by A. L Long
Peter was behind the counter, cooking what looked to be eggs. Walking up to the counter, I asked, "Why are you still here?"
It just about knocked me over when he turned around and smiled at me. "I thought I would make you my signature hangover breakfast. It's been known to cure the worst of all hangovers."
"You don't need to do that, Peter. I'm not sure I could eat anyway. Just coffee is good enough for me," I say, pulling up a stool while I watched him flip the eggs over without a spatula. Even with a massive hangover, I was well enough to take in the view of his backside. It was a sight I would never get tired of. Turning towards me, Peter placed a cup of pure heaven in front of me along with my favorite creamer. I didn't know what was more embarrassing, the way he was looking at me or the fact that he knew I was staring at him. Taking a sip of my coffee, I kept my head lowered. It wasn't until he started talking that my attention was drawn back to him.
"Lilly, about last night," he began. "I owe you an apology. I don't want you to think that I don't care about you. It's just that I have so much shit to deal with. It's not fair to you to wait until I do."
"What's the difference, Peter? You're still blowing me off and I get it. I'm a big girl," I said, finishing the last of my coffee.
"Don't be like that Lilly," he said, walking around the counter to where I was sitting.
"I need to take care of this. I'm telling you this because I care about you. If it was anyone else, it wouldn't matter," he said, cradling my cheek in his hand.
Peter was leaning towards me and I couldn't let what was about to happen, happen. Turning my face, I said in the best voice I could muster. "Goodbye, Peter."
The way he looked at me told me that he wasn't expecting what I said. Standing, I headed back to my room, locked the door, then slid down to the floor and let the tears fall. It had to be the fact that I was still hung over, and feeling like shit that made me an emotional wreck. At least that was what I was telling myself.
After wallowing in my self-pity, I pushed myself from the floor and headed to the shower. I needed to get it together. Stripping from my t-shirt and panties, I turned the nozzle to the shower just as my phone began to ring. In all my nakedness, I walked back to my bedroom to grab my phone.
"Hey, girlfriend,” I answered, seeing Dylan's happy face appear on my screen.
"Hey, yourself. I was just checking to see how you were feeling today. I thought maybe you might be up for lunch," Dylan asked.
"Yeah, that would be great. Where would you like to meet?" I asked, hoping it was nowhere fancy. The way I was feeling, I was in no mood to get all dressed up.
"I thought we could grab a sandwich at that little bistro I like so much."
"Perfect. How about I meet you there at one?" I suggested.
"You gotta date."
After I hung up with Dylan, I headed back to the bathroom where the water in the shower was still running. Climbing inside, I began feeling the warmth of the water. It's amazing what a nice hot shower can do for a woman in mourning.
~****~
Dylan was already waiting for me when I arrived at the bistro. I was surprised to see that little Isaac wasn't with her. Paying the cab driver, I stepped from the car and headed toward her. I needed to do something about my lack of transportation. I sold my car when I moved to Paris. There was really no use for it with me being gone and unable to drive it.
As we entered the small restaurant, we were greeted by a young waiter. He led us to a small table in the corner. I ordered a Reuben sandwich while Dylan ordered her favorite grilled chicken on Panini bread. I had never been here, but the atmosphere was inviting. It's no wonder this was Dylan's favorite spot. While we were eating our conversation went back and forth between Isaac, the new gallery, Dylan's successful grand opening and how I was feeling.
"So how are things between you and Peter? You guys seemed to have disappeared at the same time last night," Dylan asked.
"Peter is Peter. And there is nothing going on between us, at least not anymore," I said.
"Why? I thought things were going good between you two," Dylan questioned.
"Yeah, like I said, Peter is Peter. Too many secrets. He keeps telling me he has stuff to deal with, but he won't let me know what it is. Until he can, I can't be with someone who hides things," I said regretfully. "So how are things at The Castle? Any new sex positions or toys I needed to know about?"
"Lilly, I know you don't agree with our lifestyle, but it is what makes us happy. When Rade controls me, it's like nothing I can ever explain. I trust him. He would never do anything to hurt me," Dylan confided.
"Well, I just don't understand the reason behind the whole BDSM scene."
"Lilly, you can't tell me that you haven't thought about being tied up or blindfolded during sex," Dylan whispered, leaning over towards me so no one else could hear.
"No, not really." I, of course, lie. Sometimes I did think about it, giving a man complete control over me. When I'm with Peter and he holds my hands above my head, all I could think about was the way he made my body feel, knowing he was controlling my pleasure.
"Well, don't knock it until you try it, Lilly. It isn't what you think."
Leaving the restaurant, I began to think about what Dylan said about giving over control to a man in the bedroom. It was something that I only fantasized about, but never really followed through with. All I could think about was what could happen if things went bad. I remember back when Dylan first went to The Castle. Even though Rade had nothing to do with what happened to her, I couldn’t even imagine what she went through, being tied to a spanking bench and taken without the ability to fight back.
The driver pulled up to my building, pulling me out of my thoughts. Paying the driver, I moaned to myself as I gave him a twenty. I really needed to buy a car.
Even though it was Sunday, I felt like I needed to get some work done. I didn't want to stay in the apartment, so I decided to go to the gallery and check on how things were going with the remodel. Grabbing yet another cab, I headed out.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Lilly
Arriving at the new gallery, I could see that the guys were busy working away. I requested that they work around the clock to get the gallery up and running. Unfortunately, that meant working on Sundays. I wasn't a slave driver normally, but I was so far behind on my target opening date that I had no other option but to request that they work on Sundays until the remodel was finished.
My heart sang as I looked up. Over the double glass doors, the sign 'Séduire Art Gallery’ appeared in beautiful silver lettering. I hadn't expected the signage to be here so quickly, but it was now official. My dream of owning my own gallery was coming to life. As I pulled the door open, I could see men working on putting down the new flooring and adding the extra rooms which would be my office and a small conference room. If everything went as planned, I would be able to open the new gallery in a couple of weeks. Taking a look around, I could also see that the banister leading to the second floor had been replaced with a wood and brushed silver one I had chosen. Everything was coming together. I could now see the showroom area taking shape. I was very pleased with the way things were going.
When I left the gallery, I felt better. Even though I didn't like the way things ended with me and Peter, I needed to push my feeling towards him away. The only way to do that was to meet someone else. I thought about the guy at the gym. I wondered if he would be around today. The only way to find out was to go. A good workout would do me good.
I arrived at the gym an hour later. Just like every other time, the place was in full swing. I decided to do some warm-up exercises starting with a slow jog on the treadmill. While I was jogging, I looked around the gym to see if I could spot the gorgeous hunk of a man. The only thing I spotted was half-naked men showing off their chest and ab muscles. It was no surprise that the majority of the gym population was made up of horny women.
Finishing my warm-up, I decided to go to the weight room and get so
me reps in. Just as I was rounding the corner, I spotted him. Walking to the weight machine next to him, I acted like I didn't notice him. I knew he saw me. I could feel his eyes on me. Adjusting the weights, I looked over at him and smiled.
"Hey, Pierre right?" I said nonchalantly, hoping he wouldn’t see that I was attracted to him.
"Yeah. How are you doing, Lilly?" he asked with that beautiful smile.
"Good. Great, as a matter-of-fact," I said.
"Do you need help with that?" he offered.
"Yeah, that would be great," I said, watching him pull the pin from the weight stack. My eyes were glued to him. Even though he was wearing a t-shirt, it was tight enough that I could see the muscles in his arms and chest expand as he checked to make sure the weight wouldn’t be too heavy for me.
"I think that should be a good weight for you," he confirmed.
I got in position on the bench. Pierre was standing behind me while I placed my hands around the bar. Even from this position he was gorgeous. I didn't know if I would be able to concentrate on the task at hand with him standing there. Just as I was about to dislodge the weight bar from its stand, I could feel another presence. Lifting my head, I saw Peter standing in front of the bench. I released the bar and sat up.
"Is there something I can help you with, Peter?" I asked coldly.
"Can I speak with you for a moment?" he began. "In private."
Turning towards Pierre, I swung my leg around and pushed my body from the bench. "I'll be right back. This should only take a minute."
Peter grabbed my arm and escorted me out of the weight room, down the hall to an open office. Pulling me inside, he closed the door behind us. Looking down at me he asked, "Do you mind telling me who that is?"
I could see the anger in his eyes as his grip on me began to tighten. "Not that it's any of your business, but his name is Pierre." I looked back at him in annoyance while trying to get away from him.
"Well, I don't like him, and it is my business where you are concerned. I don't want you hanging around with him," Peter spat, running his fingers through his hair.
"What is it with you? You were the one who wanted to break things off between us. Now you come in with your alpha-male bullshit and tell me who I can’t hang around with. It doesn't work that way, Peter. You have no say in who I can or cannot see." I was fuming. Who the hell did he think he was?
I tried walking past Peter so I could escape the room, but once again he took hold of me. "What do you know about him, Lilly?"
"I was just about to find out, until you so rudely interrupted me. Now let go of me," I said.
"Not until you promise me you'll steer clear of him," Peter advised.
"Whatever, Peter." I wasn't about to let him tell me what to do, but if it would mean he would let me go, I would have said anything.
By the time, I finished with Peter and went back to the weight room, Pierre was already gone. I tried looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found. My desire to work out left as well. Grabbing my bag from the women's locker room, I slung it over my shoulder and left the gym. On the walk home, I thought about the altercation with Peter. I wasn't sure what his deal was, but I was tired of him running hot and cold. As much as I wanted to be with him, I couldn't wait until he got his shit together only to find that he had moved on to some other bimbo.
~****~
Going to bed early was something I rarely did, so it was no surprise that I was wide awake at four o’clock in the morning. My body had been through the wringer yesterday, and all that it craved was a long restful sleep. I contemplated just laying there staring into the darkness or getting out of bed and doing some work. With everything on track for the opening of the gallery next week, there really wasn't very much left to be done. Pushing myself from the bed, I decided to go ahead and shower and grab a coffee and a bagel from the nearby Starbucks. As I was slipping on my shoes, my phone began to ring. The number came up on the screen as one I didn't recognize. If I had been smart, I would have let it go to voice mail, but being who I was, I went ahead and answered it.
It was the same as always. Silence. Just as I was ready to hang up I heard one word being spoken by the caller, "Mine."
I thought I might have misunderstood what the caller said. "Excuse me," I said as I waited for a response.
The caller hung up without saying anything else. Whoever was calling me, at least now I knew it was a man. With little battery life left, I plugged my cell into the charger and headed out of my condo in route for the coffee and bagel I could already taste.
Getting to the corner Starbucks, I entered the busy coffee shop and placed my order. Even through the place was busy, it only took a few minutes before my coffee and bagel was ready. I decide to stay and enjoy my breakfast. There was a table facing the window to the street, which I snatched and took a seat. My meal looked amazing as I began to unfold the wrapper around my bagel. I was just about to take a bite, when a familiar voice said, "Mind if I join you?"
Looking up, I could see Pierre standing before me dressed in a perfectly tailored gray suit. I had to blink twice before my eyes accepted his presence. "Sure," I said, covering my full mouth with my hand. The last thing I needed was to spit food on his expensive suit.
Pierre grabbed a chair from a nearby table and pulled it next to mine. Placing his coffee and muffin on the table, he made himself comfortable.
Now that I had a clear airway, it was only right to apologize for yesterday. "I'm sorry about yesterday. Sometimes Peter can be a little rude."
"It's okay. So is this Peter guy your boyfriend?" Pierre asked casually.
With a chuckle, I said, "I'm not sure what he is, but my boyfriend isn't one of them."
"Well, then maybe it won't be too forward of me to ask you to dinner," Pierre asked with a smile.
"I'd like that," I replied.
Pierre walked me out of the coffee shop and down the sidewalk towards my condo. We stopped just outside my building. Pierre took hold of my hand and squeezed it lightly. I cast my attention to him, only to see him lowering his head to mine. Just when I thought he was going to kiss me on the lips, he gently kissed my forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow night, Lilly," he said before turning and walking away.
My body was left quivering as I watched him leave. There was definitely something mysterious about him that I wouldn't mind getting to know. Turning, I headed back up to my condo. When I got to my floor, Cop was knocking on my door. I wasn't sure why he would be knocking on my door. I really didn't have anything to say to him. I knew that Peter still had his men watching me. Even though I couldn't see them, I could feel them around.
Stepping up to him with my keys in my hand, I asked, "Is there something you needed?"
"Good morning, Lilly. Peter sent me over to check on you. When you didn't answer your phone, he got worried," Cop explained, moving aside so I could unlock my door.
"Well, you can tell Peter that I'm alive and well," I said sarcastically.
"Do you mind if I check out your condo?" he asked.
"Yes, I mind. You need to tell Peter he needs to back off."
"I'm not to leave until I've checked to make sure it's safe," he said demandingly
"What is it with you guys?" I complained as I waved my hand up and down.
With no other choice, I let Cop enter my home so he could look around. In the meantime, I removed my phone from the charger and called Peter. "What the hell is your problem?”
"Maybe you should answer your phone when I call you," he said.
"Maybe you should stop being so paranoid and let me be."
“I can't do that Lilly. Until I can figure out what the calls are about, I'm going to keep you safe," Peter stated.
"You are so frustrating," I said, before I hung up on him.
Cop finished his inspection of my condo, leaving me agitated by Peter's insistence on having him look around. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I needed to stop letting this man get to me and focus on something
else. I decided to do an Internet search to see if I could locate any good deals on a car. My parents purchased my last car, so I wasn't even sure how much a new car would cost. Even though I didn't budget in a car, it was something that I desperately needed. I wasn't one to take the subway, and taking a taxi was beginning to put a hole in my wallet.
After spending most of my time looking for a new car and not really knowing what to look for, I called my dad to see if he could offer any advice. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he offered to take care of it. He basically knew what I wanted, so it wasn’t a problem for him to find a good dealer.
Other than finding transportation, the only thing I had planned today was going to the gallery and checking on things. Even though I had just gone yesterday, I was beginning to get anxious. I wanted to have it completed so I could begin doing my thing.
