Surrender 01 - Surrender

before.
    The blackness that surrounded her let her know it was sometime in the middle of the night. Her mouth felt parched; she was desperate for a glass of water. While she started to move the covers, her arm landed against something solid.
    Tentatively, she wiggled her fingers and realized there was a man next to her. She froze, then tried to assess her situation.
    The first thing she needed to figure out was who it was she’d gone home with. Very carefully, she reached inside the covers — she had some clothes on! That was a good sign! Ari let out a relieved breath.
    Now, she just needed to figure out who was next to her in bed. To think that she’d decided to have a one-night stand, and she didn’t even remember with whom. Horror filled her at the thought. Yes, she talked big, and she’d even thought she was capable of having casual affairs, but the reality of it was beyond mortifying. How could she respect herself when she treated sex like nothing more than a game? She felt bad enough that she fell apart each time Rafe so much as looked at her.
    As soon as her thoughts touched on Rafe, Ari’s memories came flooding back. She remembered dancing until her feet were screaming. There had been so many men, and it had all been nothing more than innocent flirting, and a whole lot of hip action . Cha-cha-cha .
    One minute she’d been dancing with a stranger, then the next she’d been in Rafe’s arms — right where she’d pictured being all night. He’d swept her across the dance floor, turning her excited body on in ways none of the other men could come close to doing.
    Oh, the things she’d said to him. It was bad — so very bad. She’d practically begged him to make love to her. Ari felt her cheeks flaming in shame. OK, if I can sneak away successfully, I’ll never drink again, she promised.
    Very carefully, she slithered from beneath the covers and started edging herself off the bed. She started to smile as her feet touched the ground. She was almost there.
    Just as she started to stand, his voice stopped her.
    “Where are you off to, Ari? I’ve been waiting for hours for you to wake.”
    Oh, crap! Deal’s off. I’m having a drink right now , she thought.
    “I have to use the bathroom,” she said as she rose to her feet and rushed across the room. She thankfully entered the correct door, and she found herself in his large bathroom, not his closet. Feeling trapped, nonetheless, she took her time, washing her face, guzzling some water, and using his facilities.
    When she reached her hand up to push back her hair, a groan escaped. It was one giant rats’ nest and it would take her forever to undo it. She spent twenty minutes fighting a losing battle before she gave up. The only thing that would help was an expensive bottle of conditioner applied about three or four times.
    Knowing she’d wasted as much time as possible, she had to leave the bathroom. Though she didn’t give it much of a chance, she was hoping he might be fast asleep as she turned the doorknob. Miracles could happen. She opened the door slowly…and the bedside lamp was on. Darn.
    “That took a while. I hope everything’s OK.”
    How rude was that? Was she on a timetable now? It didn’t matter. She was going to be rational, not get into another futile sparring match.
    “Um…well, thanks for the ride, but I need to be going now. I was a little drunk last night and said some things that I didn’t really mean. You know how that goes. See ya,” she muttered as she made an attempt to reach his bedroom door. He was there to block her path before she advanced three steps.
    “Why in such a hurry? We made plans before you passed out on me.”
    “Look, I just said that I didn’t really mean any of it. I do not want to stay, so I’ll be leaving now,” she said with false bravado. She was lying and they both knew it. She did want to stay. She was so tired of fighting him.
    It didn’t matter, though. They could come together like this a thousand times, but the bottom line was that she couldn’t be the woman he wanted her to be. She decided that the only way to get out of this situation with him for good was to piss him off so badly that he wouldn’t want to see her face ever again.
    “You meant it, Ari — every last word you spoke on that dance floor.”
    “You know what, Mr. Palazzo? I’ll tell you. I think you’re a pig. I think you just want everything you can’t have. Because I’ve told you that you can’t have me,