Body Heat

by Mia Ford

  I wondered what her name was, her full name. I liked the way she looked, at times I saw her staring at me and it made my self confidence sky rocket. Knowing that a woman liked me and not because of my money. She had her own money if she had the mansion beside me and every time I saw her outside I couldn’t help but notice how good she looked in street clothes. That was one thing I saw that we had in common. I didn’t like wearing suits and didn’t wear suits unless I was working with my father. Other than that I was in jeans and t-shirts or shorts and no shirt. It didn’t matter to me, I wanted to wear something that I was comfortable in.

  “Ms. Evans would like to invite you to dinner tonight. I told her I would see what I could do to arrange it.” Glenda told him.

  “I am grateful that she has invited me to dinner. Do you know what you’re having?” I asked, folding my hands across my chest.

  I had to know what was for dinner, if I didn’t like it I wasn’t going to go over. I’m sure it sounds rude to you but to me if the food isn’t good there’s no reason to go or to stay if you’re already there. Most conversations started with food and you worked your way out from there when you were having dinner for the first time.

  “It’s up to you, the invitation I have for you is right here but I need to know what you’re going to want for a meal so that the cooks can prepare it before dinner,” Glenda told me, handing me a card that I took but didn’t open.

  “Great, I like steak medium rare with baked potato and my favorite vegetable is corn. I don’t care what we have a drink with dinner, but usually I just like a glass of water, it helps settle my stomach.” I told her, reading off my favorite meal and I could see the joy in her eyes.

  “That’s simple.” Glenda laughed, covering her mouth.

  “I’m a simple kind of guy. Let Ms. Evans know that Luke Wayward would love to have dinner with her.” I grinned at Glenda, standing up straight, my arms still folded across my chest as I continued to look down at her.

  “Ms. Evans will be pleased that you’re willing to join her for dinner. You’ve made her day.” Glenda told me, giving me a wink and I was surprised that she had.

  “What time would you like me there Glenda?” I asked, making sure that I remembered her name. I was horrible at names and people thought I was just rude because of it.

  “Six o’clock.” Glenda looked at her watch and gave an estimated time.

  “Is there anything that I should bring?” I raised my eyebrows at her, I wasn’t sure what to bring. It had been a long time since I went out on a dinner date. Or even gone over to a woman’s house. The women that I’ve dated were just that, dates, something to pass the time.

  “Flowers, she loves lilacs.” Glenda grinned at me and I watched her go over to her own yard. I watched her until she disappeared inside the mansion and then I closed my door and locked it behind me.

  I went to the kitchen and placed the card on the table. I didn’t have to look at it, she verbally invited me over instead of just handing me the card. Ms. Evans looked like a nice woman. She looked to be about my age but I was going to find out more when I went over that night and I wanted to make sure that I looked my best, my best without getting all dressed up and tugging at a tight tie.

  That was the one thing I forgot to ask, I didn’t know whether or not she excepted me to show up in a suit and tie, I was going to go over to talk to Glenda but I looked at the card on the table, I took it off the table and looked at the card. It didn’t say what to wear so if Ms. Evans was expecting me to wear a tux and tie with shining shoes I would tell her it didn’t say it in the invitation, my way out of wearing something that was going to make me sweat like a pig during dinner.

  Chapter 3

  I was just getting out of the tub when I heard the front door slam shut, the noise jumped me as I walked out of the bathroom and saw Glenda rushing up the stairs.

  “Was that you who slammed my door?” I asked, looking down at her.

  “Yes, sorry, I didn’t mean to but my advice worked Ms. Evans, he will be over tonight for dinner. Of course, I let him pick out what you two are having for dinner and he likes his steak the same way you do.” Glenda stated what they had in common so far.

  “What’s his name, did you get his name?” I asked, hoping that she didn’t miss out on the important questions that should’ve been asked.

  “Mr. Wayward. Luke Wayward and he said that he would love to have dinner with you.” Glenda clapped her hands together.

  I couldn’t keep a smile off my face if I tried. I knew that there were things that needed to be done, I had to make sure that I wore my favorite dress. I wasn’t going to dress up like a china doll afraid to get broken when touched.

  “Thank you, Glenda, now if you could notify the cooks of what to prepare, I would like them to start prepping now so that when the time draws closer they aren’t rushing around as if it’s their first time in the kitchen.” I pointed a finger at her.

  Glenda nodded her head and laughed, I thought she was happier than I was that Luke Wayward would be coming over that evening. I had to admit I was nervous and excited at the same time, not only was he good looking but he would be the first dinner guest that I had over since moving into the mansion that my father had bought me.

  I don’t like to admit that my father picked out the mansion for me, that we had gotten into an argument and he told me to move out. I wasn’t expecting him to find me a place when I told him if he wanted me out so badly than he could find me a place to stay and furnish it as well. He was stubborn and showed me that he meant what he said, he’s the one I get my stubbornness from.

  I went to my room as soon as Glenda went downstairs and checked out my closet, I had a lot to wear but I was looking for one dress, the one dress that I loved. Tearing clothes out of my closet I finally found it at the back of my closet.

  Pulling out the red dress that showed off my body and the red sandals that went with it, I was glad that I didn’t like high heels. Living at home I had to wear them for family gatherings and business parties but I learned quick that the heels hurt my feet by the end of the night so my parents compromised with me when I walked into one of the business parties that my father had put on wearing a black dress and matching sandals, I had gotten a lot of compliments that night and my parents figured that they would pick their battles with me.

  It did feel good to be out on my own, my father had done me a favor and I was able to pay my own way through the modeling jobs that I had going for me.

  I set the red dress on my neatly made bed and put the sandals on the floor, looking in the full length mirror that I had on the back of my bedroom door I knew I looked good, I didn’t have a big ego, I was just confident in myself and I hoped that Mr. Wayward would see that as a turn on and see that I was more than just a pretty face.

  “You’re going to dazzle him tonight, you’re going to make him want to come back for more,” I told my reflection and smiled at myself.

  My stomach felt as if there were little butterflies fluttering around inside of it. I had been nervous a million times before whether it was right before a modeling shoot or when my parents had party guests. I never knew what to say to them but tonight was nothing like that. Tonight it was going to be just one on one conversation which I’d never done before, always living under my parent's roof there was always someone with me or in ear shot of my conversation. Tonight I was solo, completely alone when it came to having a dinner guest and I had to talk to Glenda about being in earshot in case I needed her.

  I walked out of the bedroom in a pair of white shorts and matching top, walking around the house barefoot because unless I had to I didn’t like having shoes on my feet. Even if it was a pair of sandals.

  When I went downstairs to look for Glenda I realized it was noon time, three more hours until Mr. Wayward came for dinner. I wanted to make sure that everything was perfect when he came over, I didn’t have to worry about the place being clean, I had to worry about t
he cooks getting the food out to the dining room on time, but when I went into the kitchen I saw that I really had nothing to worry about. Glenda was already ordering the cooks around and making sure that everything was the way I wanted it.

  “I had some of the maids switch out the long table in the dining room for a much smaller one, I didn’t think that you’d want to be hollering down the table at him so that he could hear you,” Glenda told me when she saw me.

  I nodded my head and followed her into the dining room. There were a medium sized glass table and two chairs. It was almost as if we were dining in a restaurant. There were fresh lilacs in the vase sitting in the middle of the table and I beamed with happiness. Sometimes I didn’t think I gave Glenda enough credit when it came to setting up.

  “Thank you, it looks beautiful,” I told her, looking around the room.

  The dining room was small but I thought it was cozy. I liked the pictures of the ocean on the walls and the television was set up on the wall off to the side and the mini bar was already open with Colby my bartender wiping down the counter and washing out the glasses that I used for drinking.

  “He said that he liked drinking water with dinner, says it helps settle his stomach. So I’m going to put water glasses on the table and a pitcher in the middle. Or do you think a pitcher is too tacky?” She asked me.

  “I think it’s good, it saves on waiting for more water if he likes a lot of water.” I nodded my head in approval.

  “Good, I was thinking the same thing. I want everything to go perfectly for you tonight.” Glenda rubbed her hands together.

  “Hey, Glenda?” I asked just as she was about to walk out of the dining room.

  “Yes?” She asked, turning around to face me.

  “I do appreciate everything you do for me, not just tonight but every day. I would like to thank you a lot for tonight, no matter how things turn out at least I gave it a shot and I know how things are going to go by the time he leaves.” I told her softly.

  “You don’t have to thank me for anything. I’m glad to help you, and I am happy to see that smile on your face.” Glenda pointed at me.

  I could feel my face growing red as she complimented me, all I could do was nod my head at her. I wasn’t used to the help talking to me, conversating with me. Things had changed a lot since I moved out of my parent's house. One of their biggest rules was not to talk to the help unless you were instructing them to do something. I, on the other hand, did like conversation and didn’t want Glenda thinking that I only wanted her here to be my slave.

  “You’re going to get him hook, line, and sinker tonight. You just watch.” Glenda winked at me.

  “Could you stick around in case I need you though? Not right here in the dining room but somewhere close by?” I blurted out.

  My voice was whiny and it wasn’t something I was used to asking, I didn’t like admitting that I had cold feet but with Glenda, an ear shot away I knew that I would feel better about myself.

  “Yes, I won’t leave for the night until he’s gone,” Glenda told me, walking out of the dining room to go back into the kitchen.

  I heard her calling out more orders and laughed, she was doing all the stressing for me. She wasn’t too bossy but the cooks listened to her and that’s one thing that I liked. She could be a boss when she had to be but left the big decisions up to me knowing that I was the true boss.

  Chapter 4

  Looking at the clock I had to be at Ms. Evans at six, I had an hour to get myself ready. I had already taken a shower and splashed cologne on myself, there wasn’t much more to do but get dressed. I had a white towel wrapped around my mid-section and walked around my mansion that way. When I was by myself I could do whatever I wanted.

  I brushed my teeth twice, making sure that they were pearly white. I ran a comb through my hair and it dawned on me that I had to get some lilacs for her. I hoped that she wasn’t picky about what kind of lilacs she got. I thought about the white lilac tree in the backyard and figured that picking the flowers would mean more to her than buying them. If she didn’t think that was nice, then I hoped that she pretended to like them.

  I wasn’t going to go all out to impress her but I wanted to show her that I was truly a simple man, I wasn’t demanding and didn’t expect anything from anyone. Whatever I got I got on my own. I worked hard and the best that I could.

  Before every meeting at work, I studied what I was going over for the meeting at least a dozen times and sometimes I even showed my father up when he got stuck on a presentation when it came to the new clothing line for men. It was when his face got red during a meeting that I knew I was in trouble when it was over.

  I was somewhat of a bad boy in the office, showing off my skills that even impressed my father, but I wasn’t looking to impress anyone. It was in my nature to make sure I had all the facts prepared when I went into a meeting, something he had taught me himself and I didn’t understand how he could be mad at me or thinking I was showing off when he should’ve been proud of me for taking the extra time and wowing the production line before we started work each day. The competition was scared of us, wondering what new line we were going to come up with next. It helped that I was a great designer and could draw things out and show everyone just how well our shirts and pants would sell in the clothing stores.

  Clearing my head, I knew it wasn’t a time to think about my father. I had to focus on the dinner date that I had with Ms. Evans. Walking out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, I opened the door that led outback and walked out in my towel to pick the lilacs that I was sure she was going to love.

  The sun was beating down on my tanned back, I felt the heat making me sweat already before I even got to the lilac trees that were all the way down at the end of the yard.

  I had a smile on my face as I picked them, thinking about the delicious meal I was going to have and hopefully great conversation to go along with it. I began to wonder what Ms. Evans did for work, hoping that she worked and wasn’t relying on her daddy’s money to get by. That would be the down fall because no matter what I still expected a woman to pull her weight in the working field. They wanted equal rights and I applauded them for that, women should be out there working just as much as men should be. That would never be something I would go against, the more I thought about Ms. Evans, the more I guessed at her carreer thinking maybe she was an accountant of some sort.

  I picked a handful of white lilacs and brought them to my nose, inhaling slowly the scent was strong and I knew they were going to be perfect.

  By the time I got back into the house I wiped my forehead that was covered in sweat and wiped my sweaty hand on my towel.

  Going over to the light, clear, blue vase I put the flowers into it and slowly added cold water, I was sure they were thirsty and she could keep the vase. The white looked good against the blue and if I was a woman I would love the vase of flowers myself.

  “Time to get dressed and see how this evening plays out,” I muttered to myself, seeing that I had a half hour to get ready, just enough time and then I would be fashionably late. Most of the time I wasn’t even on time for work but I was so good at what I did it didn’t matter how late I was. I could charm the company not only with my mind but with my appearance, another thing the old man didn’t like.

  I laughed to myself as I took the stairs two at a time and went into my bedroom. My jean shorts were laid out for me and my white tank top was sitting on top of it, I didn’t close my bedroom door when I pulled the towel off myself and tossed it onto the floor.

  Getting into my jean shorts and tank top I managed to find my own socks in the top dresser drawer and my black shoes under my bed.

  I rushed down the stairs and figured if she didn’t like me because of how I looked than she wasn’t the one for me. I could read people well and if she thought that I didn’t look decent enough I would turn right back around and walk out the door, life was too short and I didn’t want to waste it on
a woman who thought that clothing was the only thing that mattered.

  As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I quickly glanced at myself in the mirror, my brown eyes looking back at me. They were eager and so was I. I was eager to start the night and see where it ended. I grabbed the vase of flowers and turned back around to head out the front door.

  Taking my time as I left my yard I looked at my watch when I approached her walk way and started walking towards the steps. Just as I was getting ready to ring the doorbell I realized that I was five minutes late. Perfect timing.

  Chapter 5

  I heard the doorbell ring and Glenda nodded at me to answer the door, she had reminded me that he was a simple man, he wasn’t going to like it if a butler answered the door and him to wait on me. I went to the door in my dress, the sandals on my feet moved with me, helping me along instead of tripping me up. When I put my hand on the doorknob was when I realized that they were sweaty and clammy, I put my best smile on my face before I answered the door.

  “Hello, you must be Mr. Wayward,” I spoke first as soon as I opened the door.

  “Ms. Evans, I would like to thank you for inviting me to dinner tonight.” He nodded his head, reaching out to give me the vase of flowers.

  “Thank you,” I smiled, letting him into the house and closing the door behind him.

  I smelled the flowers and I knew right where they had come from. He had personally picked them himself which was already melting my heart that he had taken the time to pick them instead of buying them off a shelf.

  “They’re beautiful,” I told him, talking about the flowers and bringing them into the dining room.

  I removed the flowers that Glenda had put in the middle of the table and put the ones that he had picked me in its place.

  “Would you please sit down.” I waved at the share across the table from me.

  Glenda came into the dining room at a perfect time and I handed her the lilacs that had been on the table, she took care of them right away.