Contemporary Nights Volume One

by C. J. Ellisson

  Trent stepped to her and she held her hands up to stop him. “Nope, don’t touch me. Get dressed, mister.” She turned pretending to adjust her hair to keep him from seeing her moistened eyes. Tomorrow they’d leave and she’d pick up her Jeep in Columbia and keep going.

  “Wait, I almost forgot.” He jogged to his crumpled jeans on the floor and dug into the pocket. He walked back to her with a small box in hand. He picked up her hand and placed it on her palm. “Please accept this as a gift.”

  Without taking her eyes from him, Amy Leigh held the white jewelers box in her palm. “What is it?”

  “Open it.” His cheeks reddened and he shifted from one foot to the other as he lowered his hands to his sides. “I hope you like it.”

  Her fingers trembled a bit as she opened the box. A huge flawless round diamond solitaire ring sat snuggled in the middle of green satin. “It’s beautiful, but I can’t possibly keep it. It’s too precious.”

  “Of course you can. It’s only two carats.” Trent took the ring from its satin nest and slid it onto her finger. “It fits perfectly. Now you’re ready to face my family’s friends as my fiancé.” At his smile, she turned away to face the mirror, her eyes as shiny as the bauble on her left ring finger.

  “Thank you.” There were so many things she wanted to say at this moment. Let’s stay together, for one. Let’s not say goodbye. She waited for him to finish dressing and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm as they left the room to face the guests.

  It seemed Hillary Mulherin was well regarded by Charleston society by the number of guests who came to celebrate her birthday. Not just the large amount of people, but who were in attendance. The mayor, a celebrity chef from Savannah, as well as many of the who’s who of the area toasted Trent’s mother.

  A string quartet played classical music at the right level to allow the hum of conversation and clinking of glasses to fill the rest of the atmosphere.

  A waiter with a tray of appetizers came to her and hovered discreetly waiting for her to notice. Amy Leigh shook her head and opted instead for a champagne cocktail to calm her nerves. When she turned from the tray of glasses, Barbie from Hell stood in front of her with a cocktail in one hand and the other hand on her hip. “Well, hello there. I don’t suppose you realize it, but you’re holding a genuine Austrian crystal goblet.” Hard eyes darted down to Amy Leigh’s feet and back to her face. “Cheap earrings.”

  Amy Leigh suppressed an eye roll. “I suppose they are somewhat dull compared to the brilliance of the ring on my finger.”

  Miranda’s audible gasp caught the attention of a couple of guests nearby who looked to them with interest. In impeccable theatrical posture, the blonde touched her arm and laughed. “Thank you. I so love this dress.” Her fake smile did not reach her eyes as she once again focused on the ring. “It’s small.”

  “It’s not the size that matters. Of course we both know Trent doesn’t have to worry about that.”

  “Look around, honey,” Miranda hissed. “In a few months all these people will forget your presence here tonight. I on the other hand will still be here and I assure you the ring on my finger will be much larger. Our families have been planning my and Trent’s marriage since we were children. Of course it’s only natural that his parents want Trent to marry someone of his social level; someone who understands the demands of our lifestyle.”

  If it were not for the fact that Amy Leigh agreed with her, she would have thrown out another direct comeback. Instead she shrugged. “You know what, lady, for all your society standing, you don’t have much class. Why, if you know all that, do you waste your insults on me? If I were you, I’d worry about the brunette Trent’s with right now.”

  Miranda’s head swirled in Trent’s direction so fast that she did a perfect impersonation of the Exorcist. Trent laughed at something the woman who clung on his arm said and nodded in agreement while the woman performed a flawless lean and brush boob on his arm maneuver.

  Amy Leigh watched him in his element. Excusing away from the brunette, he moved to a nearby group and immediately was pulled into their conversation. Someone asked him a question and he scanned the room until his gaze lighted on her. A soft smile played on the corner of his mouth and he motioned for her to join him. Barbie huffed, her heels clacking on the flat stone as she marched away. Amy Leigh barely noticed. Her focus was on Trent.

  “This is my Amy Leigh, everyone.” Trent wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side. Amy Leigh took a fortifying breath and waited for the suspicious narrowing of eyes and the flat, empty comments. Someone touched her arm and leaned into her ear. The young woman with a bright smile giggled. “I’m Jenny. I’m so glad to see him with a down to earth girl like you.”

  “You’re a breath of fresh air. Hi, I’m Charlie.” A guy standing next to Jenny said to her then turned to Trent. “She’s a looker.” He winked at her and instantly Amy Leigh wanted to hug him.

  “Yes, she is,” Trent replied with a gleam of pride in his eyes.

  “Oh my goodness.” Amy Leigh finally put two and two together. “You are the ones who got married in Las Vegas. The day...”

  “The day before you two did the deed,” Jenny supplied in a whisper.

  “Hello, Miranda.” Whether the edge in Trent’s voice came from anger or annoyance that it was Amy Leigh at his side and not the girlfriend, was hard to tell. The other couple seemed to go taut as well.

  “Well, hello, everyone.” Miranda moved closer and exchanged air kisses with Jenny and Charlie. “I’m looking forward to our annual ski trip to Vale this year.”

  Charlie cleared his throat and Jenny frowned. Amy Leigh pulled away, only for Trent to pull her harder against him. “Come,” he said in her ear and then looked to the group. “Please excuse us.” He pulled her into the house, through the kitchen to a hallway and opened a door. Trent pushed her inside and joined her.

  “What is this? A closet?” Amy Leigh laughed.

  “Shhh,” Trent whispered. His breath was coming in harsh pants. “Pull up your dress,” he commanded. She heard the familiar sound of the foil tearing.

  She pulled up her dress and he yanked her panties so hard the flimsy material fell to pieces. “You tore my panties!”

  “I’ll buy you more.” He picked up Amy Leigh and pushed her against the wall of the oversized closet and drove into her already moist center.

  “Oh!” Amy Leigh exclaimed her hands gripping his shoulders. He moved in and out of her. When he raised his face to hers, she took his mouth and suckled at his lips. Effectively muffling their moans by the kissing.

  “You drive me crazy.” He moved faster, pushing them both to finish. The friction of his movements drove her to cry out his name, no longer caring if anyone overheard. Then he thrust into her harder, his body quaking under hers. His throaty moan was the last thing she heard before joining him.

  “Help me,” she whispered yanking her dress down, feeling around with her foot for her left shoe. “I lost one of my shoes.”

  “Hold on,” Trent told her, tucking his shirt back into his pants and adjusting his belt. “I think I lost a button on my shirt.”

  “Trent,” Amy Leigh snapped, “people will notice my missing shoe more than a button.”

  He knelt and his hand picked up her foot. Her shoe slid on and she inhaled when he pressed his lips on her calf. “Thank you,” Trent murmured when he straightened. “I’ve never had closet sex.”

  “Why did we?” Amy Leigh had to know. “Does seeing your ex make you horny?”

  “What?” He gave her an incredulous look. “Hell, no. I want you to know her presence doesn’t matter to me.”

  “Oh,” Amy Leigh wasn’t sure she believed him, what she did know was that being with him, no matter where, was one more memory she’d take with her. He opened the door and almost hit someone walking by. The woman gasped and jumped back only for her eyes to widen when Trent stepped out.

  “Good evening, Mrs. Cardin. It looks lik
e we found my girlfriend’s shoe.”

  “Oh...well yes, of course,” the woman replied and practically sprinted away.

  Trent took Amy Leigh’s arm and pulled her into a kiss. “Please don’t worry about Miranda. I only have eyes for one woman tonight, and always.” He pressed a kiss to her lips and she wanted to believe him.

  The rest of the evening flowed without incident. They danced when a band set up and played soft jazz. They drank champagne toasting his mother when Trent’s father finished a short but touching speech. At the end of the night, they entered the house. The women arm in arm with Trent and his father behind them. At the bottom of the stairs, Hillary Mulherin took Amy Leigh’s hands. “My boy looks so happy with you. I am hopeful you two will have a good life together. Welcome to the family, darling.”

  Amy Leigh was so overcome with emotion when she hugged her that a sigh escaped and tears slipped down her cheek. “Don’t pay me any mind, too much champagne. Thank you, Mrs. Mulherin.”

  “Call me Hillary, please.”

  “All right, Hillary. Goodnight.”

  After one last kiss on his mother’s cheek, Trent remained quiet as they ascended to the second floor. He guided Amy Leigh to the bedroom door and then turned away. “I will be back shortly. Go ahead and get some rest.” His lips pressed against hers for but a moment, then he turned and left.

  The next morning, Amy Leigh searched for juice in the kitchen. She heard a deep clear of the throat. “A word with you.” Trevor Mulherin appeared behind her. She glanced out the window to where Trent and his mother sat outside having coffee on the veranda.

  “Yes, of course.” She turned to face him. “What can I do for you, Mr. Mulherin?”

  The handsome man poured coffee, his glacier eyes looking up to offer her some. She shook her head. “I don’t drink coffee. I’m a tea girl.”

  “Do you understand the ramifications of your marriage to my son?”

  The conversation she dreaded. “Look, Mr. Mulherin, I signed the prenuptial agreement. I don’t want Trent’s money. I just want...” How to finish the sentence. “I want to make him happy.” Her voice fell to a whisper. “That’s all.”

  “I hope he knows what he’s doing. The fact you refused money on paper doesn’t mean you won’t take it in other forms.” His sharp eyes went to the ring on her finger.

  Anger swelled at the suspicion behind Trevor Mulherin’s eyes. This man only cared about money. He needed to worry about his son being happy. Surely he didn’t prefer someone like Miranda. Or perhaps he did. Maybe he saw right to the core of her and knew she could never live up to their expectations. He was right of course, a girl from Sweetgum could not manage Charleston’s society requirements on their level. “I will do what I can to ensure that Trent does not suffer negatively from association with me. You don’t have anything to worry about.” She stepped around him and went upstairs to the bedroom unable to stop the hot, angry tears. Not wanting Trent to find her crying, she locked herself in the bathroom and started the water in the sink. “Son of a bitch,” she mumbled and ran her fingers through her hair. “He’s right.” Trent knew it too. He’d already started stepping back from her by not coming to bed until after she’d fallen asleep the night before.

  The drive to Columbia was pleasant enough with the conversation mostly about the festivities of the night before.

  “Where did you disappear to last night?” Amy Leigh asked.

  Trent’s eyes met hers for a beat. “I stayed up and talked with my sister and her husband for a bit before they left. She really liked you by the way.”

  “I liked her too. And your mother is very nice.” Amy Leigh was careful not to tell Trent about her conversation with his ex or his father.

  Once they arrived at his townhouse, she waited for him to open the trunk of his Lexus so she could retrieve her overnight bag. He carried it to her Jeep and placed it on the floor behind her seats. With his hands in his pockets, he looked from her to the townhouse. “Do you want to come inside for some water or something?”

  “It’s best I get on the road,” Amy Leigh replied and looked up to the cloudy sky. “Hopefully it won’t rain. My soft top has a leak.” Her keys jingled as she pulled them from her purse. “I suppose your lawyer will draw up the paperwork for the annulment.”

  The expression of drawn eyebrows and lips pressed together told her little. “Yes, I will speak to him sometime this week. Are you sure you want to leave now?”

  “I am. It’s best.” Amy Leigh turned her face from him not wanting to show her confusion at his question. She slipped the ring from her finger and looked at it one last time before handing it to him.

  “Amy Leigh? We can hold off. I’d like to see you more.” Sincerity dripped from every word and it cut into her heart. If only.

  “Please take it.” When she turned, her eyes locked onto his and she reached for his face, cupping his jaw. “It’s not worth it, Trent. It started as a one-night stand. It should have been just that; a great memory of a wonderful time together. You and I…we are so very different. Although your family and friends were gracious, I felt like a fish out of water. When you find love, I know it will be someone of your social standing. A woman who understands your world.”

  The muscle under her hand tightened and his gaze became hard and distant. “Of course. I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

  “It’s not that, Trent, you misunderstand me.”

  “No, Amy Leigh, I understood every word. Like you said, we complicated a one-night stand.”

  Her hand fell from his face and she took a step back. “Well, goodbye then.”

  “Goodbye,” he said not moving, his eyes flat. “Take care, Amy Leigh.”

  The road blurred and cleared with every blink. Thankfully it didn’t rain on her three-hour drive home, or she would’ve had to pull over. She did not cry, but it was only because she kept repeating the same words over and over. You are an idiot. You can’t love him.

  Chapter Twelve

  “When is the farce going to end?” Miranda leaned forward with her breasts in perfect alignment for him to see. “I mean the annulment should be completed by now, right?” She selected a grape and plopped it into her mouth. The act was no doubt an effort to seduce. “You did file it already, didn’t you?”

  Two weeks had passed since he’d returned from Charleston, and every day was proving to be a chore. Trent wished again, he’d not opened the door.

  “I have an early day, Miranda. Although I appreciate you stopping by to bring me this...er… fruit dish, I have to ask you to...” he stopped talking when she straddled his lap and leaned forward her lips on the side of his face.

  “What is wrong, Trent? You’ve never resisted me before. I never had to try so hard to get you in bed. If you’re angry with me because of what I said to that woman at your parent’s party, then you’re being unrealistic.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “Nothing that wasn’t true. She was out of her element for one thing.” Her hand slid under his shirt stroking his nipple and in spite of himself, it aroused him.

  He exhaled. “This is not a good idea.”

  “Yes, it is.” Her tongue traced his ear while at the same time she pressed her breasts against his chest. “I want you, Trent.”

  When his hand went to her hip, he was struck by how little there was for him to sink his fingers into or how lacking it felt. “No, Miranda, I can’t.” He pushed her off and she stumbled to stand. At once he grabbed her arms to keep her from landing on her butt. “I can’t,” he repeated simply and ushered her to the doorway. “Everything between us is over.”

  “You can’t mean that, Trent,” she half wailed. “You and I—we’re meant to be. Your family and mine have planned our marriage for years.”

  The reason for her insistence had not been obvious until recently. He took her by the arms to keep her from getting closer. “No, my family is ambivalent when it comes to you. However, I know why yours is so intent on th
is marriage. Your father has lost millions in the oil spill and everyday he’s bleeding more and more money into the Gulf of Mexico. He needs my family’s money. Well how about this? Tell him I was disinherited when I married Amy Leigh. I lost all of my inheritance.”

  And here it was. The test she would fail.

  Miranda paled and snatched her arm out of his hand. “You are an idiot, Trent Mulherin! You’ll be sorry you married that trash! Now no one from our circle will have you. Goodbye.”

  The door slammed so hard a picture bounced off the wall and onto the floor with the glass splintering into pieces around his feet. Trent stared at the glass for a while weighing Miranda’s words. He should have made her tell him everything she’d said to Amy Leigh.

  His cell phone chimed. He picked it up and put it to his ear uttering a hoarse, “Yes, Mother?”

  “Trent? Honey, are you all right?” His mother’s voice was high-pitched. “You sound angry.” She knew him too well. “How’s Amy Leigh?”

  “I assume she’s well. I have not talked to her today.”

  “Really? I would think you speak to your wife daily.” Her disapproving tone made him realize his mistake. “Err... she has several events planned today.”

  “Yes, that makes sense. I hope you two move in together soon. It must be hard to live in different towns. Anyway, I called to tell you that I hope your father didn’t hurt her feelings too badly. He admitted being a bit harsh with her and now feels bad about it.”

  His mother’s words sunk in and he lifted his hand to his hair. “Mother, I don’t know what you’re talking about. What did Dad say to Amy Leigh?”

  He heard his mother sighing. “You know him. He thinks everyone is after our money. I suppose it’s not that bad if Amy Leigh has not mentioned it to you.”

  “Mom, I have to go. I will talk to you later. Have a good night. I love you.” Trent ended the phone call and walked into the living room. He flung Miranda’s fruit basket across the room and collapsed onto his couch. No wonder Amy Leigh had practically fled from him. Both Miranda and his own father had made sure she did.