“Looks like you’re joining the club!”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Eliza
I practically skipped into work that morning. When Mae saw me, she burst out laughing.
“What happened to your hair?” she asked.
My hands flew to my head. “My hair? Why? What’s wrong with it? It was fine when I left for work this morning.”
“Well, it’s not fine anymore. You need a brush. It’s all over the place.”
I chuckled. “Oh, that’s probably because Ian took me to work this morning on his bike. It’s helmet hair.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Ian took you to work? Did I just hear that correctly?”
I laughed. “Oh yeah, I have a lot to tell you. Is John here?”
She shook her head. “Nope. He’s out this morning at some meeting, and he took Paul with him. So we have the office to ourselves. I’ll make the coffee.”
Mae came back moments later holding two steaming cups of coffee and we both took a sip and sighed. I sat down at my desk and Mae pulled up a chair.
“Right. Tell me everything.”
I told her about how there was a place that I knew Ian went to when he wanted to clear his head.
“I figured he’d come there eventually, but I wasn’t sure how often I would have to go. I mean, I needed to get both the day and the time just perfect. But, somehow, the stars were aligned in our favor. I was only there for probably less than half an hour when he pulled up.”
“No freaking way!” Mae said and squealed with delight. She was a fantastic audience to have.
“Yeah, I couldn’t believe it. He sat down, surprised to see me there. And before I knew it we were both apologizing. He said he didn’t blame me. He just thought I didn’t want to see him again. We talked it out, just like you suggested, and we made up.”
“You made up?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Just kissing?”
I shook my head and felt the color rising to my face.
“Hang on a second! Are you telling me that the two of you had sex out there? Isn’t it out in the open?”
I giggled. “Yeah, it’s sort of open. I mean, I don’t think anyone could see us, but there was a slight possibility that someone would walk past. But I don’t think either of us really cared at that moment.”
“You did it out there? On the grass?”
I laughed. “We sure did. And he officially asked me to be his girlfriend.”
She put her mug down and leaned in to hug me. “Oh Eliza, I’m so happy for you. Did you spend the rest of the weekend with him?”
“I sure did. I slept over there last night too, and he dropped me off this morning.”
“I must say, you look happy. And I’m happy for you. This one is a keeper.”
“I think so too.”
“And John is going to be happy.”
“John? Why?”
Mae chuckled. “The poor guy felt so uncomfortable seeing you so sad. He’s such a guy.”
I laughed. “So, come on now. When are the two of you going to finally admit to each other that you like one another? It’s so obvious. Even Ian said so, and he doesn’t even know you that well. He said the guy is hooked.”
Mae grinned. She took a sip of her coffee and just smiled at me.
“You guys finally told each other!”
“Oh man, I’ve been dying to tell you.”
“And you let me go on about Ian all this time! You should’ve told me.”
“Nah, you had pretty big news too. I wanted to hear about Ian.”
“Okay, but enough about that now. Tell me everything. How did it happen?”
“Well, I was supposed to do a bit of work on the weekend, and on Sunday I realized that I’d left the file on my desk. So I made my way to the office, but then I couldn’t find the key anywhere. I called John to see if maybe there was a spare one hidden somewhere, like in a pot plant or something. He said he’d swing by and let me in. So he came by, and we went inside the office together to get my file. And while we were there we just ended up talking. I had made us a cup of coffee, and we were sitting in the conference room because it was the warmest place inside to be. We were just talking about random stuff, and suddenly he just blurted out that he liked me.”
“Smooth,” I said.
“Yeah,” she giggled. “It was so out of the blue that it took both of us by surprise. Then I told him that I liked him, too. And before I knew it, we were kissing.”
“You kissed! Finally. How was it?” I had been waiting for this moment to happen ever since I knew that Mae liked him. I still couldn’t believe that it had taken this long.
“I knew I had been waiting for John for a reason. I’ve kissed many guys before in my past, but it wasn’t like this. This was perfect. Fairy-tale perfect. I have never experienced anything like that in my life. I mean, I know what you experienced with Ian now. Like I just sort of sat there in shock afterward.”
“Oh wow. I can’t believe it finally happened. I’m so excited for you.”
“But that’s not all.”
“It’s not?”
“Oh, no. One kiss wasn’t enough.”
“Oh yeah? I like where this story is going. Tell me more!”
“There were a lot of pent up emotions that we’d gathered up over the year. I found out that he had liked me for a very long time. Even longer than I had liked him. We’ve both been keeping those feelings inside us the whole time, so the moment we kissed, it was obvious that we were going to do more.”
“Are you about to tell me that you had sex with John in the conference room?” I asked. I couldn’t believe it. I decided not to tell her that Ian and I had beaten her to it. I didn’t want to take away from her big moment. I’d tell her one day when the whole thing had settled down a bit more.
She chuckled. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to tell you. We did it on the conference room table. It was the most incredible thing ever. I mean, it sort of makes sense that our first time having sex would be at work, don’t you think? Seeing as though that’s where this whole love affair started.”
“It is actually kind of perfect,” I admitted. “So, that was last night? What happened afterward?”
“Well, nothing really. We laughed and talked, and everything sort of went back to normal, which was pretty incredible. I went back home, and he went back home. And then, this morning, at like six o’clock, he knocked on my door.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, he wanted to talk to me before work. He said he couldn’t sleep. And I had this sinking feeling that he was going to tell me that he can’t be with me. But next thing I knew we were kissing again. I know it’s going to sound clichéd, but last night we had sex on the table, and this morning we made love on my bed. Both pretty incredible moments.”
“And, did you ever get to talk?”
“We did. And we’ve decided to give it a go. We both know it might be awkward with working together, but we’re willing to try. And anyway, I don’t see it being all that different from how it was before. I mean, we both flirted shamelessly, anyway.”
“That’s true. And it won’t be awkward. The two of you are meant to be together. Wow, this is big news, Mae. Is he coming in at all today?”
“Yeah, he’ll be back later. He said he’s going to tell Paul while they are out, and I said I’d tell you. It will only be a bit weird today, and I’m sure after that it will be back to normal.”
“Normal is overrated, anyway,” I said and grinned at her. Just then my phone rang, and I moaned. “Who is interrupting our gossip session? Ah, it’s my mother. Let me get it.”
Mae pushed off back to her desk while I answered the phone.
“Hi, Mom,” I said. I still hadn’t completely forgiven her for everything that had happened, but she was my mom, and I still loved her regardless. “How’s it going?”
“Hi, darling. I’m fine. I just wanted to see how things were there.”
�
�Things are great,” I said as I surveyed the room around me.
“Have you spoken to Raymond at all?” she asked.
“Nope. And I don’t think I will. Have you?”
“I saw him at the store the other day, but he walked right by me,” she said.
“That’s good. There’s no point pretending anymore.”
“I guess you’re right. Well, I just wanted to know when you were coming home. I mean, now that the whole thing with Raymond is over, you don’t really have to be there. Do you?”
I knew what my mom was getting at. She was asking me in a roundabout way whether or not I was still seeing Ian. She just didn’t know how to say it out loud.
I looked at Mae, who had headphones in and was bobbing her head to whatever music she was listening to, and grinned. “I am home.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ian
One month later
“Well, thanks for having me again, everyone. Before we start, I just wanted to update you on what is happening with my father. He’s doing a lot better, and he seems to be responding well to the treatment. I spoke to the doctor and he said that he’ll be up and running in no time. Well, maybe not running, but definitely riding,” I said, and everyone laughed.
I looked around at the sea of familiar faces and smiled. Considering I hadn’t wanted to ever take over from my father, I was surprised at how good it felt to be up there. Having the responsibility seemed to have changed me too. I no longer felt the need to snap at people or to be rude to them. I was in charge of the club, so I had to be amicable and adaptable. And, as it turned out, I wasn’t half as bad as that as I had always thought I was.
“Okay, I think that about wraps it up,” I said once the meeting was done. “Thank you all for coming. I’ll hang around for a while, so if you have any questions, please come and talk to me.”
I walked down and saw Patriot walking my way. He’d been the only person that I’d felt a bit nervous about seeing. After all, not so long ago, my father had given him the job and then taken it away from him. And even though I kept meaning to talk to him about it, I didn’t. Then it felt as if it was too late to say anything, so I’d just left it.
“You did good,” he said to me as I got nearer. “How about I buy you a beer?”
“A beer sounds great. Thank you.”
We walked over to the bar and ordered our beers. When it arrived, we touched glasses and cheered to our father. I took a sip and then looked at him.
“So, you’re not upset?”
“About what?” he said. He seemed genuinely unsure of what I was talking about.
“Uh, about being in charge? I know Dad gave you the job after the whole mess-up with the media.”
“Are you kidding me? I was so relieved when he called to tell me that you had demanded to have it back.”
“Relieved? I thought you wanted to do this?”
“Since when?”
I thought about it. He hadn’t actually told me that he wanted the job. I’d just assumed. And apparently, I’d assumed wrong.
“So, you never wanted to be in charge?”
“Hell no. This is so not my thing. And it felt wrong considering I’ve been AWOL for quite some time. I know I’ve been hanging around more lately, but I’ve missed so many meetings, and I haven’t been nearly as involved as you are. I’d feel like a hypocrite standing up there in front of everyone. Especially when there are people that are far more deserving of the position.”
“No kidding,” I said thoughtfully. “Well, I clearly got that one wrong.”
“Yeah, you got a lot of things wrong. You were never really willing to give me a chance, were you?”
“I’m sorry. I just always thought you were Dad’s favorite.”
“He doesn’t have a favorite, and he never has. He just doesn’t push me for this stuff because he knows I don’t want to do it. That’s why he’s so hard on you: because he’s always wanted you to take over the business. We could all see that you’d be perfect for the job. Only you couldn’t see it. And trying to convince you of something is not easy, trust me.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I’m starting to see that now. Well, thanks for the support, Patriot. I appreciate. You’re a good brother.”
“Whoa. You really have changed.”
“I suppose I have.”
We sat for an hour or so, just talking about old times. I’d forgotten what a funny guy Patriot was, and how much fun he was to be around when I wasn’t so annoyed at him. As I left, we made a promise to get together more often. I realized that we both knew very little about each other’s lives.
When I got home, I smelled something amazing coming from the kitchen. I turned the corner and saw that Eliza was stirring the food, wearing an apron, a pair of blue sneakers, and nothing else. I only realized when she turned around and I saw her bare bottom.
“Seriously? I get to come home to this? A naked woman cooking me dinner?”
She untied the ribbon of the apron, and I watched as it fell to the floor.
“Almost naked,” she said and pointed to her shoes.
“Leave them on, Lashes.”
We made love in the living room, away from the hot plates on the stove, and afterward, we sat in robes while we tucked into some Chinese food that she’d created.
“This is amazing,” I said as I attempted to pick up the noodles with my chopsticks.
She handed me a fork and laughed. “I’m glad you like it. I’m starting to get more creative in the kitchen. Mae made this for John the other day, and she said it was a big hit.”
“I can see why. It’s excellent. You’re excellent, too.”
She laughed. “How did the meeting go?”
“It went well. I’m not as bad at it as I thought I would be. The last time was good, but this time was even better. I was way less nervous. Oh, and afterward I went for a beer with Patriot.”
“Oh yeah? And you’re still smiling?”
“He’s not such a bad guy after all. Oh, and I invited him out for dinner next week with us.”
“With us?”
“Well, I want him to meet my girlfriend.” What I didn’t tell her was that it was the first time I was ever introducing a girl to a member of my family. I’d never even asked a girl to be my girlfriend before.
“And I’d love to meet him, too.”
We sat for a while just talking and laughing, and I couldn’t believe that I had met someone as wonderful as her. Who would’ve thought that the woman of my dreams would be a sneaker-wearing Californian girl who loved wearing yellow? She was everything my previous hookups were not. They were always dark and gloomy, but she was all sunshine.
“Thank you for dinner, Lashes. And for the incredible greeting. I think you should always walk around in aprons.”
She chuckled. “It’s my pleasure. Don’t you remember the plan from ages ago? Sex first so that you’ll always like what I cook you.”
“Well, it seems to be working,” I said.
She leaned over and kissed me, and was just about to take my plate away when I stopped her.
“I love you,” I blurted out. I hadn’t meant to say it with so much haste. Hell, I hadn’t expected to say it at all. I was just going to tell her how much I liked her. But the word love had just popped out. I started to panic and was just about to backtrack when she took my hand.
“I love you, too.”
Epilogue
Eliza
Two years later
I lay in Ian’s bed, wondering why on earth I still had an apartment. I was never there anymore. I generally just went there to get my things, but I was leaving more and more of my belongings behind at Ian’s house. I was going to have to talk to him about moving in. It seemed silly not to. I loved my apartment, but it was way smaller than Ian’s and his was more convenient for work for both of us. I looked at the time and grinned. It was almost ten in the morning, and I was still lying in bed. Ian had left early that morning for a breakfast date with his
father, and I’d told myself that I was going to have a productive day. But so far, I’d just stayed in bed, dozing off or sometimes reading. It was nice.
Sometimes I couldn’t believe that I’d been with Ian for two years. We’d gone through so much in the beginning that we’d gotten close a lot quicker than a normal relationship. But I knew that I didn’t ever want to be with anyone else. He was the one. I just knew it. I’d taken him home to California about nine months prior. It was the first time that I’d gone home, and it felt strange to be back there. Ian had been worried that I would take one look at the place and want to move back. But that hadn’t happened. I knew it wouldn’t.
We’d stayed with my mother for a few days, and even though she objected to the relationship at the start, she was clearly enamored with Ian by the time we left. She’d told me that she had been in the wrong and that she had only been looking out for my best interests. Things hadn’t been good between my mother and I, but after going back home to see her, it had gotten better. She called at least twice a week now to catch up, and sometimes she spoke to Ian more than she spoke to me. She often asked if I would come back, and I always said no. I loved my mother, but Arizona as my home now. Ian was my home.
I heard the door open and close and then saw Ian’s face pop around the corner.
“You still in bed?”
I laughed. “Yeah. I’m in such a lazy mood.”
“Good, you deserve it. You’re the hardest working person I’ve ever met. I mean, I thought I was a workaholic. But you take the cake.”
“I love cake,” I said, and we both laughed.
He wasn’t lying about work, though. The company had gotten huge over the past two years and was now the leading party company in Arizona. John was now looking at expanding the business to more cities in the state, and was currently in the process of looking for staff members and venues. Mae and I were still the top party planners in the company, and we’d both hired an assistant to help us. On top of that, we’d hired an assistant for Paul, as well as a receptionist. The company was booming. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the outside of the building, which was still as derelict as before. I loved it.
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