“Juliette,” Clark takes a long pause, which causes my heart to race at an unusual pace. “You already know how I feel about relationships.”
“Well …” It’s my turn to take a long dramatic pause. “It’s obvious how I feel about friends with benefits. I’ve nearly lost my mind. It’s a real relationship … or nothing. And I don’t mean for that to sound like an ultimatum. It’s my truth. I stand behind that. Take it or leave it. Be with me or get out of my life. If we ever bump into each other again, I don’t want you to acknowledge me.”
He doesn’t say anything. Instead, he runs his fingers through his thick hair and looks at the ground.
“So … if we are on different pages, I think it’s best if I just go home now.” I say as I walk away from him with my heart up in my throat. That’s not how I wanted this to go whatsoever, but it was worth a chance.
“Wait,” Clark says as he grabs my arm to stop me. “Fine. One date. You better make it good.”
I crack up as he repeats my words from his original proposal right back to me.
Well, I didn’t think this through… where should I take him on this date?
I don’t have much time to think about that now as Clark drags me off into the closet we were in earlier to do what he originally planned.
This guy is going to get me into so much trouble.
Let’s hope the janitor has all the supplies he needs for tonight.
18
It’s the day of our date that has a lot on the line. I’ve never planned a date before, so I don’t know why I had to open my big mouth and propose this.
Proposals with Clark seem to get me into trouble.
My phone vibrates with a text message from Karyn. She’s been helping me the last few days to clear Clark’s schedule for today. She seemed a bit shocked at first that he would agree to go incognito for a whole day. She says he’s never had an entire day off. She’s also let it slip that I’m the only woman she’s ever spoken to … ever.
The pressure is on.
The buzzer rings outside of my apartment door. Showtime.
“Hello!” I shout a little too eagerly, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when I open the door to greet him. “Are you ready?”
“How many energy drinks have you had?” Clark asks, laughing. I stick my tongue out. He just smiles and shakes his head. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” He leans in to plant a kiss on my cheek.
The Driver I requested ten minutes ago is now idling at the curb.
“Why can’t I know what the plans are for today?” Clark asks as he holds my hand in the backseat.
“Because that would spoil all the fun,” I say winking.
He picks up my hand and gently places a kiss on top of it.
What’s gotten into him? Being all cute and romantic, it’s freaking me out.
When the gates open and we pull up toward the helicopter pad, Clark breaks out into a grin.
“Helicopter ride?” He cocks an eyebrow.
“Yes! Have you done this before?” I ask, suddenly nervous that this is old news to him. I don’t know why I assumed this would be his first time; for all I know he could double as a helicopter pilot.
“First for me,” he says, smiling like a kid in a candy shop. “For you too?”
“Looks like we are both helicopter virgins,” I whisper into his ear.
Clark steps out of the car and walks toward the pilot as fast as humanly possible. The two men shake hands as I shimmy up to Clark’s side. Our pilot, Hyatt, takes us inside a nearby building to fill out all of the paperwork, basically agreeing that we are signing our lives away in case of an emergency.
Hyatt explains some technical things to us that Clark seems highly interested in, but it sounds like mumbo-jumbo to me. I’m ready to get up in the air.
Once we climb into the helicopter, we buckle up and slip our headsets on. Hyatt conducts a few tests to make sure everything is running well and then takes us up in the glorious sky.
Clark reaches over to grab my hand as we share quick smiles and then look out at the mesmerizing scenery below. My nerves rattle from being up this high as the helicopter rocks back and forth slightly; I grip Clark’s hand tighter.
Over the headset, Hyatt tells us a little about his previous life before becoming a pilot.
“I was in the service and was stationed underground for two years. I didn’t see any sunlight the entire time. The minute my tour was over I vowed I’d do the opposite—spend my life in the clouds,” Hyatt says.
I can’t imagine not seeing the daylight for two years. As I look into the sky, I’m grateful for the glorious sunshine and the man by my side.
“Spending your life in the clouds doesn’t sound half bad,” Clark says as he turns slightly to face me. “If you are spending it with the right person.”
“Oh you got it bad, bud,” Hyatt laughs over the speakers. “I have to admit, you two make a good-looking couple.”
To be honest, I’ve got it bad too, but I’m going to keep quiet. I don’t want to say the wrong thing and give Clark a panic attack about where this date could lead. I’m also trying to keep my emotions at bay for my own sake. If I put too much hope into what can turn out to be nothing, I’ll be heartbroken as a result.
“Get your camera ready!” Hyatt orders as New York City comes into view. And he’s not kidding—skyscrapers, Yankee Stadium, the Statue of Liberty, and all the iconic sights you’d imagine. I snap away before turning my phone around to take a selfie with Clark. That’s when I realize we’ve never taken a photo together.
That’s because fuck buddies don’t do pictures. You never want proof that they ever existed.
Pushing that negative thought out of my mind, I lean in toward Clark. He takes the hint and leans in too. If today’s date doesn’t go well, I will delete this stupidly cute photo. But if today’s date does go well, this is our first photo together.
Soaring over the city brings me as much joy as seeing Clark’s face light up into a big smile.
When our flight ends, we hop out of the helicopter hand-in-hand like two giddy teenagers. Waving goodbye to Hyatt, we climb into our next ride and head to secret date location number two. On the ride over, Clark can’t stop telling me how much fun he had.
It feels nice to pull off a surprise for the guy who is always in control.
The car stops outside of a seedy looking restaurant on the outskirts of downtown.
Clark shoots me an “Are you crazy?” expression but doesn’t question my choice.
We walk into the restaurant still hand-in-hand—I don’t think we’ve stopped touching each other since this date started.
“You come here often?” Clark questions me under his breath.
I laugh and point in the direction of a wooden booth that’s open. We slip in and Clark shocks me as he sits on the same side as me.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“What?” He looks clueless as he reaches over to grab the laminated menus already on the table.
“What do you mean … what? A couple should never sit on the same side of the booth. That’s against the rules.”
He laughs but doesn’t move. He’s not backing down.
“You don’t want to be seen on the same side of the booth with me?”
“No, that’s not it.” I pat his arm and laugh. “It’s just that I’m not really big on public displays of affection and this kind of feels like that.”
He puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me in even closer to his side. “Oh baby, we are getting public.”
Clark is being sassy yet cute, and I can’t help but pray this doesn’t stop. That’s when it hits me. If this date doesn’t change his mind about our “arrangement,” then I will never see him again after today. I refuse to continue this setup—all in or nada. Now or never.
“Sometimes when you space out, I imagine where you go. This time I thought you went off to Mars. How was it?” Clark laughs.
I punch him in the arm bu
t take his advice and come back down to Earth. There is no point getting all worked up over the outcome of this date when we are already on it.
“Hello, I’m Eldo. What can I get you two?” our waiter asks, setting down two glasses of water.
“We’ll take two Philly cheesesteaks, two crack fries, and two Cokes,” I say before Clark can order for us. He smiles and nods at Eldo, going right along with everything.
While waiting for our food, we casually chat about nothing important, but we are having a good time. I genuinely enjoy his company.
“And here we are,” Eldo says, putting all of our food down in front of us.
Clark takes a bite out of a crack fry and then looks at me. “Oh man. These are fantastic. I could get addicted to these things.”
“And that’s why they’re called crack! There’s some top secret seasoning on them.” I tease while slowly bringing a fry toward my mouth. Pretending to be sexy, I lock eyes with Clark and run the fry across my lips before busting out into a big laugh.
“Suddenly you made fries a sexy food.”
My laugh is cut short when Clark surprises me by running his hand up my inner thigh. I gasp for air in shock. I squirm away from him, but I’m stuck in this booth with nowhere to go.
“Are you out of your mind?” I ask.
His fingers trail higher up my leg, under my dress. “Do you want me to stop? Say the word and I will.”
Part of me wants to tell him not to feel me up in public, but another part is screaming for him to keep going. Every part of my body is on high alert—my nerves tingle in delight and anticipation.
If this is your last date, why stop now? He could be gone tomorrow.
I place my hand on top of his and move it an inch higher. He smirks but I don’t make eye contact. Instead, I stare awkwardly at the table and the couple sitting in the next booth. Good thing it’s dark or they would see the red on my cheeks.
Who knows what else they’d see. The last thing I need is a ticket for indecent exposure. I’d surely lose my teaching job.
Inch by inch, Clark’s hand trails slowly up my thigh until it’s resting just outside of my pink lace panties. He skims his finger up and down to tease me. Adding just a little pressure, I squirm. This is all too much, but oh so fun.
Clark nibbles on my ear and then whispers, “You’re looking a little flushed. Is everything okay, madam?” He sucks on my earlobe while his finger hovers near where I need him the most.
Not even making eye contact with me, Clark slides his finger inside my panties.
“Oh Clark,” is all I can manage to breathlessly whisper while I grip the table with both hands. My body shakes. Clark circles his finger around my clit, and I nearly smash my hand into my plate of food.
I push my thighs together to get him to stop for just a moment to compose myself. When the moment is up, he works his finger at a quicker pace and then slides one inside my core.
Quicker, quicker, quicker.
Closing my eyes, I remove my hand from the table and grip on to Clark’s forearm, digging my nails into his skin. His arm muscles pulse as they pleasure me until I bliss out in ecstasy.
“Can I get you two anything else? Dessert, maybe?” Eldo interrupts our table and shocks the life back into my body while I try to catch my breath.
“We just had dessert,” Clark laughs as our waiter looks confused at our still full dinner plates.
My face is flushed, and the words stumble out in a shudder. “I’d like, um, could I have, er, another glass of water?” My brain is fried.
“Sure thing!” Eldo agrees and walks away.
“You already had dessert, huh. Why do you have to say such creepy things?” I punch Clark in the arm playfully as he laughs.
“I did. It was lovely,” he says as he licks his fingers.
My jaw drops. That was hot.
When Eldo refills my water and slips us the bill, Clark and I fight over who is covering it. I set this date up and think it should be me who pays. He says over his dead body will he let that happen. He’s still mad that I secretly paid for the helicopter ride over the phone when I booked it. I have a feeling I’ll be getting a refund on my credit card soon.
“Where to next?” Clark asks, eyeing me eagerly. Watching his face light up in excitement gives me butterflies. With a man who appears to have everything, it’s hard to think of ways to impress him, but sharing memories together is my ultimate joy. He’s giving me his quality time—something a fuck buddy is not known for.
Stop reading into all of this, Juliette. He could pull the rug from under your pretty little feet at any moment and send you back to the bed you crawled out of … alone.
I must have frowned because Clark mimics me. “What’s wrong? Coming down off your orgasm high?” He laughs and tickles my side. “I’ll have to give you another one.”
“Nothing is wrong.” I fake a giant smile while dodging his tickles. “Let’s go, our next ride is waiting outside!”
“This is the best date ever,” Clark says under his breath. I’m not quite sure if his comment was meant for me to hear, but it makes me happy.
“Here we go!” I cheer, walking up to the horse carriage ride waiting for us.
“This is our ride?” Clark nods at the brown and white horse.
“Yes,” I say, jumping up and down in excitement. “I’ve also never done this before, but it’s been on my list forever. Have you?”
Again, I wish I didn’t ask that question. I’d hate for him to say yes. I know something romantic like this would be with another woman.
“Never,” he says as he holds out his hand for me to get into the carriage. “I never did the romance thing. You know that.”
Once I’m seated, he hops in beside me.
“All set?” our driver, Ira, asks. He’s an older gentleman with distinguished gray hair and glasses. I bet he knows New York like the back of his hand. “Let’s get a tour of this magnificent city.”
And just like that we are off! Our carriage trots into Central Park and around we go.
Clark pulls me into his side, and I snuggle right in, just like I belong.
“Helicopters, horses … you have a knack for picking the most unusual forms of transportation.”
“I don’t do anything that’s normal,” I say with a wink.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Clark says as he lifts his hands up to swear by his statement.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Clark squeezes me into his side even closer. “You are far from normal, Juliette. I’ve never met another woman like you.” He places a kiss on the top of my head.
Once our romantic ride is over, we bid Ira adieu and hop into a Driver waiting nearby—this is our last form of transportation for this date.
“No rocket ship?” Clark asks, pointing at the regular ol’ car.
“Sorry, I couldn’t afford that.” I laugh.
Once we are pulling onto his block, Clark shoots me a quizzical expression. “Are you taking me to my own house?”
“You should have been a detective.”
“Is this where you seduce me?” He cocks his eyebrow.
I laugh. “This is where I tie you up in the basement to remove your organs and sell them on the black market.”
“You know just the words to say to turn me on,” he laughs.
When we hop out of the car, we both approach his front door with built up anticipation. We are greeted with the scent of limoncello candles floating through the air, dim lights, and classical music playing in the living room.
“This looks beautiful, but did you want to set my house on fire?” Clark asks, pointing toward the candles.
I shake my head. “Of course, you’d be interested in the logistics. No, I didn’t leave candles unattended in your home this whole time. Karyn helped me set this up. She just slipped out the back door a minute ago.”
“Karyn agreed to this? That’s big.”
“Why is that big?” I ask dumbfounded.
“Karyn needs to be won over. She doesn’t take to everyone. She must think you are something special.”
That’s a statement I’ll contemplate later. I’m trying to leave my anxiety behind on this date.
“Before we settle into the living room, there’s a surprise in the kitchen.” I grab his arm and tug him behind me.
I’m running the show in his house yet he doesn’t seem to mind.
“I love ice cream sundaes! We really are having dessert.” Clark grabs a bowl and admires the ice cream sundae station setup on the kitchen island. I thought of everything—sprinkles, hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream, chocolate chips, every kind of candy you can name, and many flavors of ice cream.
We load up our bowls, laughing and teasing each other over our topping choices and then settle down on the plush bearskin rug in the living room in front of a fireplace.
“Cheers!” I exclaim, holding up my spoon toward him.
He takes my cue and clicks his spoon with mine. “Cheers!”
We both laugh before getting brain freezes from gobbling our ice cream too quickly.
“I don’t think I’ve laughed this hard in … I don’t know how long,” he says, pausing to really think about it. “Maybe ever.” He shrugs his shoulders as if it’s no big deal.
That breaks my heart. I don’t know everything about Clark’s past, but from what I can gather he’s been an incredibly hard worker since he was young. He was being groomed to run a company since he was born and by a father not known for his kindness.
“I’m glad you are having fun,” I say, leaning in with a bit of hot fudge on my finger that I wipe across the tip of his nose.
Clark smiles with an equally mischievous expression to match mine. “It’s on, Juliette. Bring it.” He grabs the can of whipped cream and sprays a line on my exposed collarbone and then licks it off.
“I love this game.” I bite my lip.
I grip Clark’s shirt and pull it over his head before shoving him back down. Grabbing my spoon, I drizzle ice cream across his defined chest and lick it off him. His eyes are glued to me as I trail ice cream and kisses down his stomach. When I reach his pants, I slip them off and toss them in the ever-growing pile next to us.
Fortunate Encounters (The Sign Series Book 1) Page 13