by Amy Rose
I smile back at him, loving that he has also missed me. I pull him close in an embrace, rubbing my hands along his back.
“So, tonight is your work Christmas dinner, I’m guessing your colleagues will be bringing their partners along, just like you are bringing me. How many do you think will be attending?” he asks.
I pull back to look at him. “There are usually around forty or so of us. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, just let me know and we can head out. It’s going to be a shock to some of the girls I work with to see you there.”
He raises an eyebrow, inviting me to continue.
“Well you know my assistant Jenny, you met her that time you stopped by for coffee.”
He nods to show me he does know who I mean.
“Well she thinks you are, well, many things but mainly dreamy. She may even ask for a photograph with you.” I laugh lightly, trying to put across a feeling of good humor, as though I wasn’t concerned at all about the attention he would draw tonight. I was mainly concerned about the ladies, I hoped they all behaved themselves.
“As long as she can then take a photo of us together, I am fine with that. You really do look beautiful tonight, Angela.”
I playfully swat at his chest, with as much pressure as a piece of cooked spaghetti hitting him in the chest. “If you’re lucky, Mr. Sands, that might be arranged.” I peck him quickly on the cheek and then pull back, making my way towards the bedroom in order to grab my items, calling out as I go, “I’ll just grab my things. Won’t be a minute”.
I wander back into the bedroom and collect my phone, wallet and keys. I keep a hold of my keys while throwing the other two into my black clutch that I would be using for the evening. Once closed, I place my clutch comfortably under my armpit to keep in in place.
Returning to the living room, I walk straight into the awaiting arms of the man that I am lucky enough to call mine. I wrap one of my arms around his waist awkwardly and kiss his chest quickly before letting go. He steps aside and lets me pass through the already open door ahead of him. Once I am in the hallway, he follows suit, closing the door behind him. I check the door is locked and quickly insert my key into the deadbolt engaging it before we go. Once all is locked, I place my keys into my clutch and then hold it in my left hand, offering my right hand to Elliot, who takes it easily within his own.
We walk down the flights of stairs into the parking lot at the back of the complex, parked next to my own car is a sleek white Mercedes, smaller than the one he has back at his residence.
“What is it with you and Mercedes?”
He grins at my question. “What can I say? I have expensive taste! I’m just glad that they had one at the rental place at the airport” He shrugs, opening the passenger side door for me and helping me in.
Once he has closed the door for me, he walks around the front of the car until he reaches his own driver’s seat door and opens it, sliding in with ease. “Now since I’m not the local, I hope you know where we are going tonight” he states while putting on his seatbelt.
“Of course, I do. I’ll give you directions.”
He presses a button on the huge center console unit and a map symbol pops up on screen. “Can you enter the directions here for me babe? I’d like to see how the satellite navigation in this baby does.”
I stare at Elliot for a moment, boys and their toys, and then at the screen. I press the map symbol and another screen pops up, areas to enter all relevant information pertaining to the address we will be going to. Once I finish entering the address, the name of the steak house pops up, “The Sizzling Steak House” I then press the start route button and the screen changes to show the white Mercedes sitting in a parking lot, a blue line in front of it showing which way to go.
I sit back in my seat and buckle my seatbelt, relaxing into the leather. As Elliot turns out of the parking lot onto the main street, an Alan Jackson melody comes on the radio, something about it being Five O’clock Somewhere. I lift my left hand from my leg and place it on Elliot’s thigh, rubbing my thumb over the fabric of his dress pants. Feeling the presence of my hand, Elliot removes one of his hands from the wheel and places it on top of mine, giving me a gentle squeeze.
“So, who should I expect to meet with tonight? Anyone in particular that we will be speaking with? Do you consider any of these guys your friends?”
I look in his direction and laugh tentatively, unsure as to how much information I should really give away. “Well I am friendly with all of my colleagues, but when it comes to socializing outside of work, I have only caught up with two people. James is another sales agent at the firm, and Jenny, you know, the one who thinks you are a dreamboat, anyway she will be there tonight with her boyfriend Benjamin.
“Then there is my boss Sandra, I haven’t seen her outside work except for these work functions. She will more than likely be super polite; however she is single so possibly may flirt with you.” I pause for a second “Just try not to stop anyone else’s heart tonight, okay?” He chances a quick glance at me before returning his full attention to the road.
“Anyone else’s? Do I stop your heart Angela?” Although his tone is serious, I can’t help but detect the slightest amount of sarcasm underlying.
“Sometimes,” I reply.
He chuckles, “I’ll try not to stop anyone else’s heart then. So, this James fellow, is he someone I need to be worried about? Jealous of, perhaps?”
I laugh for a second before pretending to cough, hoping that it does the trick and he doesn’t realize that there was a laugh threatening to come from my lips at his question.
“James, no, no one you need to worry about. He is a good friend, we hang out from time to time after work, but he knows that I am seeing someone” he seems to wash my reply over before replying.
“Someone, hey? He doesn’t know that I am that someone you are seeing?”
I shake my head and squeeze his hand. “No, no one knows that you are the guy that I am seeing. I have kept that to myself.”
Elliot remains quiet for a few minutes. I wonder what is running through his mind. “Can you tell me why you haven’t told anyone about me?” he asks, he doesn’t sound angry at all, merely curious, possibly even a little bit of disappointment mixed in.
I don’t want to answer this question, but I opened this subject and he has the right to know. “I didn’t want to tell anyone for two reasons. You’re in the spotlight so to speak, well known, you have a Wikipedia profile for Pete’s sake. I didn’t want anyone posting it online, in case you wanted to keep it quiet.”
I pause, waiting to see if he will say anything.
“And the second reason?” he asks. Making no comment about the first reason.
I continue with the second. “I didn’t want to tell anyone about us in case I thought it was more than it is. In case I told everyone that you were coming and then you decided not to. So therefore, I just told them that I would be bringing along a plus one this year, my boyfriend.”
Elliot is quiet for a good long moment, mulling over what I had just told him. He turns off the street into the parking area to the side of our destination. Once he finds a parking space, he turns off the car and turns in his seat to look at me.
“In answer to your first reason, yes, I am moderately well known. If you have seen that god-awful and highly untruthful Wikipedia profile, then you have no doubt seen articles about me in both Forbes and Business 101 magazine, too.
“There are photographs floating around of me on the internet, I can’t help that I am well known. I try to keep my personal life out of the media but occasionally the paparazzi snap a photo of me with a family member or a friend and it makes the rounds. If for some reason it was leaked that you and I were in a relationship, I would confirm it. It’s that simple.
“Now secondly, I was always going to be here with you tonight. I’m not going away, Angela, I’m here with you, and I’m not going anywhere. I’m in it for the long haul, okay?”
His procl
amation takes me aback, and completely by surprise, here he is being incredibly open about his feelings. That shocked me; it also gave me the courage to tell him mine.
“That’s good to know, because I’m serious about you, Elliot. I have strong feelings for you, feelings I don’t think are about to go away anytime soon.”
He smiles wide at my comment, “I’m serious about you, baby. I want the entire world to know that you’re mine.”
I lean forward, towards where he sits. He leans in at the same time and we meet in the middle, kissing each other, our tongues pushing out to meet each other, to commence their dance, the one that has become all too familiar. Savoring the taste of each other, he tastes like fresh mint toothpaste. Our kiss deepens, enjoying the declarations we have just made, knowing that we both care for each other, knowing that we are serious about each other. We finally pull apart, slowly. I pull down the sun visor and look at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes look wild, my lips look enlarged, no doubt from the kiss. I reapply lip gloss and wipe under my eyes, loving the confidence on the woman looking back at me.
We exit the car at the same time, meeting in front of the vehicle. He pulls me close and kisses the top of my head.
“What you do to me, woman,” he whispers.
I don’t know if I am supposed to hear it or not, so I choose to ignore his statement. Elliot lifts the car keys out of his pocket, pressing the lock button, the car emits a loud beep and the mirrors fold in towards the doors.
Taking my hand in his, we walk toward the entrance to the restaurant. Just before we open the door, Elliot pulls at my hand, turning me to face him.
“Mind if I stick close to you tonight? I’ve been away from you for far too long already.”
I smile at his statement “I know exactly what you mean. I would like nothing better than to be stuck with you tonight, babe.” He is smiling back at me.
“Just for tonight, baby?”
I shake my head slowly. “No, Elliot. Not just for tonight.”
~ Chapter Five ~
Angela
Elliot’s smile is breathtakingly beautiful, showing all of his perfectly straight teeth. It makes my heart ache, in the best way possible. I have the ability to make this man so incredibly happy with just one sentence.
Elliot opens the door for me, and we stride on in. Being only a few days out from Christmas, the steak house is packed. Families, couples on dates, even a few groups of friends are catching up before the silly season hits. Men at all tables digging into a humongous steak before the roast turkey, ham, baked vegetables and assorted salads are splayed out on the table before them on Christmas Day.
If there is something I have learned from the men in my life, it’s that they are carnivores through and through, and normally, they are hella proud of it. They love steak, and when I say all of the men in my life, I mean my dad and Liam. Whether it’s barbecued over hot coals, under the grill or in a frypan in the kitchen. Men love sinking their teeth into a big, juicy piece of steak.
“Angie, you made it” I turn my head from where the well-known voice has travelled from and see Jenny making her way towards me, wearing a red turtleneck sweater and blue jeans. I suddenly feel overdressed.
“Hey Jen, yep, we made it”. At the sound of the word ‘we’ she looks over my shoulder. I can tell the moment she realizes who I am with as her jaw goes slack. Her eyes tell me that she is playing a story inside her head that won’t be unfolding. I feel Elliot’s strong hands cup either side of my waist.
“Hey, it’s Jenny isn’t it? We met a few weeks ago. I’m Elliot.”
Jenny snaps out of whichever fantasy that she was enjoying and smiles too widely. “Ah yeah, that’s right, Elliot, hi.” Her voice a lot softer than usual.
Stretching her hand out to meet mine she pulls me with her towards the other side of the restaurant, as I am pulled out of Elliot’s grasp I turn over my shoulder giving him an apologetic look, he shrugs his shoulders and makes his way, a few steps behind us. “You told me you were bringing a friend tonight Angie, not a damn client”
I turn back to look at Jenny and bite my lip. “He isn’t just a client Jen. He’s actually my boyfriend.”
Her mouth drops open, looking back over our shoulders looking at where he was following. “No way, you and Mr. Belle Meade Homestead?”
I nod, a huge smile spreading across my face. “You know me Jen, I don’t care about money. He is gentlemanly, he pulls out a seat for me, he opens car doors for me.”
That gets her attention. Her face turns back to look me squarely in the face, “Like old school gentleman, then?” Before I have a chance to answer we reach the door to the separate function room that Sandra had rented for the evening.
Stepping in I see that we are one of the last to arrive. I quickly scan the room and locate Sandra deep in conversation with one of the other sales agent’s wives. Elliot comes up behind me and takes my hand in his. Leaning down to my ear, he whispers “Remember, we stick together tonight.”
I nod and turn my head to face his, looking him dead in the eye. “Like glue.”
“I’m just going to go find Ben. Give you someone to talk to for the evening, Elliot.” And with that Jenny leaves us alone.
“So, she likes me, then?” I turn my body, so we are completely facing each other. “She is the one who thinks I am dreamy, right?”
I smack him across the chest playfully, “It’s nice to know someone thinks I’m dreamy.” I open my mouth, not sure what to say. “I think you’re dreamy, Angela.”
I feel my cheeks go a very similar color to a perfectly ripe tomato. Damn you, Elliot, now is not the time for me to be getting embarrassed. A totally indecent reply runs through my head: ‘And you’re a dream boat I could totally climb aboard.’ Instead I go for safe: “Right back at you, Sands.”
I hear Jenny coming back towards us from her not so quiet whispering to Ben. I turn around to see her just a few steps away.
“Hi, Ben.”
He gives a half-hearted wave, “Hey, Angie, how’ve things been?”
I lean in and give him a kiss on the cheek. Ben really is a sweetie and he makes Jenny incredibly happy, and for that reason, I like him. “Good, thanks, Ben. Jenny tells me you moved in together. That’s exciting.”
He goes slightly pink in the cheeks, another one of those reasons I like him. I’m not the only one who embarrasses easily.
Not one to let her man get caught up, Jenny rushes in “It’s definitely starting to feel like our place now, we’re planning on getting a few other items over the Christmas break, when the sales take place. Ben, meet Elliot. He is a bit of a real estate mogul from New York.”
Elliot squeezes my hand gently before offering his free one to Ben. “I wouldn’t exactly call me a mogul, but I do dabble in real estate. Elliot Sands. Nice to meet you.”
Ben shoots his own hand out very quickly, taking Elliot’s and shaking hands for a little too long. “Are you the guy that bought that old place out in Belle Meade?”
Elliot manages to pull his hand free from Ben and moves a little to wrap both of his strong hands around my waist. “I did. That’s how I met this wonderful lady.” Jenny shoots me a look that tells me she wants to hear all about it.
“Ben, would you mind going to get me a glass of red wine?”
Ben’s eyes are pulled away from Elliot towards Jenny. “Of course, honey. Elliot you want to come grab a beer?”
Elliot not wanting to be rude, answers him immediately “Sure, what would you like, babe?” he asks me,
“A glass of white wine please. The house one is fine,”
“A glass of wine for both of the ladies, coming right up.” Ben winks at Jenny before he and Elliot make their way across the room.
“What a catch.” she voices. I smile, looking over at my man. I couldn’t agree with her more.
“It’s probably a good thing he lives in another state, you know.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Imagine if
he lived here, you would never get any work done, too much temptation right there.”
“Well you’re right. It certainly lessens the temptation,” I reply.
She snickers, “Girl, he is the best kind of temptation.” Turning to look at me I see she has her lips pursed, trying not to giggle.
I can’t help myself; I break out into a fit of quiet laughter. “He certainly is.”
“What’s so funny?” I look up and see Elliot with a grin on his face. Hoping he didn’t hear those last few comments, my mind goes blank and I’m not sure how to reply.
“We were just remembering a joke that one of the clients who came into the office yesterday told us,” Jenny saves me. I’m so thankful I could kiss her. Ben looks at us both and rolls his eyes, offering Jenny her glass of wine. Elliot returns to my side providing me with mine and then links our free hands.
“So, Jenny. How long have you worked with Angie?”
Jenny looks up at Elliot “Just over two years. We have been friends since day one.” The fact that Jenny mentioned we were friends warms my heart. Even though we aren’t especially close, I do in fact confide in her a little, and technically she is my only female friend in Nashville.
“We certainly have been.”
“What do you do for a living, Ben?”
Clearly happy to be involved in the conversation, he jumps right in. “I’m a computer programmer. I create websites mainly for new businesses.” Proud of his job, Ben puffs out his chest a little.
“My best friend Drake dabbles in computer programming, mainly software engineering though. Me, I can make my way around most platforms, but I’m certainly no techie.”
Ben laughs with Elliot, not at him, which makes me incredibly happy. Elliot and Ben seem to get along easily.
At the mention of Drake, I wonder if this is the same one who also knows Liam. Of course, Elliot could know many people with the same name, with all of the people he meets day to day in his line of work. Not wanting him to know that I know about his conversation with this Drake in question, I decide the best course of action is to remain quiet, and to keep this little tidbit tucked away safely for another day.
