by Cj Howard
“Well then… what are you waiting for? Go on… get out of here and go after her.”
“Are you kicking me out?” he asked her.
“I sure am. It’s not your house anymore. Go on… scram.”
James laughed and did as he was told. Just as he were leaving, he saw a journalist and a photographer hiding behind a car and taking photos. He gave them a big smile and a thumbs up and then walked away – snickering at their confused faces.
An idea was brewing in his mind. He called Melissa and spent the next hour detailing his plan and telling her what an idiot he had been. She agreed with him about the idiot part, but she also agreed to help him.
James wasn’t sure if his plan was going to work – he wasn’t even sure if Delilah felt the same way about him as he did about her. But he didn’t care anymore. For once in his life, he was going to go out and get what he wanted. Then he spent the rest of the day getting ready.
*
“Hey, sleepy head,” came the voice on the other side of the phone. Melissa.
“What? I’m not sleeping. It’s midday.” Delilah was absolutely lying. She had taken her book to read in bed and had fallen asleep after only a few pages. She hadn’t felt this relaxed in a long time – or was she more exhausted than relaxed? Either way, she had fallen into a deep sleep very quickly and had jumped up in fright when the phone rang.
“I know you well enough to know what your voice sounds like when you’ve been sleeping. This is unlike you to be sleeping in the middle of the day! Not that I’m condemning it. In fact, on the contrary, I’m applauding it.”
“Fine. You got me! I’m basking in these last few days before starting work on Monday. Starting work on Monday – that sounds so cool.” Delilah had said the words to herself over and over again and still didn’t tire of it. She was incredibly nervous, but she decided to put the nerves aside for the actual day and just be excited up until then.
“I know. I’m so excited. Which is why I called, actually. I want to invite you over for dinner tonight!”
“Only if you’re ordering in.”
“What? Are you trying to say that I can’t cook?”
“Well, you’ve said it yourself on many occasions.”
“So rude. But you’ll be pleased to know that I am NOT cooking. Like I would really do that to you. You know how bad that has turned out in the past.” Melissa laughed, and so did Delilah. It was a running joke between them because the only time that Melissa had ever tried to cook for the two of them, it had ended in disaster. Delilah had never seen a chicken so roasted before.
“Then I’ll be there.”
Melissa laughed. “Great! Come early, around five should be good. I have wine.”
“Then I am definitely there.”
It wasn’t often that Delilah went to Melissa’s house. Her apartment was small, and Melissa generally preferred to hang out at Delilah’s. But Delilah was glad for the change. And she didn’t mind that the apartment was small.
Melissa was very minimalistic and hadn’t cluttered her home at all. But the things that she did have inside had given the house a very homely and comforting feel.
She arrived at Melissa’s just before five and held up a bottle of champagne.
“Ooh, very nice,” Melissa said.
“Yeah. I figured we needed both the champagne and the wine tonight. I think we should just celebrate these jobs the whole weekend. What do you think?”
“Great idea.”
“Why are you smiling like that? You look like you’re up to no good.”
“I may have already had a glass of wine without you.”
“Sneaky girl. Okay, pour me a glass. Let me join in your giddiness.”
Melissa poured them both a glass of wine, and they sat together in the living room.
“So, what time is the pizza arriving?” Delilah asked as innocently as possible to Melissa and then winked at her.
“What makes you think it’s pizza?”
“Oh, you know. No reason.”
“We’ll see,” Melissa said secretly, and Delilah knew that the answer must be yes.
They were halfway through their glass of wine when the doorbell rang. Melissa ran to answer it and Delilah giggled. But it wasn’t the pizza guy at the door.
“Martha?” That was the last person Delilah had expected to see. “What are you doing here?”
“Martha! It’s lovely to meet you! Come in. Excuse the tiny apartment. I’ve heard all about your beautiful house,” Melissa interrupted, going forward to embrace Martha.
“Don’t be silly, Melissa. This place is wonderful. Also, you have wine. A house with wine is the type of place I want to be in. It’s great to meet you too. Thank you for having me over tonight. Lilah, it’s so good to see you again, my darling.”
Was Delilah starting to lose it? How much wine had she had? “What’s going on?”
“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little head about that,” Martha said.
“Yes, let me get you a glass of wine,” Melissa said and went to pour her a glass.
Delilah stood in confusion and tried to figure out if she was seeing things or not. “Okay, either I’m losing my mind, or else the two of you are up to no good. Which doesn’t make sense, because you don’t even know each other. Or do you know each other? No, you don’t, because you both said that you were happy to meet each other tonight. Can someone tell me what is happening? Because I think I’m losing my mind.”
But before anyone could answer, the doorbell rang again. Both of the girls smiled at her, and Melissa went to open the door, giggling to herself the whole way. Delilah might be losing her mind, but Melissa was clearly enjoying herself.
“James? Wait? What’s going on?” Delilah looked towards Melissa, “I thought we were getting pizza?”
“You decided that. I never actually said that we were. I just said that I wasn’t cooking.”
“I’m the chef for the night,” James interrupted, and Delilah couldn’t deny how good it was to hear his voice.
“I’m still confused.”
Suddenly James took her hand and pulled her aside.
“I’ve missed you.”
She gulped but didn’t say anything. Her hands were tingling in his. She had missed him so much too, but she didn’t want to say so. She could barely say a thing anyway, as she had no idea what was going on. He was looking at her with so much intensity.
“I’ve fallen in love with you, Lilah Delilah.”
“What?” She hadn’t expected him to say that. She knew that he must care for her – at least a little – but love?
“I’m in love with you. Completely and utterly in love. The lovely Martha here showed me the light. But let’s face it – I knew it all along. I was just scared. Because as it turns out, I’m not nearly as confident and brave as I thought I was. I was just a little rich kid who had no idea what he was doing with his life.”
“And you’re not that anymore?” she asked, barely able to get her words out.
“Actually, I’m not. I told my father to take the money back. I didn’t actually deserve it.”
“Are you being serious?” Delilah couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“I’m being serious.”
“He’s being serious,” Martha called out and Delilah giggled. She and Melissa were standing nearby pretending not to watch them, but they were obviously listening to every word. Martha quickly looked away and pretended to be busy with something else.
“I don’t want to be that guy anymore,” James continued. “Anyway, I wanted you here tonight so that I could tell you all of this face-to-face. I knew that if I asked you out, you wouldn’t say yes. So Melissa agreed to help me. She’s been my side-kick.”
“I did,” Melissa called out, and they all burst out laughing.
“I love you, Lilah. Now, you don’t have to say anything right now. But I wanted you all here so that I could tell you that. Also, I wanted to cook my Martha’s special lasagna for you.
I made a promise that I would try my hand at it, and I wanted it to be the first meal that I cooked for you. Because it’s a meal that means so much to me. But there was no way I could cook it for the first time without her trying it.”
“You made her lasagna?”
“I did. I’m not sure what I was more nervous about – messing it up or messing up this conversation with you.”
“Well – you did well with me. Now, let’s be the judge of the food.”
“Yes! I’m starving! Did you put the magic ingredient in?” Martha asked.
“Of course I did,” James said and winked at her.
“What is it?” Delilah asked and then laughed as the two of them looked at each other and shrugged as if they had no idea.
James went with Melissa into the kitchen to heat up the food, and Delilah sat at the table with Martha. Martha squeezed her hand.
“From now on – you do whatever makes you happy, okay? No more thinking about other people. It’s your life. You do whatever you want to do, as long as it’s something that makes you happy and proud. But for the record – that boy is smitten over you.”
Delilah could feel herself starting to blush. “Thank you Martha. That means a lot.”
James walked out with the food and Martha gasped.
“How did you get it to look so fancy? This looks amazing, my boy.” James was beaming and Delilah felt so happy for him. Martha was right. She had no idea how he had managed to make a lasagna look like it had come out of an extravagant restaurant. It was almost elegant.
“You are very talented, James,” Melissa said.
“Thank you. Let’s hope it tastes as good as it looks.” He seemed so nervous, and he didn’t move as they all dug in for their first bite. Thankfully, the food was amazing -- that was obvious in the expressions on all of the faces around the table. Delilah wasn’t sure what would’ve happened had the food been horrible.
Delilah was the first to say so. “You are amazing! This is incredible, James! I mean, I might not be able to stop eating it tonight.”
“Really?” he asked, sounding almost like a little boy. It broke Delilah’s heart. This was the first time that he had done anything like this before, and it was clear that he was desperate to get it right.
“Oh yeah! I’d totally get fat for food like this,” Melissa said and went back for more. She made little kissing noises at her fork and declared her love for carbs. They all laughed.
Delilah looked at Martha, who was sitting silently with tears rushing down her face. Delilah almost cried herself as Martha reached over and squeezed James’ hand.
“It’s delicious.”
After dinner, James asked if Delilah wanted to come to his house for coffee. He still wanted to talk to her alone. She couldn’t say no. Not after he had put his heart on the line that way.
“Okay,” she said, keeping her eyes averted. She wasn’t sure why, but she was battling to look him in the eyes that night.
“No fair, guys!” Melissa complained as they were leaving. “You’re going to be enjoying Mrs. Bean’s coffee without me. You’d better think of me when you have some. Think of me drinking my sad, little coffee made from my own bare hands.”
Delilah laughed. “You make it sound like you are actually picking the coffee yourself. You’re just spooning some into a cup and adding water. Aren’t you?”
“Uh… maybe.” She laughed back.
“I’m not sure that you’re right, actually,” James said, and both Melissa and Delilah turned to look at him in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
James signalled for her to wait. He ran outside to his car and came back carrying a box. Melissa looked as if she were going to faint when he handed it for her.
“What? Why? Is this for real? Is this for me?” Melissa staggered through her sentence. She was staring at the box in front of her like it was Christmas and she’d just received the gift she’d been begging for all year.
“Oh course. You helped me tonight. And no matter what happens with me and Lilah – I will never forget that. Also, you’ve been such a good friend to her. This whole thing has proven to me that there are a lot of people out there who just pretend to be your friends. Life is all about finding the ones who actually are your friends. And you are definitely Lilah’s best friend.”
“James. You’re so sweet. Thank you so much. No wonder Lilah likes you. Lilah! Look! It’s my own Mrs. Bean. Although she’ll need a new name. Mr. Bean? No… that doesn’t sound right. Okay… you two come visit soon and I’ll have a name. Thank you, James. Really. You didn’t have to.”
Delilah got into her car and met James at his house. Thankfully it wasn’t a long drive, so she didn’t have much time to really think about what was going on. But the words ‘I’m in love with you’ kept playing over and over in her mind. When she got to his house, she looked up and smiled. She hadn’t been sure if she’d ever go in there again. And it felt good to be back.
“That was nice. What you did for Melissa. She’s such a great person,” she said once they got inside. She took off her coat and stood awkwardly by him. She’d felt good all the way on the drive, but now that she was actually in his house again, she felt nervous.
“She was so helpful to me. She was the first person I thought of to call when I decided that I was going to try and get you back. She did, however, call me an idiot and tell me how I had ruined things. But then she proceeded to tell me that she wanted to help.”
Delilah laughed. “That sounds like Mel.”
“Thanks for coming back here with me. I’m really sorry about everything, Lilah. I made a mess of it. Not just with you. But with my whole life. These last few weeks have been an eye opener for me. I’ve learned more about myself in three weeks than I have in my whole life. And I know that I have you to thank.”
Delilah couldn’t help herself anymore. She reached forward and kissed him. A deep and meaningful kiss that seemed to go on forever. She couldn’t get enough of him suddenly. They’d kissed before – but not like this. Never like this. And she knew that he could feel it too – the intensity that was building between them.
She took his hand and led him to the bedroom. She pushed him onto the bed and then took off her clothes. She didn’t mind that she was on show anymore because this time it was just for him. She only ever wanted it to be him.
Then she pulled him up and took his clothes off, relishing in his body once again. She ran her hands over his bare body – stopping to rest on the small scar above his belly button. She loved that scar. She reached down and kissed it.
Then she stood back up and pulled him onto the bed with her. He kissed her neck and moved easily inside of her. She knew that this time there was going to be no prolonged foreplay. She wanted him too badly, and she wasn’t prepared to wait. She wrapped her arms around him, grabbing onto his buttocks and pulling him deeper.
Delilah’s body responded to his in a way that she had never thought possible. It was more than lust. Was it love? It didn’t take long for them to shudder together in orgasm and for her to cry out in pleasure.
Afterwards, he pulled the blanket over them and turned to face her. Delilah kissed the top of his forehead and grinned at him.
“What are you smiling at?” he asked.
“You.”
“Am I funny-looking?”
She giggled. “A little. Hey, is it true that you’re going to be going to culinary school?” Delilah had heard Martha mention something about that during the night.
“Yeah. I really enjoy cooking. Who would’ve thought it? The guy who couldn’t boil an egg just a few weeks ago.”
“You could always boil an egg. You just didn’t try.”
“That’s true. Well, I have seen the light. Hey… Lilah. Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him.
“Would you like to go out with me? Like, for real this time.”
“Are you asking me to be your girlfrie
nd?”
“I am. Even though I realize I sound like I’m ten years old. Do people even do that anymore? Ask someone out? I have no idea.”
“I have no idea either. Well… it depends.”
“Depends on what?”
“On whether or not I can also be your taste tester while you learn all these new meals.”
“That’s the condition?”
“That’s the condition!”
“Then you’re in luck! Not only have you secured yourself a boyfriend, but you’ve secured yourself a chef at the same time. He may not have much money in the bank anymore, but he will give you breakfast in bed.”
“Well, then you have yourself a deal. Oh wait… who is that calling? Hello???”
“What? I don’t hear anyone?”
“Oh, it’s Mrs. Bean. She’s calling you.”
James smiled and bent down to kiss her again. “Sassy wench.” Delilah laughed. She knew that by going back to him, she was going to be the center of attention all over again. She knew that she was going to be called a hundred names and that random men were going to try their luck with her. But she didn’t care. Not one bit. Martha’s words rang in her ears. She was going to think about herself for a change!
THE END
Authors Personal Message:
Hey beautiful!
I really hope you enjoyed my novel and if you want to check out all my other books and add them to your collection then just visit my Amazon Author page here! :)
CJ Howard
xx
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