For the first time, her friend looks at me with something other than suspicion, which I suppose is a good sign.
Simone casts one last look back at the door as I lead her away, then sighs when it’s closed.
“He’ll be fine,” I say.
“I know, I just feel weird leaving him with someone else for the night.”
“He’ll be fine,” I repeat, squeezing her shoulder for good measure. Frankly, I think it would be good for him to let loose a little. Eat junk food, watch TV well past his bedtime. He certainly didn’t seem too put out.
“Tonight is about you and me,” I say, leaning down to whisper in her ear as we wait for the elevator.
Simone looks good, stunning. She has on a simple, strapless, knee-length dress that is either pink or purple depending on the light. It clings to every curve but has a large, longish ruffle at the top to make it more dramatic. Paired with the strappy silver heels, I’m almost inclined to skip right past dinner and straight to the hotel room she doesn’t yet know I’ve booked.
As the door opens and we walk in, she suddenly giggles.
“What?” I ask with a smile on my face.
She turns to me and looks almost embarrassed to reveal it. “I was just thinking how it seems we’re doing everything backward.”
“How so?”
“Well, first we sort of became parents, with Stuart and all. Then we got married. Now, we’re going on our first date.”
I consider that, then laugh with her. “I guess you’re right. Like Benjamin Button.”
As we head down, we are joined by an older woman and another couple, but I don’t care.
“So what would come next?” I ponder as the door closes on our new guests.
“Hmm,” Simone says, looking up to the side to think on it. Obviously she doesn’t care about the other residents either. “I suppose we’d actually have to meet for the first time.”
“I can see it now, you checking me out from across the street, wondering who that extremely handsome man is, following me around until you get up enough nerve to—”
“Me?” she exclaims with a laugh. “Um, excuse me but, it would be you doing the chasing, and me making you work for it.”
The other occupants in the car smile at us uncertainly, probably wondering what the hell is going on.
“I suppose we can agree to disagree,” I tease.
“Not if you want a goodnight kiss, we won’t,” she says with a smug smile.
“Wait, if we really are doing this in reverse, shouldn’t that come first?”
Before she can say anything I pull her in closer to me and smile down at her. I think about our first kiss less than a week ago at the wedding. This, right here in an elevator with strangers, feels a million times more perfect. This time she looks up at me with an expectant smile, as though the only thing in the world she wants right now is for me to plant my lips on hers. I lean in, feeling exactly the same way.
The sparks behind my eyes are practically blinding this time. The rest of the world disappears, leaving nothing behind but the woman in my arms. Her hands come up around my neck, grazing the nape and sending shivers down my spine.
It’s only the ding of the elevator arriving on the first floor that breaks the spell. The other residents are more than happy to exit as quickly as possible. I can’t blame them, I’m sure we look like completely crazy idiots.
Crazy idiots in love.
Just from the ambiance, I can tell that I’ve picked the perfect restaurant. In this lighting, Simone’s shoulders look like liquid bronze.
“So why aren’t you married yet? I mean, before me,” she asks after the waiter pours the bottle of Cabernet for us both and takes our orders.
I cough out a laugh. “Going straight for the jugular, huh?”
She smiles as she picks up her glass. “Well we are doing things backwards. Might as well ask the questions that are usually forbidden on first dates. Time to air all our dirty laundry.”
“Well, in that case, it’s simple. I haven’t found the right woman.” I stare at her over my glass as I take a sip, reading her reaction to that.
Her face grows a shade darker and she smiles and looks down at the table. When she lifts it again, there’s a considering look on her face.
“What about kids?”
I nearly choke again. She really is asking the hard questions.
“Well, when marriage hasn’t ever really been on the table…I suppose neither were kids?”
“And now?”
I buy time, sipping my wine as I think about it. It’s one thing to take on Stuart, who is great. It’s another to actually deliberately have kids of my own. I look at her over the glass and think about tiny replicas of Stuart running around. It seems daunting and wonderful at the same time.
“I want to show you something,” she says quickly before I can even answer. She digs into her purse and pulls out her phone. I lower my glass wondering what it is she’s about to show me. She presses a few buttons on her screen, then scrolls for a bit before landing on something that brings a smile to her face.
“Here,” she says, turning the phone to face me.
It’s a picture of me leaning down next to Stuart in his room to look at the pictures he drew.
“Keep scrolling,” she urges. “There are a few more.”
I scroll through, looking at pictures of Stuart and me that have been taken, mostly without my even being aware of it: me reading him a bedtime story, us sitting next to one another in Shake Shack, me holding RiRi’s leash as I walk with him ahead of her on the way back to my apartment afterward.
“You’re not so terrible at the raising kids thing, you know,” she says with a smile, then shrugs. “Just for future reference of course.”
“I assume you want them,” I say.
“Of course,” she says, as though I was asking if she wanted to win the lottery. “I mean, just look at Stuart. He’s perfect. How could anyone not want more?”
She pauses, looking down at the glass in front of her. “How are we going to make this, whatever, work after…?” She lets the rest trail off before continuing. “What are we going to tell him? The last thing he needs is more upheaval in his life.”
I reach across the table to take her hand. “Why don’t we just see where each day takes us?”
She cocks her head to the side and smiles at me. “That’s awfully profound for someone so practical.”
I lean in and smile. “There’s a lot you have to learn about me, Simone.”
She leans in on her elbows and gives me a daring look. “So, what other secrets are you holding back?”
I return her devilish smile, but her words definitely strike a chord. She has no idea of the real motivations behind my marrying her or what my original plans were with Stuart. Those ideas seem like a million years ago, and I have no intention of ever letting her know about them.
“I guess you’ll just have to find out,” I say.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I ask, grabbing Simone around the waist as she heads out to the street.
“Home,” she says slowly with a wary smile.
“Not quite yet,” I say. “I’ve got another place in mind. A place just for the two of us.”
The wary look on her face becomes more pronounced. “We should really go home, don’t you think? What about Stuart? Isn’t it a bit early to be leaving him with a babysitter this long?”
I figured this would be an obstacle and I’m fully prepared. “How about this? You call them and see how he’s doing. If it’s obvious he wants us to come back, I’ll cancel the rest of tonight.”
She stares at me as if she thinks there’s a catch there. I just smile confidently. It’s enough to get her to dig out her phone.
I wait, standing close enough to get a general sense of his tone on the other end, if not the words he’s saying. There is some music and chatter in the background when the phone is answered, probably from one of the kids movies Vanessa had lined u
p. I’m liking her more and more.
“Hi Vanessa, how is it going?” Simone asks with her brow wrinkled in concern. Vanessa warbles something on the other end that I can’t catch, but it only makes Simone’s face twist with doubt. “That good, huh?”
Vanessa says something on the other end. “Well, we’re done with dinner and Archer has more plans but we can—”
Vanessa interrupts her, making me like her even more.
“Really? Are you sure?”
Vanessa says something on the other and Simone pauses before continuing. “Well...if you say so. Maybe I could talk to him for a second?”
I have no idea where the conversation is going. A wrinkle of doubt begins to hit me.
“Hi sweetie!” she gushes when I hear Stuart’s voice. “How is it going?...You did?...un huh...oh, that does sound like fun.... Really?”
Her eyes roll up to me at something he’s asked. “We’re both having fun too. Do you want us to come home?”
His response makes her frown. “Are you sure?...Oh, okay then, have fun with Vanessa, sweetie.”
When she hangs up, she’s seriously frowning.
“That bad?”
“He seems to be enjoying himself.”
“Sounds terrible,” I tease.
She’s still frowning down at her phone. “I don’t know....”
“Well, I do,” I say placing an arm around her and leading her away from the curb. “I think maybe he’s more resilient than you think. I think maybe he can handle one night without the two of us. I think maybe you can handle one night away from him.”
“What does that mean?” she asks stiffening.
I just laugh and squeeze her shoulder. “It means, you’re about to have a very enjoyable evening.”
“Oh my God!” she gasps, when she gets a look at the room.
It’s the penthouse floor of the Sexton Hotel with a floor-to-ceiling panoramic view of the New York skyline and the Hudson River. The room itself is sleek and sophisticated with a mid-century retro feel.
I’ve made sure that roses and champagne were waiting for us and walk over to open the bottle while Simone takes in the view.
“I’ve heard this hotel is for exhibitionists,” she says, turning around to look at me with a smirk. “Is this one of those secrets I’m supposed to find out about you?”
I laugh as I pop the cork. “I’m game if you are.”
She laughs and walks back toward me with a sinful smile. “I think…we should…forget about the champagne…and get straight to…the happy ending.”
I lick my lower lip as I take in this sexy come-on. “You don’t have to say it twice.”
I shove the champagne back into the stand and let her reach up to put her arms around me. The lights are still on and the curtains still open, but I slowly lower the zipper to her dress anyway.
“Uh, maybe a little less adventurous than this. I don’t need the world getting a free show,” she says with a smirk.
Instantly, stupidly, I think of the video sent to me. I fiercely shove it to the back of my mind. That’s another thing I have no intention of letting her know about. I realize the secrets are piling up, but I refuse to let her slip away this time.
I back walk with her to the light switch and flip it off, instantly blanketing us in darkness. There’s still enough light coming from the moon and twinkling skyline to take note of her curves and lines as she lets the dress fall and follows it, dropping to her knees before me.
I like where this is going….
I let Simone do the work of pulling my dick out. She certainly doesn’t need to do any work to get it hard. She begins stroking my rod and her tongue darts out to circle the tip, already seeping pre-cum from the slit. Even in the darkness I can see that her eyes stay focused on mine, which is driving me crazy. I grin as her mouth finally circles the entire thing and follows her hands down the length of it, practically to the hilt.
She’s good. Too damn good. I’m momentarily hit with a spasm of fierce jealousy of the men who taught her any of this before me. That thought is bitch-slapped away by the things her tongue does to the ridge running up the underside of my shaft. It’s like a snake, quickly crossing the dessert, whipping and lashing and slithering its way back up to the head. It pauses to do a little mesmerizing dance around the top, making me groan out loud.
“Simone, that’s fucking fantastic.”
She hums against the head which only adds to the sensation. I can no longer keep eye contact. My head is thrown back trying hard not to come too soon. In fact, I don’t want to come this way at all. I should be able to hold out, but hell if her mouth and tongue aren’t charming the shit out of the snake they are working their magic on.
I reach out to dig my fingers into her hair. I want to feel more of her, even if I know it will only make this end sooner. I cup her scalp, massaging it, enjoying the way it fits perfectly in my palm as it falls down my shaft once again.
Now her rhythm increases, spurred on my continuous groans. Her hands pump furiously as her mouth courageously tries to keep up. It’s enough.
“God, yes!” I groan and forget all about my desire to finish off another way as I erupt into her mouth. Simone swallows greedily. Yet another fun fact to learn about her. When I’m finally limp in her hands she stands up and smiles up at me. She wipes a drizzle of cum from the side of her mouth with one finger and sticks it in her mouth to suck on. It’s the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen.
“You’re absolutely perfect,” I say, caressing her face.
“I’ll take your word for it,” she says, bopping me on the nose.
“No, seriously,” I say, pulling her in and wandering over ever line of her face in the dim light. “Let’s stay the night here.”
I can see the protest on her face.
“Stuart will be fine, I promise. Part of being a family is letting Mommy and Daddy, or Aunt and Uncle have a little alone time.”
She looks up at me with a smile then sighs. “I suppose we can’t let that champagne go to waste.”
“Or that bed, or your perfect body, or the condom in my pocket.”
She laughs. “Someone seems certain he was going to get lucky tonight.”
“Well, when you’re on a winning streak” I say, back walking her toward the bed, “you might as well let it roll.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
I always arrive at work before Agnes who, thanks to the labor laws, usually puts in a nine-to-five day unless I need her to come in earlier or stay later—which is often.
Lately, that hasn’t been the case. So I’m not surprised when I don’t see her at her desk.
I am, however, very surprised to see another woman standing there.
My mother.
“Mom,” I say smoothly, belying the sudden turmoil going on inside of me.
She’s dressed smartly as usual, no doubt taking an early morning detour from her day at her company.
“I suppose congratulations are in order,” she says, giving me a cynical smile. “If I had received an invitation to the wedding, I would have bought the two of you something off the registry. Was there a registry?” she asks with a confused look on her face.
I give her a confident smile and stride past her to my office. We might as well get this over with. I hold the door open for her and she gives me a cool look as she passes through.
“So,” I say, unbuttoning my suit jacket as I settle into my chair, “did you drop by just to congratulate me, or was there something else to which I owe the pleasure of your company?”
She sets her purse on her lap and she takes one of the chairs opposite me. She leans back a bit as she gives me an assessing look. “I have to hand it to you. Of all the moves I thought you’d make, marriage was certainly not one of them. So I suppose congratulations are in order. You managed to pull one over on your own mother.”
“And what makes you think Simone and I aren’t living in marital bliss, one big happy family?” I ask in teasing voice, mostly to
keep her from knowing the truth. The last thing in the world I want is for her to know I’ve developed feelings for both Stuart and Simone.
She huffs out a resentful sigh. “Despite what you might think, I did challenge the two of you out of Stuart’s best interests.”
“Is that so?” I say flatly.
Her lips tighten. “To be honest, when I heard what you two had pulled, I didn’t think you’d last even this long.”
“Perhaps the two of us are actually in love. I’ve heard that emotional events like a death in the family can bring people together that way.”
It sounds sickeningly cynical to my own ears, and completely unworthy of everything I’ve discovered about myself this past week. All the same, I need to use whatever weapons I can to keep the woman sitting across from me at bay. The second she sniffs out any weakness, she’s sure to use it against me.
I relax a bit when I see her sigh and settle into her chair with a resigned air. She looks off to the side and her mouth twists with thought. Just like Kevin used to do. I let that one go, waiting to see what she pulls out of her hat for her next trick. When she twists her head back toward me, I brace myself as I see the determined gleam in her eye.
“What if I were to offer you a proposition?”
I remain perfectly neutral, not answering her. Instead, I pay close attention to her body language and expression, gleaning some clue as to what offer it is she’s about to drop in my lap.
Sensing an opening, she continues “I’m willing to drop the suit—both suits, but I’d like something in return.”
The offer has my heart pounding. It’s what I wanted, unobstructed control of Stuart’s estate. With my mother out of the way, the path would be clear to following through with my original plan: complete guardianship over Stuart.
It would also mean Simone and I would no longer need to be married. We could get that amicable divorce we planned from the very beginning. She could take Stuart could move into their own apartment. We could go back to square one.
I’ve made sure that none of these thoughts are written on my face. Instead I focus on what she’s about to ask for.
Archer: Ex-Bachelor (Ex-Club Romance) Page 18