“I agree, but I’ve always been honest with you.”
“Fair enough. And now, I’m going to be honest with you.” He stares in my eyes for a few beats before continuing, “I want you, Pyper. I think, especially after tonight at the restaurant, I’ve made that very clear. I’ve wanted you from the moment I first saw you. I don’t care if that makes me sound like some jackass, it’s the fucking truth. You see… I’ve figured something out about you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I see you, Red. You were born and raised to be this high society girl. You live in this fancy condo high rise; go to all your family’s fancy dinners and parties. I can’t even imagine what sort of expectations were established for you as a child – maybe still are – I don’t know.” I make an unladylike snort at his comment. He has no idea. “But the thing is – I see you. You dress up and play the part perfectly, but I think you feel most comfortable when you’re wearing jeans and one of your sexy come-and-get-me tops. When your hair is down around your shoulders, and blowing in the wind. You feel wild and free in those moments. But mostly, I think it’s when you are most content – closest and real with the person who lives in your heart, when you are doing what you want and not what you think you should do; when you’re happiest. Because it’s what you want, and not what’s expected from others.”
His comments hit home more than he realizes. They invoke emotions in me I’m not sure how to interpret or manage at the moment, so I set them aside to evaluate later, in private. I push them into a box in my mind for now. “And you were able to get all of that from our flirting over the last several months?”
“Sure. Not to sound like a stalker,” I laugh and so does he, “but I’ve been watching you since I got here. I’ll never forget the first time I saw you.” He gets a far off look on his face and in his eyes and I can tell he’s seeing it play out in his mind. “It was a busy night at the club. I was working behind the bar and it was really crowded. I was asking a customer at the bar what she wanted to drink when a flash of red caught my eyes.”
A light shines in his eyes and a smile pushes up his lips, “It was like the freaking Red Sea parted. Pun intended. People seemed to just move out of your way as you walked toward the bar. I even remember what you were wearing.”
“You do?”
“It was this royal blue dress. It had a low v in the front and was short enough that it looked like you had legs for miles. The dress had a shimmer or something to it because as you walked it looked like you were sparkling.”
I know just the dress he’s talking about. “I love that dress. And I do look good in it.” I laugh, making him chuckle.
“I remember thinking to myself, Rixton, that girl is going to make you want things you didn’t even know you wanted. You should probably stay away from her.”
“Hey!” I smack him on the chest.
He squeezes me, “Yeah well, I didn’t listen. I asked Luke about you. Made excuses to talk to you when you came into the club, and even asked Olivia a question or two now and then when I thought I could get away with it. I still want to get to know you, and I’m not just talking about sex. I want to know everything about you – what you do, who you are, what your hair looks like in the sunlight and if your skin tans in the summer. I want to know what makes you happy and sad and even stupid shit like… what your favorite subject was in school and how you found out Santa Claus wasn’t real.” That makes me smile. “I’m not willing to take your reasoning that I don’t fit into some bullshit plan you have for your life. You don’t know me, not really. How do you know I can’t fit?” I open my mouth to try to respond, but he puts his fingers on my lips, quieting me and continues, “What I’m trying to say is, give me a chance. Give us a chance. Let’s just take this one day at a time. Let’s have fun together and not make any promises and see where this goes. Can you do that?”
I don’t even think about it before I find myself nodding my head. “I can try.”
A small smile touches his lips, “All I ask is that when something doesn’t feel right, or you think you can’t do this for whatever reason, you talk to me about it. Be honest with me. All we have is honesty.” A smirk now lifts his lips, “Well, that and fucking fantastic sex.” I laugh.
“Okay,” I whisper. “I can try this.”
“If this doesn’t work, then it doesn’t. If this ends up working, then it does, and that would be amazing. But I’m not willing to end it without at least trying. Are you?”
I pull my bottom lip into my mouth and bite it, contemplating his words. He’s basically offering me a friendship with benefits. No promises, no illusions of forever. I can do that. “Okay – one day at a time. With no long-term promises.”
“No promises,” he repeats.
This is probably the strangest conversation I’ve ever had. He pulls me into his arms and we lay down together on the couch. It feels good. It feels right. My heart beats faster and I can feel some doubt creeping in, but I push it away and tell myself, one day at a time.
WHEN I WAKE UP THE FOLLOWING morning, Rixton is gone. The pleasant exhaustion caused me to sleep soundly. He left a note on the pillow beside me telling me he went to his place to clean up before going to work. I understand, but I wish he had woken me and said goodbye.
With a sigh, I grudgingly get up to get ready for work. I might as well. Once I arrive, I say hi to my employees and a few clients as I saunter back to my office to get some work done.
I’m just putting my pen down and stretching my neck, realizing I’ve been at it for a few hours when my phone rings. I look at the screen and see it’s Rixton. I’m smiling without thought and pushing the green dot on my screen to answer his call.
“Hello?”
“Hi, yourself, darlin’.” My smile grows wider at the sound of his voice. “What are you doing?”
“I’m working. Nothing exciting.”
“Everything about you is exciting,” he rasps, making my body instantly respond and all I can think about is how it felt to have his hands on me last night. “I’m calling because I wanted to hear your voice, but also because I have an idea.”
“Oh yeah? Well color me intrigued.”
He laughs and the gruff sound makes me clench my thighs together, “I want to take you horseback riding.”
And immediately that feeling dries up like a raisin. “What?” I barely hold myself back from screaming. Me? On a horse? No way in hell. “No way. Nuh uh. Not happening.”
“Oh come on, Red. There is nothing to be afraid of.”
“I’m not afraid,” I scoff. “It’s called mutual respect. I respect the horse enough to stay away from it, and they can stay away from me and just do its horsey things.”
“Horsey things?” I can hear the smile in his voice, but I’m serious.
“Shut up. You know what I mean.”
“It will be fun, I promise! I found this great place only an hour and a half outside of the city. We can make a day of it. Horseback ride, maybe have a picnic or something? It will be great.”
“Not happening, Rixton. I appreciate the obvious time and thought you put into this idea, but I’m just not the horseback riding kind of gal.”
“Okay, then tell me, what kind of date would you have us go on?”
“There are some great restaurants here in the city. We can spend a day at the History museum and maybe go to lunch. We can always go to Navy Pier, or even the aquarium.”
I hear him exaggerate a loud yawn in my ear. “Boring,” he sings.
“How is any of that boring? The aquarium has really big fish. What’s not great about that?”
He laughs. “How about we go for a bike ride along the lake? Or, maybe there is a good country singer or band coming to concert. I can look for some tickets!”
I sigh, “Clearly we have different ideas about this.” I instantly start wondering what the hell I’m doing. Maybe this is proof that a relationship between us won’t work. Maybe we aren’t compatible, other than in the
bedroom. We can’t even agree on what to do for a date!
“Don’t even think it, darlin’.”
“What are you talking about? Think what?”
“I know you well enough already to know you have a million thoughts running through your head about our preferences being evidence of why this won’t work. Don’t even go there. It’s okay that we like different things. What’s important is that each of us is willing to try something new. We are, aren’t we? I mean, I know I am,” he challenges.
There is no way I’m backing down from that. “Of course I am.”
“Good. Here is what I propose. You plan a date doing things around the city that you like to do. We will go out and do that together – even if that means we go to a museum.” I can tell by his tone that’s the last thing he wants to do. “The next date, I will plan our activities, which I’m not going to lie, may include horseback riding.”
“You know, the difference between my date ideas and yours?”
“That mine are awesome and yours are… well, not?”
“No. The difference is that yours could get me killed.”
Rixton laughs into the phone and the sound automatically brings a smile to my face. I love his laugh. It’s husky and raspy and makes him sound so sexy. “I promise I would never let anything happen to you, okay? Trust me.”
“Famous last words.”
It’s Saturday, and I’m getting ready for a date in the city with Rixton. Somehow, he managed to get the day off of work, but has to go in tonight to tend bar. I feel comfortable in jeans, blue top, knee high boots, and a scarf wrapped around my neck. I think I look cute and stylish – perfect for my day of fun. Rixton is in for a surprise. He’s expecting me to take him to uppity places that will bore the hell out of him – I know it. Not going to happen. Sure, we could go to one of my favorite fancy restaurants, or shop my favorite stores, or even do a romantic carriage ride – I do love all those things, but that’s not what I want to do today.
Since this is my date day, I insisted on picking up Rixton. He balked at the idea, telling me he would just pick me up at my place, but I stood firm. I expected him to tell me where he lives, finally, I’m really curious about his place. What better look at who Rixton is than to see his home, the things he deems important that he keeps around him, how he decorates, and what he loves? A glimpse into more of who he is, is something I would really enjoy. Disappointed is a good word for how I felt when he told me he had to be at the club that morning to do an inventory order, so I could pick him up there. I guess I will see his place another time. I hope.
Instead of pulling into the parking lot, I park alongside the curb outside the club, since I don’t expect to be there long. When I hop out of the car and start walking to the door, a woman comes flying out of the club door before I reach it. “Oh, excuse me”, I say, slightly startled.” I wasn’t expecting the door to swing open so wildly nor to nearly hit me. I hold the door open and wait for her to exit, so I can go inside. She stands with legs slightly apart, hands on her hips and doesn’t have a pleasant look on her face. She seems to look me up and down in disgust. Maybe she just got turned down for a waitressing job or something. Hesitantly, I smile at her thinking maybe she just needs a little kindness in her day. “Have a nice day,” I add just because being kind doesn’t mean I can’t also cap it off with a little orneriness.
Smiling to myself, I finally walk through the door and seek out Rixton. He’s behind the bar with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed. I’m guessing his expression is a reaction from the woman I just saw leaving here. “Hey. You okay?”
His head snaps up and he looks behind me before his eyes focus on mine. I can see him visibly shake off whatever is bothering him as he walks out from behind the bar. “Hi yourself, beautiful.” He gives me a kiss on my cheek, making me smile up at him.
“Bad meeting or something?” I ask, gesturing to the door in reference to the woman that just left.
“Oh, um, yeah I guess. Just give me a second to tell Luke I’m headed out, okay?”
“Okay, sure.” He gives me a squeeze on my arm, and a smile, then takes the stairs two at a time to Luke’s office. My brow furrows, wondering again briefly what that was all about, but when he quickly reappears and gives me a heart stopping smile, my thoughts focus only on him and the fun day I know we are about to have.
On our way to my surprise, we ask each other questions ranging from silly to serious. “Favorite pizza topping?” he asks.
“Pepperoni. What about yours?”
He claps his hands together exuberantly and says, “Me too,” making me laugh.
“How about… what’s something you can’t live without?” I ask him. He doesn’t respond at first, which makes me look at him briefly to see him give me a disarming smile and a lift of his brow. I giggle at him, “Pervert!”
“Hey! You asked. What about you?”
“My friends and family,” I say without hesitation.
“You really love Olivia, don’t you?”
I smile, “I do. I didn’t realize how much I missed her when she moved away for college until she wasn’t here anymore. After seven years of being away, I didn’t think she would ever move back. Especially when she married her ex-husband. So I tried to accept that.” I shudder involuntarily, because all thoughts of that man make me do so. Rixton rubs my knee soothingly. “Things have just been, I don’t know, better since she’s been back.”
“You are lucky to have a friend like that.”
“Do you have friends in Texas that you miss seeing?”
“I do. There were a bunch of us from high school that still hung out together and sometimes I miss our guys’ nights and how I enjoyed watching games with them and that kind of thing. It’s nice being back here and hanging out with Luke though. He’s a great guy and he’s introduced me to some friends of his and they all seem cool.” He’s quiet for a minute and we are both lost in thoughts about our friends. Rubbing his hands on his thighs he asks, “Where do you see yourself in ten years?”
“Hmmm… well hopefully I will have opened another spa. It would be a dream come true to have a chain of them other than just the one I have now.” I see him nod encouragingly out of the corner of my eye, “Hopefully I will be married with children by then too.” I add somewhat shyly. It seems weird to say that, even if it’s the truth.
“You want children?”
“Well sure. I mean… I guess I’ve never given it much thought, other than some day in the far, far, far off future in another galaxy perhaps…but yes, I’d like to have them.”
“That far, huh?”
I laugh, “Well yeah. I can’t imagine having them now. I’m not ready for that. I feel like there are still a lot of things I want to accomplish in my life before I’d have children. Plus, I always thought I’d be married for a little while before I’d have kids. You know… spending time with my husband just one-on-one before taking on the responsibility that comes with parenting.”
We’re at a stoplight and I look over at Rixton to see him intently staring at me. He scratches his chin and shrugs, “Well… there goes my plan of impregnating you to make you marry me.”
I gasp and he laughs. “Rixton! That’s not even funny!”
He laughs and gives me a push on the shoulder, “The thought of being stuck with me is that bad huh?”
I laugh too, but the truth is, it doesn’t sound bad at all – and that scares me. In fact, when he said the words “marry me,” my heart almost burst and my body tingled with pleasure, liking the way that sounds.
I’m distracted by my thoughts when Rixton says, “The zoo?” He looks at me like I’m crazy as we pull into the parking lot of the Lincoln Park Zoo.
“Yep,” I respond popping the ‘p’ with a big smile.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting this at all.”
“That’s kind of the point. You don’t like the zoo?”
“I like the zoo.”
“Good! Are y
ou ready?”
“Yes, definitely!”
“Perfect,” I smile.
We head inside and map out which way we want to go. We have a great time looking at all the animals, imitating some, feeding a few. The elephants are my favorite and Rixton likes the tigers. We laugh at the giraffes and their long tongues, and Rixton makes a crude comment about what he would do with a tongue like that. I flat out refuse to go into the small mammal and reptile house, making Rixton laugh, and when I try to go into the monkey house he stops me with his refusal.
“Do we have to go see the monkeys?”
I look at him in confusion, “Why wouldn’t we?”
He looks to the side and bites his lip before he looks back at me. “I don’t like them.”
I choke on an unexpected laugh, “You don’t like monkeys?”
“Don’t you dare laugh,” he tells me, face serious. “No. I don’t like monkeys.”
“Okay. I will try not to laugh. Can you at least tell me why you don’t like monkeys? I mean… I guess people have stuff they don’t like, but monkeys? They are so…cute. I’ve never heard of someone that doesn’t like monkeys before.”
He sighs, “They freak me out.”
“Freak you out?”
“Yes. They watch you with their freaky eyes and they are like humans, but not. And…”
I bite my lip trying really hard to relate to his explanation, but it’s proving difficult. “And?”
“Well, they aren’t really cute. In fact, they are conniving and malicious and all they are good for is throwing poop at you and stealing your backpack.”
Perfect Little Plan Page 10
