Taming the Whirlwind

by L. M. Heidle

  He stopped halfway across the lobby and whispered, “Elizabeth.” As I turned, he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. With one word, the electric charge between us was stronger than ever before. Now, it felt like a tiny spark compared to the fire raging through me at his touch. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my hair. “Elizabeth, my sweet Elizabeth.” With that, he let me go and started walking again. I guess this was it. It hurt more than I thought it would.

  He opened the door for me. It was warm out that evening, but I felt oddly cold. We stood there on the sidewalk, looking at each other as the hustle of New York City passed by us in slow motion. He put his hand on my cheek and broke the silence, “I won’t take up any more of your time. Thank you for the precious moments you have given me. There is no one else like you, Ms. Elizabeth Day. If you ever need anything at all, all you have to do is ask.” There was something in his eyes, an emotion I had never seen before. It almost looked as if they were hurting. I leaned my face into his hand before I took a step back.

  I didn’t know what to say so I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. With that, I turned and walked down the sidewalk towards the crossway. I looked back over my shoulder and he was standing there staring at me. It was harder to walk away from him than it had been with my high school sweetheart, Brent. Kade and I had known each other for less than a week but there was just something about him that called to me on a level that Brent never had. I faced forward again and walked across the street with everyone else. I walked the short distance to the bar. I grabbed the handle and took one last look to where he had stood, but the Mercedes was gone.

  I walked into the bar and immediately heard, “Over here, Liz.” I turned to my right and there was everyone from work. Danny came over and handed me a beer. “Where were you? We tried calling you.”

  “Sorry, there was a problem with the elevator.” What was I supposed to say? I just had the most amazing sex of my life and that I just had my hardest breakup without actually being in a relationship. My explanation seemed to satisfy him because he joined back into the conversation everyone was having. I tried to be polite and join in too, but my mind was miles away. After one drink, I just couldn’t do it anymore. I stood and told everyone goodbye. They all waved as Danny walked me to the door. “Are you okay? You seem so different from when we left work. Do you want me to take you home?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just a little tired. You stay and have fun. I will see you Monday.”

  “Okay. Have a great weekend.” With that, he opened the door as I walked out.

  I rushed home because I refused to cry on the street. I don’t remember the walk home but somehow, I made it to my apartment. Meg was just coming out of her room as I breezed past her without a word and went to my room. As soon as the door closed, I sank to my knees and the floodgates opened. It felt so good to cry. I had bottled up all of my emotions about him over the week and now, they flowed freely. There was a knock at the door, and Meg walked in.

  “Oh honey. What’s wrong?” She wrapped me in her arms and held me until I could answer her.

  Finally, I couldn’t cry anymore. I looked up at her and simply said, “It’s over.” A confused look crossed her face.

  “What’s over?” Once the words were out of her mouth, she stopped because she knew. “You mean with him. What happened?”

  I told her about him finding me at lunch: what he said about us, the lunch walk, how he reacted to the other guys, then what happened in the elevator, and what happened in his office. She was quiet for a moment. Lastly, I told her about the way we said goodbye.

  “Lizzy, I’m so sorry. Maybe it’s better this way. He has had you tied in knots since you met him.”

  “Meg, you don’t understand. It’s hard to explain, but there is just something about him. I know you think it’s sexual tension but it’s more than that. I know he wants more; I can tell by the way he said goodbye. It was in his eyes. They almost looked like saying goodbye was breaking his heart. It’s the weirdest thing, but I can tell what he’s feeling by looking into those eyes. It’s almost like something has happened to him and he doesn’t want to go back there. Maybe I should look into that or does that sound a little crazy?”

  “Honestly, it sounds a little crazy. Regardless of what you find, it doesn’t change the fact that he isn’t willing to let it go. There’s nothing you can do to change that. The change has to come from him. Let’s do something tonight to help you forget about him.” I didn’t think anything could do that, but I wouldn’t, no couldn’t let myself be so focused on him that I lost sight of myself.

  “Oh shoot. I forgot to tell you. We have dates tonight. One of my ex-clients asked me out so we have a double date tonight.” The look on Meg’s face made me think that wasn’t such a good idea.

  “Blind date? Are you kidding me? Have you seen his friend? He could be a total loser.”

  “Well, no not technically, but I figured you would want to get out of this house. It could be fun. If you don’t like him, just play sick and we can go.”

  “I like that idea and you’re right. I’m dying to get out of this house. What time are we are meeting them?” I knew if I pulled the ‘getting out of here’ card, she would do it.

  “We’re supposed to be meeting them at ten at Bliss.”

  “I only have two hours to get both of us ready?” she screeched.

  “You know I do know how to dress myself. Maybe I should just cancel it doesn’t feel right going on a date when I was just with Kade. Kind of makes me feel slutty.”

  “Of course you’re still going! I’m not even going to touch the slutty comment. It’s not like you will sleep with this Eddie guy, anyways. Yes, of course, I know you can dress yourself, but we are going out on the town, so we have to up our game.” I just sighed as she dragged me to her room.

  “What should you wear?” She tapped her finger on her chin. “How about that black strapless dress you got last year? I’ll do your makeup and hair as soon as I’m dressed. Now, go put it on. Don’t forget to wear your red Stilettos.”

  “I was thinking a little lower key.”

  She just smirked at me. “Go now.” I turned and walked out of her bedroom across the hallway into mine. I seriously didn’t feel like going out but maybe this would make me feel better. I dug the dress out of the back of my closet. I’d never worn it. It had been an impulse buy, or more like a threatened buy. Meg wouldn’t stop nagging me until I got it. I put it and the stilettos on without looking in the mirror and went back to Meg’s room.

  She was dressed in a light pink strapless dress. She turned to look at me, “Damn, do you know how hot you look right now?” I seriously doubted that but it was sweet of her to say. We walked into the bathroom and she dragged a chair over. I sat down while she curled my hair in loose spirals. She about choked me with the amount of hairspray she used. “There, your hair should stay perfectly. Now, let’s do your makeup.” She shadowed my eyes and she had me put on a darker red lipstick. I had to admit I did look pretty good or at least better than normal. “Now scoot. I have to get ready.”

  I got up and went to the kitchen to get a drink. She came out twenty minutes later. She had put her hair up with a few curls hanging down. Her makeup looked impeccable as usual. “Okay, let’s go. We should get there a little after ten. It’s better to have them waiting on us.”

  We rode the elevator down. We were going to hail a cab but a guy dressed in a green jacket with black pants got it for us. “Since when do we have a doorman?” I just shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t see him there when I got home but I wasn’t paying attention either.

  The cab dropped us off at Bliss about 10:10pm. Eddie was waiting outside. “There’s Eddie. I wonder where his friend is.” Like he heard me, a tall brown haired guy walked over to Eddie.

  “Liz, if that’s my date, I will love you forever and owe you just as long,” I had to admit he was hot and exactly her type. Maybe this evening wouldn’t be so bad.

  Eddi
e looked me up and down, “Wow, Liz. You look amazing!” I flushed. “Um yeah, this is my friend Derrick.” We shook hands.

  “Derrick, this is Meg. She’s your date for the evening.” She smiled when she shook his hand. I was surprised she seemed a little nervous; she was never nervous. The guys apparently knew the bouncer because we didn’t have to wait in the line that was around the block.

  “What would you ladies like to drink?” Eddie asked.

  “A Jolly Rancher and a Sex on the Beach.” Eddie nodded and turned to walk towards the bar while we found an open table. I looked at Megan and Derrick. They seemed to be hitting it off extremely well. I knew there was going to be no faking sick tonight. When Eddie got back with our drinks, he leaned over to me, “Looks like they are getting along great. Guess I picked the right friend. That’s good. It means I have you all to myself. I know I already said it, but you look amazing.”

  “Yeah, you did a good job and thanks! You don’t look so bad yourself.” He was dressed in jeans with an untucked blue dress shirt.

  “Do you want to dance?” Meg and Derrick were already on their way to the floor.

  “Sure, let’s go!” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could fake. He took my hand and we weaved through the crowd towards Derrick and Meg. She was dancing her butt off, but I was just hoping I didn’t fall on my mine. Eddie spun me around so I was facing away from him and we started dancing. He ran his hands up and down my body as I moved against him. We danced through five songs before taking a break. We found a table for two and sat down facing the dance floor.

  Eddie leaned over. “Are you having fun?” I could barely hear him over the music so I just nodded.

  “I need to go to the restroom. I will be right back.”

  He stood to help me get through the crowd. “I’m going to get another beer. Do you want another?”

  I nodded and made my way to the restroom. Of course, there was a line but luckily it moved fast.

  When I walked out of the bathroom, I froze. There standing in the crowd was none other than Mr. Kade Parker. Of course, he had women swooning all over him, but he looked like he was looking for someone. What were the chances he would be there? Just then, an idea hit me. I was going to show him that I could have a great time without him. I don’t know why I wanted to do that. Maybe because I was hurting. He looked my way at that moment, and we locked eyes. Once again, it was like everything around us disappeared.

  The spell was broken when Eddie walked over and handed me my drink. I leaned into him, “I’m ready to hit the dance floor again if you are.” I threw my drink back and we made our way over. I could still feel Kade’s eyes on me. We found Meg and Derrick again. I couldn’t believe they were still dancing. Eddie spun me around again and we started dancing, but this time I put a little more energy into it. There was no space between us as we danced. Then I turned around and we kept going. Meg looked my way in surprise. I smiled at her and nodded my head in Kade’s direction. She looked over and saw him. She leaned over to whisper in my ear, “He looks pissed, like ‘kill someone’ pissed.”

  The song ended and Eddie leaned into me. “That was fun.” I nodded, but once again I felt a little bad for using Eddie. There was nothing going to happen with him. The DJ changed the song to a slow dance, which I was happy for because I needed to catch my breath. We pretty much danced in place but he did twirl me a couple of times. As he did, I looked around for Kade. He was still standing there but now he was glaring at me. Eddie put his mouth to my ear as the song ended. “Now I’m the one who needs the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” I smiled at him and turned to face Meg and Derrick. We started dancing with each other when Meg smiled at me and nodded her head in Kade’s direction. I felt the charge before I felt his arm around my waist.

  He pulled me close to whisper in my ear, “We need to talk now.” His command sent shivers down my spine.

  I pulled his arm off of me and turned to face him. “What do we have to talk about?” He glared at me and grabbed my hand to drag me off the dance floor. I saw Eddie walking back to the dance floor and I held up one finger. He frowned but kept walking towards the bar. Kade dragged me towards the seating area but bypassed it and opened a door to drag me into an office. How did he know about the office? Then it hit me. That’s why he relaxed earlier when he heard me talking to Eddie about going to Bliss; he owned it. He closed the door and I jerked my hand away from his.

  “What are you doing? I’m on a date,” I said in the angriest voice I could muster. It was hard to sound angry when I was happy to see him. He just stared at me forever. It was obvious he was trying to control his temper. “Well, if you’re not going to say anything, then I’m going back to my date.” I twirled around to face the door when he grabbed my forearm.

  “Don’t go.” His voice was stern again.

  I spun around to ask, “Why not? You aren’t saying anything and I was having fun.” He still didn’t say anything. We just stared each other down. I looked into those beautiful eyes to try and figure out what he was thinking, but this time they gave nothing away.

  Finally he spoke, “What are you doing? After what we had earlier, you still go out looking to score.” I sucked in a breath. Honestly, the audacity of this man.

  “What we had? We had sex, Kade. Yes, it was beyond amazing sex but that’s all it was.” He looked wounded for a second. “You’ve said you don’t want any type of relationship with me. Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I’m not looking to score as you so eloquently put it. I just want to have a good time.” I didn’t think it was possible but his glare got more severe.

  “You don’t come to a club or anywhere for that matter dressed like that to go home alone. Don’t get me wrong, you look seriously gorgeous, but some guys would see it as you were looking for more than a dance or two. I’m taking you home now.”

  “Who in the hell do you think you are? What I wear has nothing to do with you!” With that, I turned and threw open the door and stomped out. As I walked out, I almost plowed into Eddie.

  “Are you okay?” I’m sure my face showed I was severely pissed off.

  I grabbed his hand and started walking towards the dance floor when Kade grabbed my other hand and pulled me back, almost making me fall. Eddie made a grab for me, but not before Kade had pulled me into his arms. Eddie looked almost as pissed as Kade had earlier.

  Eddie came closer to me, “Are you okay? Is this jerk bothering you?” He took a step closer putting me in between them. He grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him and stepped even closer to Kade. “Listen, man, leave her alone. She’s here with me and apparently doesn’t want anything to do with you. So, take a hint and back off.” I had no doubt that Kade would win if they fought. I couldn’t let this happen.

  “It’s okay, Eddie. We’re done. Let’s go back to the dance floor to join Derrick and Meg. There’s no reason to cause a scene.” When Kade took a step closer, I walked around Eddie putting my hand up. “It was nice talking to you, Mr. Parker. I’ll see you Monday at your appointment.”

  He took a step back but glared at me, completely ignoring Eddie. “This isn’t over.”

  I took a step closer to whisper in his ear, “It never started, remember?” With that, I went back to Eddie’s side. We walked towards the dance floor without looking back.

  “Are you okay?” he asked for the third time. I nodded because I couldn’t seem to find my voice. “What was that about?” He looked at me like he was truly concerned. He was such a sweet guy. Unfortunately, he felt more like a brother to me than a guy I would date.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s dance.” We made our way back to our friends. Meg looked at me and mouthed ‘Are you all right?’ Apparently, she had seen our little discussion. I shook my head and mouthed ‘not now.’ My head was reeling. What in the crap was he doing here? Why did he care what I was wearing? What did he mean by what we had?

  I had no idea how many songs we danced to but eventually, Eddie leaned down to ask, “Do you n
eed a drink?” I nodded. He grabbed my hand and led me off the floor. Derrick and Meg joined us this time.

  The guys went to get the drinks, leaving Meg and me standing at the only open table. “So what was all that about?” she asked when the guys were out of earshot.

  I shook my head, “I have no idea. He was mad I was here.”

  “What did you say?” I couldn’t tell her what I said because the guys walked up. It was last call. I didn’t realize we had been here that long. We walked out of the club along with everyone else. We stepped to the side of the crowd to say goodbye to the guys.

  Derrick was the first to speak, “Liz, it was nice meeting you.” Then he turned to Meg before I could answer. “Meg, would you like to go out when I get back in town next week?”

  She nodded, “Let me give you my number.” I turned back towards Eddie.

  “Thanks for tonight. I had a lot of fun.”

  He looked a little nervous. “You’re welcome. I had a great time with a friend.”

  Oh, thank God, he felt the same. “I feel the same way. I was getting the friend vibe more than anything.”

  He smiled at me. “Yeah, me too.”

  With that, I gave him a hug and peck on the cheek and turned towards Meg. “Ready to go?”