“It’s good to see you, too,” she said, feeling a little overwhelmed with his presence. He looked heavenly in his navy pinned-stripe suit and crisp white shirt. The suit brought out his eyes. She had a quick vision of taking his tie off and unbuttoning his shirt slowly. She wanted to run her hands over his chest and feel his muscular physique. Neil’s voice brought her back to the present.
“I was able to get us a table with a view. But I must say that you are giving the San Diego Bay a run for its money. You look absolutely stunning. I am especially partial to your zipper front blouse,” he said, kissing the back of her hand while raising one eyebrow. He put her hand on the table and kept his hand over hers. She felt her heart rate accelerate with his fiery touch. “Have you been here before?”
“I love coming to Seaport Village to shop. It is so quaint and I adore one of the bath shops here. But I must say that I have not eaten at this restaurant before. What’s good on the menu?”
“The macadamia halibut and the swordfish are my favorites.”
“Mm. Both sound delicious,” she said with a shy smile. She knew that Neil would be tastier than anything on the menu. She blushed at her own thoughts.
Neil picked up her hand and kissed each of her knuckles. “Not as delicious as you are,” he said, his lascivious stare drenching her core all over again. What was she going to do with these two hot guys? She was going to need to bring spare panties with her on dates.
Kate picked up her glass of cold water and guzzled down about half of it. “Wow, is it warm in here or is it just me?” she said, feeling a slight twinge of perspiration.
“No, I think that it is you, my beauty,” he said, looking crisp and cool. She knew by his expression that he could tell that she was a bundle of nerves and he was enjoying every minute of it.
“How was class today?”
“It was good. I ended up making a new friend,” she said with a coy tone in her voice. She realized that she needed to turn the tables on him and make him sweat a little.
“That’s great. Who’s your new friend?”
“His name is Mark and he wants us to be study partners,” she said, waiting for his reaction.
“Ah, a male study partner. You know what he wants to study, right?” he asked, taking a sip of his water.
As if on cue, the waiter walked up to take their order. This was perfect. Neil could stew with this idea for a moment. “Good afternoon. Have you two dined with us before?”
“I have,” Neil said with annoyance in his voice.
“Very good, sir. Then you are acquainted with our outstanding menu. Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?”
Neil looked at her and she shook her head indicating that she wasn’t ready. “We need a few more minutes,” he said politely.
“No problem. Do you know what you would like to drink?”
“I’ll have an iced tea,” Kate said, looking up at the waiter.
“I’ll have the same,” Neil indicated.
“Excellent.” The waiter hurried away to get their drinks.
After the waiter was out of ear shot, Neil’s intense gaze turned toward her. “So, where were we? Oh, yes. You have someone who wants to be your study partner. What is this Mark guy like? Devastatingly handsome or unfortunately homely?” Neil’s face was stone-cold serious.
“He leans more toward the devastatingly handsome side. In fact, I’d say that he’s almost as handsome as you, Mr. Statton,” she said, looking up coquettishly through her long, dark lashes. She was enjoying seeing him fret a little.
He unexpectedly grabbed her chair and pulled her close to him. Her mouth fell open a little with his sudden movement. He was grinning like a wolf just before he sinks his teeth into his prey. In a low voice, he said, “I have to tell you that I am the jealous type and I always get what I want.”
“And what is it that you want?” she asked flirtatiously.
“My mind is set on you, my beauty,” he said kissing her cheek.
His words startled her and intrigued her at the same time. She didn’t know how to respond to his overture. But it made her want him more than she expected.
The waiter appeared with their beverages, releasing her from Neil’s blazing eyes. “Are you ready to order?” he asked.
Kate nodded. “I’ll have the macadamia nut halibut.” She hadn’t really perused the menu because Neil was so distracting, but he had recommended it.
“Very good, miss. And for you, sir?”
“The swordfish sounds good to me today,” he said. Somehow Neil seemed empowered by ordering a fish that had a sword. Kate couldn’t help wondering what his sword would feel like.
She decided to take control of the conversation again. “How is your day going? Are you working on any interesting cases?”
Neil smiled a knowing smile. He seemed to see through her deflection tactic. “Every day is interesting at work. We are representing a client who has been charged with embezzlement, but he is innocent. Another client that I am defending is accused of fraud. It’s never a dull moment. As a corporate attorney, I have all kinds of cases.”
“Sounds like you sometimes work with interesting characters.”
“Well, everyone deserves the right to be represented in court,” he said, running his hands through his black hair.
“So, do you win most of your cases?”
“I haven’t lost one yet.”
“To what do you attribute your winning streak?”
“Like I said last night, I’m a tenacious pit bull. I don’t surrender until I win. I always get what I want and I’m determined to win at everything I do,” he said, staring deeply into her eyes with a passionate fire that made her lips part. If his plan was to win her over, it was working. She had already begun to feel beholden to him heart, mind, body, and soul.
The waiter arrived with their food, leaving Neil’s seductive words to linger in the air.
“Can I get you anything else?” he asked graciously.
“No thanks. I think we have everything we need,” Neil said dismissively. The waiter turned away quickly, getting Neil’s hint.
“This looks scrumptious. Thanks for the recommendation,” she said before taking a bite. She was enjoying her titillating conversation with him. She was beginning to feel that he was better suited for her than Mark. He already had his career and was established. She found that to be very attractive. Plus, he was the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes upon.
“So, tell me counselor, you said that you win all of your cases, but have you had any embarrassing moments in the courtroom?” She always liked asking people about embarrassing moments because she had her own funny embarrassing story.
“I have been fortunate to not have had any humiliating moments in the courtroom, but I will tell you about my most humiliating moment from high school. It was my senior year and my mom gave me a monogrammed sweater for Christmas. Back then, I went by my first name Peter. I decided to go by Neil when I entered college. Anyway, my initials on the sweater were PNS. I didn’t think anything of it when I put on my sweater and wore it to school the day we came back from Christmas vacation. Also, you need to know that I went to an all-boys Catholic high school. So, I’m walking down the hall to go to my first class and I hear, ‘Hey, penis. What’s up dick. Yo, penis head. Hey cocksucker.’ I looked around to see who they were talking to. Then I realized that they were talking to me. They were making fun of my initials PNS. I headed to the bathroom to take my sweater off. I was so grateful that I had another shirt underneath.”
Kate chuckled at the thought of the sweater. “Oh, my gosh, that must have been terrible.”
“Yeah, for the rest of the year, they called me penis or variations of the word. Needless to say, I never wore that sweater again. When I told my mom, she said that the boys were just jealous. Jealous of what, I’ll never know. No guy wants initials that form the word penis.”
“Well, that is an embarrassing story, but I think I have it beat.”
“It was my 21st birthday and I went out to the Elephant Bar with my boyfriend, my friends, and their boyfriends. There must have been twelve of us. Naturally, I wore my favorite outfit at the time, a white jumpsuit that zipped up the entire front. I didn’t think it would be a problem, until I had to use the restroom. It had been trashed by everyone who had been partying that night. The floor was sticky and wet. The smell of urine filled the air. It was just disgusting. I didn’t want to chance my sleeves touching the floor and getting wet. I also couldn’t sit on the toilet seat due to its condition. I was so distracted by my disgusting surroundings that I didn’t unzip my jumpsuit down all the way and when I squatted over the toilet, I heard a rip. I had broken the zipper. It was a mortifying experience. So I was basically exposed all the way down to my panties. I didn’t have a jacket with me to cover myself. I had to try to keep my jumpsuit together with my hands. When I left the bathroom, I found my boyfriend immediately and told him to take me home. For some unknown reason, his car wouldn’t start and we had to wait for a tow truck. It was the most humiliating experience of my life. Of course, I didn’t find it funny at the time. Now it makes me smile to think that life is so full of unpredictable moments,” she said, laughing and shaking her head.
“I agree, that tops my penis sweater story,” Neil said resting his head against his hand, a huge smile plastered on his face. The more she talked, the more captivated he seemed by her.
They had finished their meal and Neil took her hand, placed it on his leg, and covered it with his. Kate let out a soft moan. Feeling his hard thigh beneath her hand made her think of something else that might be hard. Another part of his body that she would like to explore with her hands. Being so close to him sent her to places that caused her cheeks to turn crimson.
The waiter returned with the dessert menu. “Did you two love birds save room for dessert?” he asked with a big grin. It was to be expected with their close proximity to each other that he would assume they were a couple.
“Did you want dessert?” Neil asked her.
“Actually, I’m really full. Do you have time for us to walk around? Maybe we could get an ice cream later.”
“Yes, I do have time and ice cream sounds perfect.”
They strolled hand in hand along the bay. The water shimmered as the sunlight hit it. A cool breeze made the palm trees sway. It was a typical sensational San Diego day.
“I just love coming here. It is such a glorious day. Thanks for suggesting Seaport Village for our date,” she said, looking up at Neil.
“My pleasure. This is the best way to do lunch,” he said, pulling her hand up to his soft lips. The touch of his lips on her hand made her want to grab his head and kiss him, but she didn’t want to come across as eager. “Are there any stores that you want to go into?”
“I was planning on visiting Sinfullicious Body Care before leaving. I’m a bath lover and they have the best bath products.”
“Well, lead the way. I’ll go with you.”
“If you need to get back to work, I’ll understand. You don’t need to go with me.”
“I want to. I want to know what pleases you, your likes and dislikes,” he said with a passionate gaze. His statement made her knees wobble. All she could do was stare up at him wantonly. She had no retort for his directness. She let out a deep sigh and uttered, “The store is just around the corner.”
They walked in silence to the store. His statement about wanting to please her had created an electricity between them. Words were rendered unnecessary. Upon entering, he understood why she liked this store. It was a veritable potpourri for the senses.
“So, how does this work? You pick the scents that you like and they mix it up for you?”
“That’s exactly how it works. I already have my favorite. They have me on file, so I just tell them my name and what products I want. They make it up in these bowls,” she said motioning to the stainless steel bowls behind the counter. She took two jars of bath salts off the shelf and a container of body scrub. She walked up to the sales girl and told her what she wanted. The sales girl pulled her name up in the computer and went to get the oils needed to mix into the products she had selected.
“So, what scents do you put together?”
“I love the combination of jasmine, blackberry, and sage. It’s very soothing.”
The girl mixing up the salts lifted up a spoonful and asked, “Would you like to smell it to see if this is to your liking?” They both inhaled the scent.
Kate let out a soft moan when she smelled the salts. “I see what you mean. The combination is intoxicating.” Neil grabbed two more containers of bath salts off of the shelf. “I’ll have the same thing she’s having,” he said, offering a salacious smile.
“Do you love to take baths as well?” she asked.
“Not particularly.”
“Then why are you buying the bath salts?”
“They’re for when you come over. I thought that you might find my bathtub appealing. It’s big enough for two.”
“Oh, I see. So you’re expecting me to come to your place and take a bath?”
Neil gripped her around the waist and pulled her into his body. He whispered into her ear, “Being a lawyer, I fully intend to convince you to come to my place. Taking a bath would just be an added bonus. Don’t forget that I always get my way, my beauty.”
His body pressed against hers, along with his words, was practically her undoing. Words failed her. She wanted to go home with him right then and investigate way more than his bathtub. Her mind surrendered to thoughts of being naked with him in his bed. The image of him licking, sucking, and biting various parts of her body made her let out another soft moan that she knew he heard. So much for being coy.
The sales girl interrupted by asking if they wanted anything else. She looked flush from watching them. Neil took his wallet out of his pants pocket without letting Kate go and gave his credit card to the clerk. She tried to pull away to get her wallet out of her purse, but he wouldn’t let go of her.
“I’ve got it. It’s on me,” he said against her hair. “Did you want anything else?”
“Just… a… you… I mean, no. That’s… that’s it.” Her breathing had become ragged. He let go of her as the sales lady handed him their bags.
He carried their bags out of the store. He looked at his watch. “Unfortunately, I have to get back to work. I really enjoyed our lunch today,” he said while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Where are you parked?”
“I’m parked right in front of the restaurant.”
They walked in the direction of her car. After she unlocked the door, he put her bag on the back seat and shut the door. She hadn’t opened her door yet. Part of her wanted to launch herself at him, the other part wanted to make him wait to kiss her. She decided that making him wait a little longer would be good for him.
“Thank you so much for lunch and the bath salts. I had a lovely time,” she said as she opened her car door, using it as a barrier between them.
Neil smiled like he knew what she was doing. She could tell by his expression that he appreciated the challenge.
“You’re most welcome, my beauty. I’m looking forward to our dinner tomorrow night. We’ll have to make sure we save room for dessert,” he said, raising an eyebrow. Kate had a feeling that she wouldn’t need a fork for the kind of dessert that he was talking about.
Chapter 8
Kate ran errands after her lunch date with Neil. She finally got home around 5 o’clock. Climbing the stairs made her heart rate quicken after her interaction with Roger last night and earlier that day. Reaching the top of the landing, she decided she was too tired and not in the mood to socialize. Thankfully, Roger wasn’t the one who greeted her. Instead, it was his girlfriend. She was a pretty, petite, Asian woman with shoulder length black hair. Her smile was gracious, warm, and inviting.
“Hi, I’m Rose,” she said with her hand outreached.
“You must be one of Roger’s new neighbors.”
“Yes, my roommate Charlie and I moved in a couple of weeks ago. I’m Kate. It’s great to meet you. Roger has told me all about you,” she said, a sense of relief flooding her body now that Rose was real. Things were less complicated for her with Roger having a girlfriend. Maybe his strange behavior was just overprotectiveness. Maybe he viewed her like little sister.
“I’m here all the time. I hope that we can get to know each other and become friends. It would be fun to have a girlfriend in the building to hang out with,” Rose said.
“I would really like that. I was going to make myself some green tea. Would you like to come in and have a cup?” Kate asked. She thought it would be nice to talk with Rose for a little while until Charlie got home from work.
“Tea sounds perfect.” Rose turned toward Roger’s apartment and yelled to him, “Roger, I’m going to Kate’s apartment to have tea. I’ll be back in a little while.” The two women entered Kate’s apartment and shut the door.
***
Roger began to pace the floors while Rose was gone. It wasn’t part of his plan for her to get cozy with Kate. When he and Rose broke up, he wanted Kate on his side. He wanted Kate to console him, make him feel better. It would be the perfect way to get her into his bed. That wouldn’t happen if she thought he was a jerk for breaking up with Rose. That complicated everything. But it was inevitable that they were going to meet at some point. Rose practically lived with him. How was he going to get Kate’s sympathies? Women always stick together. Things would have to end in a way that Kate didn’t have access to talk to Rose again. Then he could tell Kate that Rose dumped him, perhaps leaving him for someone else. Rose would have to be somehow silenced or completely unavailable to Kate. He was going to have to run interference between them so that they weren’t alone together again.
When Rose returned to Roger’s apartment, he pelted her with questions.
“So what did you two talk about?”
Rose wrapped her arms around Roger’s waist. “I told Kate all about how we met. The whole romantic story of being set up on a blind date by your best friend Rick.”
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