femme fatale . chapters medio - dos

SENA hummed along to the melody of James Joint as she finished placing the diamond earrings into the tiny holes that sat just above where her ears ended. She looked at herself in the mirror and angled her face to catch herself in her best position. Once satisfied with her look, she smiled and picked up her small silver handbag before turning off her speaker, causing her music to cease.

As she walked to her kitchen, she dialed the number of her date and waited for him to pick up. She fluffed up her hair a few times before he answered with a gruff hello, but she kept a light mood as she smirked.

"James," she said, simply, holding onto the 'a' of the man's name in a playful attempt to tell the man he was in a sort of trouble.

Although she couldn't see him, Sena knew the man's mood changed as he recognized who called him.

"Sena," he responded with a smirk, reacting well to her playfulness.

"You're late picking me up."

She tapped on her marble island as he let out a sigh and massaged his temples.

"I know; I know. I'm sorry. Work has run later than expected."

Sena furrowed her eyebrows and lightly curled up her bottom lip, slightly upset.

"I'm sitting here all dressed up for you tonight, and you're essentially telling me that your work is more important?"

James shifted in his seat and quickly dismissed her notion.

"Of course not princess, I just need a bit more time before I can set it to the side for you."

Just as Sena was about to respond with her quick tongue, James proposed an offer to keep bad spirits away.

"I'm sending my driver over to pick you up right now. I already know you look beautiful tonight, but I assume you'll want something new for our other dates after this..."

As he trailed off, Sena lifted her red painted lips into a smile and changed her tone.

"Usually, I would be upset... But I'll let it go just this once."

James smiles into the phone, happy to have escaped punishment.

"Of course, princess. He'll be right over."

The two ended the call on an amicable note, and Sena looked at herself through her large apartment window before hearing a knock at her door, signifying the arrival of James' driver. She gathered her purse and looked around once more before turning off the lights and exiting her abode.

THIRTY minutes later with two new outfits laying in sleek black bags in the back of the car she arrived in, Sena sat with crossed legs at the table of La Cocina with her date. With a glass of white wine in her hand, she smiled as James told her about his recent antics with work.

"It just seems like everyone is so distracted. I need people to be present when they work with me, you know?"

Sena flashed a smirk as she raised her eyebrows, questioning, "you need them to be present the same way you are right now?"

James looked up from his plate and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Sena. I'll do better. I promise."

Her red lips curled up into a full smile before she pressed the wine glass onto them, taking a sip of the drink that kept herself present in the moment. Sena fluttered her eyes while setting her wine glass down to speak.

"So are we doing anything after this?"

James' honey-colored eyes looked up to see Sena playing with her food as she stuck a fork through it. His mouth turned into a tight-lipped smile as she stared directly into his eyes, causing him to feel remorse for what he would say.

"No, Sena. I'm sorry," he spoke, softly.

Sena sucked in a bit of her right cheek to show her dissatisfaction and took another sip of wine while James continued to speak.

"I just have so much work to do preparing for a big pitch these upcoming weeks and-"

"It's fine," Sena said.

"I wanted to go out to a club tonight anyways. My friends have missed me."

James' eyes lit up as he felt a guilty weight lift off his shoulders.

"That's great! You could wear one of your new outfits tonight too!"

The two continued with their dinner and conversation without another bump in the road, as both of their minds were set in the belief that the conflict was resolved.

Two hours later with a stomach full of food and a craving for a wild night out, Sena texted her friends with her plans for the night.

She smiled as she read the final message and locked her phone with a click as she stepped out of the chauffeur's car with her bags.

"Thank you, Raul. You're always appreciated."

The old but lively man gave a hearty smile and sent her a small kiss as thanks before he drove off. Sena watched from the door of her apartment building, making sure he drove off safely and entered her complex.

Humming a tune to herself, she stripped out of the long silk dress she wore the date and ruffled through the little black shopping bags for her newest outfit. She smirked in thought as she popped off the tags and shimmied into the simple blue-black dress.

She turned around, eyeing her body and turned to her closet for an extra accessory. Once she found the silver chain, she let out an excited "yes" and fitted it to perfection. Grabbing her baby blue faux fur purse, she looked at her outfit once again before deciding she was content with it.

She checked her phone once more and decided she had just enough time to re-do her hair. Knowing she would dance, she gathered her two-week-old silk press into her hands and proceeded to tie it into a secure ponytail. She fiddled with her bangs, situating them perfectly before picking up a toothbrush to fix her edges.

Directly after she completed her look, her phone pinged with a message indicating that her friends were present. She tapped on the screen to be sure it was confirmation and headed back downstairs to continue on with her night.

"Yes, girl!"

"Okay, sis! Show out then!"

"Ooo chile..."

Each of her friends hyped her up as she entered the vehicle, and Sena couldn't help but to smile as she received the compliments.

"Thank you," she replied, shyly, but quickly laughed it off as one of her friends, Rayne, playfully hit her.

"Girl, don't act shy. You know you look good!"

"Okay! She's tryna act all innocent like we don't know her."

Sena let out a true laugh as the car lurched forward as they drove to their destination. Feeling the wind on her skin and hearing her friends' chatter, she smiled with content as she daydreamed about her awaiting night.

AROUND twenty minutes later after driving to the venue and finding a parking spot, Sena and her friends walked up to the club entrance. Her friends, Rayne, Kiely, and Bri, waited a few steps behind her as she confidently strolled up to the man checking IDs in the front. Sena whispered into his ear, letting him know about the reservations James' set up for her as an apology, and the man nodded his head in approval. He raised the velvet red chain to let them enter and the club's scene filled their senses as they walked in.

Multicolored LED lights illuminated the otherwise dark room. Bodies covered the entire area from top to bottom and music pounded thunderously throughout the immense space. Sena and her friends walked towards a roped off table, and she again talked to the man that guarded it before he walked away. The women sat in the booth and began to talk.

"The perks of being friends with Sena," Kiely said with a laugh.

Sena rolled her eyes as she chuckled with her friends and searched the club. Men and women crowded the building as they grinded on one another. Some people huddled in the corners, desperate to isolate themselves so they could talk to someone; others stood in the wall doing nothing to seem cool. She intended to look around more, but was interrupted when Bri tapped her on the shoulder.

"Come on! We're getting drinks!"

The group left from the table and swayed towards the bar where they waited patiently to order drinks. Once the bartender finished with other customers, he walked over to the women with a smile on his face.

"What can I do for you ladies?"

"Could we get some jell-o shots to start off?"

"Yes ma'am."

He to a back room before emerging with the brightly colored alcohol on a tray. Each of the women took two and started on the journey of getting drunk.

After completing both of her shots, Sena shook her head as she tolerated the drink and looked straight into the bartender's deep brown eyes. For a moment, the two were caught up in one another while everything else was tuned out. For only a second, it was just the two of them in the universe.

Sena was caught in his eyes, but she still noticed his neutral tan skin and somewhat defined jawline. He had a small beard growing in, but still looked well kept and his eyes were occasionally covered by the curls that would fall down whenever he moved his head a certain way. It was only when Bri shook Sena's body that the two's connection was broken.

"Yo, am I gonna have to snap you out of trances all night?" she laughed.

Sena winced as she apologized and shook her head 'no'. She walked away to the dance floor, but turned her head once to get a last second glance at the captivating bartender.

She danced with the upmost confidence on the floor. She twerked and whined depending on the music and even managed to slip in a little salsa and bachata when she was feeling extra. She wasn't great at the dances, but was having fun, so she didn't care. After working up a sweat, she decided she needed a drink and prepared to talk to the bartender again.

As she worked her way to the bar, she removed her hair from its ponytail and fluffed it around, giving it a voluminous look. She narrowed her eyes as if she found her prey, and smirked slightly, confident in her abilities.

"Hi."

"Hello. We meet again," the man stated as he cleaned a glass.

The blue LED light, specifically, hit his skin just right and created an effect that made Sena rethink her attack, but she continued on with grace, having been through the game of flirting a million times.

"I guess we do."

She let the air of comfortable silence linger before putting her elbows on the bar and sitting her head on her hands while looking at the man patiently.

"So, what's your name?"

The bartender smirked as he set the cleaned glass down and filled it with Hennessy. He pushed it over to Sena and spoke as she sipped on the smooth drink.

"Xavier. Yours?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Sena tried to hide her reaction to the strong alcohol, but faltered slightly as the tail end burned her throat. She winced and looked up just in time to see Xavier's smirk.

"Sena," she responded without faltering.

Xavier eyed her after she spoke. His eyes roamed her body as he took in all of her features. Her bangs fell perfectly, not hiding her dark brown eyes, and her red painted lips complimented her deep neutral skin. The dress she wore hugged her body perfectly and the metal chain placed like a belt accentuated her curves.

When Xavier looked back up to Sena's eyes, the two stared at each other with sly smiles on their faces. Neither was fazed by the other's presence, and they noted that they were probably two of the same coin: dominant, confident people with an eye for beauty.

Xavier turned away from Sena to grab a pen and a napkin. He spoke as he quickly jotted his number down.

"Here's my number, Sena. Call me the next time you tryna get a bite to eat."

He watched as she seductively took the napkin away from him and looked at the numbers written on the makeshift paper. Looking up to respond smartly to fully lock jaw on her prey, Sena was left dumbfounded when she saw Xavier heading to the back, leaving as his shift ended.

She smiled as she slipped the napkin into her small baby blue purse, making note of when she would call him first.