Sweetness

by Jude Ouvrard

  “By working here, you receive a free membership and you get half price on massages, and appointments with a dietitian.”

  “Okay, I'll take it as I must have a few pounds to shed.” I thought out loud.

  “Oh! No. No. That’s not what I meant. I was trying to let you know we get a good deal on the various services offered here.” Danielle sighed. “It’s a good job and a fun place to work. You'll like it here.”

  “Yeah, no doubt.” I answered, as we walked by Calvin.

  My eyes burnt into his back, and he must've felt it, because he stopped mid-punch and turned in my direction. He stared at me for a long moment, and then a tiny smile played against his lips and I smiled back in relief. For that short moment, I believed everything might be okay, and he wasn’t about to fire me for the ridiculous way I’d acted last night. For that short moment, I believed we were all good.

  I followed Danielle back to the reception desk. Further instructions followed on my role at reception, how to greet the clients, how to answer the phones. A few clients arrived and they all seemed nice and were all in great shape. Danielle showed me the catalog of uniform items I could choose from for working here. There were many to choose from, but I decided to keep my belly hidden unlike the other people in the gym, I didn’t have amazing abs to display.

  “Hey, sweetness.” I heard Calvin's voice from a few inches behind me. Sweetness? It was an endearment he’d used when we were having sex, and I was surprised he would use it here at the gym.

  “Hey, Cal.” Danielle answered. I turned around and he smiled at me, his eyes locking on mine. “Hey Iris.” His voice has changed to a different tone, somehow it sounded smoother or maybe I over analyzing. I must have turned three shade of red.

  “Hey.” I dared to say, under Danielle's curious gaze.

  His arms, covered in sweat, pulled me closer and he kissed my forehead. I felt like I had betrayed my new co-worker. My heart was beating fast, both with excitement and shame. “I'll show her around and get her to sign all the necessary papers. Thanks, Danielle.”

  He pulled on my hand as he headed to the employee room, and he locked the door as soon as we were inside. Panic rose in my chest, I thought he was about to sack me, or maybe not as he’d kissed me a few minutes ago. This was all so confusing.

  “We need to talk.” His voice was firm and cool. I knew I had to apologize for what I had done.

  “I'm sorry about everything. When I saw you with Danielle at the bar and how close you guys were sitting together, I freaked out because of my shitty past. I behaved like an immature hysteric woman and I should have let you explain and not run off. I'm sorry.” I paused, taking a deep breath. “If you don't want me working here, I'll leave.” I sucked in another deep breath as soon as I was finished because I was certain I was about to faint. All of the stress of being here with him was killing me. I thought I was fine when I saw him training earlier, but everything came rushing back as soon as we got in here.

  “You drove me fucking crazy. I had a shitty night, I didn’t sleep much. I care, okay? And I didn’t want you to think that I was with her. Danielle and I, we’ve been through hell and back together. I’ve known her since I was in preschool. Yes, we dated for some time, but it didn’t feel right. She’s like family to me. So I understand why you didn’t like seeing me with her, but I wish you would have let me talk to you about it. I tried to explain, but you ran away, twice.” He looked pissed and I hated myself for making him feel this way.

  “I’m sorry. I understand if you want nothing more to do with me.” I felt as if I needed to give him the out, if he wanted to take it.

  He shook his head in disbelief. “Don’t you understand what I’m telling you?” He sighed. “You pushed me away, you ignored me, but when I saw you again, it didn’t matter. I don’t know what it is about you, but I can’t seem to get enough of you.”

  Was I dreaming? Did Calvin like me? He was interested in me. I had done nothing to get his attention. This had to be some sort of destiny, I thought.

  He’d opened up to me, told me how he felt about everything.

  “I don't think I'll ever understand why or what made you pick me. I'm simple, average. I have curves – too many of them. I’m not... I... You could have someone beautiful, like Danielle.”

  “Don't say that. I know I could have any one I wanted. I did that for a while, but it became meaningless and boring. When I first saw you, I knew right then that I had to talk to you. You’re beautiful. Everything about you pleases me.” He chuckled. “It took longer than I thought, but then, I felt bad for you that day. I wanted to kick that man's ass.”

  “Yeah, he was an ass. I'm glad I won't have to deal with that again.”

  I closed the distance between us and cupped his face between my hands. “Kiss me.”

  I could tell he was being careful not to touch me, but I didn't care about the sweat. I leaned against him as our tongues danced together. One of my hands gripped on to his hair, while the other one ventured under his wet top to his marvellous abs. Calvin deepened the kiss and lifted me into his arms, which I was deciding was one of his favorite moves. He held me prisoner, his grip on my behind was strong and ferocious. His scent was different, his cologne mixed with the sweat from his hard work. All the fears I’d been suffering were gone, he was still very much mine.

  Chapter SIX

  HIS MUSCLES RIPPLED BENEATH MY touch, and his response only motivated me further. I tried pulling his top over his head, but being wrapped up in one another didn't help.

  “Iris. We have to stop or at least try,” he breathed.

  “Wh... Why?”

  “You deserve more than this. I have to stop doing this to you. Tonight, I'm taking you out for dinner and then you're staying over at my place afterward.” It wasn’t a question. Calvin made it sound like a statement of fact.

  “I can't. I'm working.”

  “Until four. Then you are going home to get ready.” He let me down onto my feet but not without one last kiss. “You have to sign some paperwork.”

  “Sure,” I said, unstable on my feet. The rush of excitement, the taste of his tongue against mine, everything had left me lightheaded.

  He appeared to be about to say something, but it seemed as if he was embarrassed to ask. “I feel like a complete idiot, because I know nothing about you.” He kept his gaze fixed on the paperwork in his hand. “When I told human resources that I’d hired you, I couldn't even tell them your last name. I’ve never felt so ignorant in all of my life. I should have asked you, way before now.”

  “Hartwell. Iris Hartwell.”

  He smiled. “It sounds like a rock star’s name.” We both chuckled.

  Together, we filled out the paperwork and enjoyed being in one another’s company. He found out a little more about me, such as my birthday, my social security number and a few more personal titbits of information.

  “I like your hair like that.” I tucked a strand behind his ear. “You look like a surfer boy,” I teased him.

  “That's crap. I'm a man, and I guarantee you I’m no surfer.” He pouted, giving me the cutest face ever.

  “I think you're hot,” I chuckled as I touched his strong muscled bicep.

  “Better.” He took my hand in his. “You’re gorgeous, everything I want in a woman.” We locked gazes, and I knew we were both tempted to start over, tempted to leave this place and go somewhere private. At that precise moment I didn’t know if I was going to be able to stop myself from going ahead. This man’s eyes could drive me straight into uncontrollable passion and I was already half way there.

  Calvin shook his head. “Iris. We have to wait until later, after we’ve been on a date.”

  I closed my eyes, and tried to let the building tension subside.

  Calvin glanced down at me his expression growing serious. “Earlier... you said something that didn’t go unnoticed. What did you mean about your past?”

  I thought he’d missed that part, but of course, he caught
the mention earlier. He seemed to pick up on everything I told him and didn’t forget. “My boyfriend cheated on me.”

  “Bastard.”

  I shook my head. “It gets worse.” I took a moment before I spoke again, thinking about how much anger I still felt toward the two of them. “He cheated on me, with my best friend, and got her pregnant.”

  Calvin looked furious. “Who does that to their friend or a girlfriend?” He sat in a chair next to the lunch table. “Look, Iris. I know we’re getting to know each other and this has gotten a lot more intense that I thought it would but I’ll never do that to you. I’m not a cheater, never have been and never will be. That guy deserves to get his ass kicked.”

  “Oh! Trust me, there are plenty of things I wish I could do to him which would make him suffer.”

  Calvin watched me his expression guarded. “He hurt you... he hurt you badly, I can tell.”

  “He did.” I forced a smile while simultaneous trying to hold back the tears. “But you seem decent.”

  “Decent? I’ll show you decent.” He grabbed my hand and I found myself sitting on his lap, twisting and screaming as he tickled me without mercy.

  “Stop, Calvin, stop,” I begged, squirming around and trying to escape.

  He stopped. While I tried to fix my top, which was now up around my breasts, the silence in the room became heavy.

  “I won’t hurt you,” he started and then paused. “I won’t ever hurt you on purpose.” he corrected.

  “I’m starting to trust you on that.” He had shown me he cared about me, his intentions toward me seemed real. Calvin didn’t strike me as the type of man to play games.

  “This is only our beginning, babe.” He brushed his lips over mine.

  After a difficult and sexually frustrating few minutes with Calvin, he took a shower and went upstairs into his office. He came down to see me later on in the day to grab something to eat and I ended up leaving without a goodbye at the end of my shift.

  I hadn’t been on a date for quite some time. Finding something to wear seemed to be the challenge of the day. He’d told me to dress pretty without over doing it. I thought a dress would be adequate and classic. He’d mentioned taking me to a restaurant, but he hadn’t told me the name. My stomach was in a mix of knots and butterflies all entangled together. I was thirsty, but I didn’t dare drinking anything, I was so anxious I was afraid my body couldn’t keep it down.

  I sat on the end of my bed, and faced my small room. Calvin seemed to have everything that was bigger and better than everyone else, and he went for me who rented a dorm room which was the size of a small caravan. It didn’t make any sense to me, I couldn’t figure out why he would be interested in a “nobody” like me. I sat there, clueless... but I had to admit, I liked him, a lot.

  I ended up wearing a simple black dress, teaming it with a delicate silver bracelet and black heels that I had borrowed from Krys’ room. I walked around the room a couple of times, to make sure I could actually walk in them. I laughed at my own foolishness, but I believed I could survive this date without making a complete fool of myself.

  The time had come to go downstairs and wait for Calvin, but he was already there, waiting in the lobby. I wondered who’d let him in.

  “Iris, you are beautiful. Look at you.” He kissed my forehead. “Are you ready to go?”

  I nodded, shyly. “Is it normal that I’m nervous to go on a date with you?”

  “You shouldn’t be. It’s just me.”

  “It’s you.” I chuckled. “You’re not like the guys I’ve been on dates with before, I don’t know what to expect.”

  “Trust me, you’ll have a good time, okay?” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I nodded and followed him outside.

  A Mercedes sports car was parked right in front of the building, he opened the passenger door, held my hand while I settled inside and shut the door for me. He walked around the car and settled in the driver’s seat beside me. One hand settled on the steering wheel and the other one settled on my knee. I had no clue where we were going, but I didn’t ask either. I wanted it to be a surprise.

  We didn’t drive too far from my place before he entered a private parking area. Again, he opened the door for me and helped me out of the car. It looked like a residential property. By now, I was way beyond curious. “Where are we?”

  With an enigmatic smile, he winked. “You’ll see.”

  Calvin led the way towards an elevator and entered a security code. This was our first time together, outside of his work environment and I was already overwhelmed by his wealth. I couldn’t hide a smile and the butterflies were swirling into madness in my belly.

  Once the elevator came to a stop, he moved behind me and held me by the waist.

  “You smell so good.” He said breathing me in.

  “Thank you.” I responded, nervously.

  The doors opened and we started moving forward.

  “Holy... You brought me to your place?” I must have been blind not to see this was coming, but I had expected anything but this. The idea of him choosing to bring me to his home was a huge deal.

  “Are you disappointed? Would you have preferred if I’d taken you somewhere else?”

  I smiled. “I think this is perfect, much better than any restaurant in town.”

  His apartment was at least twenty times the size of my room. Everything was perfectly placed, every accessory and curtain matched. We walked through the impressive entrance into the living room. The ceiling was at least ten feet high and the windows were just as tall, revealing a beautiful view of the city lights. Calvin helped me out of my jacket and looked concerned at my lack of winter appropriate gear.

  “I know you’ll be alone for Christmas and it's not right. I want you to spend a nice first Christmas with me.” The smooth and seductive sound of his voice warmed me. I’d never felt this way with Damien or... if I was honest, with Zach. Something magical was happening with Calvin. Could I be falling in love? It was too soon to tell.

  I followed Calvin through the room, he seemed excited and when we stopped, I saw a beautiful tall Christmas tree standing next to a fire place. It was perfectly decorated with white and blue ornaments and I was shocked –speechless. I had been imagining a sad and lonesome Christmas for nearly two months now and Calvin had managed, in a very short period, to make that expectation disappear and be replaced with something wonderful.

  “I know what it’s like to spend Christmas day alone. I've been doing it for many years. I don’t want you to deal with that.”

  I stared at the Christmas tree, a huge grin creeping across my lips. “You did this – for me?”

  He nodded. “I did. Will you spend the holidays with me?”

  My heart broke a little, hearing him say he’d been spending Christmas alone for years. I looked into his eyes, and saw the hope and the desire he was harboring that he could spend this time with me.

  “Yes, yes... I will!” I couldn’t contain my delight. I jumped into his arms and held on to him, squeezing him tightly. “Thank you for doing this.” I kissed him once on the lips and then hugged him again. “It means a lot.”

  He grinned, but remained silent. He looked so happy that I’d agreed. He kissed me over and over again. We were both excited to spend the holidays together.

  “I'll have to go back to my place to grab a few things.”

  “We’ll go in the morning. Right now, I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he murmured, pressing his lips to my forehead. “Are you hungry?”

  “Starving.”

  I released him, but Calvin had other ideas, he took me back into his warm embrace and even though I thought it was too soon to be thinking about an emotion as strong as love, that’s what it felt like. The desire to touch him never ceased. He picked me up and carried me through to the kitchen. Candles were sitting on the table, along with a bottle of wine and a beautiful bouquet of ... irises. I was touched by the gesture.

  “Did you do all of this yourself?”
He seemed to never stop amazing me.

  “Most of it. I had help with the menu. I have a little helper who comes in a few times a week.” He smirked. “I hope you aren't allergic to seafood or we should maybe order a pizza.”

  “Don't worry, I love seafood.” I laughed. “No need to order a pizza.”

  “Do you want to eat here at the table or in the living room?”

  “Here. Let’s make it our first official dinner.” Never in my life had I been in a kitchen like this one. Everything screamed luxury. The dark wood cabinets, the marble counters. I loved it and hoped that I would get an opportunity to cook here, in the future.

  “First of many.” His fingers danced over my hips, tickling me just enough to tease. “Let's get through dinner first.”

  He pulled out my chair like a gentleman and I sat at the table. He was set to sit opposite me, but I wanted him closer. I took his place mat and his wine glass and put them at the place sitting beside mine. We would be closer this way. Angled to better look at each other.

  The food was beyond delicious. It tasted like Italy, the flavors, the simplicity and the perfect cooking. Grilled shrimp, garlic, basil, and fresh homemade pasta, and that was only the main dish, everything else on the side made this meal worthy of a five-star restaurant.

  “This was amazing. Thank you for doing all this.”

  I wondered what to do next. Should I do the dishes, or was it something that we would do together? Calvin was still a stranger to me, I didn’t know him. After giving it some thought, I got up and took both of our plates to put them in the sink. I rinsed them off first. It was something which had been drilled into me by my mother every day.

  His chair screeched across the floor and he leaned his body against mine, his front pressing against my back. He pushed my hair to one side and feather kissed my neck.

  “Do you really think I want you to worry about dishes on our first date?” He whispered against my ear and goose bumps erupted all over my body.

  “What do you want me to worry about?” I said in a low, seductive voice.