by Lacy Hart
“I’m glad you guys had fun, and thanks for running out on such short notice. As for your invitation for tomorrow, I’m spending the day with Kelly, so I’ll have to beg off from whatever it is you guys are planning to do.”
“So, I guess the date went well then if she is seeing you again right away?” Shannon asked me. “Bravo to you.” Shannon toasted me with a beer she had grabbed from the fridge.
“It did go well, we had a nice time. Kelly is a wonderful woman – witty, gutsy, smart, fun to be with, and attractive. She has no problem putting someone in their place and standing up for herself. We had some great conversation.”
“More than great conversation, from what I could see,” James interjected as he walked out onto the porch with us, twisting open a beer bottle of his own and leaning against the railing to face Shannon and me.
“I guess you got Kelly home okay?” I asked, hoping to change the subject quickly before I had to hear it from Shannon.
“Home safe and sound, boss” James added before sipping his beer.
“What do you mean more than great conversation, James?” Shannon asked him. “Inquiring minds want to know.”
“I don’t want to speak out of turn here,” James said coyly. “The boss signs my paychecks after all.”
“You may as well tell her now, James,” I said resignedly. “She’s going to pester both of us until she gets the answer anyway.”
“When I walked outside, they were sitting by the pool making out.”
Shannon looked back and forth between James and me, her mouth open slightly.
“Wow, Damian, I’m impressed. I wish I had caught the show. And now you’re seeing her again tomorrow? You must really like her. I can’t remember the last time you saw a woman more than once, never mind two days in a row. Should I send out a press release?”
“You two are as bad as it would be having my brothers here right now,” I answered them, shaking my head.
“I’m sure I can get them on a conference call right now if you want,” Shannon said with a smile as she picked up her phone.
“Don’t you dare,” I told her firmly.
Shannon laughed as she started to lower her phone.
“I have a bunch of text messages from Paul, by the way, saying he needed to talk to you. He’s tried calling you,” Shannon added, taking a quick glance at her messages.
“I told Paul I didn’t want to be bothered before we left. I don’t care what it is he has to say; it can wait. I’m on vacation, and so are you. Put the phone away.”
“What are you and Kelly going to do tomorrow?” Shannon asked. “Do you need me to help you plan anything?”
“Nope, this is all on me, Shannon. I’ll make any arrangements of things to do. We may just spend time on the beach and at the house. I’ll see what she wants to do in the morning and I’ll pick her up, so you don’t have to worry about it, James,” I said to both.
“Can we take the Mustang again tomorrow?” Shannon asked with anticipation.
“Sure, I guess so. I’ll take the truck,” I answered.
“Awesome,” Shannon said. “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel again.”
“No way,” James said to her. “I’ll be driving tomorrow. You were a little nuts behind the wheel. I can tell you live in the city from the way you drive. Leave it to the professionals.”
“Fine,” Shannon pouted.
Shannon finished off the last of her beer, shaking the empty bottle in her hand.
“Well, I’m empty,” she said as she stood up and stretched. “How about a game of pool, Sarge, before I go to bed? I still want to try to kick your ass.”
“Sarge?” I said, looking at her with surprise.
“Sarge,” she said, pointing at James. “He was a sergeant in the army. I decided that’s what I would call him now. You didn’t know he was a sergeant?”
“I knew it,” I told her, thinking back to when I first hired James and looked at his impressive military service record. “I’m just shocked he would tell you about it.”
“You know how she is, boss,” James replied. “She’s relentless with asking questions. It was either give her some information or put up with her nagging me all night long. Besides, it was better than spending hours watching her pick out clothes.”
“Never mind the stalling, Sarge,” Shannon told him. “Let’s go. You can play the winner if you want, Damian.”
“No, I think I am going to sit here for a bit before I turn in,” I told Shannon. “I have to think about what to do tomorrow with Kelly, and plan things out anyway.”
“Well, if you change your mind about playing, or you need help with anything, come on down,” Shannon told me.
“Besides, you would just end up playing me anyway, boss,” James added as he walked towards the door to go back inside.
“Ugh, I want to beat you so bad now,” Shannon said with disgust as she followed James indoors.
I was left alone on the porch, just listening to the ocean waves and the distant sounds of the few people out on the beach this late at night. I swirled the ice in my glass, listening to it click in rhythm as I looked up into the starry sky.
Shannon was right – I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen a woman more than once or two days in a row. There hadn’t been anyone that I had wanted to see again in a long time or anyone that had stirred me up as much as Kelly had in just a couple of days. Even I was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all.
I needed to make sure I came up with ways to make tomorrow fun for Kelly so that she would want to spend as much time as possible together. I set my brain in motion, going over different ideas of ways that I could romance her, and prove to her that I wasn’t just some fat cat billionaire, but a strong man that knows how to make a woman feel special.
12
Kelly
I was always grateful for Monday mornings because it meant a little more sleep than usual, so I was more than a bit annoyed when I heard a knock at the door and saw it was only seven-thirty in the morning. Even Alice didn’t have the energy to jump out of my bed to go see who was knocking, and I let the knocking continue until it got louder and more frantic.
I stormed out of bed, not even bothering to grab my robe to cover myself up and just answered the door wearing nothing by a white t-shirt and the black boyshort panties I had on. I threw the door open hastily, getting ready to yell at whoever I found on the other side. There was Jodie, grinning at me and holding two cups of coffee in her hands.
“Why are you here so early?” I complained. “I just want to sleep some more.”
I marched myself over to my couch and plopped down on it, laying my face on the nearest throw pillow.
“I wanted to see how your date went yesterday,” Jodie answered.
I didn’t say anything and continued to just lay on the couch, hoping she might just leave so I could get another hour of sleep in.
“Can I do more than look at your ass while I’m here?” Jodie yelled. “Roll over and talk to me, Kelly! I want to know how it went.”
I exhaled deeply and flipped myself over, keeping an arm over my eyes in the hopes of blocking the sunlight out of them.
“We had dinner and talked and had a very nice time,” I told her. “Can you leave now?”
“Really? That’s all you’re going to say about it? You had a nice time? Come on, Kelly, you were gone long enough where I had to come over and let Alice out and feed her, and you didn’t answer any texts or anything. I don’t even know what time you got home. And your scooter is still locked up at the boardwalk.”
“Shit, I forgot about the scooter. Did you bring it?” I asked.
“No, I didn’t bring it. I don’t have the combination to your lock. But if you give me the combination, and some details, I will gladly go get it for you.”
I sat up on the couch and looked over at Jodie through my peering, barely-open eyes. She held out the travel cup of coffee for me, and I grabbed it, taking a slow sip at first to see
how hot it was. I could tell right away it was something she made at home and not something she got from the Wah Wah down the street. I felt the slow jolt from the coffee perk me up a bit and looked up at Jodie.
“38-32-12,” I said to her, giving her the combination. “The keys are by the door. Bring my scooter back, and I’ll gladly give you details.”
“Back in ten minutes,” Jodie said as she hopped out of the chair. “Put some shorts on at least in case someone else comes to the door,” she said with a laugh. I sneered back at her and sat drinking my coffee as she walked out the door.
Jodie was back in under ten minutes, during which time I did throw a pair of Terry shorts on and let Alice out in the back. I sat myself down at the small table on the patio while Alice sniffed around the yard. I heard the wooden gate to the backyard open and close as Jodie came back and sat with me.
“Scooter is delivered,” she said, dropping the keys on the table. “So, let’s have it. Start at the beginning.”
I slowly went over the details of my evening with Damian, lingering over the details of the house so that Jodie could soak in just how the place looked and how decadent it all seemed. After telling her about each floor, the giant kitchen, and the amazing view, I told her how I tried to make my points to him, and how Damian used his charm, good manners, and personality to refute everything from me perfectly. I talked about the lovely dinner, how he cooked, and we drank and talked and about how idyllic the evening was.
“And that’s it? You ate dinner and came home?” Jodie said in disbelief. “I’m not buying it.”
I pulled my knees up, so they were close to my body and sipped my coffee. I could just barely see Jodie’s face over my kneecaps as I talked.
“Okay, so there was a little more. We might have made out for a little while, down by the pool,” I said quickly.
Jodie bolted up in her seat so she could see my face smiling back at her. She smacked my knee playfully.
“What the hell, Kelly? Why did you wait so long to mention that?”
“It happened right at the end of the night,” I told her. “We were talking, and having wine, and the mood was right, and he just leaned in and started kissing me. Before I knew it, we just kept at it.”
“So how was it? Never mind, I can tell already it was amazing with the way you are blushing.”
“It was amazing,” I admitted. “His lips were… well, they were perfect. The best kisses I have had in many years.”
“Then what happened?” Jodie asked, anticipating much more.
“Nothing,” I told her. “James showed up and interrupted our kissing, and that was it. I said I needed to leave, Damian walked me to the car, we kissed some more, and James drove me home.”
“Well, that’s disappointing.”
“No, it was very nice,” I said to her. “Damian is going to call me this morning so we can go out today.”
“Where are you going to go? What will you do? Do you think he’ll take you somewhere fancy? Maybe you can helicopter out to his yacht or ride up to Dover and take his private plane somewhere,” Jodie said, fantasizing about what might happen.
“What makes you think he has a helicopter, yacht and private plane around here?”
“Come on, Kelly, the guy’s a billionaire. Of course, he has that stuff.” Jodie looked at me like I was crazy for thinking otherwise.
“I think you’ve read too many romance books,” I said rolling my eyes at her.
“What, do you think he’s just going to want to go over to Ocean City, play mini golf and get some fried clams? I’m sure he expects more than that.”
“You don’t know Damian at all, Jodie. You talked to him for two minutes in the bar. I spent hours with him last night. He’s nothing like what you think he is. He’s not hung up on how much money he has or anything like that. He’s a regular guy who is nice, and funny, and caring…”
“And has a mansion, expensive toys and more money in his wallet than I have in the bank,” Jodie added. “That’s not a regular guy, Kelly. He may come across that way to you, but he’s not regular. We’re regular.”
I stood up from my chair and looked down at Jodie.
“You’re starting to piss me off,” I said to her as I walked back inside the house.
“Why?” she yelled after me as she followed me in.
I sat down at the kitchen table and grabbed a banana from the bowl in front of me, quickly peeling it and taking a bite.
“Because you’re making assumptions about him based on how much money he has, and you’re doing the same thing about us. Just because we earn different amounts of money doesn’t mean we’re so different, or that he’s better than us or even thinks he is better than us. Damian and I have a lot in common, I think, and I don’t think he has expectations of me because I don’t have a lot of money in the bank.”
“Okay, you’re right, “Jodie admitted. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. I guess I’m just excited for you, and maybe a little jealous, that he’s interested in you. Stuff like that doesn’t happen to people around here every day, you know.”
I could hear my cell phone ringing off in the distance. Jodie and I looked at each other, and I jumped up from the table, stubbing my foot on the chair she was sitting on along the way. I hopped and hobbled down the hallway, rushing to get to the phone before it stopped ringing. I grabbed the phone and pressed answer, sitting down on the bed to rub my aching toes.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Kelly?” the voice on the other end asked. “Hi, it’s Damian. I hope it’s not too early to call and I didn’t wake you.”
Jodie appeared in the doorway to look at me.
“No, it’s not too early,” I told Damian. “I was up already.” I shot Jodie a glare as I said this.
“Oh, good. I was just wondering if you might like to get together this morning. I could swing by and pick you up in a few minutes, and we could plan out our day.”
A sense of panic came over me as I looked at the time on my phone and saw it was 8:15.
“Well, I’m not quite ready to start the day just yet,” I told him, trying to buy myself some time. “Do you think you could pick me up around nine instead?”
“Sure thing,” Damian said. “I’ll see you at nine. What’s your address?”
“It’s 14 Sapphire Pointe. I’ll see you in a bit.” I hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed.
“He’s going to be here in 45 minutes,” I said to Jodie, suddenly feeling panicked. “I need to shower, and get something to wear for the day, pack a bag in case we go to the beach, take care of Alice…”
“Kelly, relax,” Jodie said as she came up and put her hands on my shoulders. “I will take Alice for the day. Go take your shower, and I’ll pack a bag for you. You have plenty of time.”
“Okay thanks,” I said to Jodie as I went into the bathroom and turned the shower on. I stripped off my clothes, tossing them in the hamper, and the peeked my head out the bathroom back into the bedroom to see Jodie going through my closet. “Jodie,” I said to her seriously, “Be nice about what you pack, okay?”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about it,” Jodie said to me as she flipped hanger after hanger of clothing. “There’s nothing but nice in here anyway.”
I closed the bathroom door, and the room immediately started getting steamy from the shower. I tried to work my way through the shower as quickly as I could, knowing I didn’t have a lot of time before Damian was knocking on the door. I wanted to be sure I had time to dry my hair at least before he got here.
Once I got out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around myself and open the door, letting the steam spew out into the bedroom. I saw Jodie packing some things into a bag for me, and she turned and looked at me standing in the doorway.
“That was fast,” she commented as she looked at my choice of shoes and tossed a pair of heels into my bag.
“I’m never going to wear those,” I said to her, walking over a
nd pulling the heels out of the bag.
“Why not?” Jodie asked. “They’ll make you a little taller, so he doesn’t have to bend so far to kiss you.” Jodie grinned at me as I tossed the heels back into my closet.
“I’ll wear my sandals,” I told her. “Besides, Damian had no problem kissing me last night,” I told her as I tossed my hair back and went back into the bathroom.
I pulled out my hair dryer and went through the routine of drying my hair, something I rarely did these days, mainly because I just didn’t have time to do it. I brushed my hair out as I dried it, giving it some nice waves and a little bit of curl that cascaded around my shoulders.