by L. M. Heidle
He pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him. He ran his hands up and down my back as I continued to run my fingers through his hair. He moved his hands to my face and leaned so I was on my back. He propped himself up with his right elbow as his left hand wandered up and down my body. When he reached my knee, he hitched it around his waist and moved closer.
I couldn’t stop myself from thinking this was nothing like Kade’s kiss. There were no fireworks. No real passion. It was just comfortable and natural. Was natural such a bad thing?
When Brent broke the kiss, he looked into my eyes. “What’s wrong?”
What could I say to him? I’m sorry there are no fireworks? I didn’t want to hurt him but I also didn’t want to lead him on. “Brent, what are we doing?”
“I thought we were kissing.” He smirked at me. He always was a smart ass.
“Ha funny. I meant, in general.”
He sat up, pulling me with him. He ran his fingers through his hair like he always did when he was frustrated. “Liz, I honestly don’t know. I didn’t come to New York with the intention of this happening. I mean, I wanted to see you, yeah, but I didn’t plan on coming here to be with you again. From the moment I saw you, it brought up all of these feelings I had for you. It feels like nothing has changed when we’re together.”
“Brent, when you just kissed me, what did you feel?” Hopefully, he said nothing or this was going to be awkward.
“Honestly?” I nodded. “Don’t get me wrong, you were always a great kisser, but there wasn’t much there.”
“I completely agree. I think maybe it’s the idea of what we were that’s so appealing. I’ll always love you, but I’m not in love with you.”
“This sucks. I was hoping to get laid tonight.”
I smacked his arm. “Brenton Michael!”
He jumped off the loveseat as I tried to hit him again. “I was kidding! I was kidding!” After a pause he added, “Well, I was kind of kidding.”
I tried to glare at him but he was making that I’m-too-cute-to-be-mad-at face. “You’re lucky. I love your mom and wouldn’t want to deprive her of her only son or the possibility of having grandchildren one day.” He just smiled at me. “Who knows? Maybe you will get laid tonight.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Didn’t we just decide that ‘we’ weren’t going anywhere?”
“Well, duh moron, but I’m not the only woman in New York City. I don’t feel like staying in tonight. How about we go out for drinks? I could be your wingman—or woman.” I winked at him.
“The drink part sounds good but the wingman part not so much.”
“Whatever. I’ll be the best one you’ve ever had.” He lifted his eyebrow suggestively, which earned him a smack to the back of the head. “Give me ten minutes to get changed.”
He just nodded as he pulled out his phone. “Mind if I invite some people to meet us?”
“Not at all,” I hollered as I walked down the hall. Now the big question, what was I going to wear? I finally decided on my white cargo capris, a pink tube top, and black stilettos. I ran a brush through my hair, touched up my eyes, and put some lip-gloss on then walked out the door. Brent hung up when I walked back into the living room.
“Yep. No way you could ever be my wingman.”
“What? Why? I haven’t even tried yet.”
“You look too good.”
“Ah thanks, Brenty Poo. Where are we going?”
“Yeah, especially if you call me that.”
“Oh stop. You know you love it, Brenty Poo.”
“Yeah, sooo much,” he replied sarcastically. “We’re meeting some of the guys I worked on the charity with downtown at a place called Gotcha.”
“I’ve never been there but I heard it’s amazing. I’ve also heard it’s exclusive.”
“Babe, come on. I got this.” I laughed at the face he was making. “Get your purse and let’s get going!” I grabbed my purse as he practically pushed me out the door.
Thirty minutes later, we were standing at the entrance of Gotcha. The line was around the block. “So, where’s this person that you know because I’m not standing in that line.”
He grabbed my hand as he walked over to the big black scary-looking bouncer. When Brent leaned in, the bouncer nodded and stepped aside to let us in.
Brent dragged me through the door. I stood on my tiptoes, “What was that about?”
He smirked at me. “I told you it’s all about who you know and I know the owner, Andrew.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “How do you know the owner of Gotcha?”
“I worked with him on the charity. He helped with the drinks.” Now that he said it, I did remember seeing Gotcha on the glasses.
“Okay, I’m slightly impressed right now.”
“You underestimate me.” I smiled because the music was too loud to say anything. He continued to drag me through the crowd to the bar. He walked over to a very attractive man. His hair was a dark brown and his eyes were a beautiful hazel. “Liz, this is Andrew; Andrew, this is Liz.”
He looked at Brent, “This is Liz, Liz?” Andrew looked back at me when Brent nodded. “He wasn’t kidding when he said you were beautiful.” He took my hand from Brent and brought it to his lips. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” He held my hand a little longer than he needed to but who was complaining? Certainly not me; he was gorgeous.
“Yeah, this is that Liz. She’s here to be my wingman tonight.” Andrew’s gaze immediately left mine as his head jerked towards Brent. Brent just gave him a small nod. I guessed it was a no-we-aren’t-together nod from the smile that spread across Andrew’s face.
Andrew turned back to me. “Well then, can I get you guys anything to drink? Tonight’s on the house.”
“That’s very sweet of you. I’ll take cherry vodka.” When Andrew turned towards the bar to get our drinks, I turned to face Brent who was scanning the crowd. “He seems nice.”
“He’s an awesome guy.”
Andrew ushered us to the VIP section once we got our drinks. He turned to face me, “So you and Brent go back a long way?”
“Yeah, I have been putting up with his butt longer than I care to admit.” Brent turned to fake glare at me.
“Well, at least it’s a nice butt,” he said. I almost spit my drink out as I laughed. “And this butt is going to go dance with that blonde over there.”
He took a swig of his beer and sauntered off to dance with the girl, practically undressing him with her eyes. I knew without a doubt that I had no romantic feelings for him anymore because watching him go only made me roll my eyes.
“Well, looks like he’s going to have fun tonight.” Andrew stood up and put his hand out to me. “Come on. Let’s show them how it’s done.”
I took another drink then put my hand in his. “Why the hell not?” I followed him to the middle of the dance floor where he turned to face me. He put one hand on my hip and one at the small of my back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and danced to the music.
He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I thought Brent was exaggerating about how beautiful you were, but I was wrong. Those pictures didn’t do you justice.”
I looked up at him and mouthed, ‘Thank you.’ Lucky for me, it was dark and the lights were constantly changing colors so he couldn’t see me blush. He grabbed my hand and spun me around. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, really close. We danced that way for maybe two more songs. They all started to run together after a while.
He brushed my hair over one shoulder as he softly kissed me right below the ear before whispering, “Let’s go get a drink.” I could still feel the warmth of his lips as he pulled me through the crowd. Andrew put his hand up signaling to the waitress we needed another round. We sat in silence, watching the dance floor. We sat and talked for most of the night with a little dancing in between.
After several hours, he turned serious, “Liz, I know we just met but I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to a smal
l charity event tomorrow night. My sister and I usually go together, but I’m thinking I’d have more fun with you.”
“What’s the charity for?” Did I want to go to another one of those things? He said it was small so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
“It’s to raise money to refurbish some of the older buildings into orphanages.”
“Wow. That’s a wonderful idea.” Who would have thought he was just as thoughtful as he was handsome? “Sure, I’d love to go with you. Why don’t we make it a double date? Brent could take your sister.”
“That’s an awesome idea. Let me go call Amber—my sister and the event organizer—to see if they can add two more people. Will you be all right here for a minute?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” He nodded and went down a long hallway. No sooner than he left, Brent came back. I filled him in on all the details.
He jokingly replied, “What if I have plans already? It’s a Saturday night. I could have some big date planned.”
“Give me a break. Your big plans probably included crashing on my couch, watching a movie.”
“Maybe, but they’re still plans.”
I smacked his arm. “Oh, shut up. You’re going.”
“Do we even know what Amber looks like?”
“Seriously? Sometimes, you’re such an idiot. Have you seen Andrew? I’m pretty sure she’s going to be attractive.”
He just laughed as a brunette caught his eye. “Uh huh. I’ll be right back.” I rolled my eyes. Why were men so easily distracted by short skirts?
I was thinking about how I would have to go shopping, because I had nothing to wear when a dark haired man interrupted my thoughts, “You look lonely sitting over here. Would you like to dance?”
Before I could reply, I heard Andrew’s voice, “Sorry she’s with me.” The guy nodded and turned to walk away as Andrew slid in next to me. “Everything’s taken care of. Now, we just need to fill Brent in.”
“I already took care of that. He’s fine with the plans. He said he could shift a few things around to make it work.” I had to bite on my lip to keep from laughing.
“Am I missing something? What’s so funny?” He leaned over to free my lip from my teeth.
“Nothing. He mentioned he had big plans. His big plans consisted of sprawling out on my couch, watching some dumb movie.”
“Ah, I see. What’s the deal between you two?”
“Nothing. We decided it’s better if we’re just friends.”
“That’s good to know. Does that mean you’re single?”
“Maybe.” I smiled coyly at him.
“Really? I find that hard to believe.”
“I guess I just haven’t met the right guy yet. Life has been pretty hectic with graduating, moving, new job, and all that stuff.”
“I understand that. This club feels like it drains the life out of me sometimes. I thought it was never going to open.” We talked about why he decided to open a club and the ins and outs of how everything was run. Before I knew it, the club was closing. “Well, looks like it’s closing time. I hate to end this night—or morning, rather—but I need to help close.”
“Oh yes, of course. I’m exhausted, anyways. It was great meeting you and I look forward to tonight.”
“The pleasure was all mine, I assure you.”
“I almost forgot, is it black tie?”
“All the boring stuff usually is black tie so, yep, it is.” He leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek.
Brent walked up behind me, “You ready to go, Gel?”
Andrew raised an eyebrow. “Gel?”
“Her nickname from me.” He playfully nudged me.
I answered Andrew’s questioning look, “It’s a long and incredibly boring story.”
“It’s not long or boring. In a nutshell, I wanted to call her something different because I liked her. See not so long.”
“Yeah, if you leave out three-fourths of the story.” Brent started to protest, but I pushed him towards the door. “Let’s get going. Andrew has work to do.”
“Until tomorrow, Liz.” He leaned over to give my cheek a quick kiss.
I seriously hoped he didn’t see my blush, but if he didn’t Brent pointed it out. “Aww, Gel, you always were one to blush.” By this time, he had wrapped his arm around my shoulder so I discretely pinched him in the stomach.
As we headed for the door, he leaned down, “What in the hell was that for? I was just joking with you.”
“From now on, keep your jokes to yourself. Got it?”
“Geez, Gel, chill out. So you like him, huh?”
“He seems like a nice guy.”
“Just be careful. He isn’t exactly known for being a one woman kind of man.”
“What are you, my dad? First, you warned me about Kade. Now, you’re warning me about Andrew? Have a little faith in me.”
“No, I’m not your dad. That would just be all kinds of creepy. I’m just a concerned friend. Kade, I just downright can’t stand. Andrew is…well I just don’t want to see you hurt.”
“Thanks for the concern, but I’m a big girl. I can take it. Besides, I’m not looking for a relationship right now anyways.”
“Oh please, every woman is looking for a relationship,” he replied as he hailed down a cab.
“Trust me. Any woman who has ever met you is not looking for a relationship.”
“You seem to forget we were in a relationship,” he replied as he opened the car door for me.
“What can I say besides I was young and naïve?” He frowned. “I’m kidding. Any woman would be lucky to have you.” I patted his cheek as I slid into the car.
“You’re damn right they would. Hey, do you mind if I crash on your couch? I’m exhausted.”
“As long as it’s the couch. I don’t want you getting any ideas.” He busted out laughing.
“It’ll be hard, but I think I can manage to control myself.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Saturday, October 5
Meg woke me up when she jumped on me the next morning. “Why is Brent sleeping on our couch again? Shouldn’t he be in your bed? Wink, wink.”
“Seriously? What do you have against waking a person up normally?”
“Well, it was either that or a glass of ice cold water. I figured this was safer for me. Quit trying to distract me. Why is Brent on the couch?”
“He’s on the couch because he was too tired to go home.”
“Too tired? Wonder from what…”
“I told you it’s not like that with us. We both came to the conclusion last night that our past should stay in the past. We went out and ended up at Gotcha. Side note, that place is pretty cool. Anyways, he introduced me to the owner, Andrew.” She was practically bouncing off the bed. “Well, we kind of hit it off.”
“Hit it off?! Are you kidding me? Why didn’t you wake me up when you got home? He is gorgeous and well, he’s gorgeous.”
“Calm down before you give yourself a heart attack. Yes, we hit it off. He’s a sweet guy.” She started to say something but I put up my hand to stop her. “I know, I know he’s gorgeous. He invited me to a charity event tonight. I’m going with him and Brent is going with his sister.” I waved my hand at her, “Okay, let’s have it.”
“Oh my freaking gosh! I’m so pissed right now. I can’t believe you didn’t wake me up! You’re going on a date with another of the so-called ‘most gorgeous men in New York’, first Kade, now Andrew. Damn, girl! You have to be one of the luckiest women alive! Tell me…did he kiss you?”
There was a slight pain in my heart at the mention of Kade. “He kissed my cheek and my hand a couple of times. Sorry, no juicer than that.”
“This is so awesome! My soap opera is back.”
“Oh my gosh, Meg!”
“What kind of a charity event is this?” Wow, she can switch gears fast.
“It’s to raise money to refurbish the old downtown buildings to turn them into orphanages. He said it wo
uld be small but it’s black tie, so I need to get a dress.”
“It’s going to be small? That’s perfect! It will give you guys more of a chance to talk.”
She noticed my face, “Yes, I know it’s a wonderful cause. Moving on. We need to go shopping! Get your lazy butt out of bed. I’ll start the coffee.”
She skipped out of my room. I seriously hated morning people. I slowly crawled out of bed to make my way down the hall. I heard Brent cussing so I guess mine wasn’t the only morning she ruined.
“She’s annoying in the morning, isn’t she?”
“Welcome to my world, Brent. At least, she makes an awesome cup of coffee.”
He grimaced at her. “That’s her only redeeming quality right now.”
“Would you two stop whining and drink your coffee? Liz, you need to wake up fast. We have to get going! Of course, Brent, you are more than welcome to join us.”
“Ah yeah, I would except I just remembered. My aunt needed me to pick her up a few things, so I’m going to drink my coffee and get going.”
“Thanks a lot, traitor. Going shopping with her is like being fed to the wolves.”
“You do realize I’m standing right here. One of these days, you’re going to understand how lucky you are to have someone like me. Now, get your butt dressed!!”
“Yes ma’am. I’ll see you later, Brent. I guess Andrew is going to get a hold of you about the details so just text me.” He nodded as I padded down the hallway to throw some clothes on.
When Meg was finally able to push me out of the apartment—and I literally mean push—we stopped at a store called Dreams. “I need to stop accepting invitations to these things. I have no idea how I’m going to pay for this dress.”
“That’s why we’re here, dork. This place sells beautiful dresses but at more than half off. They’re knockoffs.”