“Hello?”
“Rachel.” Andre’s smooth, sexy voice stopped Rachel’s breath. He was actually calling her! She was so shocked she didn’t know what to say.
“Yes…. Andre…” She stammered.
“I wanted to know if I could come over. There was just one blank on the contract you missed. I just want to have you sign it.”
“Oh.” Rachel’s heart sank. “Sure. Bring it over. I’m here.”
“You’ll have to give me your address.”
Rachel thought about asking for his number so she could text it to him and save the number for later but she decided against it. He clearly wasn’t interested and she would only sound pathetic. She finally just told him the address and he promised to be there within the hour.
Hands shaking, Rachel hung up. She broke out in a cold sweat, her nerves racing, tangling her insides into a twisted knot.
She ran to the bathroom to put on a bit of makeup and brush her hair. She was wearing an old sweater and faded jeans. She decided to throw on something a little more becoming. Unfortunately her closet was still sparse. She was used not having any money for anything except school. After Andre made her deposit that cheque she hadn’t gone out shopping. She hadn’t done much of anything really besides find the apartment and some furniture and apply for jobs.
She hadn’t wanted to do anything else. Everything Rachel used to enjoy fell totally flat. She found it hard to even drag herself out of bed in the morning. She knew she was probably depressed and she knew why-Andre. She missed him. She admitted it freely now.
Her buzzer rang forty minutes later. Rachel, wearing a red flowy blouse, her one good shirt and a pair of dark skinny jeans, ran over to the door and pressed the button to let Andre in. He knew her apartment number and in a few short moments he was standing outside her door.
Rachel opened it for him. “Come in,” she said shyly, feeling totally awkward. What would Andre think of her place?
Andre removed his shoes. His designer jeans and t-shirt, as always, fit him just right. He’d gone for a fresh haircut it looked like, as the sides were shaved shorter than before, the top slicked back in his normal fashion.
He looked good. A hell of a lot better than Rachel felt and it made her angry for a moment. How could he move on so easily? Obviously their time together had meant nothing to him. He couldn’t get rid of her fast enough. Why would he pine over her?
“Would you like a drink?”
“What are you offering?”
Rachel stared at Andre’s raised brow, shocked that his words seemed like a come on. They were so suggestive. Indeed, what was she offering?
It was only then that Rachel noticed the garment bag Andre had set down in the doorway. She went and picked it up, staring at it in surprise.
“You left it at the house. It’s yours, so I wanted to bring it over here.”
“I couldn’t…” Rachel stammered. “It must have cost a fortune Andre… it’s not right…”
“I picked it out for you and had it altered to your size. It was made for you so you should have it. I want you to have it.”
“Oh. Uh… that drink… what would you like?”
“I believe I asked what you have.”
“Right.” Rachel blushed. She was totally flustered. She quickly hung up the dress in the front closet and went to the kitchen. Andre followed her. He had a document in his hand. The contract, Rachel assumed. She glanced through the fridge. When was the last time she got groceries? When was the last time she wanted to eat anything? “I have milk or water. Or there’s tea.”
“Never mind. I’m alright. Thanks though.”
Rachel shut the fridge. Andre pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. He glanced at her laptop, which was facing him. “How’s the job search going?”
“It’s not,” Rachel said flatly. “I mean, I’ve sent out applications but so far no one wants to hire me.”
“Their loss then. Don’t worry, you’ll find something.”
“Yah. I hope so.” Rachel sat down in front of her laptop, closing it with a bang. She hadn’t meant to be so forceful. “Do you have that contract? Sorry I messed it up.”
“No. It wasn’t you. You did nothing wrong.” Andre’s eyes burned into hers and Rachel suddenly realized he wasn’t talking about the contract.
“What? I don’t understand…”
“Rachel…” Andre ran a hand through his hair, messing it slightly. She had never seen him look so uncomfortable.
“What Andre?” She looked him in the eye and smiled just a little.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You did just the opposite… I came here, not because I wanted you to sign that stupid blank. I just said that.” He flipped up the paper he’d been holding and it was blank. “I just wanted to tell you that… uh…” He ran his hand through his hair again and sighed. “I’m not very good at this…”
Rachel reached out and touched Andre’s hand. The warmth of his skin burned a trail of fire up her arm. “It’s okay Andre. Just take your time.”
“I fucked up Rachel. I did feel guilty about that contract, like I said. I felt guilty that I was so much older and more experienced than you and you gave yourself to me just because that piece of paper demanded that you should. I felt like a lecher, like a user. I didn’t want you to have to perform or submit to me. That whole contract was a stupid idea. I just… saw you that day… and I wanted you.”
“What?” Rachel started.
“I wanted you Rachel. You’re so damn beautiful, so pretty and selfless, so spirited. I needed you in a way I’ve never needed anyone before. It was a crazy thing to do but I wanted to know who you were… I never truly had any intentions of taking it as far as we did. I wanted to tease you and introduce you to pleasure because you clearly had no idea about it but I never meant to have you surrender as far as you did.”
“Andre…. I wanted to do those things. I begged you, remember? I wanted you. Truly. Not because of some contract. That night at the opera, I felt reluctant to let you touch me. But I submitted because that paper said I had to. Although that’s not even completely honest. I wanted you even before the first time you ever touched me. I was attracted to you. You’re a handsome man. You’re sexy. I think, underneath everything you’re a kind person. That you’re sensitive and witty and smart and that you don’t like people to see that. I was just as attracted to all those things you didn’t want me to see as I am to all the things you did.”
Andre carefully removed his hand from underneath Rachel’s. He sighed again. “Rachel I’m still far too old for you. I’m probably twenty years older than you are.”
“So what? It doesn’t matter to me Andre. It should feel wrong, all of this should feel wrong, but it doesn’t. Not one bit. I don’t care that we met because you were threatening to break my father’s legs. I don’t care that I signed some contract and that’s how we got to know each other. I don’t care that you’re older than me or that we come from completely different worlds. I would want you just the same. I still want you Andre.”
Andre scrubbed at his face with his hand. “God Rachel, do you know what it’s like to hear you say that? Do you want to know the real reason I ended our time?”
“Yes.”
“Because… well… you have me figured out Rachel. Right from the start. Nothing went how I planned. You looked at me and you saw me, right from the minute you walked into my house. I haven’t had a relationship in over ten years because I can’t trust people. The only women I’ve ever dated weren’t truly interested in me. They were interested in my money. I just gave up because it was all drama and bullshit.”
Rachel shook her head. “It’s their loss Andre. Don’t worry, you’ll find someone.” She parroted back his earlier words and he grinned.
“I already have Rachel. It’s wrong. All of it. How we met, how we got to know each other, even how we came together. But I can’t say I regret any of it.”
“I don’t either Andre.”
“Why?” She was confused now. Andre was acting so strange. She didn’t quite know what to think. It made sense why he had returned her when he did. So he didn’t have to feel anything for her. She understood now that it was him who had been in danger the entire time, not just her. He was in danger of caring. Of trusting. Of wanting something that he shouldn’t. He thought that getting rid of her would make it go away but it hadn’t.
Heart fluttering, Rachel went to her closet. She opened the long garment bag and her eyes flooded with tears. It was a new gown, black, heavily beaded, elegant. She whipped around to find Andre standing a few feet away.
“I was wondering if you would do me the honor of wearing that to a work function I have in a couple days. It’s a formal thing… awards and a dinner and what not.
“Like… as your date?”
“Yes Rachel. As my date.”
“And what about everything else?”
Andre shrugged. “I’ve tried to fight it Rachel. I’ve tried to stop thinking about you but I can’t. I can’t sleep and I can’t eat. I can’t even work. Please, say yes because I don’t know what to do if you say no.”
Rachel’s tears finally spilled over, running down her cheeks in two wet trails. “Andre… I don’t know if this is going to work…”
“So what Rachel? If it doesn’t, that’s alright. We can see where it goes. I would be honored if you would come to the work function with me and if you would go to dinner with me after that and then… whatever you want. I just want to see you. I want to get to know who you truly are. As a person, not as someone under contract.”
“So you want to date?”
“Yes Rachel. I want to date you.”
“I might not be good at it. I’ve never dated anyone.”
“And I might not be good at it either. Because I’m pretty fucking jaded when it comes to all that.”
“Maybe we can just be bad at it together then? They say that two wrongs never make a right. But they also say that opposites attract so maybe there’s hope for us yet.”
Andre laughed. He stepped forward and took Rachel into his arms. She leaned into his familiar strength. She had no idea what they would truly be like together but she knew that she wanted to try. She wanted Andre. And she knew that even if she hurt him somehow in the future it wouldn’t be the way the others had. She just wanted him. Everything else was just a bonus.
Leaning down, Andre kissed Rachel tenderly. It was sweeter than she had ever been kissed by him before. She deepened the kiss, her passion taking over. Her whole body was charged with longing. Now that she had Andre in her apartment she had no desire to let him leave anytime soon.
“Come Andre, I want to show you my apartment,” Rachel said, breaking away. She took his hand and led him down the hallway. “Really there’s nothing to see but this bedroom,” she said, grinning mischievously. “I thought we could spend some time here… I got a new bed with that money you gave me…”
Andre laughed, a real, honest laugh that shook his shoulders. His eyes sparkled when he looked at Rachel. “Oh god Rachel, your dad is going to shit bricks.”
“Let him then. He was the one who introduced me to you, in a roundabout way.”
“That’s a very roundabout way.”
“Andre,” Rachel’s voice was no longer playful. It was husky and sexy and filled with need. “I think it’s time that you do what I say for a change.”
“Oh. And what would you have me do?” Andre stared at her, brow crinkled in a mock frown.
“It’s not what I would have you do but rather what I want to do to you.”
“Which is?”
“Absolutely everything.”
Andre laughed and Rachel did as well. He was already working at the button on his jeans. “That sounds like a deal Rachel.”
Rachel closed her eyes as Andre began stripping off her own clothing. Somehow, though it had been the last thing in the world she ever expected, Rachel had found just what she needed at exactly the right time. It was crazy, the entire thing but Rachel had seen crazier. She’d seen a human heart started after it had stopped beating. She’d seen an organ transplant, where the lungs of another human breathed for another. She’d seen her father gamble away everything in his life, including her. The very man who could have destroyed their lives chose instead to save her.
Andre leaned down and nuzzled her shoulder, kissing her bare skin, caressing her body with his hands. Rachel leaned into him, the heat of his body flowing through her. She pressed herself against him until their hearts beat not so far apart.
Her father had gambled and lost. Rachel too had gambled on Andre when she’d signed that contract but her gamble had paid off. She couldn’t wait to see what their future held.
I’m just your normal, everyday woman who can’t get enough out of life. When it comes to writing, I enjoy stories about couples who just can’t say no, even when life says that they should.
Come get passionate with me and see where my dirty little mind can take you.
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Ace in the Hole Page 8