by Amy Brent
“How about we head into Santa Monica and look around there?” I asked when we were finished, and she was laughing at my jokes again. It was a little closer to work and her and I liked the pier.
“Okay. That sounds good.” Leila agreed as she finished her drink and pressed the napkin to her mouth. I drove us again, winding down the curvy road to her home as we talked about what was available here. It seemed like there were a lot of houses for sale right now since the market was great for sellers. I thought it was a little prettier than Newport Beach, though the pier made it a bit of a tourist trap at times. I just liked the beaches and the vibe there more.
We pulled into a nice neighborhood right along the water and I parked in a long driveway as I surveyed the spacious, light blue house. It was spread out and I could see the ocean behind it as I glanced over at Leila.
“Like it?” I asked as she seemed to think about it for a moment.
“It has good bones. Let’s check it out,” she said as she opened the door and slipped out of the car. We walked up to the door, checking out the landscaped yard that Leila assured me added some value to the house if I kept it up. She opened the door and we walked into a foyer that overlooked the sunken living room with a great view. There was a chef’s kitchen to the left and a hallway to the right and I walked forward, looking at the wall of windows and large fireplace. There was plenty of room for one of my big TVs and furniture and I slid open the glass doors to walk outside. It offered a large entertaining area with a custom grill and table to eat outside at, along with a pool a few steps below. The ocean was beyond that and went for miles as I searched for a path. “It’s just below the pool. It’s a private beach for residents of this neighborhood.”
“How far do you live from here?” I asked her as I looked back to see her raising an eyebrow.
“Ten minutes,” Leila responded as I grinned. “Want to look at the inside?”
“Sure.” I took one more long look around and turned to walk back inside with her, taking in the kitchen and then heading down the long hallway. There were three big bedrooms with the master on the left side. It had a view of the ocean and another private balcony that seemed to curve around to the master bathroom. I looked around the room, seeing a lot of space and another smaller fireplace before walking out onto that balcony. It had a lot of space and another great view and I walked around to see a private corner that would be a great place to relax at night. “This is great.”
“It’s pretty.” Leila agreed as she looked over the water. “How do you like it compared to the other house?”
“I think it’s a better choice. I like the layout better and I think it’s a more central location in the city. I’m close to a lot of great places and we can hang out a lot.” I knew that it was closer to the studio and easier all around for me.
“That’s a selling point?” Leila questioned as I chuckled and nodded.
“Imagine one of those luxury chaises out here in this corner where we could relax and look at the stars. It’s a perfect private spot.” I gestured to the back corner of the balcony and she looked over with a smile.
“That would look great.” Leila told me as she looked out over the backyard and the water. “It’s a bit lower in price than the other one. That’s a good thing.”
Money was no object to me, but I just nodded. We finished the tour, looking at the other two rooms across the hall quickly before I led her to the living room. Just for fun, we saw two more houses, but I told her to make an offer on that one. It was what I wanted, and I was ready to move soon, so I told her to make an offer on it. I knew that it would make up for losing the rich bitch as a client and I would get a new house out of it.
Leila wrote up the offer and sent it to the seller, assuring me that they had plans to leave the state to retire and were eager to sell. It should be an easy process and she offered to take me out to dinner to celebrate finding something on the first day. I accepted and suggested eating in at her house so we could relax after today. Leila brought her stuff in the car with her so she was all set to return to the apartment. She gratefully accepted that offer since she was tired from the day and we drove to her apartment. Once inside, I slipped off my shoes and Leila changed into a loose cotton dress as we discussed what to order in for dinner.
We agreed on Italian food and she grabbed a menu for us to look over. We called in an order of lasagna and a large salad and Leila poured some wine for us as she sat on the couch.
“I can’t believe you have an offer in,” she said as I joined her and looked at her for a moment. “I took Nan out day after day and she couldn’t settle on anything. It made me crazy.”
“I just wanted a place on the beach. How hard can that be?” I questioned as I took a sip of wine and looked around the living room. “Are you planning on buying a place?”
“Maybe in the future. I am trying to get steady clients here, so I’ll keep the apartment for now. I like it here.” Leila shrugged and leaned back, the dress dropping down to display her cleavage as I looked down to take it in. Fuck, she was gorgeous.
I heard the doorbell and went to get it, paying the delivery guy for the food and taking it into the kitchen. Leila joined me in the kitchen where we fixed plates and took them outside to sit at the small table and eat. We talked about what I could do with the house over dinner and she had some great ideas. I teased about doing some interior design on the side and she laughed as she told me she did for some clients.
“You work a lot.” I told her as she nodded slowly.
“Don’t you?” She asked as she glanced over at me.
“Yeah, sure.” I’d taken the weekend off and I knew it didn’t look like I worked hard to her, but Leila would be horrified by what I did for work. “Just not this weekend. I try to fit as much into the week as I possibly can.”
“That’s good. You need some free time for yourself.” Leila encouraged me as I raised an eyebrow at you.
“How does that feel? It seems like you don’t do it too often.” She smiled shyly at me, nodding slowly. “I want to show you a good time, Leila. I want you to have fun with me.”
“I do. You made real estate a whole new experience for me.” I laughed as I thought back to the house that we looked at and made love in. That was one of the hottest things I’d ever done and most of my friends would tell me that I was crazy for thinking that. They would call it clever of me and I wasn’t sure what I should tell them about Leila. She clearly wasn’t my type, but I liked her a lot and I wasn’t sure how to explain that to anyone yet.
“And for me,” I replied as she laughed.
We took everything inside and washed the dishes before I brought the rest of the wine to the couch. I pulled her against me and kissed her neck softly as she let out a breath. I told her that I had a great day with her as she nodded and turned her head to meet my lips with her own. I slid a hand over her face to hold her still as I deepened it, feeling my body give in to her. In this moment, I felt like I would do anything for this woman.
We took it to her bedroom after several minutes of kissing and I slipped the straps of her dress down her shoulder as she dropped to the bed underneath me. I pulled them down to reveal her hard nipple, leaning down to suck one as she arched her back. Leila pulled her legs up and I slid my hand down her body, finding her underwear soaked as I fingered her through the lace.
“You’re insatiable,” Leila told me as she smiled.
“You seem to be as well,” I assured her as I slid a finger inside of her, pumping slowly as she moaned. “You’re soaked for me.” I took her back into my mouth as she cried out, dragging my teeth over her nipple.
“Oh, God. Lance!” Leila cried out as she rocked against my hand.
I had to go back to work and the idea of sleeping with another woman right now bothered me, work or not. I knew that I could do it and would do it, but it didn’t hold the same appeal anymore. I focused on her body and what pleased her, loving the sounds that she was making. I brought some condo
ms with me and went to get them once she was begging me to fuck her and I ran back into the bedroom to see her completely naked and waiting for me as I sheathed myself.
I crawled between her legs and took Leila with one hard thrust as she cried out my name. She was wet and tight, and I stilled inside of her for a moment before drawing back and then moving inside of her again. Every time we were together, it got a little rougher and I wanted her even more in my future.
Leila grabbed me around the ass and pulled me deeper inside of her as she rocked with me. We were both close and she cried out first as I pulled her feet up to my shoulders and pounded her harder. I came a few thrusts after she did, stilling and groaning as I looked down at her, completely bare to me. She had shown me a lot about herself and I liked every bit of Leila.
CHAPTER 10
Leila
Lance spent the night with me and left late in the morning to go to work, leaving me to dress and go to the office. I was going to send out some emails to potential customers and check on the offer that I wrote up last night. I was distracted as I sat at my desk and stared at the laptop blankly, still thinking about last night. Lance was perfect, and it scared me that I liked him so much.
This was moving so fast, but I didn’t know how to stop it. I got a confirmation that his offer was accepted and called Lance to tell him the good news. He didn’t answer so I left him a message and set my phone down on the desk. This was huge for everyone involved and I knew that it would give me a big check to put towards my future, making up for the loss of Nan. He seemed like he was ready to handle this huge purchase and I again wondered how he could afford this.
“Hi, Leila. I heard that you had an offer go through.” I glanced up to see my friend Lisa and nodded with a smile.
“Good news travels fast, I see.” She sat down across from me and asked about the house and the buyer and I told her what information I had. She frowned when I said Lance’s name and told her that he was a freelancer, getting the same surprise that I felt. “He also said that he has a trust fund and a lender approved him for more than what the house sold for. He’s legit but it’s just weird, or maybe is isn’t. This is LA.”
“It’s a great payday for you and will bump you up. That’s for sure,” Lisa told me as I nodded. We talked a little further about the industry and laughed together as I took the advice that she gave me. She’d been at it for ten years where I had just gotten my license before I moved here.
My phone rang, and I saw Lance’s name on the screen before I answered it. He was excited about the house and told me that he’d handle the next few steps after he thanked me for my help. He asked me to dinner to celebrate later and I agreed as he told he had to get back to work but he’d see me later. I set the phone back down and sent out some emails to gain some interest before I looked up to see Nan’s new agent standing in my doorway.
“Hi, Greg. How are you?” I asked as he walked in and sat down across from me, nervously twisting his hands.
“I wanted to let you know that Nan put an offer in at that house that we ran into you at. It was accepted today, and you’ll be getting a cut of the sale.” I nodded as he spoke, sorry that Nan fell for Cameron’s lies and was in this situation. “What was that all about, Leila?”
“He’d been a little aggressive with me in the past. That’s why you took Nan over. My client didn’t like Cameron at all for that and I am glad that he walked away.” I offered as Greg nodded with a small frown on his face. I saw the judgment in his eyes and swallowed the lump in my throat.
“He looked like more than a client, Leila.” Greg told me as I shrugged.
“We’ve recently started dating and he wanted to buy a house. I didn’t do him any favors or treat him differently than any other client. I can separate the two,” I assured him as Greg nodded. “I felt uncomfortable in Cameron’s presence, so I left the situation. It’s that simple. Lance met him more than once and got a bad vibe from him.”
We went over numbers and how much I could likely expect from the sale, which made the little time that I spent with Nan worth it. She wasn’t a terrible woman but severely misguided by the younger man in her life. I hoped that she ended up happy once it was all said and done.
I finished my day off and headed home to change into something for dinner. Lance told me that he’d be by at seven to pick me up and I put on a fitted plum dress with some matching lipstick and light eye shadow, I slipped my feet into some black heels as I heard the doorbell and walked to the door, opening it with a smile as I saw Lance. He was wearing a long-sleeved button up shirt in a deep blue with some black jeans and looked good as I opened the door wider.
“Hi,” I greeted him as he looked me over with a hungry gaze.
“Let’s eat in. I’ve missed you today.” He walked in and pulled me against him as I giggled.
“Don’t you want to celebrate the house?” I asked him as he kissed my lips gently.
“I do. I’m just glad to see you.” Lance looked around and sighed. “What are you in the mood for?”
“I haven’t even thought of it. What sounds good to you?” I sensed something off about him as he kissed me again, holding his arms to steady myself.
“I know this little dive that makes the best burgers. How does that sound?” Lance asked as I looked into his handsome face.
“You don’t like normal restaurants, do you?” I asked as his face went serious for a fleeting second.
“I do but I look for the smaller places a lot. I like the dives. You don’t?” He asked as I shook my head.
“No, I do. It just surprises me with most people wanting to be seen at the bigger places. Carlsbad was smaller, and I got used to that.” I smiled as he seemed to look relieved.
“Good. Let’s go and we can spend the night here tonight, if that’s okay.” I nodded, and we walked to his Jeep as I smiled happily.
“How was work today?” I asked as he unlocked the door and he shrugged.
“The usual. How about you?” He asked as I told him that I hung out at the office and got some stuff done. There were times when I worked better there without distraction, even though it involved something of a tense conversation with Greg. I looked at the small building when we parked, asking of ten people could even fit in there. “Yes, and there’s seats outside. We’ll be fine.” He got out and opened my door for me, taking my hand as we walked to the door. We ordered at the worn counter and took the food outside where we picked a small table.
“So, what are you going to do with the house once you’re in?” I asked after taking a bite of my burger.
“I will probably buy some new furniture for the living room and change things up a bit. I’ll make one of the extra bedrooms an office and the other a guest room, even though I don’t have a lot of company. I think it’ll be a great home. Thanks for your help.” Lance told me before he leaned in for a kiss.
“You were an easy client.” I assured him as he kissed me again, pressing myself closer to him. We finished our dinner and he took me to the beach for a walk, falling quiet on me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s just back to the work week and I had a great weekend,” Lance said as I nodded in agreement. “I don’t normally have that good of a time with anyone, Leila. It’s taken me by surprise.”
“Me, too.” I agreed as we stopped together by some rocks to sit and watch the sunset. I loved this part of living by the ocean and Lance wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him. We went back to my place and went right to bed, where he left the light off and reminded me how good things were with us this weekend. I lost myself to him as he worshiped my body, making me come a few times.
I’d had sex before Lance, but it was nothing like this. Those times were mediocre at best, leaving me wanting for a lot but he rocked my world every time that we were together. I couldn’t get enough of him and after he was done with me tonight, I fell asleep at his side as he kissed my hair. I knew that I was falling for him and suspected that he was doing
the same, but nothing needed to be defined right now.
We went our separate ways on Tuesday morning and I went to the office to work. If I stayed home, I’d daydream about Lance all day. I saw him in every corner of my apartment and needed the space away, so I started spending a lot of time in the office. I gained a few more clients and started showing houses regularly again, keeping myself busy during the days.
Lance’s house closed within the next few weeks and we spent every night together that we could up until then. He seemed to work a lot and at different times, but still made a lot of time for me. We just seemed to stay in a lot, which didn’t bother me. I was addicted to way that he made me feel and growing closer to him with every moment that we spent together.
I didn’t think to wonder why I didn’t meet any friends of his. I assumed that he most likely kept to himself since he did freelance work from home. Some people didn’t have a lot of friends, like me.
I was showing houses the day that he moved but he assured me that he had a lot of help. He wasn’t moving anything from the condo, choosing to start fresh with new furniture. I wasn’t going to argue that since it was his money. I wasn’t his girlfriend and he could make his own decisions, but I was surprised that he asked me to shop with him for the house. We went out on a weekend that we both took off just after he moved in and I laughed when he tucked a hat over his face before leaving his condo. He was still sleeping there until he got a bed and I was happy to stay with him anywhere that he wanted me to.