A Lesson In Beginning by Elle Sparrow

Author:Elle Sparrow [Sparrow, Elle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-01T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

Tonight felt different as I walked in silence through the long hallway of offices on the upper floor of The Temple towards the staircase. The staircase that would lead me down to the main floor, and to him.

“Are you excited?” Ruth’s question, spoken just loud enough to be heard over the sound of the pounding music behind the door before us, did little to ease my nerves.

“Yes.” I hoped my answer was confident enough to assuage her concern. She’d asked me that exact question no less than a dozen times since dinner that evening. I pushed open the door, the sound of the music nearly making me cringe as it assaulted my eardrums.

“Do you have any questions?” Barely able to keep myself from rolling my eyes and shaking my head at her incessantly repeated line of questioning, I plastered a smile on my face.

“No, Ruth. I am ready. But thank you, again, for asking.” Hoping to stave off any further questions, I made my way quickly across the bustling main floor toward the back doors that lead to the kitchen area.

Just as we neared the back wall, the door opened, and Joel appeared. His calm smile instantly set my nerves to a fever pitch. I’d thought it would soothe me, as it often did, but tonight was no ordinary night.

“Hey.” His tall frame loomed over my own short stature. We had quite the height difference, with him standing a complete foot taller than my five-foot-two frame.

“Hello.”

“Well, we will leave you two to it.” Ruth’s excitement was palpable, and a stark contrast to my own nervous and anxiety-ridden countenance. She and Levi made their way to the main floor, leaving Joel and I to stand there in awkward silence.

“Shall we?” His hands were stuck in his pockets, a telltale sign of his own nerves which, oddly enough, soothed me more than any of Ruth’s words ever could have. If Joel was nervous, maybe it was alright that I was, too. With a proffered smile of my own, I nodded, turning towards the door to the kitchen. I stepped forward, as I had done night after night for my work shifts, but his hand wrapped gently around my elbow, halting my movements.

“This way.” He tugged me gently, turning me back towards the main floor of the club. It was a reminder that hit me like a brick wall. This wasn’t a normal night of work. I could not lose myself in the act of baking and preparing food while we laughed and talked like old friends. Tonight was for much more… carnal exploits.

“Oh, you don’t want to work in the kitchen for a while first? We could bake a cake or something. I don’t see why we have to rush into anything, you know?” I asked in a weak attempt at humor, but he just laughed, shaking his head. He led me out onto the floor, one hand wrapped around my waist as he steered me through the crowd of patrons towards the long staircase along the back wall.

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