Three Stages of Love: Attraction

by T. Anthony

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “Sweetness, where art thou, Evangeline?” Alexander called from the foyer.

  I stuck my head out from behind the kitchen counter where I was still cooking since the morning. I had prepared almost a dozen trays of food that just needed to be cooked when Samantha and Marcus arrived. I figured all the preparations would spare me from wasted time from the friends I longed to be with.

  “There you are. That is a glorious smell. What is it, dinner?” he asked.

  “Take your pick from one of the twelve trays of food, and let me know which smells glorious to you,” I said, laughing.

  “You are out of your mind. We could have catered something, and we can take them to dinner, you know,” Alexander offered.

  “You don’t get it. Going out for dinner is fine, but Samantha is like my little sister. I wanted to prepare something special and more personal for when they arrive. It makes me feel good,” I explained.

  Alexander came around and kissed me on the neck. “So does this mean that you are too tired to finish what we started this morning?”

  “Never too tired for a little action. But if you’ll let me finish up, I can concentrate on you and not on returning to the food,” I said, lifting my ass to nudge him in his groin.

  His chest vibrated with excitement against my back. “All right, I’m going to take a quick shower and catch up on some work. Let me know when you are done.”

  I nodded as he went off.

  It was 1:30 a.m. when I finished cleaning up. And the moment that I stopped racing around the kitchen was the moment that I felt the aches shooting throughout my entire body. I had to breathe, if only for a minute, in silence—before heading up to Alexander.

  But my moments of silence lead me to a quick and restful sleep. I passed out!

  “Ugh, my back,” I moaned, turning onto my side and almost falling off of the cushion. “Whoa!” I rolled back, suddenly realizing that I was still on the couch where I had rested for a moment.

  “Miss Eva, good morning. How are you feeling?” Ms. Gina asked, coming toward me with a cup of coffee in hand that she had prepared for me.

  I shook my head. “Everything hurts. Falling asleep on the couch didn’t help my already tired back. Has Alexander come down yet?” I asked.

  “Oh, he left for the office about an hour ago. He asked for you to call him when you awoke,” she said.

  “OK, thank you Ms. Gina. I am going to go shower.” And I heaved myself off the couch, feeling battered, and I sauntered up to the master bath.

  Looking at the plush bed, I wanted to simply dive into it and sleep the rest of the day. Oh, shit. Cat will be here soon to pick me up. I remembered agreeing to plans with Cat and her friends when I saw the clock read almost noon.

  I picked up the phone and called Alexander.

  “Well, good morning,” he answered.

  “Good morning,” I said in my groggiest of voices. “Why didn’t you wake me before you left?”

  He chuckled under his breath. “Because you looked like you hadn’t slept in months, and because after all the work you did yesterday, you deserved some undisturbed rest.”

  “I forgot to mention that I agreed to go to lunch with Cat. Is that—”

  But a knock on his office door interrupted our call.

  “I’m sorry. One second,” he said, and a beep signified that I was put on hold.

  But why was I on hold? He didn’t have another call; someone was walking into his office.

  “Hey, sweetness, listen, my clients are here and are apparently in an uproar about something. Enjoy your lunch, take some time to yourself, and I will talk to you later.” Alexander rushed me off the phone, sounding anxious and in hurry.

  “Ah—OK, talk to you later,” I said and disconnected the call.

  Cat arrived a little late. Lucky for me I had had enough time to do my hair and makeup before going out looking like the Crypt Keeper.

  We drove through to Rodeo Drive and parked in front of Posh, an American-style restaurant that was lined with valet parkers and clients dressed to the nines. “Don’t worry; the people here are surprisingly much friendlier than those you’ve met to date,” Cat said, giggling and rolling her eyes.

  Lunch was practically uneventful. Cat’s other friends were as she had said: much friendlier than the likes of Leila and Missy. The conversations were light and girly. We talked mostly about clothes and shoes and where I could go buy my Manolos at decent prices.

  The two ladies who joined us were high school friends of Cat’s, and the relationship between them reminded me of what I had with Samantha. They cared for her, and they protected her.

  “OK, ladies, now that we have stuffed our faces, are we ready to go lay our fat asses on tables and be pampered till the cows come home?” said Cat, pulling out her Texas accent.

  “Wait, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had plans after this. I left the house a mess when I left. I really want to go straighten up before Alexander returns,” I said.

  Cat looked at the ladies, and the three let out a simultaneous song of laughter.

  “OK, what’s so funny?” I asked.

  “Eva, you have a maid. Let her earn her keep for one day. Alexander is at work, and I’m sure he doesn’t mind you relaxing the day through so that you can be found prime for when he returns.” Cat winked at me.

  Hey, she is right! Why not! “I could use a massage.” Stretching my back and feeling the pain from all my standing and cooking, I begged for a massage.

  Sliding her arm under mine, Cat led the way out of the restaurant and to the day spa.

  This is the life, I thought as the masseuse lay hot stones down the center of my spine. I could do this every day! To think that when I got up to go to work every morning, these women were having lunches and being pampered all day. Ugh, every woman should get this treatment at least once a week. Then again, these women don’t cook, they don’t clean, those who have children have nannies, and they don’t work. So do they do this every other day because they have nothing else to do or because they are stressed? Does one have to be stressed to pamper oneself?

  “Miss…” the masseuse whispered above my head as I was fading into my black hole.

  “Yes,” I responded quietly.

  “We are going to take you in to the mud pool where you will join the others,” she said, holding up a robe for me.

  “Thank you,” I said as I slid of the bed with my sheet and walked into the robe she held up.

  This was the epitome of health and beauty spas if I ever saw one. They catered to celebrities and men and women who paid thousands of dollars every two to three days to be taken care of here.

  When I entered the mud pool area, I found Cat and her two friends already soaking in bathtub-sized mud holes in the ground. Each of them had their own attendant, and they were being served champagne as they soaked in dirt.

  “Hop in, Eva. You will walk out with the softest of skin,” Cat called to me.

  “You know, my mother always told me not to roll around in the dirt,” I returned, making the ladies giggle.

  But she was right. I could feel the texture of my skin soften as I lay in the mush of purified earth minerals, as my attendant had explained it.

  “So, Eva,” Cat said. “Are you relaxing at least?”

  “Relaxing doesn’t even begin to explain how amazing all of this has been today.” I sighed in enjoyment and leaned my head back. “I could definitely get used to this.”

  “Well, let’s pencil you in then. You can join us on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Alexander won’t mind you coming along with friends who keep you out of trouble.” She winked at me. “Besides, what are you going to do all day, every day at home by yourself? There is only so much you can cook.”

  “I hate to disappoint you, Cat, but you may only be able to pencil me in for a few more weeks. I have to get back to reality and back to my job in New York; though I will have to come visit you. You are definitely one thing I will miss a
bout LA.” I smiled sweetly, but the confusion she wore on her face quickly woke me. “Are you OK, Cat?”

  “I’m sorry, Eva, I don’t mean to pry or prod where it is none of my business to do so. But, the last I heard, Alexander and Tom were close to closing the deal on the partnership,” she added with slight discomfort.

  “I know that. I’m not sure what you are trying to get at?” I asked, seeking clarification.

  “It’s just that I thought the partnership meant that Alexander would be transferring here permanently and you as well.” Her face tensed as she saw my expression turn sour. “I’m so stupid. What do I know? My head has been in a hole with all that has been going on in my life. I’m sure I misunderstood. I don’t mean to cause you any anxiety. Alexander would have discussed that with you if that were the case.”

  I let the subject fade, unwilling to ruin everyone’s day. But now instead of continuing to relax, my body tensed so tightly I felt worse than I did when I first walked in.

  If what Cat said was true, why wouldn’t Alexander discuss it with me? He knew that this was temporary for me; I would never leave New York, my job, and my family permanently.

  I’m so stupid! He wouldn’t discuss it with me for that exact reason. He knew I wouldn’t stay, so he is trying to get me to get comfortable to the point of wanting to stay! Well, he has another think coming…

  “Eva, are you OK? You look like you are about to cry,” Cat said from behind the locker door. “I hope I haven’t upset you. Please don’t listen to anything I say right now. You know I’m all fudged up.”

  “No, Cat, I’m fine. I’m just relaxed,” I replied with an absolute lie. Had I been speaking to Samantha, she would have seen right through me and called me a bitch for lying to her. I like Cat, but we knew little about each other still, and if I had anything to do with it, it would take a while for us to become close friends since I would be returning to New York!

  Cat drove me back to the house around six in the evening, and again I assured her that she hadn’t upset me. The last thing I wanted was to sadden her any more than she already was. The woman’s world was turned upside down in a week’s time—she didn’t need guilt from me on top of that.

  Ms. Gina greeted me as I entered the house. “You should look rested, but you don’t. You look as tense as you did when you left. What is the matter?”

  I said very little as I slipped off my ballet flats and sat on the bottom stoop of the stairs in the foyer.

  “OK, you want quiet time. I understand,” Ms. Gina said almost in the exact way my mother would. “But, before I leave you—Mr. Mason said he has been trying you all day and that your phone was off. He reached Ms. Catherine, and she told him you had been at the day spa.”

  “Is everything all right? Where is he?” I asked, concerned.

  “He is fine. He told me to inform you that there was an issue with his clients in Chicago, and he had to take a day trip. He tried to reach you but said he left you messages. He would be back in time to pick up your guests tomorrow afternoon, but he would be in meetings for hours. He said not to worry if he didn’t call you until his flight home.” Ms. Gina completed her message from Alexander but remained there, seeing the distress sink into me from head to toe.

  “Thank you, Ms. Gina. I am going to go to bed early. I really am just tired,” I said, turning from her, saving her from the endless tears that were about to flow from my eyes.

  I slumped into bed with the heavy weight of distress and uncertainty once again pouncing on my heart. And now, not only was I stuck with the questions left from the conversation with Cat, but I couldn’t get clarification because Alexander was out of town! And that was a whole other sentiment that I had yet to experience.

  The only other time that Alexander left was when I sent him away. Now I was there in the bed we shared, the house we were living in—temporarily—and I was alone, missing Alexander. And even in my fear and anger for what he might be keeping from me, the emotions that coursed through me were of abandonment and longing to be near him.

  My heavy eyes began plunging into darkness, when I remembered that Ms. Gina had said that Alexander left me messages on my cell phone. With a sudden burst of energy, I dove off the bed and searched through the endless cavern that was my purse to find my cell phone.

  I plugged it in to recharge the dead battery and waited for the little apple to appear on the black screen. What took seconds now seemed like thirty minutes as I huffed through the system startup on the phone.

  I touched through to the phone app and saw six voice mails all from Alexander.

  I played the first to hear: Hello, my love. I have been trying to reach you, but your phone goes straight to voice mail. I hope you haven’t ditched me for some German masseur. Anyhow, I have to talk to you. I spoke to Cat, so I know you are at the spa. Call me as soon as you can, please. I love you. And I melted right onto the floor.

  The next few messages were pretty much the same, though shorter and more desperate to talk to me, until I heard the last one.

  OK, sweetness, I have no choice but to say this over voice mail, considering I can’t get a hold of you. I have to fly out to Chicago with my clients. They are trying to pull out on some major deals unless we meet with all their partners. I will be back tomorrow in time to pick up Samantha and Marcus, but I really wanted to speak with you before I left. I hate that you are going to be alone tonight, and I do hope that you will miss me. I can’t wait to see you, and I haven’t even left yet. I love you, Evangeline, and wish I could hear that lovely voice repeat those words to me right now. But I know they exist in your heart. So I’ll wait. And the voice mail ended, leaving me breathless.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The morning came and went, and I had no recollection of how I came to be running around in a panic at three o’clock in the afternoon.

  Samantha and Marcus were due to arrive at the house soon, but my heart panged to see Alexander. I was excited to see Samantha, but my entire body had a need to embrace my Alexander.

  I had little time to reflect on all of the questions that swarmed me the day before and all night. Luckily, I was tasked with cooking all the food I had prepared and making sure that the dining room was set for the arrival of a queen! I was so excited to have Sam in our temporary home. We always joked about when we would both have relationships or be married and how we would have dinners together and plan together, and now it just felt real. We were both basking in happiness—some days more than others—but overall I was happy, and we could now enjoy that feeling together as we had shared almost everything else.

  “We’re here!” I heard the soft song float into the kitchen.

  “Samantha, ahhhh!” I screamed and enfolded myself around her tightly. “I am so, so happy to see you. I have missed you so much.”

  “Why?” she said, and I snarled at her. “No, bitch, I mean how could you miss anything when you are in Buckingham Palace, over here living like royalty. I don’t think I’d miss you if the tables were turned.”

  I planted a huge kiss on her cheek and hugged her again.

  Marcus walked in carrying some bags, but he immediately dropped them when he saw me. “My, my, my. Don’t you look well sexed—I mean rested.” He coughed through his correction.

  “No, you had it right the first time. How are you, Marcus?” I asked, embracing him as well in a more endearing and brotherly hold.

  And as I let Marcus go, Alexander entered the doorway. I stared at his masculine grace as if I were seeing him for the first time in his dark Armani suit.

  I leapt for him, and he caught me in a swirling kiss over the threshold.

  “I guess you did miss me,” he said.

  “I did. More than you know.” Kissing him, I reassured him of the void he had created even for one night of leaving me alone.

  “OK, you two, get a room,” Samantha said. “Or a few, I would imagine in this mansion.”

  Alexander put me down, and I proceeded to show Samantha to their room
. “Is this OK, Samantha? I thought you two love birds would like the view from the balcony in the morning.”

  “This is more than OK, Eva—this is magnificent. I will say, Alexander’s taste in real estate is almost as exquisite as his taste in women,” she said, eyeing me. “Speaking of which, I don’t think I have ever seen you leap into a man’s arms in the seven years I’ve known you.”

  “Well, I don’t think I have ever been with a man who bared arms that were worthy of leaping in to,” I rebutted.

  “You know what I mean, Eva. You have fallen for him!” she said, and I stilled.

  I had few words and few experiences that expressed my true sentiments for Alexander. But Samantha was one who I divulged my truths to. “I have, Sam. I can’t control it, explain it, or understand it. But I have fallen hard for him—almost to the point where there is no breath left in my lungs when I think of him. He surrounds my every moment, and when he’s not here, all I can think of is how much I long to be with him.”

  “I’m so happy for you. But I am even more ecstatic that you are allowing your heart to lead you for once. I was worried that I would find you in shambles, but instead there is a brilliant aura that surrounds you that is making you glow,” she added.

  I giggled. “Oh, that’s the mud bath I had yesterday. I had lunch with some girlfriends, and then they booked the spa for us for the day.”

  “Oh, isn’t that nice. You’re fitting right in: lunch and then a spa day! Who are you, and where is my neurotic, workaholic best friend?” Samantha joked.

  I shook my head, dismissing her sarcasm. “I am right here, Sam. That neurotic, workaholic best friend of yours is sitting quietly, waiting to burst out of me. Don’t get me wrong: I have enjoyed my time here, or at least most of it—I’ll spare you the details for now—but I miss my job. I miss having a purpose to my days and accomplishing something of my own. Alexander had to fly out to Chicago last night unexpectedly—”