you," Lucy assured him, and he gave her a nod. 

"I see. The longest was six months and the shortest three months. The relationships ended because I wasn't what they wanted. Maybe I wasn't giving them enough attention, or I wasn't giving them enough money. I guess being in a relationship requires more than simply being irresistible," he said with a wry smile. 

She didn't think it was just about attention or money, "Hm... What did you do? Where did you go wrong?" Lucy asked thoughtfully. 

"I don't know," Tom said with a shake of his head. 

"You didn't cheat?" Lucy asked suspiciously.

"I would never do that," Tom said, and Lucy eyed him skeptically. 

"I'm serious."

"If you say so. But I still think we need to know why those relationships didn't last. The only way you can get it right this time is by understanding what happened in the past so that you can avoid making the same mistakes. It will be pointless for you to go through all this stress to win her heart, only to lose her like the others, don't you agree?" Lucy asked, and Tom pursed his lips thoughtfully. 

"You really want to know?" He asked, looking at her as an idea started to form in his head. 

"Don't you want to know?" Lucy asked with a scoff.

"Why don't we find out then?" Tom asked, and she narrowed her eyes at him. 

"Don't tell me you want me to go and start meeting your exes and asking them about you," Lucy said incredulously, as that was the only way she could imagine that they would find out what went wrong in his past relationships. 

"No. I think I have an even better idea," Tom said with a mischievous smile. 

"What idea?" Lucy asked, not liking the glint she was seeing in his eyes. 

"Be my girlfriend."