by Golden Angel
Chapter 7
By the evening Allison was feeling even more thankful for Todd’s morning birthday call. She had expected it to be the best part of her day, but she hadn’t realized the kind of margin it would win by. Work hadn’t been bad, they’d celebrated her birthday with her and gotten her cake, but Matt, the intern who had kissed her at the New Year’s Eve party, had shyly worked up the courage to ask her out and it felt like kicking a puppy when she turned him down. Now she was at her parents and her mother was driving her up the wall.
Apparently being twenty three without any likely marriage prospects made her an old maid in her mother’s eyes. The antiquated attitude made Allison want to strangle her mother. The two of them used to be so alike, but ever since meeting Todd it was like Allison’s life had strayed from the path it was originally supposed to take. And she was so relieved. If it hadn’t, she’d probably be engaged to Roger by now and on her way towards a life of ‘warmth’ and understanding. Not exactly romantic.
“I don’t understand why there wasn’t one young man that you could bring to dinner tonight,” her mother said a little waspishly. “I’m sure Roger would have come if you’d asked him. The two of you looked so wonderful dancing together at Christmas.”
“Roger is seeing someone else now,” her father reminded her mother. The tone of his voice and the stern look he gave Allison sent the message that it was all her fault for not nailing him down. Somehow they’d apparently missed the memo that Allison didn’t want him, no matter how many times she tried to tell them.
Patrice waved her hand, dismissing Veronica as anything serious. “If Allison merely applied herself then I’m sure he would be interested in her again.”
Ugh. That was absolutely it. If she treated Roger like a college class and ‘applied herself?’ Suddenly Allison couldn’t take her parents attitude anymore. She was tired of hiding herself from them.
“I have a date next weekend,” she announced.
Her mother lit up immediately. “With Roger?”
“No. His name’s Todd.”
“Why isn’t he here tonight to meet us?” her father asked, his heavy brows drawing together under the mop of thinning dark brown hair.
“What’s his full name?” her mother asked at the same time.
“He’s in Turkey finishing an internship. And his last name is Rinald.”
Silence.
“I haven’t heard that family name before,” her mother said thoughtfully. Allison put her fork down, knowing she’d have to do battle. At least she’d finished most of her dinner already. The thunderclouds gathering on her father’s face indicated that he was catching on faster than her mother. “How did you meet him?”
“At school. We had a class together last fall and he’s in Chad’s fraternity.”
“What do his parents do for a living?” asked her mother.
“No idea.”
Her father’s face was starting to turn slightly pink. Allison took a sip of her class of wine. Although she was managing to act calm and nonchalant on the outside, her insides were spinning nauseously.
“What does he do for a living?”
“I’m not sure. He was working at a mortgage company before he left for the internship in Turkey, part-time.”
“Why on earth was he doing that?” her mother asked, wrinkling her nose. The pink of her father’s face was darkening.
“To pay for school. His scholarship didn’t cover everything.” Might as well get all the information out in the open.
“You dumped Roger so that you could date this… this nonentity?” The outrage in her mother’s voice sparked Allison’s own. Her parents were so uptight, so ridiculous with their notions of how people should behave and who was worthy to be in their presence. The automatic assumption that Todd wasn’t as much as Roger, Todd who had paid his own way through school and worked harder than anyone else in their social set to have the opportunity to get his degree, absolutely infuriated her.
“He’s not a nonentity,” Allison snapped.
“He’s not appropriate,” said her father, his voice low and dangerous. “Roger was appropriate.”
“Roger doesn’t interest me,” she said, her temper rising just as fast as her parents’. “And you don’t know that Todd isn’t appropriate because you’ve never met him. Roger doesn’t love me. Roger wouldn’t know what love is if it bit him on the ass. He doesn’t care if he never falls in love, but I do.” She knew that she wasn’t being entirely fair to Roger but she didn’t care.
“Love means nothing,” her father said, snapping at her as his voice started to rise. “You have responsibilities. Whoever you interact with has to meet a certain standard. You will not be allowed to shame the family.”
Allison’s felt her cheeks flush with fury. “Well I’m ashamed to be interacting with such wretched snobs, how’s that? I don’t think it’s at all shaming to be interacting with people who didn’t have everything handed to them.”
“You had everything handed to you, you ungrateful…. Little…” her father actually sputtered as he lost complete control shouting and unable to keep to his own standards of good breeding. Coldly, Allison thought that it would probably do him good to call her by some nasty name. But even now he couldn’t. She felt nothing but pity for him. Pity and contempt.
“And now I’m working for it. I haven’t accepted any of your money since I moved out and I won’t. Every check you’ve given me has gone to charity. I’m absolutely grateful for everything that you’ve done for me but that doesn’t mean I’m going to look down on people who weren’t lucky enough to be born to parents who could provide the way you have for me. Because that’s all my social standing is, luck of birth”
“We should never have let you move out,” her mother said. When Allison looked over she realized that her mother was crying and she felt a small pang of guilt. Immediately her father hurried to stand behind her mother, patting her shoulder ineffectually as he tried to be comforting.
“Why?” Allison asked, feeling a little sad. Her parents were no longer giants in her world. They were no longer the omnipotent beings that she had practically worshiped and never questioned. “So that you could control my every movement? Plan out my life for me and force me to live it? That’s why I moved out, Mom. I don’t want that. I wanted to make my own decisions and live my own life”
“Then get out,” her father glared at her. “Get out and don’t come back until you decide you’re ready to apologize and live appropriately. You want to be independent? Fine. You’re on your own.”
“Bruce, no!”
Patrice grabbed at her husband’s hand, looking up at him entreatingly, but he shook her off. That one action turned Allison’s heartbreak to iciness. For a moment she had been ready to apologize, to try and back down a little bit, but seeing her father’s dismissal of her mother drove home the entire point she’d been making. There was no love in her parent’s marriage. Companionship, warmth, a partnership. Her father didn’t even consider her mother’s feelings when he made a big decision. And he made all the big decisions. Usually without consulting her mother.
Even now her mother just gave her a bereft look and then burst into noisy sobs before pushing back her chair and running out of the room. Her father actually had the nerve to glare at Allison like it was her fault.
“I’m your daughter, not your doll. I’m sorry for upsetting both you and mom, but I will never be sorry for insisting that I make the choices for my own life. You can make all of Mom’s decisions because she’ll let you, but I’m not her.”
The words seemed to rock her father back on his heels a little bit, but he said nothing in return as Allison stood and walked quickly from the room, remaining as calm and graceful as she could. They were willing to throw her out for no better reason than she wanted to make her own decisions. For her, it wasn’t about Todd so much as about the fact that she wanted them to value her for herself, not for whatever assets she could bring to the family. Not because
she did what they told her to, but for who she was as a person.
Their rejection of her hurt more than she’d been willing to admit in front of them. Deep down she’d always believed that, when push came to shove, her parents would love her regardless of what she did. Part of her had known who and what they were and so she’d always played the perfect daughter, but in her heart of hearts she’d really thought that they’d come around.
Well she’d lost that gamble.
Diana was incensed when Allison told her about it, going on a cursing diatribe that rivaled the Boondock Saints movie while Allison sniffled on the couch. She was so incredibly lucky to have a friend like Diana, and so lucky that they’d been able to move in together. The thought that right now she could still be trapped at her parent’s was horrifying.
There were so many reasons to be thankful for Todd’s intrusion into her life. Without him she might have never realized how caged her existence had become, and she certainly wouldn’t have had the courage to escape it. Along with all the incredible sexual experiences he’d also brought her a lot of revelations about herself and her lifestyle prior to meeting him.
Of course she loved him for that. And now she’d stood up to her parents. Doing it for herself, not for him, even though he had been what the argument was about. It had been a long time coming, but Allison really was starting to feel like a complete person. Even though she wished that her parents hadn’t reacted so badly, tonight wasn’t all bad.
Happy birthday to me, she thought to herself, sitting on the couch and leaning on Diana’s shoulder, I’m a real person.
********
Waiting a week to see Todd was pure torture. He didn’t call again and the email situation was just as short and uninformative as before. Allison felt like she was on pins and needles.
Her parents didn’t call either. For a few days she’d hoped they would. But there was no way her mother would call without her father’s approval and apparently that wouldn’t be forthcoming any time soon. Sometimes Allison thought about calling and apologizing, it wouldn’t be that hard to make up with them and then just keep doing her own thing. It wasn’t a good solution either; she shouldn’t have to hide her life or herself from her own parents. They needed to either accept that she could make her own choices about her life or not.
This time she wasn’t going to be the good girl and give in. Just like moving out of their house, this was something she needed to do for herself.
Finally it was Saturday, although she spent most of the morning being a nervous wreck. Todd wasn’t picking her up until 6pm and she alternated between wanting to get ready for him immediately, which would then mean sitting around and waiting for the time when he was actually going to show up, or finding things to busy herself and risk not having enough time to make herself look absolutely perfect. Eventually Diana got sick of it and sat them both down to watch The Lord of the Rings. It was punishment for driving Diana up the wall, a good distraction because there were lots of hot men and a good plot, and it took up a lot of time.
After the movie was over Diana released Allison to go take a shower where she shaved every last patch of body hair. After the shower she rubbed herself down with lotion so that her skin would be satiny soft to the touch and smell faintly of lavender.
With her hair dried and fluffy, brown curls tumbling around her shoulders and framing her face, she pinned some of them back so that her hazel eyes show out clearly. Deftly she applied make-up, giving herself a more natural look but emphasizing the sparkle in her eyes, her long lashes, and the plump roundness of her pouty lips. She didn't need any blush at all; her cheeks were naturally flushed with excitement.
Putting on the dress she looked in the mirror, enjoying the way her cleavage looked, snugly encased in the fabric. The skirt flirted with her legs as she moved, and the silvery shoes with small rhinestones that she wore emphasized the shapely form of her calves and thighs. They also made her legs look incredibly long, which made the skirt look shorter than it really was. Allison smiled smugly. The dress was pure class, but any man looking at her would be feeling lust.
The doorbell rang. It was 6 o'clock. How had the time flown? Now that the moment was here she found herself anxious, heart beating in triple time. What if she saw him and realized that her feelings had changed? What if he saw her and the spark wasn’t there anymore? What if he was just here for an easy lay, and not because he had the same feelings as her? With one last deep breath and a look in the mirror to reassure herself that she looked great, she went to the door.
******
Dark brown eyes widened as he looked her over, softly praising her before he even said a word. The slow smile that spread across his face as he looked at her held a promise of heat and lust. Well the spark was definitely still there if nothing else.
"You look fantastic," he smiled and lifted one finger to caress her cheek, smiling she turned her head and nibbled on the tip.
"So do you." It was true, although she was shocked to see that he was dressed impeccably in what she recognized as a Gucci suit, one of this year's in fact. It fit him like a glove, and he looked extremely handsome and masculine. The price of the suit was what surprised her, the last time she saw him he would have never been able to afford something like this.
“I have something for you. Happy Birthday.” He pulled a Swarovski box out of his pocket and she opened it to find a glittering necklace and earrings.
“Oh Todd, they’re beautiful!” Immediately she divested herself of the jewelry she was wearing, simple single drops, so that she could put on the sparkling strands that he’d gotten her. Todd’s face held pleasure as he watched her perform the switch.
“Here, let me,” he said, offering his help as she put the necklace around the back of her neck. He took either side of the length of it, waiting as she turned and lifted her hair so that he could see what he was doing. The hot breath on the back of her neck sent a shiver of lust straight through her. When he dropped the clasp of the necklace against her skin, he followed it with a soft kiss just above, and Allison felt the response all the way down in her core.
She turned to look up at him again. “Thank you so much, they’re beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful,” he said, pulling her into his arms and bending her back as she tilted her head up to accept his kiss. His arms were rough around her, holding her close to him. Their tongues melded inside each other mouth as she moaned and tried to press her body even closer to his, her hands clutching at his jacket. For a moment she felt him press against her, hard, hot and throbbing.
Suddenly he pulled away and looked down at her sternly. "Stop that, we have reservations and if you start that then you won't even get to wear your new dress out."
"That'd be ok with me." She grinned wickedly and tried to press back up against him where she could see the bulge in his pants. The blatant wantonness was so unlike her, the way she’d been since he’d gone that she would have wondered what she was doing, but she already knew. Todd just brought it out in her.
"Nice try Princess," he said, but he was smiling as he held her at arms-length, pushing her out the door. Although he did spank her ass as she flirtatiously smiled at him while walking past.
The ride in the car was great, just getting to talk to him and catch up. Todd told her all about Turkey. Although she’d been there before he seemed to have gotten deeply involved in the culture and the people, actually getting to know them and learning their language, not just staying in the Westernized hotels and restaurants. Listening to him talk about the beauty of the country was fascinating, even though other people’s stories of travel usually bored her. It was probably because he’d gotten a much more intimate view of the country than most of the people she was usually around.
Also fun was being naughty and teasing him by trying to slide her hand up his leg. It gave her a little thrill to really be sexually aggressive towards him and she could tell he was enjoying it too, even if he wasn't going to take advantage of it. A
few times at the stop lights he would reach over and caress her breasts, putting his arm around her shoulder and sliding his hand down the center of her cleavage, fingers slipping under the folds of clothe to rub her aching nipples. She shuddered and leaned closer to him, trying to suck his earlobe between his teeth.
"You better stop that," he said, pinching her nipple. "Or we're going to never make it to the restaurant."
"I told you that would be ok," she murmured softly into his ear, licking it lasciviously and running her hand up his muscled thigh until he caught it with his own.
"No, we're going on a date." He turned a little to catch her lips with his own for a quick kiss. "Even if you are being naughty... and I hope you know you're going to pay for all the teasing you do."
Allison practically purred. Although part of her did want the incredible sex that she knew was coming, she was also emotionally satisfied by his intent on taking her out and treating her right. It definitely showed that he thought of her as more than a sex object. But because she couldn’t help herself, she sank her teeth into his earlobe, making him gasp and shudder; the car veered a little and horns honked. After that she left him alone (well physically at least, they still talked and she kept reaching into her dress to pinch her nipples and moan while he watched from the corner of his very amused brown eye) and they just continued talking all the way to the restaurant.
******
At the restaurant they were quickly escorted back to the chef’s table, a private booth in the kitchen where Todd had arranged for a tasting menu. Allison was completely taken aback. This was the kind of very expensive date that not even Roger had ever taken her on, the kind of thing her father did when he and her mother were celebrating something privately. The few times that they had ever celebrated anything privately.
She wrenched her mind away from her parents and focused on the incredible man next to her. Although part of her wanted to ask if he could really afford this, she was way too well-mannered to ask anything so gauche. It occurred to her that the Gucci suit was unusual for Todd too.
