I dressed in jeans, a tee and sandals, and left the apartment at eleven am. I promised Chris I would have breakfast at a coffee bistro near my apartment. It was my apartment, even if it was a place I didn’t want to be caught dead in. But since I’m alive, it’s good enough for now. I could pay the rent because of the nice salary Jordan graciously paid me. I didn’t questioned it for now because I needed every bit of the money.
I thought it strange that I hadn’t heard from him, but oh well, such as life. I hadn’t heard from Brandon either.
When I arrived at the coffee shop, seated outside in the patio area, Chris sat with her usual smile.
I ordered coffee and a croissant with butter. Chris had her usual Coffee Mocha. “How can you just drink coffee?” I said as I sat across from her.
“Easy. I don’t have the carbs and I don’t gain weight.”
“But the sugar,” I said as I saw her empty two packets in an already sweet concoction.
“Well, I can’t have both if I going to keep my girlish figure and besides Patrick likes me a size zero. What does Brandon or Jordan think?”
“We’ve never been that personal,” I said sipping my coffee and casting my eyes down. “Jordan and Brandon?” I said looking at her and shaking my head. I didn’t want to discuss something that the newspapers created with their gossip machines. I didn’t want a personal and private conversation between friends to turn into mumble news. Seeing my eyes snap close for a second, Chris knew I was irritated. She reached into her large designer bag, which could hold an overnight worth of clothes and shoes, and placed letters on the table.
“This is your mail.”
“Thanks. I requested a change of address. These should be the last ones,” I said. I picked the letters up and before I could throw them in my shoulder bag, Chris put her finger on one of them and tapped it.
“I think you should read this one.” I glanced down and it was a fancy envelop with fancy writing. The kind of writing when they used fountain pens. “I received one too,” Chris said.
It was from Anna Charles inviting me to a dinner at a country club in New Jersey to celebrate her high school graduation.
“Are you going?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” I said to her.
“Don’t use the excuse that you don’t have anything to wear. I can lend you something.”
“But she already graduated.”
“Yes, but when you have money the party goes on all summer until she’s off to college.” I looked at Chris wondering why she didn’t have a celebration and she read my expression.
“My parents were out of the country and they know that I abhor that kind of exhibition. I know Anna, she didn’t want that either. She probably wanted a quiet dinner with the family. The Charles’s have been known for their grand parties, though. That’s probably why Brandon went along with his marriage to Angela. Once the invitations were out, it would take an act of Congress to stop it. It’s the Charles’s way. They give their word and that’s that.”
Thinking about Brandon’s promise to divorce Angela brought a lot of questions to mind.
“Tyler. Tyler come back to earth.” Chris snapped her fingers. “I saw Angela,” Chris admitted.
“Oh. I’m sorry. What did you say?” It took a few minutes for me to digest what she said. “You saw Angela. Where?” I said tilting my head as if that would make the surprise sink in.
“In Paris. She was sauntering around without a care. Hands full with hat boxes and packages. I was sitting at one of the outdoor cafes near the Bohemian Montmartre. She had her limo waiting as the driver loaded all her boxes into the car.”
I looked at her with a bewildered expression. “Sorry,” she said. “I assume everyone has been to Paris. It’s near the Eiffel Tower.” Now I knew what she was talking about. I had a frame of reference not that I had been there or ever expected to see it.
“I thought…” Chris interrupted me.
“You and everybody else. She pulls all kinds of stunts. Like the night she told Brandon she was pregnant. That was the night he said to her that he wanted to call off the wedding.”
“How do you know this?”
“Why I know everyone who is anyone,” She said smiling and taking a sip of her coffee. “There are no secrets in that circle. They tell everything including how they make love to their partners, lovers, and husbands. They tell who is hung and who does oral…”
“That’s enough Chris, I get the picture.”
“You better get over your delicate sensibilities. It’s a war out there with women. There are more women on this earth than men. Think about the probabilities of getting married and staying married. Or the probability of finding a man that loves you and you love him,” she said to me with a raised eyebrow.
Chris proposed some thought provoking statements. I wanted life to be easy. I thought it was. All I had to do was grow up and my life would be great. Nevertheless, I find life more stressful than I’m prepared for. But what did I know, maybe it will change for the best. After all nothing stays the same. I’m at the bottom in finances, life, and love. It can only get better. That thought brought a smile to my face.
“What’s so funny?”
“You. You started out with the glass half full and now you are as depressing as I am. You are hanging out with the wrong people—me.”
“You may be right, but we don’t choose our friends. Sometimes life does that for you, and I’m stuck with you and you’re stuck with me. Since we’re inseparable, why don’t you fly with me to Paris this spring? You should be due for a vacation away from those stuffy men at the bank and that includes Jordan.”
“I can’t promise you anything,” I said. After she finished drinking her coffee which was cold, we left the coffee shop.
Chapter 26
After leaving Chris, I wandered around the village for an hour, buying vegetables and fruit. Strolling around with my packages, window shopping, and dreaming of what I want but more of what I need. Day dreaming about buying a pair of expensive shoes to wear to Anna Charles’s party consumed my thoughts. I don’t know how long I stood looking into that shop when a soft strong voice said, “Do you like those shoes?” I turned and there stood a man in his late thirties. A wisp of gray hair had invaded his dark curly wavy locks.
Surprised and offended, I turned around. He stood six feet with a pair of worn expensive jeans and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled pass his wrist, where a large expensive watch adorned his taut hands and arms. My eyes fell to his fingers and the manicure that signaled he was not a construction worker. However, I was looking for a wedding ban. There was none. No rings only that watch that cost two years of rent.
“Why do you want to know?” I said in a not too pleasant voice.
“I’ve been watching you from my car,” he said with a smile that allowed his dimples to deepen in his face. I looked at his neat unshaven face and expressive gray eyes. “I assure you I’m not a stalker.”
I said, “Do you have references to prove that?” He smiled. “Not on me. I’m new here my name is Andrew Blake.” He held out his hand. I shook it.
“I’m Tyler,” I said to him.
“That’s a pretty name.” He held my hand a second longer than I expected, giving me time to glance into his seductive gray eyes.
“It’s more of a boy’s name I think.” I took my hand back and I took my senses back. I hadn’t felt a sense of sexual arousal since I had last seen Brandon. It had been a month and with the thought of Angela, my desire for Brandon began to wane. How else could I explain what was happening to me now.
“You have lots of packages. I can take you home.” He pointed to a dark blue car with dark windows.
“What kind of car is that? I’ve never seen one like it.” Or maybe I’ve never paid attention before, I thought.
“It’s a Maybach Landaulet.” He smiled knowing full well I didn’t know what it was or how outrageous the price could be.
“Thank you, but I prefe
r to walk.” I stood unsure of myself and turned around with nervous energy to aim myself in the right direction. Andrew with his good looks made me nervous, and I had to get away from him as soon as possible.
“Here’s my card. It has my telephone number, and if you need a reference, I can send you one or you can give me one. I need your phone number, or work number, or I can meet you for breakfast next Saturday so we can get acquainted,” he said. He was persuasive.
I thought for a minute staring into his seductive matured face. “Next Saturday at nine, the one across the street,” I said pointing.
“A deal.” And he held out his hand and I shook it once more. So much was happening to me at once. I met Brandon and he was my first love. I met Jordan and he hired me for a wonderful job and now I’ve met a man who isn’t married and things are looking up. I walked away from Andrew and when I reached the end of the block, I looked back and smiled. He stood leaning against his car watching me.
After I flashed him a seductive smile, he entered his fancy car, with a ticket on the windshield and drove away. I turned the corner and headed for my apartment with some treats for my cat. I figured the cat deserved something for doing a great job of getting rid of the mice in my two room flat, not counting the bathroom, which only had a shower, sink, and toilet.
I walked up the stairs to the second floor and prayed that the tenant over me had gone out for the day. He never took off his boots and the sound they made on the bare floor drove me insane. Moving was not an option and neither was going back to Jersey. Chris’s boyfriend Patrick had settled in and he wouldn’t risk leaving that wonderful place to end up back in this noisy cold water flat.
As I put the key in the door, I mumble, “Thank God it’s summer.”
“It’s always summer when you’re around, princess.” Brandon startled me. I turned in the direction of his voice angry and happy to see him standing on the dirty stairs and unsafe banister.
“How did you find me?”
“I went to Chris’s loft and ran into her boyfriend coming out of the shower and asked him about you, he gladly gave me an address and a key just to get me out of there.” Brandon eyes glanced around and said, “Aren’t you going to invite me in. We should celebrate your independence.”
I didn’t want him to see the ratty furniture that came with the apartment. Reluctantly I open the door wide and nodded. When he entered into the apartment, the resident cat who came with the flat greeted us with his usual distrustful eyes. I left Brandon standing in the middle of the floor wondering where to sit. “Sit anywhere.” When I returned he had made himself comfortable in my bed. I glanced at him.
“It was the only safe place to sit. You can’t stay here,” he said glancing around.
I knew I couldn’t but I wanted to know his reason. “Why not?” I said as I opened a can of cat food and placed it in a bowl on the floor.
“It’s not safe, it’s unhealthy,” he said looking up at the sound of someone walking. And it’s noisy. How can I make love to you in a place like this?”
“You can’t.” I took his hand and headed him to the door. We stood at the door. Then before I could protest, he took me in his arms. “There’s no one here to separate us.” And he placed his tongue into my mouth and I didn’t protest. We kissed long. I pulled away. “I can’t do this.” He placed his hand under my cotton top with the thin straps and cradled one breast in his hand. I watched him bring his head down and his lips curl around my nipple. He stood sucking my nipple and with me breathing loud.
My back braced on the door, his body moved into mine, and I thrust my hips into him. “Do you feel me?” He asked with shallow breathing.
“I can’t do this,” I said, with my arms wrapped around his neck, and his head buried into my chest. I ran my hands through his hair and he sucked each nipple until it was sore. He found the other breast and he ran his tongue over my nipple and I screamed, “Brandon. Brandon make love to me now.”
At that moment, my buzzer rang and I jumped and pushed him away. “Don’t answer it,” he said to me. “I need you now,” he said.
“I’m expecting papers from the bank.” I turned and pulled my top down and straighten my hair, and then I opened the door.
“Miss,” the man said, “I have a delivery of red roses.”
“I wasn’t expecting roses but a package,” I said.
“I don’t know about that. All I was asked to do is deliver these roses.” And he shoved them in my face.
“Who sent them?” Brandon stepped forward and asked.
“Mr. Blake came into the shop downstairs and ordered these flowers to be sent to Tyler. Are you Tyler?”
“Of course not,” Brandon said.
“But I am,” I said looking at Brandon.
“Then these are for you,” and he handed me the box. I closed the door without giving him a tip. I had only enough money to pay the rent and catch the subway in the morning. That, and a box of expensive roses. I wonder if I could stand outside and sell them? It was a nice thought and if I wasn’t ashamed of standing on the corner, I probably would have done that. After I paid the rent for the month, I had to keep something for transportation and food for me and my nameless cat.
I was making a great salary for an intern but it wasn’t going to get me out of here. Brandon looked over my shoulder as I read the card aloud.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Andrew
“Why did he stop there? Maybe he didn’t want you to know what his true intentions are.” And Brandon finished the line of Shakespeare’s sonnet: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May. Brandon threw my box of roses on the floor and pulled me into his arms as we locked eyes and lips. He began by unzipping my jeans and his hands eased to my bud.
The heat from the kiss caused my legs to weaken but he spoke and the spell was released. “How do you come to know Andrew Blake?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
“I’m in love with you and you love me. And one day you’re going to be my wife. It’s my business. And I want you out of this place.”
“You can’t make any demands on me,” I said.
“Tell me why I can’t,” he said moving even closer to my body. His eyes softened and he reached for my hands. I didn’t respond. I pulled away and he felt my coldness.
“Don’t see Andrew Blake again.”
“Is there something I should know?” I raised an eyebrow. His expression never change. He wasn’t worried for my safety. His eyes wandered about the room. My white cat with the black circle around one eye caught sight of him. The cat stood peering at him as if guarding me and challenging him.
“There’s nothing to reveal about Andrew except that I’m jealous and I don’t want to lose you again.” He looked me in the eyes, his eyes deepened with sadness. “Give me time, he pleaded with me.”
The cat left our side and scooted under the bed and disappeared.
“I don’t have a life time to wait to see what Angela will do next,” I said to him gathering my thoughts and hands to my side. I looked and my phone was buzzing on the small table in a basket near my door. “I have to get this.” I turned my back to him.
He reached for the door knob and turned, “Are you going to my sister’s graduation party?” I didn’t answer. I was reading a text. It was from Andrew Blake. I answered absent minded, “Tell your sister I’ll be there.” And he closed the door leaving before I could say another word.
The text read:
Please have dinner with me tonight. I’m not taking no for an answer. Did u like the roses?
Andrew
They r beautiful.
That settles that. I’ll pick u up at 9.
What am I doing? I don’t know this man. He could be a stalker or worse yet a man I
I could like. After all he’s gorgeous, with his dark curly hair and grey eyes. I sat in my kitchenette staring into a window acros
s the way waiting for my package from Fed Ex and thinking about Jordan. I inquired at the bank and was told that he was out of the country and wouldn’t be back soon.
Finally the bank papers came. Working in the loan department was interesting. I got a chance to see private information on some of the more private individuals. When I opened the package that was delivered, a name stood out. Andrew Blake. He was a developer of high rise buildings and he was finalizing a loan for a building that Brandon wanted to purchase, and Jordan promised to finance the loan.
This had to be a coincidence. I had to find out. My plan of calling Andrew and giving him and excuse for tonight went south. Now, I had to go on a date with him. I needed to know how he got my cell number and how did he know Brandon, because Brandon clearly knew him or about him. Maybe it wasn’t so unusual because they were the one percent. A small group who traveled in the same circles and had the same taste in women? Curious.
Chapter 27
The hot night air, hung suspended overhead like a woman lying on top of her lover. Sweat poured from my body. It was too hot to stay in my small apartment. I had to get out of there and it was a welcome sight when Andrew knocked at my door. He wore an engaging small smile. Although it was ninety in Manhattan he appeared cool with his off white linen shirt and pants. In one hand he had a basket of flowers. The flowers were of assorted colors some were red, purple, and white and a few English roses. I didn’t know flowers well but I knew one thing, I liked the gesture.
He read my expression, “I have a tab with the florist. Do you like?” He held up the basket and then placed it in the foyer. I didn’t want him to go any further. I had my purse in my hand and ready to get out of that oven before he discovered my secrets. If he lingered too long he would discover the mice and the fiercely protective cat.
“I like very much.” What was I too say? I felt embarrassed at all the attention I had garnered from the men who now exploded into my less than exciting life. So many men and so little time to do anything.
“Where are we going?”
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