Chapter 94: Viv

Chapter 94: Viv As Stefan and Genevieve walked out of the restaurant after their dinner, Stefan glanced at his watch. It was past seven, and he was exhausted already. All he wanted was to go back to the hotel now, freshen up and then give Jamal a call to find out what was going on before going to bed or better still, he could just drive Genevieve to her place then have her ask Jamal to drive him back to the hotel so they could talk. "What are you thinking about?" Genevieve asked when she caught his smirk. Stefan glanced at her. He couldn’t say he had not enjoyed spending the day with her even though he knew she wasn’t who she was claiming to be. To a large extent he found her interesting even though he still couldn’t figure out the reason she was trying to befriend him. "I had a lovely time," he said, ignoring her question. Genevieve smiled, "You did?" She asked, surprised and pleased that he had actually enjoyed her company. In the past people enjoyed her company for one of two things. Money or sex. She was either spending on them to buy their affection, or having sex with guys. "Yeah. You’re fun to chat with," he said as he held open the car door for her to get in. It was the first time someone was telling her this, and it warmed her heart. "I could say the same about you. I didn’t realize I was such a chatty person until today," she said with a wide smile as she got into the car. "Thanks." Stefan went around the car and as he got into his seat and fastened the seatbelt, Genevieve smiled at him. "I guess we sort of clicked. Stefan and Genevieve, I mean," she said with a wink and he chuckled. "Indeed. Why don’t you give me your home address and I’ll drop you off? Then maybe you can have Pete drive me back to the hotel," he suggested. The smile on Genevieve’s face faltered at that. She had been hoping he would invite her back to the hotel and maybe she could pass the night with him. She didn’t want to go home. "Is there a problem?" Stefan asked when he noticed her expression. Genevieve hesitated. It wasn’t that she wanted to seduce him because her father had asked her to. She really wanted things to happen naturally between them if it will because she really did like him. He had her feel smart, and he made her feel like she was good. She felt normal and felt like she could breathe around him. Even though he was Dawn’s Jamal, she didn’t have to be Dawn with him, and that relaxed her. "What is wrong, Genevieve?" He asked, and she raised a brow. "Why don’t you call me Genny? That’s what everyone calls me. Isn’t Genevieve too long?" She asked, stalling. "I’m not too lazy to call your name in full. But what happens to the vieve part if everyone else calls you Genny?" He asked, and she laughed. "It’s just an abbreviation," she said and he nodded. "Alright. I’ll call you Viv for short. That way that part of your name wouldn’t be forgotten no matter how many people call you Genny," he said, and Genevieve smiled. "Viv," she said, rolling the name on her lips. "What? You don’t like it?" He asked, and she smiled. "I like it as long as it’s coming from you," she said, and Stefan nodded. "So, your home address?" He reminded her, since he wanted to put it on the map. "Can’t we go back to the hotel? I don’t want to go home yet," she admitted. "Why not?" Stefan asked, taken aback by her request. "I just want to spend more time with you. I’ll be lonely at home," she said quietly. Stefan looked at her for a moment then he nodded. "Alright. But not to the hotel. We could drive around and..." "Why drive around when we can go back to the hotel?" She asked, wondering why he didn’t want to take her back with him to the hotel. "Let’s return to your room and then we can share a drink before we call it a night," she suggested, already calculating what to do in her mind. Stefan looked at her for a moment, wondering what she was up to, and then he gave her a nod, deciding to let her have her way and see what she was up to. For her sake he hoped she didn’t have any ulterior motives. Once they arrived at the hotel ten minutes later, they chatted as they made the way to his room, and even though Stefan tried to keep the distance between them, Genevieve made sure to brush her body against his as they walked and to touch him each time she laughed or talked. He smirked but said nothing. He wasn’t oblivious to what she was doing. She had been testing the waters all evening, inching closer, letting her touch linger a little too long, her voice dipping just slightly in warmth. But Stefan wasn’t a fool. As soon as they stepped into the hotel room, Genevieve turned in a slow circle, taking in the space to see the work that had been done in the room. "Doesn’t look like they did anything serious in here," she said, and Stefan’s heart skipped a beat and he froze by the half open door. Was that the reason she came back here with him? "Perhaps they cleaned up too well so you wouldn’t notice anything out of place," he said lightly. "I suppose so," she said with a nod. "You do know this Hotel belongs to one of your relatives, right?" He asked, and she froze for a beat. "Sure," she said, then walked over to the minibar. "What are we drinking?" She asked, changing the subject. Stefan relaxed a beat and closed the door behind him. He slipped off his jacket and tossed it onto a nearby chair with his phone. "You’re the guest. You choose." Genevieve grinned as she ran her fingers over the bottles until she finally selected a bottle of whiskey. She held it up with a playful smirk. "Too strong for you?" Stefan chuckled, shaking his head as he took the bottle from her hands, "Seeing what you chose, I can’t trust your judgement," he said as he picked up a bottle of red wine instead and grabbed two glasses. "I won’t drink much since I’m driving you home. And you shouldn’t either." He poured them both a drink and handed one to her. Their fingers brushed as she took the glass, and Stefan didn’t miss the way her gaze lingered for just a second before she pulled away. Genevieve took a small sip before setting it down and looking at him, "So, are you still very close to the Hanks?" "Very. We are now more connected by marriage. My mom’s cousin, Lucy, is married to Thomas Hank, who happens to be my mentor. And my uncle Harry, is married to Jade Hank," Stefan said evenly before raising his glass to his lips. "Interesting," Genevieve muttered as she picked up her wine glass again. Only this time, as she brought it to her lips, she let out a surprised gasp as the glass tilted, spilling deep red wine down the front of her dress. "Oh no," she breathed as she set the glass on the counter hurriedly, looking down at the stains spreading over the bright colored dress. "I’m such a mess. This was one of my favorites too,"she murmured. Then glanced up at him through her lashes, waiting for a reaction. Stefan crossed his arms as he watched her, unimpressed by the act but curious to see how far she would go. "That’s unfortunate." Genevieve resisted the urge to frown. That was all? He wasn’t even offering to help? She huffed a small laugh. "I should probably take it off before the stain sets. Do you have something I can borrow?" "I’ll call room service for a cleaning kit," Stefan offered. Genevieve hesitated for the briefest moment before letting out a soft laugh. "I doubt they’ll get here in time. It’s fine. I’ll just take it off and rinse it in the bathroom sink." Without waiting for his response, she reached for the invisible zipper at the back of her dress, slowly tugging it down. The fabric loosened around her shoulders, slipping slightly. Stefan remained exactly where he was, his expression unreadable as he watched her. "There’s a robe in the bathroom. You can go in there to change. You don’t have to do it in front of me," he said, his voice even. Genevieve paused, thrown off by his indifference. He wasn’t even looking at her anymore with the slightest bit of interest. She had expected him to be interested. Genevieve offered him a small awkward smile. "You’re really something, you know that?" she murmured. Stefan glanced at her. "What do you mean?" "You’re not like most men. Most men would be flustered. Or at least pretend to be." Stefan gave her a knowing look. "You’re not like most women. Most women I know wouldn’t try to take off their dress in front of me this way. Or at least they’d pretend to be shy." She stared at him for a beat before laughing awkwardly. "Touché. You’re really not going to make this easy for me, are you?" She asked as she dropped her hands to her side.