by Hailey Smoke
“Do you remember that first conversation we had at the party and you spoke so passionately about the spirit of houses and connecting the right people with the right houses?”
How could I forget? It was something I lived and breathed and embodied with every client.
“I do.”
“I’ve been thinking about that and I have to say I think it’s true. Houses do carry an aura. I felt it at that first house you showed me. I’ve been meaning to ask. How did you know so much about the family that used to live there?”
“I do my research whenever I get a new listing. Especially when it’s an older house or one that has been renovated, I like to dig a little. That way I can share the history and hopefully, it resonates with the right client. I got the sense that it resonated with you.”
“It did actually. What it embodied and what it had experienced was along the lines of what I would one day want to experience with my own family. It did connect. But then I got to thinking. There are so many variables to homes. Same as people. Some homes were meant for one person. Some were meant for just a couple. Others still for a family. It simply depends on the needs of the person. Right?”
“Agreed.” I sensed that he was going somewhere with the conversation and I was intrigued. “Continue.”
“Wouldn’t you say that it’s the same for people? It’s just like you said at the party. Some persons are just on their own and need a house that fits them at that moment. Some are broken and need fixing and find that outlet in a fixer upper. Others still want something they can grow into as they grow. Are you still with me?”
“I am.”
“I got to thinking about all of that and looking at the list of requirements I had given you. The truth is that the list is not for right now. It’s for some time down the road. And what I need right now is not something for a single person. I’m not broken either, so I don’t need a fixer upper. I’m not with anyone right now who I need to grow into something with which is what that first house would be. It’s funny you should mention buying land instead of a house and building from scratch because that’s exactly how I feel. Like building something from scratch, both in a house…and a relationship.”
I held my breath as I now recognized his intent and purpose. I should have forced my brain to override that traitorous trio. Damn!
“Are you there, Serena?”
I forced my mouth to open, but no words came out.
“Serena?”
“I-I’m here.”
“I’m sure by now you see where I’m going with this conversation. But just in case you’re taking a little time to process things let me speak plainly. You are a beautiful woman. When I saw you at the party you captivated me. And each time I see you the captivation increases. But it’s not just about your outward beauty. You are a gem of a person. You’re sweet, kind, easy to get along with, and I’m sure I’m touching just the tip of the iceberg. I know that there is a passion that simmers beneath that cool exterior that you present. If the truth is to be told I’m so happy that we haven’t yet found me a house because I couldn’t bear the thought of a week passing and not seeing you. I’ve come to look forward to those weekly walkthroughs.”
“Have you been deliberately reluctant to choose a house just because you want to see me more often?”
“Maybe. Or it could be that you’ve been deliberately choosing crappy houses so that you can keep seeing me each week. Let’s just put all the cards on the table here. I would love the chance to get to know you in a more social setting, like going on a date perhaps?”
My mouth fell open. A date? With Connor?
“Umm…”
“I’m not the type to beg but for you, I would make an exception. I know that what happened on Monday wasn’t just something I was feeling. You would be a fibber if you said you haven’t felt that undercurrent that runs between us. Lucy called me out on it right away you know. Damn little brat could always read me like a book.”
“Lucy?”
“Yes. Lucy. You know her. My sister. Your assistant.”
“What do you mean she called you out on it? Called you out on what?”
“The fact that I was attracted to you.”
I thought back to the conversation she and I had been engaged in on Monday on the very topic. The little investigator! Digging and planting on both sides of the fence. I smiled ruefully.
“She’s only looking out for my best interest and yours as well. She told me point blank that if this was just a rebound from Tracy I should keep moving because she was not going to sit around and let me toy with your feelings as you had already had enough drama on your plate in the relationship department and didn’t need anymore. At the time I didn’t know what she meant but you cleared that up on Monday. She also promised that if my interest was genuine and I did pursue it and it ended up going sour that I would be uninvited to every family function for the rest of my life and you would be officially adopted as her new sibling.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. Bless her little heart.
“You have a beautiful laugh, Serena. And a beautiful smile too. Do you know that your eyes light up when you smile, and you’ve got a little dimple at the left corner of your bottom lip?”
I was speechless as I felt a frisson of energy bubble in my chest. I was overcome with the longing to grant his request. But even as I thought about how pleasant it would be to be in his company outside of viewing a house, a dark cloud began to rise from the recesses of my memory. I didn’t want to go down this road again. I couldn’t go down this road again. There had been a lot at stake then. I had gambled and lost. Though the stakes were different now that did not make them any less grave. I wanted to. But I simply couldn’t. I opened my mouth to decline.
“Please, Serena. As I said, I’m not the type to beg. But when I see what I want I go after it. And I do anything I need to do to get it. And I want to get to know you better. Just one date. Just one. One. Please?”
There was something about the plea at the end of the request that melted my firm resolve. And though I wanted to say no because it was the safest thing to do, I also wanted to say yes because it was what my emotions wanted me to do. I battled it out as if it was World War III. His steady breathing on the line reminded me that he was waiting for an answer. I took a deep breath.
“Just one date?”
“Just one date.”
“And if it doesn’t go well?”
“It will go well.”
“But what if it doesn’t? How will that affect our house hunting relationship?”
“We go back to business as usual.”
“Wouldn’t that be easier said than done?”
“Are you stalling so that you can get out of giving me a direct answer?”
Busted! I sighed heavily again and tried.
“Connor, it’s not that I don’t want to go out with you…”
“So, you do want to go out with me.”
“But…”
“No buts Serena. Just take the bull by the horns. Seize the moment. Carpe Diem. You never can tell. Suppose we have a good time and go on a second date. Then a third. Then before you know it, we’re a couple, we get married and settle into that beautiful house you showed me, and we spend a lifetime filling it with children of our own. Wouldn’t that be something else? But you won’t know unless we go out on this first date now, will you? So, what do you say? Will you go on a date with me?”
My head felt as if I was in a constant fog and being bombarded from all angles. My mind played the mental picture he had generated and the temptation to reach for that which I had longed grew stronger. Suppose he was right? Hell no! He was so much younger than I was.
“As I was saying. Connor, you’re right. I do like you.”
“I knew it.”
“Let me finish, please. I have felt that energy flowing between us. But we simply cannot do anything about it. You’re so much younger than I am. And you’re a client. It simply can’t work.”
“If you didn’t know my age, how old would you think I was?”
“That’s beside the point.”
“If you had met me at the museum or the shop or even on the street, and we had developed the casual friendship we now have and one day I asked you out, would it be easier for you to say yes?”
I fell silent. He made a very good point. Something inside of me broke. Why on earth was I resisting? I was grown. The past was the past.
“Just one date?”
“Just one date. If there’s a second one I would leave it up to you to ask me out.”
“Okay. I’ll go on a date with you Connor.”
“May I get that in writing? I’d like it in triplicate signed and stamped by a notary public. One copy for you, one for me and one for Lucy as evidence of the terms and conditions of our one date.”
I chuckled. “Silly fellow. You’ve got your ‘yes’. No need to be so melodramatic about it.”
“Come to think of it. I may need a digital recording as well. Hold on let me find the recorder on this thing.”
“Connor!”
He laughed a full-bodied laugh and a shiver went down my spine.
“Thank you for accepting my request, Serena. I’ll give you a ring on Tuesday so we can discuss it then okay?”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to let you go and finish your evening’s task.”
“Enjoy the rest of your evening, Connor. Have a safe trip back.”
“I will. Get home safely when you leave the office.”
“I will. Catch you next week then?”
“Next week.”
I waited for him to hang up the phone. When the line went dead, I took a deep breath then let it out slowly. What on earth had I just gone and gotten myself into?
6
Connor
“Did you see the look on the curator’s face when you asked if you could take a picture next to the open sarcophagus?”
“And I was bloody serious too. I wanted that as a keepsake.”
I doubled over in laughter as Serena pouted prettily. I held her hand in the dimness of the train as it whooshed along in its journey to take us back to Brixton. I squeezed her hand and felt the pressure returned. I couldn’t help but smile. My heart was full and running over.
Who would have thought that when I had picked up the phone just a week ago with the express intention of finding a way to ask Serena to go out with me that it would end up being one of the best days of my life?
When we had met on Wednesday for the walkthrough of the latest options, we worked out the finer details. Saturday was an agreeable day and I was glad that the weather was good. I had arrived at her doorstep promptly at nine and was pleased to see that she was ready to go. I had given her appearance a once over and deemed it appropriate for what I had in mind. The weather was warming up the closer we got to the end of May and so she had ditched an outer jacket in favor of wearing a simple long-sleeved cotton blouse. They were tucked into fitted jeans. She wore comfortable low-heeled boots and carried her purse slung diagonally across her body. Her usually loose hair was pulled back into a high ponytail which showed off her high cheekbones. Tiny studs from her double pierced ears winked at me. Her eyes were shielded by a pair of oversized aviators and her make-up was minimal. Her lips gleamed with gloss, begging for me to kiss them. If I had my way their wish would be granted at the end of the day.
We had driven straight to the station and caught the ten o’clock tube into the center. We had then briefly debated walking versus a hackney for us to get to the first destination I had in mind. Walking it was. We laughed and chatted as we strolled along, and I was happy that we had the time to converse. As we drew nearer to our destination, I had pulled a blindfold out of my backpack. Her grin had been a mile wide as I led her into the huge warehouse where a vintage car show was being held. When I whipped off the blindfold, she had been speechless. This had been a huge gamble, but it had paid off. I had just figured that if she was into houses and their different stages and purpose, she would get the same feeling around vintage cars and the rich history they had attached to them.
When we had exhausted the displays, lunch had been in order. It was more of a sandwich stop as I had reserved the larger meal for dinner after we left our second destination. Again, we opted to walk though it was a good twenty minutes away. I deliberately walked us past the venue at least twice just to throw her off track and even pretended to be lost. When I knew I could stretch it out no longer I again whipped out the blindfold. This time I walked her through long corridors and guided her in and out of rooms until we were at the first thing, I wanted her to see in this venue. When the blindfold was removed, I watched her face carefully. It displayed nothing but awe. I had to admit, I had been caught off guard with the hug she had turned and given me before turning back to the museum display of houses. The rest of the afternoon had been spent browsing through the museum’s various displays. It was our good fortune to pick a weekend when they had a rare display of Egyptian artifacts on loan. She had enjoyed it thoroughly.
We had left the museum a few minutes before it closed at six and found a table for two at a quaint little Italian restaurant just a few minutes from the train station. By seven-thirty, we were on to our desserts. As we made our way to the station to catch the eight o’clock tube, she had tugged on my hand as we passed an antique shop. We had ducked in and spent a few minutes browsing. We had not come out empty-handed as I had found a car for my collection. I had also bought her a pistachio opalite wrapped in copper wire and strung on a silver chain. I had fastened it around her neck immediately. Even now in the dimness of the carriage, I could see her playing with it.
I looked at her profile and smiled. Almost as if she sensed my appraisal, she turned her smile fully on me and time felt as if it stood still. I slid a little closer and put my arm around her, breathing deeply as she relaxed into my embrace. We held this pose until the train came to a grinding halt. I was reluctant to release her but made sure to keep a tight grip on her hand as we made our way to the parking lot.
The dashboard showed that it was nearly nine-thirty when I pulled up to her house. Instinctively I pulled into the driveway behind her SUV rather than park on the curb. I shut off the engine and got out of the truck to make my way quickly to her door. I pulled it open and extended my hand.
“Milady?”
I watched as her face broke out into a smile as she took my hand and allowed herself to be assisted. I placed the hand I held in the crook of my elbow before shutting the door. Quietly we walked the few steps to her front door. Reluctantly I released her hand as she dug into her bag for her keys. I detected a nervous tremble to her fingers as she placed the key in the door and her smile had slipped slightly. As she opened the door she turned.
“Thank you for a wonderful day, Connor. I know it’s a bit late and you want to be on your way…”
“It’s just a twenty-minute drive. And it’s not yet ten. The night is still young.” If that wasn’t blatant permission for her to invite in, then I needed to go back to the dating life drawing board.
“Well…” she spoke hesitantly. “I guess you could come in for a coffee or some tea.”
“I’d be delighted. Maybe you could give me a walkthrough. This house looks fabulous from the outside. Leave it to a real estate agent to pick the cream of the crop.”
She laughed and pushed the door open fully. I followed her in and found myself in a narrow entryway. She slid off her boots and I did the same. As we walked further in the entryway opened into a quaint little sitting room on the left. To the right, I could see a dining area and a bar counter along the wall. The stairs were dead center between the two spaces.
“Well well well. Would you look at that. A bar. I would never have thought that such a thing was possible to find in a home outside of building it in.”
“I did have it put in actually. Apologize for your assumption.”
I placed my hand across my chest dr
amatically. “I stand duly corrected. My humblest apologies.”
A door in the wall beyond the dining area led to a spacious kitchen. Another door separated the laundry room which a floor plan would reveal to be what was behind the wall of the sitting room.
“Upstairs is just two bedrooms and two and a half baths. The half bath is at the top of the stairs for visitors. The bedroom to the left I use as my master and the one to the right for sleepover guests, usually my parents. Would you like coffee or tea?”
“Option three please.”
I had stepped back into the dining room as I spoke. She opened the pass through I had not even noticed in the wall.
“Option three?”
“Something a bit more spirited please.”
“But you’re driving.”
“A light drink won’t hurt.”
She shrugged and closed the pass through. I made myself comfortable on the couch as she made her way to the bar. She opened a mini fridge that stood below the shelves and took out a bottle with some juice. I enjoyed the pull of the fabric of her jeans against her derriere as she bent forward. I swallowed hard as images of walking up behind her and pulling her body to mine swam unbidden into my thoughts. I averted my eyes as she straightened up. As much as I knew and had known from the very first house, we had looked at that I was attracted to her, I had no intention of forcing myself on her. I respected her too much for that. She walked over with a small tray and set it in front of me. I took a deep breath as I saw her breasts sway forward and the necklace fell into mid-air. As she straightened it fell back into the valley between her breasts that were still covered by her clothing. I exhaled slowly as images of that pendant against her naked chocolate skin beckoned and teased. She took a seat beside me and smiled.
“May I use you as a guinea pig?”
“You can use me for anything your little heart desires Serena.”
She threw back her head and laughed. “I’ll be sure to bear that in mind. But seriously. My mum and dad took a trip to the West Indies last month and came back all ago over a concoction they had tasted at a bar. It’s a green apple vodka mixed with juice from a fruit called June plum. They scoured every Caribbean store until they found it and brought me a sample just this week. I think now is as good a time as any to give it a test. So, will you?”