by Davis, Alexa
“So, what are you going to wear?” Terran asked me as if she could read my thoughts. “Are you thinking of getting something new? I mean, it’s got to be a hard balance, right? You want to look nice, but professional. Sweet, like you don’t think it’s a date, but sexy just in case it is. You want him to know that you like him...”
“What?” My cheeks flushed red. “I don’t like him...” I trailed off, realizing that was actually pretty pointless. Terran knew me far too well even to try and pull that one off. “I don’t want him to know anything.”
I gazed out the window, trying to encourage the redness to leave my cheeks. I could feel Terran’s eyes darting towards me every so often, prickling all over my skin, but luckily for me, she didn’t push it.
“I definitely think you should get something new,” she said instead. I nodded, loving the fact that she had given me the freedom to purchase something without looking foolish. “You don’t have many nice things...” She paused for a second, realizing her mistake. “I don’t mean that as... I just mean you haven’t had the excuse to go out anywhere dressed up for a while.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. It isn’t like me and...” I glanced at me, without really saying anything. I didn’t need to say Mark for Terran to get it. “Ever went anywhere.”
“Mmm, yeah, this will be nice. At least it’ll be an experience, maybe get you ready for the dating world again. I bet he’ll take you somewhere nice, real expensive.”
“Italian, apparently.”
“Ooh, I bet it’s Mangia Bene, that super fancy place that only just opened.”
I nodded slowly, a thick ball of emotion lodging itself in my throat. “I don’t think I’m fancy enough to go to a place like that. Plus, don’t you have to reserve really early?”
“Not if you’re a Trainor, I imagine,” she laughed. “That’s the sort of name that opens up doors for you.”
“Not like Blanton.”
I fixed my gaze back outside again, watching the world whiz past fast. The speed of everything flying over me felt a lot like how things had been moving in my life ever since I first took the job at Katherine’s home. The money had lured me in, but her and her son kept me around. And now, I felt like my feelings were growing inside of me, spiraling out of control at a million miles an hour. I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to stop them, either.
I’m not supposed to be like this ; I warned myself crossly. I’m supposed to be focusing on my life, with my eyes fixed forwards. I’m not supposed to be worrying about guys I can’t ever be with.
“Will you stop worrying so much?” Terran warned me. “It’ll be fine. I know it’ll be weird since...well, you know, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be bad. Whatever happens, this will be good for you. Alex doesn’t sound like a bad person. I’m sure he’ll treat you nicely whatever his intentions are. I think it’ll be fun, and you should focus more on that.”
Fun, I can do that. I nodded slowly. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s just....” I breathed deeply, hating myself for being so wrapped up in the past. “I guess it is weird. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m nervous, too.”
“Well, we’ll make sure you look good; that’s part of your nerves gone right away.”
***
“I don’t know about this,” I whined as we walked back into my apartment. “I don’t know about the dress you made me buy. It feels too...”
“Too sexy?” Terran laughed and rolled her eyes at me. “It makes you look beautiful. Will you stop worrying? You look great in it.”
I tugged it out the bag and ran my eyes over the offending item once more. It was a slinky black number that clung to my curves much tighter than I would have ever bought for myself. It was cut just above my cleavage and came to just above my knees. To anyone else, it probably wasn’t provocative or revealing at all, but I felt like I was naked in it. In the soft lights of the store and the compliments I got from Terran, I allowed myself to get swept along and run with it.
Now, however, I wasn’t so sure.
“You have to wear it tomorrow night,” she warned. “I want to see pictures of you in the restaurant with it on. I don’t want to think of you wasting all that money on a dress you’re never going to wear, especially when it looks really good on you.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I commented idly, still unsure of what I was going to do. “We’ll see how I feel tomorrow.”
“I like my dress,” Delaney interjected with a smile. “It makes me look like a princess.”
I turned to laugh at her as she spun around with it on. She wouldn’t leave the shop without wearing it. “You better go and get ready for bed in a moment,” I said quickly. “You want to keep your dress nice for tomorrow, don’t you?”
She pouted and looked up at me under her eyelashes. “Do I have to? Can’t I wear it to bed?”
“No you can’t, you’ll ruin it!” I gave her a reassuring smile and rubbed her shoulders delicately. “You can wear it for as long as you like after tomorrow night.”
“Fine, okay.”
I giggled as she danced all the way towards her bedroom. At least she was happy. I hadn’t noticed it at the time, but she was never this happy and upbeat when I worked at the motel. Or maybe I just never got to see it. Whatever the case, things were so much better now.
“So what do you think his mom will say when she sees you in this dress?” Terran teased. “She might shit a brick.”
“Nah, Katherine will love it,” I said with a smile. “She’s a kick-ass lady. I’m sure she’ll be encouraging me to dress like that every day for work.”
“Do you think...” Terran started before stopping herself and shaking her head. “Never mind, forget it.”
“No what?” I grabbed onto her arm and gave her a look with my eyes. “Say it, whatever it is.”
“Do you think maybe his mom is trying to bring you together? You said she talks about him all the time, about how great he is and stuff. She’s talked to you about his exes, too? Maybe she’s trying to play cupid. Do you think?”
“No.” I shook my head getting rid of that suggestion right away. “No, I think she’s just really proud of him. I think she just talks about him because he’s the best thing in her life, that’s all.”
But in my head I started to wonder...maybe Terran was right. It seemed like the sort of thing Katherine would do to help out her child. But Alex wouldn’t be swayed; he was much too strong-willed for that.
Chapter Seventeen
Alexander
Friday
Mom can’t come tonight; she isn’t feeling well. I tried my best to plan out my words in my mind, but somehow they just didn’t seem right. It seemed like it was all a plot on my behalf to get Elle alone on a date. That wasn’t the case at all. Maybe I was a little too excited for the night now, but it wasn’t my intention. This is all your fault, Mom; why do you have to meddle so much in my life?
She hadn’t been this way before – she gave me advice but never actually meddled. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Of course, I didn’t like it, but at the same time, I kinda enjoyed where it was headed. Enough to fall into her trap, at any rate.
As I pulled up outside the address that Mom had given me, I brushed down my suit jacket. I was far too dressed up, of course, I was, but I didn’t really know how to go out without a suit on. I’d been dressing up in a business-like way for as long as I could remember – it was really all I knew.
I hoped Elle didn’t think I was taking this too seriously.
Idiot, I mocked myself in my brain. Let’s just do this. Go and get Elle. Explain, hope it goes well, and get through this night with my pride intact.
I pushed my way out of the car and sucked in some deep breaths of fresh, cool night air. It washed over me, calming me down just a little bit, but it didn’t do enough to bring me back to my usual cocky self. I was going to be a bit of a bumbling idiot no matter what happened – it was always that way with Elle for some reason.
I stepped into the
apartment block and hit the button on the elevator door. I remembered living somewhere a bit like this when I was young for a while, probably when Dad had just left us and Mom was doing her best to keep us afloat. It wasn’t a bad time, but compared to what I was used to now, it wasn’t great. It didn’t feel like a spacious home with the privacy I liked.
People piled past me and got into the elevator before I had a chance to get in. I felt cramped as I stepped inside, but I did my best not to let it show on my face. I stared forwards at the metallic doors and kept my hands tightly pressed against my sides as we whizzed up to the seventh floor where I knew Elle lived.
I stepped out and made my way towards the door with the number 724 written across it. I lifted my hand, trying to stop my breaths from falling raggedly out of my mouth, and knocked. The sound was loud, echoing through the entire hallway and making me feel a little anxious. I had the horrible feeling that hundreds of doors were going to open all at once and expectant eyes were going to fix upon me...
Luckily, that didn’t happen.
The only door that flung open revealed a very pretty girl on the other side. I smiled down at her and parted my lips to speak. “Hi... Delaney, is it?”
“Yes, it is.” She spans around allowing her dress to flow out around her. “Do you like my new dress? Mommy says I look like a princess in it.”
“You sure do.” I’d expected to feel a bit awkward around this kid, but weirdly I didn’t. It helped that she had such a wide and inviting smile, just like her mother’s. “Is your mommy ready?”
“I’ll go and get her.”
Delaney left the door wide open as she ran off, so I took the initiative to step into Elle’s apartment and close the door behind me. I didn’t go in any deeper than the hallway, but I do glance around and drink everything in. It was small, cramped almost, and it made me wonder what Elle thought when she came to clean my mother’s home. Did she assume that I was a rich, arrogant asshole who didn’t actually deserve what I had? Maybe she thought I didn’t know what it was like to be at the other end of the scale. Maybe I didn’t, as much as this, but that didn’t mean I was oblivious to the world.
Mom talked to her a lot Mom said she told her lots of things about me. I just hoped I came off well.
“Oh hey, Alex.” Elle’s happy tones snapped me from my thoughts and back into the present moment. I looked up to see her fixing an earring into her ear. “Sorry, I’m almost ready.”
My breath caught in my throat as I slowly lingered my eyes over her body. Usually, when I saw her at work, she was in comfortable, slightly baggy clothes. She still looked hot as hell like that, but now... Wow .
The black dress clung tightly to her body, revealing a tight waist and a curvy set of hips. The pert, intoxicating shape of her breasts was enough to get my heart beating faster. Her legs flung out in an incredibly hot way as she walked from the room. Something about her naked feet was gorgeous.
Holy hell.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and fixed my eyes on the ground. I needed to explain about Mom, and I needed to say it now before things got weird. I decided it would be easiest to shout it across the hall, so I didn’t have to look into her eyes while I said the lamest thing ever.
“So, Mom isn’t feeling too good...”
“Oh I know,” Elle shocked me by falling backward. “She texted me earlier. How is she? I worry about her.”
“She’s alright. I think. Just her leg...” Urgh, I needed to stop talking . “Anyway, yeah, she’s fine.”
Finally, Elle clip-clopped out into the hallway in her heels that sent my brain spinning. She was too beautiful for words. This was insane... I didn’t know what to do with any of it.
“So are you ready to go? My car is outside...”
“I can’t wait!” At least we had Delaney to keep the conversation flowing. I had a feeling that she wouldn’t let there be any awkward silences for even a moment with her around. “Can we go? I’m starving! I like pizza.”
“Oh, you do, huh?” I teased her. “Well, that’s good because I just phoned the place and they have extra pizza in, just for you.”
“Yay!” She jumped about and cheered like an excitable bunny. “I can’t wait. Do they have ice cream, too?
“Sure do.” I’d picked the restaurant especially because I knew it catered well to children. It wasn’t the usual place I would take out a date, but it was perfect for tonight. “All different flavors, too.”
“Yay, yay, yay! I want to go now. You’re ready, aren’t you, Mommy? We can go, right?”
“Well, that’s up to Alex...” She looked up at me curiously, giving me the sweetest look of all time. All I wanted to do was reach out and hold her.
“Of course,” I laughed instead. “Let’s do this.”
As we left Elle’s apartment and headed towards the dreaded elevator, my heart lifted with hope. I had been excited about this date all day long...all week in fact. But now I was almost uncontrollable. There was a buzzing sense inside of me, a thrill that I had no idea where it would lead. I could almost feel something powerful between Elle and me something growing increasingly with each passing second. Maybe it would only lead to friendship, maybe something else would come from it. I wasn’t sure.
It looked like I was about to find out.
This time I relished the cramped nature of the elevator. I used it as an excuse to get some of Elle’s warmth.
This was going to be awesome.
***
“Do you want me to cut that up, sweetie?” Elle asked her daughter kindly. “I know that you’re a big girl, but you can still ask for help.”
I sat back in my seat and watched their interaction with a deep curiosity. I knew it was going to change how I saw Elle when I saw her with her daughter, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so much. I didn’t think I would like her even more. She was so kind to her daughter, so sweet and patient, but there was a firmness to her, too. She reminded me a lot of my mother.
“Don’t worry; the ice cream will be coming soon.” I shot Delaney a wink. “You don’t need a knife and fork for that.”
When Elle gave me an intense look, I could see something swimming behind her eyes. I wanted to lean closer, to softly ask her what was going on inside her head. Maybe if this were a real date, then maybe I would’ve done, maybe I would have turned on the charm... Or maybe I wouldn’t have cared because I would be more interested in just the physical. I’d be so concerned with protecting my heart that nothing else would have mattered.
Maybe.
I wasn’t about to find out anyway because there was a different dynamic to this night.
“Thank you for bringing us here,” Elle said to me kindly. “It’s really nice. We don’t get to go out too much, so this is awesome.”
I’ll take you out ever night! That thought burst into my brain unexpectedly, but of course, I couldn’t vocalize it. “Oh well, anytime...” I said lamely instead.
“Maybe next time your Mom will be able to make it. I can imagine her loving a place like this.”
“Yeah.” I shrugged and smiled. “Once her leg is fully better we should come again.”
As we talked through the rest of dinner and dessert, I felt the charge building between me and Elle intensify. There was an electricity crackling in the air, I felt certain that the whole building must have been able to hear it, but no one paid us any attention at all. It had to all be in my brain.
Eventually – and unfortunately as far as I was concerned – the night came to an end, and I had to drive Delaney and Elle home. Maybe if it had been just the two of us, I would have coerced her into drinks, too, but I wouldn’t have changed the evening we shared anything in the world. I felt like I knew Elle a whole lot better, and I liked what I saw.
“Thank you again,” Elle whispered as she took her sleeping daughter out of my arms at her apartment door. “Delaney really loved it; it was sweet of you to do. She told me she’s glad you’re my boss.”
Even with the sl
eeping child between us, I leaned across and gave her as much of a one-armed hug as I could manage. Prickles raced all over my skin; I could feel something incredibly significant shifting between us.
“That’s fine,” I whispered. “I’m glad that you work with Mom. You’ve been a real asset.”
We shared eye contact, intense looks, and I knew then with utter certainty that there was a real chemistry between us. I wanted to lean forward to kiss her, but I couldn’t.
“Goodnight,” she said sadly, accepting what I knew, too. “Thanks again.”
I watched her close the door with a warmth circling my heart. Maybe the night didn’t end as I wanted it to, but it was still amazing. It still made me realize that something awesome was happening and that I had a whole lot to look forward to...
Chapter Eighteen
Elle
Saturday
A big smile burst onto my face as the sun streamed through the window, alerting me to morning. I didn’t think I would ever get to sleep after such an amazing night, but I must have drifted off through the emotions somehow.
The date with Alex had been incredible, absolutely unbelievable. It led me to feel that sense of hope I thought had died a long time ago. When I gave up on the idea of romance, it was because I didn’t think it would ever happen for me again. I assumed I had my one chance, I fucked it up, and that was the end of it.
But now... Now I was starting to think that just about anything was possible.
I twisted over on the bed sheets and stretched out my arms in a state of pure relaxation. Maybe after a meal out with my boss and his mother – which actually turned out to be far more intimate than that – I should’ve been more stressed, but there was something about Alex that actually put me at ease. Even though nothing had happened, even though there was a definite sense that maybe it could have, I felt really calm about it all.
“Mommy!” Delaney yelled into my room before bounding in and bouncing up and down on the bed. “Mommy, Terran is here. She wants to know all about last night.”
