by Calista King
"I'd like for you to meet her," Andreas said.
His uncle sat back and remained silent for a long time. Andreas was afraid he'd refuse to meet Laila. Somehow that thought would hurt him more than he cared to admit. While his uncle could come off as rough and demanding, Andreas knew he was a good man. He was someone Andreas looked up to, and if he refused to even meet Laila, then he had no chance of even convincing his family to acknowledge her existence.
Finally his uncle relaxed his shoulders and nodded his head. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Bring her over for dinner on Friday," he said.
"Thank you, Uncle. Oh and one more thing. I haven't told her everything about me. She has no idea about our family or any of that yet," he said.
His uncle looked at him with a penetrating stare. "And when do you plan on telling her?" he asked.
"Soon."
His uncle gave him a curt nod in acknowledgment and without another word, got up from the chair for a second time and headed towards the door and walked out leaving Andreas with his own thoughts.
***
"Hey love, please give me a call back when you get this message. I have something I need to discuss with you. Talk to you soon." Click.
It was the third message Andreas had left on Laila's phone. Ever since his uncle had agreed to meet her, Andreas had been anxious to talk to her and fill her in. He knew she'd probably be nervous, but his Laila always rose to the occasion. She was a fighter and a survivor and he knew no one could stop her once she set her mind to something. She wasn't easily intimidated. That much he'd learned himself. He just hoped his uncle could see past her rough edges to the person within.
Besides his brother Frederick, his uncle Albert was the only other rational person in his family. He'd always looked up to him as a kid growing up, and valued his opinion. It meant a lot to him that he hit it off with Laila. He knew if his uncle kept an open mind, then he'd see what a gem she truly was. She was loyal and kind and without a doubt one of the most honest people he'd ever met. She never held back from him and he appreciated that in her.
The more he thought about the dinner, the more conflicted he felt. He'd wanted to tell the world that he and Laila were dating. He wasn't ashamed of her or trying to hide her away, but he was terrified of the future.
Once they opened the doors to allow other people in, that meant they were no longer in their little cocoon. Now he'd have to share her, and he didn't like that at all. He'd enjoyed the weeks they'd spent together, just the two of them without any distractions or obligations, basking in each other's presence. He had her full attention and she his.
After he introduced her to his uncle, then inevitably she'd have to meet his parents. Andreas shuddered involuntarily at the thought. He didn't even want to imagine how that meeting would go. His mother was disdainful of most people, while his father was unpredictable and temperamental.
If he could only get his uncle to give her a good word, he'd have a chance of his parents accepting her. He knew it was a long shot, though. Laila didn't come from the right family, didn't have the right education, and didn't have the right "look" which was what his parents judged potential mates by. None of that mattered a whit to him, but he knew Laila would have a tougher time of it if his parents decided to shun her.
Andreas shook his head at the irony of it all. Caroline had everything his parents had always preached to him to look for in a wife. She came from a prominent family, went to the best schools in Europe, and ran in the same circles that he did. At the time, Andreas even thought she was a perfect match for him. How wrong he had been. This one woman had almost destroyed him and his family with her actions.
Yet, after all that, here he was half a world away and quite by chance he met a brash, loud independent woman who was tougher than anyone he'd ever met before, and she had captured his heart. This time felt nothing like how it was with Caroline. This time he knew he could trust Laila.
With Caroline, he'd always had a nagging doubt in the back of his mind about her. She'd never given him reason to suspect anything, her conduct in public was without fault, but sometimes there was a look in her eye that gave him pause. He'd never had those feelings of doubt with Laila. He knew she'd been completely and totally honest with him from the beginning.
By the time he left work, Andreas still hadn't heard back from Laila. He knew she was working at the hotel all day, so he decided he'd talk to her once he got back, and maybe even convince her to come up to his room for a little private tete-a-tete. Smiling to himself at the thought, he picked up his briefcase and headed out his office.
He arrived back at the hotel a short while later, greeting the porter, Gary by name. Laila had mentioned how Gary had looked out for her and was almost like a father figure to her, so Andreas had made it a point to be friendly with the man. As soon as he passed through the revolving doors, his eyes searched the front desk for Laila.
He spotted her there behind the counter looking down at something on her computer screen. As if sensing his presence, she looked up at that moment and caught him looking at her. She held his stare and gave him a wide smile. He was tempted to stroll over to her and kiss her on those lovely lips but held back. Instead he picked up his phone and held it to his ear, signaling to her that he needed to speak to her. She seemed to get the hint and gave him a small nod.
Satisfied that he had made his point, he gave her a wink before walking away towards the elevator. Once he reached his room, he set his briefcase on top of the coffee table in his sitting room, and unloosened his tie. Kicking off his shoes, he made his way to his bedroom and plopped himself on the large king size bed. Andreas ran his hand through his dark wavy hair before picking up the phone. He pressed 0 for the front desk and waited.
CHAPTER 16
Laila heard the phone ring and knew it was him. Jett, the new employee, reached to answer it, but Laila snatched the phone away and gave him an apologetic shrug. He had been recently hired to replace Theresa, who had found a better job with benefits. He held up his hands as if to say "If it's that important to you then by all means, answer the phone" before stepping away to play solitaire on his cell phone.
Laila liked that he didn't really give a damn about the job. He was just here until he graduated college, and then he was "moving on to bigger and better things," as he would say. That meant he'd be more laid back and ask less questions when she decided to sneak away from her post for a bit.
Holding the phone against her ear, Laila adopted her most professional tone and answered,"Front desk, how may I help you?"
"You can bring your sexy ass up to my room so I can ravage you."
Even though she knew it was Andreas, hearing his deep voice talk dirty to her sent a thrill of pleasure through her.
"I'll see what I can do about that," Laila answered.
"See that you do. I'm desperate for you. I want to hold you in my arms and kiss every inch of your body, and taste you before I fuck you senseless," he growled.
Laila actually blushed and had to look around to make sure no one had noticed her momentary discomposure. She yearned to clock out for the day and go up to his room so he could make good on his promise, but she still had two hours to go on her shift. Aw what the hell, I could sneak off for a little while, she thought. It was only Jett at the desk and he wouldn't say anything.
Making up her mind, she whispered into the phone so no one could hear, "I'll be up shortly."
Laila hung up the phone and turned to look at Jett giving him a bright smile. "Jett, I'm going to have to step away for a little bit. I've got some uh...feminine issues I've got to deal with," she said.
Laila hoped that was enough to explain her absence, but personal enough that he wouldn't want any details. Her gamble paid off. Jett looked at her horrified before nodding his head.
"Sure Laila. Take all the time you need."
"Thanks Jett, I owe you one."
Laila grabbed her purse from under the counter and headed towards the direction of the l
adies room, but once she was out of sight of the front desk, she looped back towards the elevator and got in. Her body was tingling in anticipation as she rode up the elevator to Andreas' room. She slipped her key into the lock and entered softly.
"Hello?" she whispered.
"In here," Andreas called from the bedroom.
Laila made her way towards the bedroom, but before she could enter, she felt strong arms circle her waist as she was pushed up against a wall. Andreas bent his head down and kissed her neck and she could already feel the warmth and hardness of his erection pressing against her back, and it was a sharp contrast to the cold wall in front of her. He began unbuttoning her shirt and tossed it to the ground at their feet.
"Someone's impatient," she teased, lifting her arm behind her and stroking Andreas' face.
"You have no idea," he growled in her ear. "I've been thinking about this all day."
Andreas slid his fingers to the front of her work pants and undid the button before sliding it down along with her underwear. His hands instantly reached between her thighs and teased her there. Laila knew she was already wet for him and arched her ass out as his thumb grazed her clit. His other hand had slipped up her chest fondling her breasts through the lacy fabric of her bra. Laila moaned as he undid his pants and rubbed his erection against her slick wet folds.
"Andreas, I don't have much time. I'm supposed to be back at the front desk soon," she began.
"Don't say another word," he murmured against her hair.
Andreas spread her legs apart with his knee and lifted her so she was standing on the balls of her feet. Laila placed her hands in front of her on the wall and bent forward slightly while he grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled back, exposing her long neck to his kisses. He skimmed his teeth over the sensitive flesh while he slid his fingers in her, and pulled out, his fingers slick with her arousal. Laila was on the verge of climaxing when he replaced his fingers with his throbbing member and slammed into her with a loud grunt. Andreas didn't give her a chance to catch her breath. He pounded into her relentlessly, his fingers entwined in her hair.
"You see what you do to me," he grunted between thrusts. "I'm already so close. Come with me."
Laila rocked back against him as he thrust into her, biting her bottom lip to keep from screaming out. The tension in her body was crying out for release. She clawed against the wall as her orgasm throbbed through her, tearing a cry of pleasure from her lips. Her body trembled as the tingling, aching sensation in her groin left her feeling weak. Andreas followed her to ecstasy, crying out her name as he pulsed within her.
Andreas leaned down and swept her hair off her shoulder and kissed the bare skin there. "I'll be right back," he said stepping back and heading towards the bathroom. He came back a moment later with a warm wash cloth and gently cleaned the evidence of their lovemaking from her body.
Laila turned around to face Andreas, sweeping the mop of hair that hung on his brow. "If this is the welcome I get, I should make it a point to come by your room more often," she teased. She stood on her tip toes and gently nibbled on his ear.
Andreas laughed against her hair, pulling her with him towards the bed. She curled up against him, resting her head against his chest.
"This is nice, but I can't stay much longer," Laila said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "I've been gone from the front desk for too long. I think Jett might start to get suspicious."
"I suppose you're right, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about first," Andreas sighed.
"What is it?" Laila asked.
"My uncle has invited you over for dinner on Friday. He wants to meet you."
"What? Your uncle wants to meet me? Why?"
Andreas chuckled against her hair and kissed the top of her head. "Because I asked him to, silly."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because you're my girlfriend and he's my family. Isn't that what people do when things start to get serious? Meet each other's family?" Andreas asked.
"So you're saying it's serious?" Laila asked.
She was dumbstruck. The situation intimidated her. It was the first time he'd really mentioned his family to her. Since the beginning, he'd been pretty tight lipped about that part of his life. It wasn't like he refused to talk about them at all. Andreas always answered any questions she had about them; he just never brought them up in conversation himself.
"Yes, I had thought you felt the same way," Andreas said, his voice suddenly tensed with doubt. "I don't want to pressure you if you're not ready--"
"I do feel the same," Laila said, cutting him off. "I'd love to meet your uncle."
She felt Andreas' body relax at her reassurance and smiled against his chest. It brought her pleasure to be able to make Andreas happy. He'd been so good to her and so good for her that she found it almost impossible to refuse him anything. She'd just have to suck up her fears and insecurities and meet his uncle. If it was that important to him that she meet his family, she would do it with a smile.
"I know he'll love you," Andreas said.
"I hope you're right. Why don't you tell me about him?" Laila asked.
Andreas launched into a description of his uncle, recounting anecdotes and stories from when he was a child. He told her about how much he looked up to his uncle and what a positive influence he'd been on his life. Laila marveled at how open he was, sharing this part of his life with her.
The more he spoke, the more the feeling of unease began to grow within her. Laila knew Andreas looked up to his uncle and if she failed to impress him or he found some fault with her, she was afraid what might happen. Would Andreas break it off with me if his family didn't approve? she wondered. Laila couldn't let that happen. She'd make sure everything went well at dinner come hell or high water.
Laila left Andreas' room later that evening with her heart and mind full. If she were going to impress his uncle, she had a lot to do before their dinner.
"What the hell happened to you?" Jett asked, once he spotted Laila walking up to the front desk. "You've been gone for an hour and a half." He looked at her accusingly and stood there with his arms crossed over his chest waiting for an explanation.
Laila gave him a sheepish smile before shrugging her shoulders in innocence. "I had really bad cramps and...well I won't get into the details, but I'm sorry I took so long." Laila hated to lie to him, but she wasn't about to tell him the truth. Jett's face softened and he relaxed his stance at her explanation.
"Oh right, uh...yeah, I figured it was something like that. Anyways, hope you feel better," he mumbled.
"I do. I really appreciate you covering for me," Laila added, giving him a bright smile. "I owe you one."
"Don't mention it." Jett said.
***
"Ugh! I have nothing to wear," Laila muttered to herself as she stared helplessly at her closet.
The dinner was in less than six hours and Laila was in a fix. Her closet was completely lacking in anything appropriate to wear to a formal dinner with Andreas' uncle. It was filled with old clothes she'd had since high school, and jeans and sweaters. She didn't have one evening dress in her whole closet. The closest thing she could find was an old floral print halter top dress she wore to her high school graduation, and she'd be damned if she got caught wearing that out in public again. Once was enough.
To add to her dilemma, she hadn't had the time or the money to go out and buy a new dress. She was panicking and was seriously thinking about calling the whole thing off. Laila knew Andreas would be so disappointed if she cancelled, so she had to think of something fast. Her phone rang, jarring her from her stifled hysteria. Laila looked at the caller ID and she nearly jumped with excitement.
"Corinne! Why didn't I think of her sooner!" she said to herself.
Laila pressed the answer button. "Hey Corinne! I'm so glad you called. I need a huge favor," Laila rushed on.
"Damn girl, take a breath," Corinne laughed. "What's the problem?"
"I'm suppos
ed to have dinner with Andreas and his uncle and I have nothing to wear!"
"Oh wow, that is a problem," Corinne said.
"I know, right? So I need your help. Can you loan me one of your dresses for the night? I promise I'll take good care of it."
"Of course. When do you need it?"
"ASAP. Like right now would be perfect."
"Okay then," Corinne said stretching out the words. "You're really cutting it close."
"I know, I know, but I didn't know about the dinner until recently and well, you know my budget does not include shopping for formal dresses. I wouldn't ask if I didn't really need it," Laila said.
"I understand. Don't worry about it girl. I got your back."
"Thanks Corinne. So should I come over to your place now?"
"No don't come over. Hector's being an ass," Corinne said.
"What else is new," Laila muttered to herself.
"Hey now--"
"Oh shit, did I say that out loud?"
"Yeah, you did. It's OK, though. I forgive you," Corinne said. "I'll come by your place with some dresses. Be there in half an hour."
"You're a life saver!"
"Yeah yeah I know. See you soon. Bye!" Corinne said before hanging up.
Corinne arrived a short while later. She burst through Laila's apartment in a blur of silk and taffeta.
"Thank God you're here," Laila said. "I was about to go crazy."
"I told you I'd be here. Where do you want me to put these?" she asked, holding up the four big shopping bags in her hands stuffed to the brim with dresses.
"Whoa, did you bring your whole closet with you?" Laila asked, eyeing the bags.
"Well, I didn't know which one you'd like, so I brought them all," Corinne shrugged.
"You can lay them out on the futon and the coffee table," Laila said.
Corinne began taking out her dresses and laid them out flat on the futon. Laila had to cringe at some of the frightful pieces she saw, but her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets when Corinne began pulling out a bright puffy aqua colored dress.
