Unlikely To Fall In Love

by Esmeralda, Debie

  “Really.” She narrowed her brandy colored eyes at me. “Do you think less of me like that? I knew you for more than two years Amanda.”

  “Nothing happened. We just talk okay.”

  “Talk? Are you trying to fool me?”

  “We really just talked all night.” No matter how much I loved Margaret, sometimes she was just so exasperating.

  She frowned. “As in talk?”

  “Yeah.”

  “But when I called you house your twin brother told me you didn’t came home last night.” She looked lost.

  I sighed and tried to explain everything to her. “We talked. I slept in his bed with my clothes on. We ate breakfast together and he gave me a ride home.”

  Margaret stared at me in silence, her eyes focused on my face. What? Was there something on my face? My hand unconsciously fled to my cheeks, trying to wipe any grease smeared on it.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God!” She said startling the crap out of me. “I knew it. The glow, the dreamy look on your face, you are in love with him.”

  “I am not.” I retorted.

  “Yes. You are dear, believe me, you definitely are.” I could not help rolling my eyes at her. Where did she get that idea?

  Margaret took my hands and clasped it in between hers as she spoke to me. “I am telling you this because I love you like my own sister. Damon Rhodes and you wouldn’t happen, Amanda. Men like that do not fall for women like us.”

  “I do not love him.” I said, trying to convince her. Or convince myself?

  “Whatever. But remember this. It is not wrong to fall in love with someone even with Damon Rhodes but dear, a relationship with him will not work out. Of course, unless if you are the mistress.” She said. “I know it sounded harsh, but it’s the reality.”

  “Well you don’t have to worry about me falling for Damon Rhodes, because I am not.”

  When I got home later that day with three hours to spare before going to my hooker job, I took a nap. I was alone, my brother’s out with his friends. I lay on the couch instead of my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Margaret’s words kept coming back to me, it was echoing inside my head.

  Was I really in love with Damon Rhodes?

  I knew I like Damon because he was sweet and all. But love? That was ridiculous. I was not a masochist to put myself out to that line. I was just deluding myself if that ever happened. I knew better that anyone that Damon Rhodes and I were not likely to happen. We were worlds apart. He was the heaven and I was the Earth. He was a diamond, and I, a cubic zirconium. How could Margaret ever think of that?

  I was not in love with Damon Rhodes.

  No matter how handsome he was. How blue his eyes were. How much I enjoyed talking to him all night. How he managed to make me smile. How thoughtful he was to me. How much he made me feel comfortable. How much he made me feel special. How much he made me feel like a princess. I was not in love with Damon Rhodes.

  See, I just like him.

  ~***~

  “So what are you going to do if Damon Rhodes shows up again?” Margaret asked as she retouched her lipstick in front of a small vanity mirror she held in her left hand.

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged. Should I do something if he shows up?

  I stared at the horizon where one of the hookers was getting inside a BMW. She seemed happy with how her life was, happy with her work, unlike me and I could not help but sigh. Ever since Damon Rhodes stepped into my life with his polished Italian shoes, I felt like I wanted…I wanted more.

  Ugh! My head was so mess up!

  Why did I keep on thinking about something more?

  Maybe, I should stop spending time with billionaires in their penthouses so I would not be wishing for something more, because clearly, it was making me delusional.

  That’s right Amanda, no more Damon Rhodes.

  A convertible stopped in front of Margaret and me. Inside were two men and they looked like they just got out of puberty, maybe around eighteen.

  “Want to join us?” The one who was driving seductively said.

  “Sixty bucks an hour sugar, for each of us.” Margaret replied. She flashed the guy her famous predator like seductive smile as she leaned lower for him to see her cleavage.

  The guy smirked as he peeked at the goods she’s flashing before him. “Hop in.”

  Margaret was the first one who got inside the car and sat on the passenger seat. The other guy on the backseat opened the door for me with a smirk and I smiled back as I stepped inside (he looked too young to be picking up girls and should have been making out with a girl with pompoms).

  “Amanda.” I paused in mid step as I recognized the voice that was calling my name. I knew who owned that voice.

  I turned around just in time to see Damon crossing the pedestrian lane in a hurry towards me. “Amanda, wait.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  No more Damon Rhodes, Amanda.

  No more.

  I opened my eyes and saw him at the side of the car where I was. He was trying to catch his breath, combing his fingers through his thick hair. I remained from where I was standing, hands in front of me clasped together in an attempt to suppress the nerves. God, even having him near me made me jittery. What was going on with me?

  “Hey.” He said.

  I looked up and stared into his beautiful blue eyes. “Hi.”

  “Can I talk to you?”

  “Can’t you see that I am sort of busy right now?” I said with irritation. Why did he have to sound so hopeful to my ears? I wanted to punch him in the face because he was making me a delusional whore.

  “Yeah. I can see that.” He replied. “Please?” This time his blue eyes worked it’s magic. Why did his eyes have to be that beautifully blue?

  “Okay.” I sighed in complete surrender to his blue depths before turning to Margaret. “Mags, I’ll talk to him.”

  Margaret stared at me in silence for a long time before saying, “Okay. I will take care of these guys. Should we wait?”

  I stared at Damon again, and it seemed like I was not coming back in this convertible after we talk.

  I stared back at Margaret. “You don’t have to.”

  She nodded. “Okay. See you tomorrow.” She reached for my hand and gave it a light squeeze.

  I turned my attention towards my supposed to be costumer for the night. “Sorry boys, maybe I’ll join you next time.” Then I blew them a kiss. Yep, I blew them a kiss right in front of Damon. What? Do not blame me if I wanted to proved to him and to Margaret (and maybe to myself as well) that I was not in love with Damon Rhodes.

  I watched as the convertible drove away until I was alone with Damon Rhodes. I took a deep breath before turning to him.

  Okay, I could do this. Do not like him more than you already did Amanda.

  I turned around and gave him my full attention. He was standing stiff like a pillar beside me and he did not look happy about something. I didn’t know what, but I forced myself to stop caring what made him look displeased. Why did I have to care? It was not as if I have feelings for him to try invading his personal space and all.

  “Talk.” I said.

  But instead of talking, he stared at me with those powerful blue eyes of his. It had the intensity I had never seen before, making it looked like cobalt blue, and I was instantly under his magic spell just like that. Yep, just like that.

  Oh God, I am doomed.

  “Come with me.” It sounded like a command and it was clip as if I was talking with a lawyer.

  “In the penthouse?” I squeaked. Amanda, what was happening with you?

  He nodded and I shook my head. “I can’t.”

  His demeanor changed in the milliseconds that passed. Gone was the intense Damon ‘cause now he was all puppy blue eyes on me. “Why?” He asked in a much softer tone than the one he used with me earlier.

  I shrugged as I tried to detach my eyes from his gorgeous blue depths. “I don’t know.” Where the hell did that excuse came from? It sou
nded so lame.

  “You don’t know?” His brows pulled in the middle of his forehead forming a frown.

  I nodded. I didn’t know what was going on with me. And if I come with him in his penthouse, I knew how this night would end. No, it was not sex but something else. And if I let it happen, I wouldn’t be able to get back to my old self again.

  “Please.” He begged, reached out and took my hand in his. His hands were larger and much softer than mine were, but the way he held my hand made me feel like he thought my hands were that delicate even thought they were not.

  I looked up at his face and decided that I made the wrong move, because his eyes were so blue and so clear that I was lost in its magic again. It was liked his eyes have this way of controlling me, taking over my body and making it move despite my best intention of fighting against its power.

  ~***~

  I stared outside the New York Skyline…again. Here I was, back in Damon Rhodes’ penthouse. I could not make myself say no to him. What did he do to me? How could he have this sort of control over my body? Every time he looked into my eyes with those blue orbs of his, I did not know what happen, it felt like someone was overtaking my body and was ready to oblige every word that came out of his lips. It was crazy I know, even I was freaked out by it.

  “I have a proposition for you.” Damon interrupted my mind that was already flooded by thoughts about him.

  “You sounded like a businessman and your tone sounded like we were about to have a business meeting.” I replied.

  “I am a businessman.” He pointed out. “And yes, if you called it like that, this is a business proposition for you.” He sighed and I turned around to stare at him.

  Damon was sitting on the edge of his bed wearing a white cotton shirt and jeans, dressed like every average person on the continent. If only he was like those other guys. If only he would screw me physically rather than the way he was doing to me emotionally, maybe I would not felt this doomed at all.

  “Work for me.” He said as he ran his hands on the edge of his bed.

  My brows furrowed as I stared at him. “Work for you?”

  “Work for me. Instead of working on the sidewalk by night waiting for guys to pick you up, spend your time with me. I kinda needed the company at night since I was always alone.” He continued running his hands on the edge of the bed as if he was nervous. He was nervous?

  “You can hire a maid if you want. You don’t have to hire a hooker.”

  “I also happen to need dates for function and events I am attending every now and then. I preferred a professional than go through a series of dinner dates and endless courtship.”

  My world suddenly crumbled, I did not understand why but when he said it, it made my heart break. Well, it looked like he still saw me as a hooker. Obviously, I was a hooker. Then why did his words hurt me? What was going on with me?

  “Okay.” I said.

  “Good. Name your price.” He said. And there he was, the Damon Rhodes that I hated.

  It made my heart squeezed tighter inside my chest. Damon could be cold whenever he needed to be and I hated it. Hated the fact that he was rich and has more money than anyone I knew of, hell he could buy anyone if he wanted to, and it was freaking painful to know. That was why folks, Damon and I were unlikely to fall in love with each other.

  “Nights only?” I tried to sound like the hooker he thought I was. Oh God, my eyes stung.

  “Yup. But you also need to make yourself available if I needed you to accompany me in daytime gatherings.”

  He was serious about making this a business thing, wasn’t he?

  “Okay. I’ll be here twelve hours every day, that’s one thousand two hundred plus a hundred every hour you needed me.” I said without flinching although inside I was shattering. I couldn’t explain the feeling I felt right now. Heck, I didn’t know what I was feeling right now.

  He smirked. “Deal.”

  I held out my hand like the professional he told me I was. All I had to do was shook his hand, seal the deal and that was it because I was a professional. But once our skin touched, I felt it again. That weird electrocuting sensation biting through my nerve endings, it almost made me jerk. Damon shook my hand like a businessperson, and I didn’t know if I should be happy or sad. I didn’t know what to feel anymore.

  What was going on with me?

  That night, we lay together on his bed like we did last night, just lay there facing each other while I stared into his blue eyes. He stared back at me as we lay in silence, and only the beating of my heart was the only thing I could hear.

  Thump…thump…thump…

  “Excuse me.” He stood up from the bed and walked out of his room, leaving me alone.

  I stared at the empty space that he just vacated and slowly reached up to run a trail on his pillow with my fingers. The fabric felt so soft under my touch, felt like it cost more than I could afford. Everything in his room was expensive and high-end, and I was overwhelmed by its luxury. I would never fit in this place, never would be a part of a world like this.

  I turned on the other side and closed my eyes, waited for sleep to come to me. But instead of sleep, firm muscular arms wrapped around me. I could feel his breathing on my hair, smelled his cologne when he came near me. I didn’t know if I should but I felt somewhat more relaxed when I was in his arms. And that was the only time that I finally drifted off.

  I woke up at the sound of an alarm clock ringing nonstop at the other side of the bed. I was not even sure if I set up an alarm clock. Then it hit me that I was not in my room. I was in Damon Rhodes’ room.

  I opened my eyes just in time to see Damon got up from the bed. I stared at him and he smiled down at me. He looked so handsome despite his mussed up hair and just woken up eyes, I couldn’t help but smile back him.

  “Good morning.” He greeted.

  “Good morning.”

  “What do you want for breakfast?” He asked as he reached for the phone on the top of the nightstand.

  “Oh, I’ll go grab some on the way to work. I really have to go now.” And on that note, I got up from the bed and combed my straight hair with my fingers. I slung my purse on my shoulder as I walked around the room gathering the rest of my things, my shoes and the coat that I brought all the time which I used as I walked back home from my hooker job.

  “No. You have to eat breakfast before you go.” He scowled at me.

  “I can’t. My shift is early today. I don’t want to be late. I’ll grab something to eat on my way to the diner.” I said. “Bye.”

  I dashed out of his room to avoid his persistence. I walked as fast as I could and let out a breath of relief the moment I saw the elevator bank. I pressed the down button and waited for the elevator doors to open.

  “Wait.” Damon called out just in time as the elevator came. “I’ll come with you.”

  We both stepped inside the elevator and when we reached the lobby, he guided me out by placing his hand on the small of my back. I felt a blush creeping up in my cheeks and I felt a different kind of burn all over my body because of his touch. It was like all the senses inside my body were in full alert.

  I snuck a glance at Damon and saw the burning in his blue eyes. I quickly looked away and instead focused my eyes on other things that it could land on inside the lobby, because if I continued staring at him I wouldn’t know what to do with myself anymore. This perfect looking creature beside me really captivated me.

  Ugh, maybe I should just have looked down the floor instead of choosing to roam my eyes around the posh lobby. Because, everyone was staring at me like I was a leper. Everyone was staring at me, from men and women to old and young ones.

  I lowered down my head and stared on the floor instead as I walked out of the lobby with Damon still guiding me. I just looked at my black stockings, dark red shoes as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. I took a deep breath as I felt their stares drilled a hole into me. I let my hair fell on my face, in that way maybe a
t least I could cover my face from their judgmental stares.

  When we finally made it out and when the valet handed Damon’s car keys to him, I couldn’t help but felt a huge relief as if a metal band wrapped around my chest was finally removed. It felt like I just paraded through a freak show, and I was the freak.

  “What’s wrong?” Damon now focused his attention on me.

  I looked up into his eyes that were so blue and so concerned and I shook my head. I couldn’t tell him about it. I was a professional. Mean stares, they were just a part of my work. I would always be on the receiving end of that gesture.

  I noticed the valet checking out my legs. Of course, I was wearing a very short skirt and lust driven men would always took notice of them. So I chose to ignore him.

  I stared again at Damon, who was glaring at the valet boy, and I couldn’t help liking him more than I did.

  The valet took Damon’s glare as his time to backed off and leave us alone. He made himself scarce in point two seconds. Then when he was gone Damon looked at me again, his eyes were soft as he smiled at me. “Shall we?” He opened the car door for me like the gentle man he always was.

  ~***~

  I adjusted my skirt as I stood in front of the mirror. There. Much better.

  I was used to skirts and black stockings and that was the only article of clothing you would find inside my closet. I have no time to shop for something different. I draped a coat over my clothes as I walked outside my apartment. I didn’t notice my brother lying on the couch with his feet propped up until he startled me.

  “Going somewhere?” He asked.

  I could not tell about Damon and my hooker job. “Work.”

  “Work? It’s like what? Eight pm?” His tone was being sarcastic. “Sis, if you are out to see some guy I’m cool with it. You don’t have to lie to me about that you know.”

  “I’m not going out on a date.” I retorted. This was not a date.

  He sat up from the couch and stared at me with his brow raised. “Really? Like I would believe that?”

  I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at him. Sometimes he was exasperating. “Whatever Aiden.” I continued to walk out the door but he stopped me with a statement.