by Alyssa Lynn
“I don’t believe so. We were always dressed in black and white at the plant.”
Ethan looked from the abundance of clothes, over to Demo, and back again. “I think I have just the outfit,” he said. His hands latched on to a navy blue, silk, button-up shirt and silver tie. He held up them in the air and shifted his eyes from the choices in his hands, to the curious clone in the corner of the closet.
“We will add this to a pair of nice black slacks and some freshly polished shoes, you’ll be the bee’s knees.”
“The bee’s what?”
Ethan sighed, “You’ll look great.” He handed over the clothes and gestured for Demo to change in his private bathroom. After five minutes, he emerged and Ethan started clapping his hands. “You clean up pretty well!”
Demo was adjusting the tie around the collar. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.” Looking at himself in the mirror, Demo glanced over his shoulder and looked at Ethan for clarification. “That means ‘yes’,” Ethan continued.
“Noted,” replied Demo, as he kept working at his tie. “Would it be acceptable for me to do the things to Ava that you do to Kaycie?”
Ethan raised his eyebrows. “What kinds of things?”
Shrugging his shoulders, his voice got a little ragged. “Like the way you touch her and hold her. Kissing her without having to ask. Those kinds of things.”
“I’m not really sure you can compare the two situations, Demo. Kaycie and I hit it off at a club one night. You resemble the best friend that Ava once had feelings for. You also have to keep in mind that when she looks at you, she may remember the worst night of her life. This is all still very new to her.”
Demo dropped his gaze to his feet. “So, what do you propose I do?”
“You have to woo her.” Ethan paused when he saw Demo covering his mouth. “Why are you laughing?”
Demo took a few deep breaths to control his laughter. “That’s a funny word. I’ve never heard it before.” He gained his composure and asked, “What does ‘woo’ mean?”
Ethan rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but smile. “It means you need to grab her attention. Show her that you care about her and treat her like a lady. Touch her in the right places at the right time without pushing her too far. She’s not a toy, she’s a woman.”
“I realize she’s a woman, Ethan. I may not know a lot of things about this way of living, but I did catch on to a few.”
“Then go with your gut feeling. If you feel like it’s right then it probably is. She is into you too; I can tell by the way she looks at you.”
Turning back to the mirror, he started humming to himself while he adjusted his necktie. “Should I say that to her? Tell her that she likes me too?”
“Do you like your nose the way it is?”
Demo examined his face in the mirror and turned to Ethan, “Yes. I’m quite fond of my facial features.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you don’t suffer from self-esteem issues,” Ethan replied as he walked over behind Demo. “When you like someone, you don’t tell them; you show them.”
“Is Ava showing me that she likes me?”
Putting his hands on Demo’s shoulders, Ethan helped him straighten his tie, “Honestly man, Ava is doing everything in her power right now to convince herself she doesn’t.”
“Why would she want to do that?”
“Women are complicated. Don’t try to understand everything she does or you will drive yourself crazy. Take things one day at a time.”
Pleased with himself, Demo slipped into the suit jacket and smiled at his reflection in the mirror. “I have to woo her.”
CHAPTER nine
O nce they were ready to go, the two men walked down the hall and Ethan rapped on the girls’ door. Demo could feel the butterflies in his stomach and the sweat that had formed in his palms. Both of them could hear the girls giggling from the other side of the door.
Demo looked over at him, waiting nervously for the door to open. “What exactly do I do?”
“Do as I do,” Ethan said, as the handle turned.
Kaycie strutted out of the room in a long black dress that fell off of her shoulders. Her hair was pulled up into a silver clip with the usual ringlets falling down the sides of her face. Her eye makeup was dark in contrast to her skin, but her red lips were the first thing to catch the guy’s attention. Ethan reached down and grabbed her hand, brushing his lips across her fingers before he looked up and grinned at her.
“Well, hello there,” Kaycie said, blushing and smiling back at him. She moved closer to Ethan, leaving Ava standing in the door.
“Wow,” Demo whispered. He smiled and let his eyes skim over her. Starting with her wavy brown hair, partly pinned up while the other portion swept across the top of her eye. Her makeup was subtle, just enough to highlight her facial structure which made her emerald eyes pop. Her lips glistened when she smiled at him. Her tan skin was peeking out from the tight red dress she had on that was accented with silver jewelry.
Ava looked down at herself, waiting for him to make a move. Ethan cleared his throat, which brought Demo out of his trance. He walked over and took her hand. Her scent smacked his senses and made his heart thump.
Pulling her into him, he whispered in her ear, “You made my heart skip a beat.”
Ava caught herself holding her breath and finally let it out. The words escaping his lips sent goose bumps soaring up her arms. She took a few deep, quiet breaths and hoped he wouldn’t notice her reaction.
Pulling away, she caught his gaze and held it. He stared into her eyes and could feel a warm sensation flooding him. Looping her arm through his, she looked at Kaycie who was fixed on them. They shot each other a smirk and followed the guys down the stairs.
Ethan called for the driver who took less than a minute to pull the car around. Both men opened the door for their girls and climbed in right behind them. Demo sat as close as he could to Ava without sitting on her lap and couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Kaycie sat close to Ethan with her hand on his leg while Ethan had his arm around her shoulders. Carefully, Demo reached down and laced his fingers with Ava’s, who accepted the gesture immediately.
“So, Ethan,” Demo started, without taking his eyes off of Ava, “Where is it you’re taking us?”
“We’re heading to this stunning restaurant about ten minutes away, called Berta’s.”
Demo looked up and noticed Ethan rubbing Kaycie’s arm, causing him to crave more of Ava with every passing second. “It sounds lovely,” he said, trying to distract himself with thoughts of their destination. Thirty minutes had never felt as long as it did on the duration of this car ride.
Ava was thankful that Demo was distracted by her tight red dress and wasn’t bothered at the thought of riding in a vehicle again. She was getting the warm feeling in her stomach every time Demo’s hand brushed her thigh. Thoughts of their laced fingers kept rushing her. She was thankful she had blush on her cheeks to cover the color of her flushing skin.
Pulling up to the large restaurant, the girls were getting excited and Demo was thankful he could get out of the close proximity in the car. He wanted to be near Ava, but it seemed he could barely contain himself from squirming when he was around her. Their driver waved to Ethan, who gave him instruction to stay nearby so they can call when they’re ready to head back home.
Looking up at the tall building, Ava couldn’t help but to feel overwhelmed at the sight of it. The sheer magnitude of the restaurant was breathtaking. The walls appeared to be nothing but large glass windows that overlooked the entire city. As the sun was starting to set, Ethan led the group through the large front doors that were manned with staff waiting to greet the guests upon arrival.
Walking inside was just as thrilling as standing out front. The lobby was decorated with twinkle lights, as was the tall cherry blossom tree that stood in the center of the room. A long bar sat up against the wall that was lined with hundreds of different liquor and wine bottles waiting to be c
onsumed by the guests. The staff was all dressed in black attire; men wearing button up shirts with the sleeves rolled up to their elbows and the girls wore tight off-the-shoulder, flowing tank tops that revealed the slightest bit of cleavage. Giving off an elegant feel, they couldn’t help but shift their eyes from one part of the room to another.
The elevator opposite them was being held open by a man wearing white gloves. “I feel like these people were all extras on Home Alone,” Ava said to Kaycie through the corner of her mouth. Kaycie chuckled and elbowed her gently in the side.
Demo grabbed Ava’s hand and held onto her as they walked across the hardwood floors. The entrance to the elevator was flush with the building, while the elevator itself scaled the outside, giving riders a spectacular view of the city. Leading her through the elevator doors, Demo asked, “How far up do we go?”
“Top floor,” Ethan said. “The best view for the best company.”
As the elevator climbed the side of the building, they all soaked in the view. “This is absolutely beautiful,” Ava said.
Demo leaned in next to her and said, “This view has nothing on you.”
Kaycie looked over at the two of them and clutched her chest. Ethan, seeing her reaction, leaned down and kissed her shoulder. “Have I told you how beautiful you are tonight?”
She turned her head and looked into his eyes. Leaning down, he kissed her lips gently and she flushed with excitement. Both girls were looking at each other like all of this was too good to be true.
The girls both noticed the expression on the operator’s face while he stood silently next to the elevator door. Sending each other a look of concern, they shrugged it off and were immediately absorbed back into their fairytale moment. Ava pulled her cell phone from her clutch purse and took a picture of the view.
“I want to show the girls at the lab that I’m actually enjoying my time away,” she said with a grin.
Pulling the lever, the man gestured for them to exit the elevator as the doors opened. Ava guided the rest of the group into the dining area and, once again, the scene was out of this world. Seating lined the outside of the room against the windows to provide a cityscape view during the meal. Candles were placed in the center of each table and the lighting was low, creating a romantic atmosphere. The center of the room was consumed by a circular bar that was staffed with six bartenders who looked to be in their early twenties, and the servers stood in each corner of the room waiting to claim their next customers.
Holding out the chairs, the guys allowed the girls to take their seats before sitting down next to them. Demo reached under the table and placed his hand on Ava’s leg. She smiled, but kept looking around the dining room. The server came over with a bottle of wine and asked Ethan if they would care for a glass.
“Is it complimentary?” Ethan asked. The server replied with a wink. “Then I’d say we would all love to give it a taste,” Ethan added.
Pouring the wine in their glasses, he went over the specials for the evening. He described their island duck with mulberry mustard entrée, which was served with a braised lamb salad and smoked pork jowl with pickle appetizer. He even gave them the option of having the vegan charcuterie plate in place of the smoked pork jowl, as it was, in his words, “to die for”.
Demo and Ethan went with the special’s course, while Ava selected the Hiramasa Crudo, and Kaycie chose the Wagyu Carpaccio; both only ordering them based on the interesting names. They piled their menus on the corner of the table and sipped at their wine until the first course was delivered.
As the evening went on, they laughed and talked and awed at the restaurant and the city scenery. “I can’t believe we’re eating at a place like this,” Ava said. “I mean, it’s absolutely stunning. The wait staff looks like they were created for this job. The food looks like it should be painted on a canvas. And these drinks… well, these drinks are enough to take down a sumo wrestler.”
Forks were shuffling and mouths were chewing as they made their way through the courses of the fanciest meal they had ever eaten, aside from Ethan who was accustomed to this type of pampering. They had polished off an entire bottle of wine and were now onto the second bottle which, unfortunately, was not complimentary.
Ethan waved for the server to come over and he asked for the bill. When it was placed on the table in front of him, the girls glanced over and about fell off their chairs when they saw the total. Kaycie mouthed the words “holy shit” to Ava who nodded back at her.
“I don’t mean to be blunt,” Ava began, “But how in the world can you afford this?”
Ethan grinned and grabbed Kaycie’s hand. “I make good money doing what I do.”
Kaycie gave Ava a look, telling her to shut up, but Ava ignored her. “Do I need to continue asking the questions, or can you figure out what my next question will be?”
Chuckling, Ethan took his eyes off of Kaycie and focused on Ava. “I guess I can let you continue with the questions.”
Rolling her eyes, Ava continued, “What is it you do, Ethan?”
Ethan sank back into his chair. “I guess you could say I’m a type of bounty hunter.”
Kaycie’s eyes widened and Ava’s jaw dropped. “That sounds like a lot of work,” replied Kaycie.
“Well, when people need to be put in their place, I get to do my part and see to it that they are corrected. It pays the bills, I guess.” Ethan slipped six hundred dollars cash into the server’s hand and stood from his chair. “Shall we?” he asked, holding his hand out for Kaycie. Demo did the same for Ava and the three of them thanked Ethan for dinner as they all headed back to the fancy elevator.
When they exited the elevator and headed toward the door, Ava glanced over her shoulder at the elevator and saw the man watching them intently as they left. “They must be super into their guests here,” Ava mumbled to Kaycie.
Kaycie agreed and couldn’t help but feeling something in the pit of her stomach. She blamed it on the new food she tried and continued out of the restaurant with the rest of the group.
Piling back into the car, the guys were rubbing their stomachs and groaning with discomfort. “I definitely ate more than my body weight in food this evening,” said Ethan.
“I am feeling as if I consumed the whole of an elephant,” Demo agreed.
“I could actually go for some cheesecake,” Ava said, eyeing up Kaycie for her consent.
Kaycie smiled at Ava and licked her lips, “Yes! Cheesecake!” which made the guys groan even louder.
“I don’t know where you’re putting all of this food!” Ethan said to the girls, looking at their tiny frames.
Ava lifted her hand and pointed into her wide-open mouth, which caused the girls to break into laughter. Chanting “cheesecake” over and over, the guys finally caved and Ethan requested that the driver take them to the nearest grocery store.
“You mean you don’t have a servant that fetches you a fresh cheesecake whenever you crave one?” Ava asked him, sarcastically.
“I can have someone fetch me one if I wanted. However, I thought this would give us a chance to get out of the house for a bit. Maybe show Demo where consumables actually come from.”
“Road trip!” the girls yelled in unison, with their arms in the air. Demo and Ethan let out a nervous laugh as they headed off to find their girls a cheesecake.
Walking into the store, Demo looked around and couldn’t believe the amount of stuff there was inside. “Why is there so much?”
“Because we humans like to buy four of everything and then throw it out the following week,” responded Kaycie.
“Well that doesn’t even make the slightest bit of sense. Why not just venture out once you require a particular item to avoid the waste?”
“We would, but this is more fun!” Ava yelled, grabbing Kaycie’s hand and running off to the candy aisle.
“You learn to just let them do as they please,” muttered Ethan.
“I’m starting to learn that,” replied Demo, still gawking
at the shelves that were stocked to the max with everything he could possibly imagine.
“Come on. Let’s go get the ladies what they asked for.” As the guys rounded the corner, they came face to face with both girls who each had armfuls of assorted treats.
“Kaycie got her Twizzlers and I got my Milk Duds. Did you get regular cheesecake or chocolate drizzled?”
The guys stood there with blank looks on their faces. When Ava and Kaycie realized their men were empty-handed, they rolled their eyes and headed off to the freezer section of the store.
“Are they really going to consume all of those sweets?”
“Man, you haven’t even the slightest clue.”
Following them back to pick out a dessert, they paid for their selection and headed to the house.
Once everyone had changed out of their formal wear and into their comfortable clothes, Ethan walked them down to the in-home theater where all of the newly purchased snacks had been spread out on the counter in the corner.
Recessed lights filled the ceiling and were turned on just enough to give the room a slight glow. Six oversized chairs were placed throughout the room to hold at least twelve people, and the screen that was projected up on the wall was big enough to be used at an actual movie theater. The entire room smelled of fresh popcorn, which was being popped in the old fashioned machine at the back of the room. Billy Joel’s voice poured out of the hidden speakers and the atmosphere was so much more enticing than a real theater.
“Make yourselves comfortable,” Ethan said. “What movie would you ladies like to watch?”
“What are our options?” asked Kaycie.
“Any movie you could possibly dream of,” replied Ethan.
The girls slouched over into a two-person huddle and began whispering. After a full minute of discussion, they popped back up and yelled, “TITANIC!” Ethan raised his hand and made a circular motion with his pointer finger. The welcome screen on the projection wall disappeared and two minutes later, the opening credits for the classic Titanic took its place.
Ethan and Kaycie curled up on the oversized chair in one corner, and Demo led Ava down to the chair in the opposite corner. Looking over her shoulder at Kaycie, she winked and squeezed Demo’s hand.