by Cheri Marie
“We have to go, the car is waiting outside for us,” I say to Landon.
“Okay,” he says. “Well when can I see you again?”
He wants to see me again? Even after his confrontation with Liam? Surely he’s just being nice, I think to myself.
“I don’t know. I’m really busy with work. I rarely have any free time.”
“Okay, well if you come across some free time give me a call,” he hands me his business card.
“Okay. Thank you for the drink. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“Goodnight beautiful Arianna, I hope to see you again soon,” he whispers in my ear as he gives me a tender kiss on the cheek goodbye. My cheeks heat and I blush.
I wave bye as Ashlan and I make our way out of the club. The air outside is refreshing. The car is just pulling up as we exit the club. Good timing. The driver gets out and opens the door for us, we both climb in.
“Do you mind crashing at my place tonight?” I ask Ashlan.
“Sure,” she says.
“Driver, there will only be one drop off, we’re both going to my place.”
“Okay no problem Miss,” says the driver.
“So what did Landon say to you?” Ashlan asks.
“Not too much really, he confirmed he was the one that was the anonymous donor though.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“What did he say about the Liam situation?”
“He said to not worry about what happened that it’s okay. He asked when we were leaving when he could see me again.”
“See, I told you he likes you. So when did you say you could see him again?”
“I told him I didn’t know. That Angels for Heroes keeps me busy and I rarely have any free time.”
“Ari… come on. He seems like a great guy, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of you. He punched Liam for calling you a fat bitch for God's sake! He’s obviously completely smitten and protective over you.”
I scoff at her.
“Ashlan, don’t be ridiculous. I’ve only just met him. I’m still trying to work through that last fight with Liam and what just happened at the club. I don’t have the time or the energy for a new relationship.”
We pull up outside the house and I don’t wait for the driver to open my door. I climb out and head to my door to unlock it. I don’t know why I’m so frustrated with her right now, but I feel the need to distance myself from her for just a minute to breathe. Maybe it’s because you know she’s right, my subconscious growls at me. I shake it off. Ashlan catches up as I get the door unlocked.
“I’m sorry Ari, I just know how kind, caring, and amazing you are. I just want you to be happy.”
“I know, it’s okay,” I smile at her.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” I ask Ashlan.
“Sure,” she says.
“Okay. I’m going upstairs to change into pajamas and I’ll be right back down. There are a set of your pajamas in the guest room if you want to change.”
“Okay, I’m going to change then too.”
I go up to my room and change into my comfy flannel pajamas and head back downstairs. Ashlan is sitting on the couch flipping through her phone.
“So what do you want to watch?”
“I don’t care, pick something funny.”
“Okay, funny it is.” I grab a movie from the shelf and slip it into the DVD player.
I watch as Arianna and her friend leave the club. I want to chase after her but how ridiculous would I look chasing after a woman I barely know; let alone chase after a woman at all. So much for going out for a few drinks to get my mind off of Arianna, I think to myself. Out of all the clubs in the city how do we just happen to end up at the same club? This is either purely a fucked up coincidence, or its fate slapping me in the face.
I find my mind thinking about what it would be like to have her all to myself, not having to share her with hundreds of people. I chug down what’s left of my beer. Looking for Damien to let him know I’m heading out, I spot him at the bar. As I make my way toward the bar a seemingly attractive blonde steps in front of me and twerks her ass against me, looking back at me she winks. I take a step back. “Thanks but no thanks sweetheart,” I say to her and softly push her to the side so that I can continue on my way.
“What the hell was that about?” asks Damien.
“What was what about?”
“That hot blonde that you just brushed off like she wasn’t just rubbing her ass all over you.”
I shrug, “Not interested.”
“Dude, you just fucking met her. Snap the hell out of it!”
“I’m trying but I can’t shake her. There’s just something about her. I’m going to head home. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.” He just shakes his head at me.
On my way out I say bye to Dee and thank him for handling Liam and not kicking me out for losing my shit. Thinking about how Arianna physically reacted to him tapping her on the shoulder pisses me off and I feel the anger build inside me again. I don’t know why I feel so protective over her, maybe I am losing it. I jump into my car and drive away from the club, heading in the direction of my apartment. While driving, I let my mind wander to green eyes and a sexy plus size figure.
I wake up on the couch where I had fallen asleep last night. Checking the time I notice it’s almost noon. Wow, I haven’t slept that late in a long time. Ashlan is still snoozing on the other couch, I let her sleep. Getting up, I head to the kitchen to put on coffee. Sitting down at the breakfast bar with my laptop, I check emails. About 10 minutes later, Ashlan comes walking into the kitchen stretching and yawning.
“Good morning sleepy head.”
“Good morning,” she says.
“Coffee will be done in a couple minutes. How are you feeling?”
“Better than I thought I would, that’s for sure.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Starved!”
“Okay, I’ll cook something. Do you want brunch or lunch?”
“Brunch sounds yummy.”
“Okay.”
I fix myself a cup of coffee then get to work. I grab a mixing bowl to mix the batter in for the pancakes and grab the eggs and bacon out of the refrigerator. I put the pans on the stove to heat up and then lay out two place settings at the breakfast bar. I finish cooking quickly and serve up our plates. I grab the butter and syrup from the fridge and take my seat next to Ashlan. The food smells delicious and I dig in.
“Mmm… You’re such a good cook. Is there anything you can’t do?” says Ashlan.
I laugh at her. “Please Ashlan, pancakes, bacon and eggs are hardly rocket science.”
She laughs but says nothing. We finish brunch and I clear our plates. Ashlan offers to wash the dishes since I cooked.
“So are you going to call Landon? I really think you should,” asks Ashlan.
“This again? I don’t know yet. I’m still kind of embarrassed about what happened last night.”
“Don’t be embarrassed Arianna. He didn’t have to defend you like that last night, but it’s obvious that he wanted to, and he did.”
I stay quiet, thinking about the events that occurred the night before at Sashay’s. I agree that surely Landon would have no problem dealing with Liam. But do I really want to pursue this man? A beautiful, sexy, chiseled man that has the potential to break me too. I’ve barely noticed that Ashlan is babbling on. After listening to her go on and on I finally give in.
“Fine, I’ll call him. But I’m going to wait it out for a couple days.”
“Finally!” she says.
My overbearing best friend got her way yet again. I shake my head in exasperation at her. We finish cleaning up from brunch and spend the rest of the day in our pajamas just relaxing, enjoying our girl time together.
“I guess I should probably have you take me home. It’s back to reality tomorrow and I have some things to get together for the resort,” says Ashlan.
“Okay.”
I grab my keys and we’re out the door. We pull up at Ashlan’s house and I give her a hug goodbye.
“You better call Landon like you said you would. Don’t over think it,” she says as she climbs out of the car.
Ashlan knows me better than anyone else. She knows I will think about it and overanalyze the situation. Which usually results in me backing out.
“I know,” I say exasperated. “I will call him, I promise. When I do I’ll be sure to call you and let you know what he says.”
She grins and closes the door. She waves bye as I pull out of her driveway and head home. When I get home I decide to read for a little while before going to bed. I head to the library. My favorite book, Broken, is laying on the lounge where I left it. It’s by an amazing new indie author that I happened to discover while looking for some books for my library. I have to say it’s the best discovery I’ve ever made! The emotions she can invoke are unreal. It’s like you can feel everything the characters are feeling. Her writing is, in one word, amazing. I sit down and get comfortable, grabbing the book, I start reading, getting lost in the emotional rollercoaster of the fictional world.
I open my eyes and for a second my surroundings seem strange and I panic. I blink a couple times and breathe a sigh of relief. I’m still in the library. I must have fallen asleep while I was reading. I check my phone for the time; holy crap it’s six in the morning! Time to get ready for work. I hop up, leaving my book on the lounge again and head up to my room.
I grab a pink dress that I bought not too long ago out of the closet, along with a white cardigan and white flats. I shower quickly and then get dressed. I put on some mascara, eyeliner, and some lip gloss and I’m out the door. I pull into the office and Tristan has already opened up. I grab my things and head inside. Tristan already has my calendar pulled up and is running through my schedule for the day. I’m not really listening until I hear her say,
“A Mr. Holt called for you; He asked that you call him back.”
“Sure thing, I’ll do that right now. Thank you Tristan.”
I walk into my office and close the door behind me. I sit at my desk and pick up the phone. Pulling Landon’s business card from my clutch, I let my fingers linger over the keypad before I dial his number.
“Hello?” he says.
“Hello Mr. Holt, my assistant Tristan says you requested I call you.”
“Wow, so formal,” he jokes.
I giggle, “So what can I do for you Mr. Holt?”
“Please, call me Landon, and I was wondering if you are free for lunch today.”
Silence lingers on the line for a moment as I consider his proposal. Ashlan’s ‘Don’t overthink it Ari’ rings through my mind.
“Um… yea, sure.”
“Good, shall I pick you up around noon?”
“Sure, noon is great. See you then.”
“See you then beautiful,” he says and then hangs up.
I hang up. Wow, even over the phone the pull to him is intense. As much as I want to deny it, I am attracted to him. Especially after Saturday night, no one has ever stuck up for me like that. It’s a total turn on.
I hang up the phone from asking Arianna to lunch. She finally agreed to go out with me. Finally I get the chance to get to know her; her likes, dislikes, favorite food, everything you learn when first getting to know someone. I’ve never looked forward to a date with a woman so much before. Last night I didn’t have the usual nightmares. Last night I dreamt of gorgeous piercing green eyes that can see right into my soul.
I finish up the documents at work that I’ve been working on all day before I head out for lunch. I pull up in front of Arianna’s office. It’s little; nothing like my office at the hospital, but it has a homey feel to it. I get out and walk into the office. Arianna’s secretary is sitting at her desk and looks up when she hears the door. Her jaw nearly drops to the floor. Pick your chin up sweetheart, I think to myself.
I decide to call Ashlan and give her the news.
“Hey girl. What’s up?”
“Well, when I got to work Tristan was giving me my schedule for the day. She also informed me that a Mr. Holt had called and requested that I call him back when I came in.”
“Oh my, did you call him?”
“I did.”
“Don’t be coy with me! What did he want? What did you say?”
“Well, he asked me to go to lunch with him.”
“And? Please tell me you said yes!” she squeals into the phone.
“I said I would. He’s picking me up at noon.”
“Woohoo finally!” she screams. I’m sure everyone in her job is looking at her like she’s crazy.
“Okay, crazy lady, I have work to get done before lunch. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay, but you better call me after and tell me how it goes.”
“I will. Goodbye Ashlan.”
“Bye Ari,” she says and hangs up.
I spend my time before lunch going through applications of families that need assistance. I sort them by priority and by what they need assistance with. After I’ve finished with the applications I decide to brainstorm some ideas for other fundraisers. I check the time, it’s almost noon. I organize my desk and check my hair and make-up in the mirror. I suddenly feel nervous. Tristan knocks on my office door making me jump.
“Come in.”
“Arianna, Mr. Holt is here for you," she says.
“Thank you Tristan. Please let him know I will be with him in just a minute.”
“Yes ma’am,” she exits, closing the door behind her.
I check my face in the mirror one more time. Taking a deep breath, I push open my office door and walk out into the lobby. He stands to greet me. The butterflies are back instantly as I take in the beautiful man before me. God, will I ever get tired of looking at him?
“Hello Arianna.”
“Hello,” I say back sweetly. He kisses my hand and my skin tingles where his lips have just been.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, I’m ready,” I turn to Tristan. “Tristan, I’ll be back by 1:30. If anyone calls please take a message. Also, there’s a stack of applications that have a post-it note that says priority. Could you please contact them and set up a time for them to come in?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank you, Tristan.”
We head for the door and Landon holds it open for me. I look back at Tristan and she winks at me. When we reach the car Landon walks to the passenger side and opens the door for me. I thank him and climb in. His car is beautiful; it’s a Bentley Continental GT. The exterior is an electric blue and black, the interior is black leather that’s smooth like butter. I run my hand over the soft material.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” He says as he climbs into the drivers seat.
“Yes, it’s gorgeous.” He smiles at me, I smile back.
“So where would you like to go to lunch?” he asks.
“Where ever you would like is fine with me.”
“Okay. I know this great little Italian place about five minutes from here. That’s where we’ll go.”
“Sounds great.”
He starts the engine and pulls out of the parking lot. The car rides like a dream, even better than my Lexus. A short time later we’re in front of this small intimate Italian restaurant. He parks the car, quickly jumping out he comes around and opens my door. I climb out and he takes my hand and leads me into the restaurant. The contact of his hand in mine warms my body. The hostess stares as we approach her.
“How many today?” she beams, as she lets her eyes wander over Landon.
“Two please,” he says. “May we have a corner booth?”
“Sure,” she purrs at him, batting her eyelashes. He seems to be oblivious to the fact that she’s eye fucking the shit out of him.
She looks over at me and then back at Landon. I can only imagine what she’s thinking. What is he doing with HER? I shake the thought from my head. She leads us to our table
and we take our seats. He orders a bottle of Moscato and two glasses. Pouring us both a glass, we tap them together in cheers. I take a sip; it’s delicious.
“So why did you ask me to lunch today?”
“What do you mean why?”
“Because, well you’re you, and I’m well… me.” I’m embarrassed at the words as they fall out of my mouth.
“Wow. I think I should be offended that you think I would be that shallow, but given what I witnessed Saturday night I understand. I asked you to lunch to get to know you. You are a beautiful and successful woman. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I’m pulled to you. Also, what you do with Angels for Heroes, the help you supply those people with; I think it’s amazing.”
I sit there for a minute just looking at him. He’s gorgeous and he wants to get to know me. He seems genuine but I can’t help all the negative thoughts that flood my mind. Don’t overthink it Ari, stop analyzing his every word, I think to myself. I manage a smile, he smiles back.
I take a deep breath. “So what would you like to know?” I ask him. He gives me a big all teeth megawatt smile and I nearly melt.
We sip our wine while eating lunch, enjoying each other’s company and conversation. We talk about our families and our jobs, our likes and dislikes, things we like to do on our free time, and our hobbies. We’ve finished eating and I check the time. It’s 1:00, I told Tristan I’d be back by 1:30 but I really don’t want to go.
“Well, we better head back. I have a lot of work to do.”
“No problem,” he waves the waitress over and pays the bill; but not without me first protesting that I pay for my meal. We head back to my office, neither of us really saying much.
We pull up in front of my office and he climbs out to open my door.