The Beginning by Lenox Hills Read Free Book Online Page A

crush on a fifth grader. “You?” I add.
    “I am doing very well thank you for asking.” He holds my eyes with his and has not moved a muscle since I walked in.  He isn’t going to give me anything to go on. So I decide to proceed with business.
    “Well, I don’t know how this works, I have never been in here before. Do you want me to start dancing for you or “ and I just let it hang in the air. I vow to not say a word until he tells me what to do. He waits two long beats and replies.
    “Of course, forgive me, please sit down.” With this, he smiles, moves over a bit on the banquette, says “Here,” and points to the place next to him. Relieved, I sit down.
    I am careful not to touch him or his leg as I sit. I perch on the end of the bench, keep my knees together, and rest the palms of my hands on them. This man makes me so nervous and excited. I don’t speak. I just wait. I can feel him looking at my profile, and the side of my neck. I am so focused on looking ahead into blackness that I don’t notice him take his left arm from the back of the banquette and place it on my lower back. My stomach does a flip and I stiffened at the same time.
    “Shall we order some champagne then? Let’s christen the room for you,” he offers.
    With that he reaches over to the right cubby wall and I see him flip a switch, a blue light comes on above it. Right next to is a dimmer dial; it must be how he made the light come up when I walked in.
     
    In a moment the champagne room manager comes over and peeks through the curtain. “Everyone decent?” and he chuckles a fake laugh.
    Jonathan looks un-amused and says, “We’d like a bottle of the Perrier-Jouet Rose Belle Epoque 2004 please. Thank you.” He turns to me in a quick after thought, “If that’s alright with you Lenox?”
    “Sounds lovely,” I answer, reminded of what happened the last time we had champagne together. I smile to myself with the memory. The champagne manager leaves us. I decide to make small talk.
    “So, um, have you been in here all night?” I don’t want him to know that I was looking for him.
    “No, I just got here. I had a business dinner meeting.” His hand has not left my lower back.
    “Oh, ok. I don’t think I saw you come in.” Shit. I don’t want him thinking I was looking for him.
    That right corner of his mouth curls up, and he knows I was. Crap.
    “I came in the back door.”
    “Back door?”
    “Yeah, they have a back door entrance from the alley that comes straight in here. Some people don’t want to be seen walking through the club and into this room.”
    “How do they get a girl then?” There is so much I don’t know about this place.
    “Look up here,” and he points to the ceiling. Right over the curtain line, you can see monitors that show the stage and various spots around the club. “When you see one you want, you flip this switch on the wall here, the champagne manager comes in and you just tell him who you like. He goes and get’s her, and then you wait.” I wonder how many times he has been back here, and with whom. I don’t know any of the other girls yet, but I am jealous already of his attentions towards them, past, present and future.
     
    Just then, the manager arrives with the champagne in a bucket, two flutes, and a stand for it all. “Shall I open?” he offers.
    “No.” Jonathan answers and reaches for the bottle. Before he pulls it out of the ice, he looks up at manager, who quietly retreats into the darkness. “That guys a creep.” He says to himself. Jonathan pops the cork perfectly, pours two flutes full, and hands me one. I take it and as I am still perched on the edge of the bench, keep one hand on my knee and hold my flute with the other. This is awkward, I don’t know what to say, I can’t take it and decide to ask about the note. I turn to my right to say something and Jonathan’s face is right there next to mine. As I was about to speak, my mouth is open a little, and he puts