Chapter 10

Clare stumbled through the front door of the building and was met with loud music. She looked around and quickly turned to Eli.

" Seriously?" Eli smirked and walked over to the bar.

" Hey, my friend is feeling a bit sick, can she use your restroom?" The man smiled.

" She can use the girls room." Clare looked around. They were inside a strip club. A very grungy one at that. There were four poles in the middle of the room spaced out evenly. A part of Clare admired the symmetry. There were a few men in front of one pole that had an older woman dancing. She did not look like strippers looked like in the movies. Clare felt beyond uncomfortable. Eli returned to her.

" He said you could use the room behind there." Clare looked over to the door labelled 'Dressing Room'.

" i don't want to go in there." Clare said in a whisper.

" Well, I don't think I can go with you." Eli said smiling. Clare grimaced.

" Okay, five minutes." She left to go to the room where a few topless women were applying make up. She quickly went to the bathroom and wiped her face. She helped herself to a mint. One of the women offered her lip gloss and so she thanked her. She returned to Eli who was looking almost as uncomfortable as she was.

" All better?" he smiled and he saw her approach.

" Yeah." Clare said, extremely embarrassed. Then, one of the women from the dressing room came out, still topless

" Oh honey!" she called. Clare turned and blushed. " You have a bit of barf on your dress." Clare blushed even harder and looked down at her new dress. There was a lot more than a bit, there was a large patch of vomit on her dress.

" Um..." Clare said completely lost as what to do.

" Here, you can borrow something." the woman offered. Eli smiled widely.

" How nice!" he said pushing Clare towards the woman. Clare walked tentatively towards the woman who ushered her back in the dressing room.
A few moments later, Clare re-emerged from the room wearing a tight red dress. It was not exactly stripper clothing, but it was far tighter than anything Clare normally wore. The dress was extremely simple but displayed Clare's large chest very openly. Clare was trying to pull up the dress but every time she did, she was forced to pull down the bottom. She looked like a fidgeting child. Eli bit the side of his lip, trying not to say anything stupid.

" Do yo want my jacket?" he asked, unable to keep the grin off his face.

" Yes please." she said through gritted teeth.

" We can catch the bus at Queen and Broadview." said Clare wrapping the jacket around her new dress.

" No! I would rather walk than take public transit." Eli said as they walked down the abandoned streets of Toronto.

" It's a long walk." said Clare stumbling in her heels.

" You can't do it?" challenged Eli.

" Just don't want your millionaire feet to be sore." snapped Clare with a smile. Eli laughed. They continued to walk along Queen street stealing glances when the other was not looking. Eli felt compelled to hold Clare's hand. So he did and she didn't let go. Eli tried to think of another moment so perfect and he came to the conclusion that this was the happiest he had ever been. The street lights illuminated their path as they walked hand in hand wondering what the other thought. Clare finally decided to speak.

" This is beautiful." she said, never wanting it to end. Eli looked over to her.

" Yes, it is. I love Toronto." Clare smiled.

" Me too, I'd never leave." Eli smiled to himself. It didn't have to be the end, they could still keep in touch. Toronto wasn't that big of a city.

" You have a good night at the club?" Eli asked squeezing her hand. Clare cleared her throat.

" Not really."

" I saw you talking to Declan, he's a nice guy." Eli said, trying desperately to keep the jealousy out of his voice.

" I wasn't really listening to him." admitted Clare, not saying that she was too distracted watching him and Imogen to care what Declan had to say.

" Imogen seems nice." Eli offered, hoping that would make him seem less jealous. Talk about another girl in front of Clare. Brilliant.

" Yeah, she seems great." said Clare flatly. He would bring up Imogen. " She wears high heels." Clare said before she could stop herself. Eli smiled.

" You're wearing high heels tonight." Clare glared at him.

" I was trying to make an effort." For you, she thought. Eli smirked and Clare felt herself getting angry for some reason. " Imogen's perfect. She's just your image and she's smart. What more could you ask for? I bet she never gets drunk and always knows what to say." Clare found the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them. Eli turned to her.

" My image?"

" You know, charming smile with pretty girls on either arm." Clare spat feeling her self-esteem sink even lower. Eli nodded. That's what she thought of him. She saw him as a womanizing, philanderer. Just a nice smile and a lot of one night stands. She didn't take him seriously.

" Your two weeks are almost up." he said casually. Clare nodded.

" Just the Rush gala on Saturday then I will be out of your hair for good." she said venomously.

" Great." Eli said sounding bored. They walked in silence, their hands still held. Eli tried to think of something to say to make this better. " I'm really sorry." he blurted. Clare looked at him

" For what?" she asked.

" For making these past couple moments so horrible for you." Eli said. This was as honest as he gets. What he wouldn't say was that he wanted to make it up to her. " I know I've caused you a lot of stress and I'm really sorry." he said. He finally realized how miserable he had made her, and the funny thing was all he really wanted to do was make her happy. Clare smiled gently.

" Well, I'm sorry it didn't work out." Eli smiled.

" Me too." They continued walking and saw that they were in front of Eli's hotel.

" Well, I'll see you Saturday." smiled Clare, hoping he would give her a reason to stay longer. Eli gulped.

" Yeah, I'll meet you there." Clare smiled and have him a hug. He let his arms wrap around her like always. He let her go and watched her begin to walk away. " Clare!" he called out. Just wanting to see her face again. She turned around quickly.

" Yes?" she said still wearing his jacket but letting the dress be shown a bit. She bit her lip, hoping he would invite her up. Maybe this was their moment.

" Should I wear the Armani or the Gabbana?" he asked, leaving his romantic notions aside. Clare let her smile fade a bit.

" I like the Gabbana, but you finally got the Armani tailored so?" she said. Professional, always professional, she thought. How could I think it was anything else. Eli smiled.

" I guess I'll wear the Gabbana." Clare grinned.

" Goodnight." she turned to walk away. Eli sighed. Clare stopped walking.

" Eli!" she called out. Eli looked up at her. She walked towards him. She was going to tell him. She was going to finally tell him. But then she remembered Imogen. All her confidence washed aside. She felt her spirits jump to the pit in her stomach. " Maybe we could catch a game so time. If you're not too busy." Eli smiled.

" That would be great!" he walked up to her and gave her another hug. Clare relaxed into the hug. Eli pulled away, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. Clare's eyes were wide as she blushed. Eli felt like an idiot, but he didn't care.

" See you Saturday." Clare stuttered.

" See you Saturday." repeated Eli. walking towards his building.