1.2 Private After-Party

Roland is a man who prides himself on his self control. As someone who was raised in an environment that constantly exposed him to people who lacked self control it created a stigma against letting loose so to speak. It's the reason why he didn't go out to parties often and when he did he intentionally limits himself to mostly non alcoholic beverages if any.

His friends called him boring because of it but he didn't see anything wrong with being 'boring' if it kept him safe and his face out of any embarrassing videos that always circle social media after parties. He's not even going to go into the alarmingly high number of times that the drinks at the parties they drag him to end up being spiked. The only reason why he even deigned to touch alcohol in the club was because it was too much of a respectable establishment for the bartender to try that crap.

With Maddie however Roland's self control was tested in a way that he's never quite experienced before. Along with being incredibly beautiful Maddie was also apparently rich so she's someone clearly out of his league and he wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be someone really important. Figuring out what kind of Mamono she was (because he didn't even entertain the idea of her being human) turned out to be a lesson in futility and he didn't feel brave enough to just come out and ask her.

It's a situation where if she didn't bring it up neither would he. He had this feeling she knew he had this particular dilemma and was deliberately obfuscating her true nature. He knew this because from their conversation Maddie turned out to be a very intelligent woman. Unlike everyone else he's talked with tonight their talk veered into subjects that don't typically make for conversations had by two strangers sharing drinks at a nightclub.

Regardless he found their talks to be engaging and for once he wasn't flip flopping. All of that combined made for a pretty big distraction because at some point he lost count of how many drinks he had with her.

"Shit" he suddenly spoke putting down the half empty glass.

"Is something the matter?" she asked a bit taken aback by his sudden curse.

"I'm feeling tipsy" he held his head, the room was becoming just a bit slant and he could feel his faculties getting slow.

"Already?" she half taunted finishing the rest of her drink that she's been guzzling down like a fish since they first began.

'How is she still fine?'

Part of the reason why he's like this was because he's been following her lead as she was the one paying for the drinks it felt rude not to. At the back of his mind he figured once she stopped or showed signs of being drunk he could have a gracious out to not continue. She never did stop and out of the two she seemed just as sober as when they started.

'Am I this much of a lightweight?' he wondered to himself feeling a shot to his pride as a man 'or is she cheating?'

As far as he knew all her drinks have been red wine while he stuck with the least alcoholic drink on the menu.

He shook his head 'wait, what time is it?' he thought fishing out his phone only to boggle when the time read '2 AM!?'

Holy shit!

And it looks like his friends sent him a message that they already left. One of them took picture of him drinking and smiling with Maddie mid conversation. It had a caption below it.

–Don't fuck up ;)

'Bastards…'

"It's getting pretty late" he stood up and took a moment to steady himself.

"Is it?" Maddie hummed taking a gander at her phone before humming "so it is" she confirmed before draining her glass and paying their tab "shall we?"

She then started walking away and Roland decided to follow her lead. He made a careful effort not to stare at her ass as she led him to the exit. Or so he thought but they weren't heading in that direction.

"Where are we going?"

"VIP exit" Maddie spoke while looking over her shoulder.

'There's a VIP exit?'

They headed into a section of the club guarded by a team of burly yet gorgeous Mamono bouncers who scrutinized him on contact. Once they saw he was accompanying Maddie however they gave a nod allowed them access. From there it was a short walk to another set of doors guarded by bouncers who let them out into an underground parking lot.

'This place is insane' he thought in amazement as the seemed to exclusively house expensive top of the line luxury cars.

The sound of a car alarm chirping brought his attention back to Maddie who was heading towards a Tesla. She just about opened the automatic doors before turning to look at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Uh…"

Good question.

"Don't tell me one of these belongs to you" she gestured to the parked cars.

"N-no" he answered.

"Did you bring your own vehicle?"

"No."

"Then get in" and she did just that before the passenger door opened.

Roland only hesitated for a moment before getting inside and trying his hardest not to react to the interior as he secured his seatbelt. He wasn't very much into vehicles like some of his friends but even a neophyte like him could appreciate the luxurious upholstery. There was a moment of silence as Maddie drove them out of the parking lot but before thing could get awkward she broke the silence.

"I know my identity must be tickling your curiosity at this point."

…did he say break the awkward silence? He meant pour gasoline over the fire.

Roland tried to play it off "I didn't want to be weird about it."

"I can't speak for other women Roland but I don't mind the question."

"Then what are you?"

"Hmm…nope" she answered.

"What?"

"Not telling~" she sang.

Roland made a noise of befuddlement "why bother saying you don't mind me asking if you're not going to tell me?"

"I never said I would give you an answer now did I?"

After a moment of thinking on it Roland sighed "you can let me off at that corner."

She proceeded to drive past the corner which understandably made Roland both confused.

"Hey you missed my stop" he pointed out.

"…"

She said nothing and now he was starting to get a tad nervous.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere appropriate" she answered vaguely.

"That doesn't answer my question" he stated with brows slowly furrowing as he spoke.

"…" Maddie gave a brief sideways glance but kept quiet.

"Maddie-"

"You know" she interrupted "to tell you the truth I have been frequenting that nightclub for a rather long time" her grip on the steering wheel tightened enough for the leather to audibly creak "too long in my opinion."

'That's disconcerting' Roland thought while subtly checking he locks on the door.

As they slowed at a traffic light Maddie lightly sighed "I thought tonight would have been yet another waste of my time until I happened upon you at the bar" turning her gaze towards him and gave him a dazzling smile "I'm really glad that I met you tonight Roland~"

Roland could feel his cheeks warming and turned away from her gaze much to her amusement. Focusing on anything but what she said and the tingly feeling that elicited from him Roland noted that he had no idea where they are right now yet as they pulled into a parking lot he realized exactly where they are…sort of.

"We're here."

Upon seeing where they were Roland gulped nervously.

'Oh man.'

Looking out the window he found that they were now in the parking lot of a hotel and not just any hotel but a love hotel.

Without taking his eyes off the sign he asked "what uh, what are we doing here?"

"We've spent hours talking to each other so I know for a fact that you're not a fool Roland" she replied with an expression that was decidedly unimpressed.

Roland turned to see her looking at him with her piercing blue eyes and swallowed "I guess I'm just…surprised."

"Your self esteem is too low for someone so handsome" she observed then smiled saucily "hopefully spending the night with me will fix that."

"What?" he most certainly did not squeak.

"Come Roland and don't even try to run away" she added playfully "because I will hunt you down and drag you back here."

…for some reason he couldn't help but feel like she was being a little serious there.

And it might be his imagination but he swore her eyes flashed a different color for a split second.

Roland once again followed behind her but this time too much in a daze to appreciate her swinging hips. He only gained some of his coherency when they got into the hotel proper. Roland was surprised to the front desk operated by a mamono, this one a young looking Kobold who perked up upon seeing them.

As Maddie went to converse with the woman Roland only gave them partial attention as he looked around the lobby which was devoid of people. A curious thing considering they were still in a metropolitan area

'Must be a slow day' is what he chose to believe with how shady the place looked.

Suddenly he was pulled along by the arm causing him to let out a surprised "whoa."

"I hope this absentmindedness isn't going to last terribly long Roland otherwise this won't be nearly as satisfying as I hope it will be."

Her words got a reaction out of him 'she's right.'

He remembered his friend's message and while still allowing her to pull him along Roland took a deep breath to calm his nerves. They entered the elevator and Maddie pressed the button to their floor. Roland having finally gotten his nerves under control and feeling the need to save face decided to do something bold. Maddie gasped as she was suddenly pulled into his arms and locked lips with him. It only took a moment for her to get over her shock and lean into the kiss.

They separated and Maddie opened her smoky eyes "hmm~ much better" she hummed running her tongue over her lips as if savoring the taste.

Roland couldn't help but smirk but before he could go in for another round the elevator doors opened. Luckily no one was on the other side and the duo left with Maddie leading the way with a deliberate and exaggerated sway of her hips. This time Roland allowed himself to stare because god damn she had an incredible ass. They arrived at their room with Maddie entering first and immediately tossing her purse away. The moment Roland closed the door behind him they were all over each other swapping saliva as they made out aggressively.

As the two kissed Maddie's hands roamed across his broad chest while Roland's hands dipped down to her ass and gave it a harsh squeeze eliciting a moan from her mouth. Roland used the brief respite to find the bed and as she re-engaged their lip lock he shuffled them over to the bed until both of them fell onto it. Roland rolled on top of her attempting to dominate but Maddie gave as well as she got.

Eventually he had to come up for air and for a moment he simply hovered over her staring. It cannot be overstated just how beautiful Maddie is. Her long platinum blonde hair spilled on the bed like a splayed halo, her lipstick slightly ruined and her pale cheeks darkened red.

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet after all that" she asked teasingly.

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met" he said plainly with a straight face "and I'm just taking in that fact."

Maddie's teasing expression morphed into one of shock as her cheeks darkened further "you flatter me."

"I know I'm probably not the first guy to tell you this but I just wanted to get that off my chest anyway."

Her lips pursed as she caressed the side of his face "you certainly have a way with words Roland" then she pulled him into a searing kiss that made his head spin "now prove to me how serious you are."