Chapter One
The noise and smells were stifling. There was no way she would last the entire night mixing and mingling with all these people. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. Come to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and party with a few friends for three days straight. Except now that she was here and experiencing the craziness of the festival live and in-person, she was no longer certain that this was the best use of her time.
Crystal Brown surveyed the crowd from the balcony of her room and was still amazed at just how much activity there was. People crowded into each other as they pushed their way from one end of the street to another. Restaurant doors were constantly opening and closing as patrons moved from one location to the next. Laughter and raised voices wafted-up from the crowd as Crystal stood on her hotel room balcony and soaked it all in. She was a people watcher by her very nature and enjoyed observing the crowd and listening to the noise. She was fascinated by how they interacted with each other, their smiles, their mannerisms, all of it. On a visit to South Beach last year, she sat for hours just observing people, wondering who they were and what their lives were like. Creating scenarios of exciting lives and adventures that were probably nowhere near what people’s lives were in reality.
Maybe it was because she wanted a little excitement herself that she found such pleasure in creating stories about other people. She was always the good girl, the responsible daughter, and lately those labels had begun to rub her the wrong way. All her life she had done what was expected of her. She had achieved good grades in school, went to the university her parents expected her to attend ( Go Hokies! ), graduated with the right degree, and accepted the best job offer. She gave a deep sigh as she looked out into the horizon, blocking out the noise and images of the Mardi Gras festivities. Maybe she should stop questioning things so much and just go with the flow. Stop wondering how the other half lived.
Did it really matter that she had never had mind-blowing sex that made her sweat her curls out? Was anyone keeping count of the number of times she had been satisfied during sex with her past boyfriends? Well, anyone other than her? And to be honest, the number of times it had actually happened was too low to even try and remember at this point. Sure, she had achieved corporate success, but she was still searching for that elusive something, or maybe someone , that would let her know that she had everything she wanted or could desire in life. To her it seemed that she had been so focused on her success and career, she had forgotten to pay attention to the other things that made her whole.
Oh well, those thoughts would save for later. Her girlfriends were expecting her to meet them in an hour for dinner and she needed to get dressed. Earlier that day, she had begged off from the usual bar-hopping, claiming to have a headache. While that wasn’t a complete lie, the more accurate reason is that she just needed time to herself. How someone could feel alone in a city packed with thousands of people, she would never know. But leave it up to her to be the one person who could accomplish that feat.
She glanced down at her watch and noticed the time. If she was going to meet her friends in an hour, she had better get a move on. Just as she was pushing away from the banister, she heard a noise from the balcony of the room next door. Someone was on the phone and the voice instantly caught her attention. She knew that it was impolite to listen in because it seemed like a private conversation, but her curiosity got the best of her and she stayed frozen in place. The man’s voice was like honey flowing over steel and damn if her panties didn’t get soaking wet from her body’s reaction to the sound.
“No, I’m done with her. We broke up months
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