by Dawn Umrie
“I don’t mind in the least.” Instead of making her feel more at ease, I know that I’m doing just the opposite.
“Here are your shakes, sorry they took so long.” The server says in a worried voice.
We finished every bite of food, and I now feel like I have a lead ball in the middle of my stomach, but it was fuckin’ worth it. We kept our conversation light with talk of her home, Graffiti’s, and just general stuff. I figured we could pull out the big guns another time.
“So, you guys quote the movie Titanic all the time, I’ve heard. I obviously know the story, but I haven’t seen the movie.”
“Get out of here! Really?” She presses her hand to her chest.
“It’s the truth.”
“Wow, you’ll have to watch it. There are words in that movie to live by.”
“Duly noted,” I say with a smile. “Are we all set, it looks like they’re getting ready to close up shop here.”
“I am, thank you for feeding me.”
“It was my pleasure. I think our first date went well, don’t you?” I say as we walk over to the register.
Merissa looks like she was sucking on a fireball and just reached the hot part.
“Wait, this was a first date? I thought it was just a bite to eat like you said.”
“Right, we had a bite to eat on our first date. Unless you’d rather not think of it as such?”
She remained quiet while I paid and walked over to my car, so hopefully, I didn’t lay it on too thick. Both of us sit when she touches my hand on the gear shift between us and all too soon places it in her lap.
“It was a lovely first date.” A warm, sweet smile on her face.
“That it was, sweetheart.”
That’s when I see a full-on smile take over her face as she turned toward the window.
* * *
My car comes to a stop in her driveway behind her car, Lucy. That old Honda tells me that she doesn’t discard things just because they are old or have seen better days. I saw her salary and average tips. She could afford a newer car if she wanted to. The woman I’ve come across drive expensive cars, but hers is worth far more.
“Thanks, again, Seth. I had a nice time,” she says while lowering her head and looking at her hands.
I reach over and lift her chin up gently with my index finger and thumb. “I did, as well. Wait right here, let me open your door and walk you up.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary, but thanks.”
“Remember, Mama beatings?”
I hear her giggle as I make my way over to her side to open the door for her.
“Thank you, kind, sir,” she curtsies.
Fuck, when she calls me, sir, I want to groan out loud.
“My lady,” I say to her as I walk her up the small walkway to her front door.
She pulls out the same large keychain I retrieved the day at the coffee shop.
“Be sure to tell your mom that you were the perfect gentleman.”
“At least on the first date.” I wink.
If I could see her coloring in the moonlight, I’d lay money down that she was blushing again. Her air of innocence is a fuckin’ huge turn on.
I hold my hand out to her in invitation. She ponders over it briefly before placing her small hand in mine. Turning it so that her palm is facing up, I bring it just a hair’s breadth away from my lips and whisper, “Good night, Merissa.” My mouth touches her soft skin, while my eyes search hers, lingering for a few seconds before I release my hold.
“Good night, Seth.” She says on an exhalation.
“Get some effing curtains on these doors. It isn’t safe.” I say while she inserts her key and opens the door.
“Yes, sir.” She saves with a wave.
A gentleman can only take so much and I’m no exception. She might as well have saluted my dick as he came to full attention.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Merissa
Lying here in bed, the room is washed in a warm glow. The sun streaming through the blinds is casting golden lines across the wall resembling a blank page of a notebook.
Maybe in a strange way, this is life imitating art, since I could say that this shadow of a so-called page is a representation of a first, hopefully, many firsts I share with Seth. We just need to start filling in the words.
I’m feeling poetic like any woman that’s getting swept right off her feet, something I’ve only read about in romance novels. I could still feel his warm breath caressing my skin before he placed his soft lips there.
For years, I’ve felt like Cinderella before the ball, never having gone to prom or shared a first kiss under the bleachers. Instead, my mom’s illness took over my life without warning like an odorless gas, or at least that’s how it felt at the time.
I never stopped loving my mother, even as she unintentionally peeled away at my petals until there was no more beautiful rose. Days turned into months, months into years. Years that I’d decided to spend alone with my mother, who was failing a little more each passing day until I witnessed her very last breath.
I do miss her, dearly.
Not the women who chose drugs over her daughter, but the amazing mother who was behind the black smoke, unable to see her way clear.
Surprisingly, I saw a few guys casually along the way, using their company as an escape from my reality.
Mason, who I met while waitressing, was a regular customer who sat in my section. I’d grown fond of him, eating up the attention he showered me with. One day, he’d asked me out to dinner for the first time after I took his order.
We’d started dating after that, but I purposely didn’t invite him over to meet my mother, not knowing if she’d be cognizant or not. After running out of excuses and wanting to be honest with him, I broke down and told him about her condition and the why’s of me not having as much time to spend with him. He was understanding – even sympathetic to the situation, acting as if it was a non- issue.
Or so I thought. It seems he was filling in those gaps of time he wasn’t with me by spending it with other girls behind my back, instead.
He was the last person I slept with or even truly cared about. His betrayal should have affected me more than it had, but I was used to hurt and disappointment, having lived it every day. Instead, I blamed my mother for one more thing she stripped away from my very essence.
I filled the freestanding tub up high and added drops of Lavender and Ylang Ylang. Thinking about my past makes me all the stronger—that is, after the initial draining of energy that comes with it.
Sinking below the fragrant water, I close my eyes and allow my sudden contentment to carry me away.
Seth
Trish is sitting across from my desk as she tells me that the budget is beginning to bust a gut since unexpected issues that needed to be brought up to code ate a decent sized chunk of the budget.
I sit there with my hands steepled on top of my desk. “Do what you need to do, the budget is flexible.”
She looks like an addict who’s been handed an unlimited drug supply. “Flexible or not, I’ll do my best to manage it.”
“I know that you will, thank you, Trish. Is there anything else we need to discuss?”
She begins to stand up from her chair. “I think we’ve covered everything, and I’ll do my best to have it completed within the next 3 weeks, but it won’t be easy.”
“Nothing in life ever is.”
She smiles, “Isn’t that the truth. I’ll see you at the charity event on Saturday night.”
“I’ll be there,” I say as I escort her out of my office.
And that just reminded me of something I need to take care of.
Merissa
Folding another load of laundry in the small room off the kitchen that I’m incredibly grateful to have, I hear the doorbell ring. Smoothing down my hair and doing a quick once over to make sure I look presentable, I kick off my fuzzy slippers and walk barefoot to the front door.
The only thing I c
ould see is a massive floral arrangement with human legs under it.
“Hello, would you like me to set this somewhere for you?” A young man’s head pops out from the side.
“No, thank you. I’ll take it.” I say as I lift this heavy arrangement with just about every color representing, including my favorite, Gerbera Daisies.
“Have a nice day.” He says with a wave.
“You, too,” I said while closing the door.
I place the vase on the coffee table and pull out a large card, which right away is different than those miniature ones that are always attached. Smelling a rose first, I tear through the cream color envelope to find a fancy embossed paper, like that of a wedding invitation from Seth.
I read his handwritten invite with wide eyes. “Please do me the honor of accompanying me to my Dinner Gala for charity on May 6 at 7 PM. If I didn’t already have you at… dinner, there will also be dancing with yours truly. I’ve already taken the liberty of contacting Magnolia’s Boutique on Las Olas, so they will be expecting you tomorrow afternoon. The word, no is not an option, nor is there a cap on the budget. You are to pick out whatever you want. If you need to reschedule, let me know and I will make the arrangements.”
Get out of freakin’ town. This is my invitation to the ball after all. I grab my phone and shoot out a text to my Prince.
ME: I’ve never seen such beautiful flowers! Thank you so much! I would be honored to accompany you. FYI You did have me at dinner ;)
SETH: You are most welcome, but I’m the one who is honored. I knew dinner would seal the deal.
ME: But, Magnolias… that’s far too generous, I can’t accept such a gift.
SETH: Please do, or I’ll be even more broody around here, which could result in someone getting fired.
ME: Oh, no you didn’t just go there?
SETH: Yes, indeed, I did. So, it’s settled then?
ME: Yes. Thank you. X
SETH: X
Maybe I’m in a coma and all of this is happening to me while I’m under. Saturday is just a week away from the event, and initially, I wasn’t comfortable accepting the arrangements Seth made at the boutique. In the back of my mind, I knew that I couldn’t afford something to wear to this type of function, so I appreciate it all the same. Not that I have any experience in what’s worn at one, but surely it isn’t a dress from Forever 21.
Positioning the last of the fruit and cheese on a platter, I reach in the upper cabinet for three wine glasses and set them on the counter. Brook and Nate are coming over to hang out, and I’m loving being the hostess to my pals.
Searching the drawers, I find the wine opener I ‘borrowed’ from Graffiti’s and uncork the bottle that Sylvia bought me.
* * *
It’s hard to believe that the bar will be opening soon under a new name, which Seth has been keeping under wraps. My days here in the house have been nothing short of incredible, but I also miss the regulars, especially, Mr. Huxley. Not to mention, the loud music, laughter – and the chaos, I’ve grown accustomed to.
A tap on the door signals their arrival, and when I get closer, they’re doing some old school moves. Nate’s doing a pretty great running man and Brook, I think, is doing the sprinkler, so I stand in front of the door and act like the mature one, by doing the cabbage patch. By the time I open the door, we’re all cracking up—never a dull moment with these guys.
“Holy fo shizzle, this house is some storybook shit!” Nate says while walking around the living room.
“Right? I thought the same when I first saw it,” I said, thrilled with his same way of thinking. “Brook show him around a bit, I’m going to set up out here on the coffee table and pour the wine.”
“Come on, Nate, bets on who could find Merissa’s vibrator upstairs,” Brook says as she runs like a child up the stairs.
“I invited you here, why?” I yell from the bottom of the staircase.
I hear her voice in answer, but can’t make out what she said in response, but I’m sure it had something to do with that I’d be lost without her… and she’d be right.
Waiting for the two to come back down, I sit on the loveseat with my feet tucked under me, a full glass of red wine in my hand.
“I am so happy for you, Rissa. This place is so you not that piece of shit you’ve been living in for over a year. You’ll have to show me the rest later. Wine, first.” Nate says while reaching for the glass.
“May joy and peace surround you in this beautiful house,” Brook says while we hold our glasses out and clink them together.
“Okay,” Nate says while crossing one leg over the other and sitting back in the overstuffed chair. “I heard that Mr. V. is after your V?”
Holding my mouth filled with wine before I spit it out and stain the furniture. “Well, that’s a romantic way to put it.”
Brook snorts like the lady that she is while reaching for the grapes. “I saw the way he was looking at you at the gym. He looked like a lion and you were the helpless caribou.”
“Someone’s watching too much Animal Planet,” I say while taking a bite of sharp cheddar.
Nate chimes in, “Lucky, biatch! Better yet, tell us about the invitation.”
Untucking my legs, I set my glass down. “Hang on. I’ll go get it. I have it on my fridge like it’s the royal baby announcement,” I say, laughing while handing it to Nate.
Nate reaches out and smells the paper. “He is a royal babe, so you aren’t that far off there.” He reads it out loud emphasizing the words, ‘do me.’
Brook grabs the invite out of his hand and waves it at her face as if fanning herself. “It’s kinda’ “Fifty Shades”—ish. Maybe he has a red room of pain, too.”
I throw a small toss pillow at her when I see there’s no wine in her hand.
Nate rubs his hands together like he has a master plan. “I have an idea.”
Brook and I groan in unison because last time he said that it involved him, placing condoms in people’s shopping carts while they weren’t looking.
He holds up his hand. “Nothing crazy. I was going to suggest that we google, Mr. V,” he says while raising his eyebrows up and down.
“Yass let’s do it,” Brook says while wiggling her shoulders.
“Really? What happened to finding these things out through dating,” I say.
“Why, when you could find out what would take you at least a week of dating to, in just a few minutes,” Nate says while fishing out his phone from his pocket.
“Wait, my iPad is in the car, I’ll go get it, so we could all see better.” Brook runs out the door and to her car in record time.
Out of breath, Brook comes back in and locks the door behind her. “You should really get something to cover these windows.”
Smiling, thinking of someone else telling me the same. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”
Nate is standing behind Brooke’s chair, and I’m practically sitting in her lap.
Brook gasps, Nate puts his hand over his mouth and I sit there wide-eyed and frozen.
Words that are in connection with Seth are in articles titled: Vas Enterprises, largest in the United States, most eligible, bachelor, tycoon, multi-millionaire, charities, success.
Breaking the silence, Nate is the first to speak. “Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit.”
* * *
It’s almost 10 o’clock at night as I reach over to the bedside table and unplug my phone from the charger. It’s late for a call, but a text has no time restrictions. Finding Seth’s name in my contacts, I decided that I might as well come clean as his internet stalker, or at the very least, an accomplice to the internet stalkers.
ME: My terribly nosey friends and I kind of, sort of, googled you tonight. I could blame the wine.
SETH: Kind of, sort of, huh? Usually, you don’t tell the person when you do.
ME: I’m always honest to a fault.
SETH: Admirable quality. Find out anything interesting?
ME: Neh. Lol<
br />
SETH: I’ll have to up my game then.
ME: I think you’ve already hit it out of the ballpark. Night, Seth.
SETH: I certainly did when I met you. Good night, sweetheart.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Seth
Merissa seems excited for my event tonight, and for the very first time, I am as well. I enjoy raising money for charity, that has always excited me, but showing up there with the flavor of the month never has.
Yesterday, Merissa sent me a picture of herself from Magnolia’s holding up a garment bag, a huge grin on her exquisite face. Later in the day, she texted pictures of the most hideous gowns with her face photoshopped on top, a message underneath each one hinting at the possibility that it could be the one she’d be wearing.
Little does she know that she could be wearing one of those, even the one that looked like a box of Skittles blew up all over it, and she’d still be the most beautiful woman in the room.
At past events, I’ve gone with whomever I was having sex with at the time, nothing more, nothing less. They would, in turn, get their face plastered in magazines, social media, and newspapers. The arrangement worked for both parties involved, but tonight, it’s different in every way possible. I feel like the guy who’s going to the prom with the most popular girl at school.
How did I get so fuckin’ lucky?
Checking through the remainder of my emails before I head out of the office early, Janine knocks and enters at the same time, which doesn’t make shit for sense to me. It’s like when you’re eating, and someone asks if they could have something off your plate, but they reach over and take it before you answer.
“Your suit just arrived, Seth. I know you will wear it well,” she says while holding it up like it’s a prize on the Price is Right. “I placed the box with the ‘V’ initial cufflinks in the jacket pocket. Very sharp.”
“Great, thank you. Would you mind hanging it over there? I’ll just be a little while longer.” I say while pointing to the coat rack I have on the wall.