by Eydie Maggio
“So, I have noticed that there is something going on in that brilliant mind of yours. You weren’t all there at the restaurant last night, and you seemed out of sorts today. What’s going on?” Rebecca was very attentive when it came to her family. Trey was surprised that it took this long for her to ask. “And don’t tell me nothing’s wrong or that something isn’t on your mind.”
“Well, last night I did have someone on my mind, and I guess today the same someone is still on my mind.” Trey looked over to the bank of the river. He didn’t have these kinds of conversations with his mother.
“So you met someone?” He heard the smile in her voice which caused him to roll his eyes.
“Yes. I’m sorry for being somewhat absent for dinner last night, but I was just thinking about her. I met her on the plane, and she invited me to hang out with her while she was here in Paris. I wasn’t going to, but Will convinced me to go once we left the restaurant. I had a really nice time.” That was as detailed as he was going to get with his mother about his wild night with Elise.
“Darling, don’t apologize. I’m just happy to hear that you enjoyed your time with her. So, who is she, and what does she do?” Rebecca wrapped her arm around Trey’s and pulled him so he was facing her.
Trey looked over at his mother and a huge uncontrollable smile crossed his face which she, of course, noticed and responded with her own beautiful smile. Trey took a deep breath, “Her name is Elise and she owns a cosmetic company.”
“Go on.” Rebecca was trying to hold back her joy, but Trey saw right through her serious face.
“She called you Jackie O. 2.0.” Trey chuckled under his breath.
Rebecca unleashed a huge smile with that comment. “Well, I love her already! So tell me, are you talking about Elise DePaul?”
“Yes, how did you know?” His mom was now entering a psychic realm with her intuition.
“Darling, I’ve been her customer for years. When you say the name Elise and cosmetics, there is only one person who comes to mind. It’s like saying Calvin and underwear – there’s only one. Before you could buy it in the department stores, she had a very posh clientele in New York. I was one of them. Her line is fabulous.” Trey felt a sense of pride for Elise. He trusted that his mom knew what she was talking about, and he was sure Elise would love to know that his mom is a loyal client. “She is a very beautiful girl. I’ve seen her a few times at events and at a few shows. So, will you be seeing her again?”
“Yes, tonight. She invited me to a concert.” Trey couldn’t wait to see her.
“Great! I hope you enjoy yourself tonight.” Rebecca wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “And Trey, don’t overthink it. Just enjoy your time together.” Rebecca squeezed his arm as she walked passed him to the bride and groom who were about to cut the cake.
Trey was now really excited to see Elise. He hoped she felt the same way.
Chapter 8
Elise realized that she had no way to get in contact with Trey about the plans for tonight. She went down to the front desk and borrowed stationary. She wrote a short note and slipped it under the door to his room.
Trey,
Deluxe Suite #2 @ 6:30 pm.
XOXO
Elise
She went back to her room to begin getting ready for her date. She wasn’t sure if she could consider this a date. She liked the idea of a wild Parisian affair. It didn’t have any expectations or promises, allowing her to just enjoy the time and think in the moment.
She was running a little behind schedule since she woke up so late. She quickly showered and blow dried her hair. She climbed into another pair of her La Perla panties. The matching bra was not necessary tonight since she was abiding by Trey’s request. He may change his mind when he sees the semitransparent Lela Rose black blouse she was wearing. It had a thin black camisole under it so she wouldn’t be bearing it all, but she wasn’t leaving too much to the imagination, either. She pulled on her Eleanore Denim mini and her black leather Gucci gladiator platforms. They had a bad ass crisscross pattern and zipped up the front. She felt super sexy in them.
She curled her dark hair in to large loose waves since Trey seemed to like running his fingers through her hair last night. She was putting the finishing touches on her makeup when Elise heard a knock on her door, which was probably the cheese platter she ordered from room service.
When she opened her door, she was surprised to see Trey standing there. “Hi, I’m sorry that I am a little early.”
“Hey! Please come in.” Elise put her hands on his shoulders rose up on her tip toes to give him an innocent kiss on the cheek. He smelled divine. “You look gorgeous.”
He had on a pair of dark wash Diesel jeans with a snug black deep V-neck t-shirt that hugged his body really well. He wasn’t clean shaven, and his hair was messy chic. She liked it.
Trey was now wearing his half smile. “You are really wonderful for my ego, and you look….uh, wow!” He leaned down and sweetly kissed Elise on her lips. Her heart beat sped up.
As he pulled his lips from hers, Elise said, “I’m just being honest.” She gave him a little flirty wink to punctuate her statement. She took his hand and led him into the sitting room. “Please have a seat.” There was another knock on the door. “That’s room service.”
The gentleman brought in the cheese platter and a chilled bottle of champagne.
“Où voulez-vous que je mette cela, madame?” He asked Elise where he should put the platter.
“Mettez-le sur la table dans le salon, s'il vous plait.” Elise pointed to the table in the sitting room.
“Le champagne est une gracieuseté de l'hôtel.”
“Wow! The champagne is complements of the hotel.” She looked over at Trey and grinned. Elise turned to the gentlemen thanking him and tipping him as he left her suite, “Je vous remercie!”
Trey chuckled, “I love hearing you speak French. It’s totally sexy.” Trey stood up and walked over to the wine bucket giving Elise’s bottom a small rub as he passed by. He opened up the champagne pouring them each a glass. “Here you go.” Trey handed Elise a glass then grabbed her hand leading her to the sofa where they both took a seat and sipped on their champagne.
Trey was sitting back with his arm across the back of the sofa and Elise was sitting right next to him.
Trey looked down at her legs, “How is your knee?”
Elise lifted her leg and stretched it out in front of her, “I’ll live.” She watched Trey’s eyes travel from her kick ass Gucci’s up to her thighs. She was now confident the denim mini was the right choice for the evening. “So how was the wedding?”
“It was beautiful. I’m so happy for my brother.” He looked a lot more relaxed today. Having sex until the morning light will do that to a guy.
“That’s really sweet. I love hearing those stories.” Elise reached over to the cheese tray and grabbed a slice of toasted baguette spreading the Delice de Bourgogne on it.
“Then you will love this story.” Trey took a slow sip of his champagne before he continued. “This morning when I woke up, I had a very lovely note on the side of my bed with a remedy to help with the hangover that I had. I also had another note that was written on my shoulder with lipstick.” He turned his head and stared down Elise with his blue eyes and sexy smile.
“Really. That was very nice. Did the remedy work?” Elise was playing coy.
“Yes. It did.”
“And, you said there was another note on your shoulder?” Elise was trying to hold back the laughter at the thought of him finding her lipstick autograph.
“There was. It was the letter E with a heart around it.”
“Well that’s an odd place to put a note.”
“I thought so, too. Do you want to see it? It’s probably still there.”
“No frickin’ way! You didn’t shower?”
Trey nodded his head. “Yes frickin’ way! And, yes I did shower, but I kinda liked it.” He peeled his shirt off and t
urned his back to Elise. It was still there, smeared, but there. She wasn’t kidding when she said her lipstick was long-lasting.
Trey’s shoulders were broad and his back was well defined and muscular. She admired them this morning before she grabbed her lipstick to deface him. She absolutely loved his body and after a few moments, she had to touch him. She placed a small kiss right in the center of his back before she traced a circle round her lipstick tattoo with her finger.
Trey looked over his shoulder at Elise. “Why did you leave this morning?” His question caught her completely off guard as he turned and faced her.
“I don’t do awkward morning-after moments.”
“Who says it had to be awkward?” He was serious. Shit!
“No expectations, remember.”
Trey slid his hand under her legs and around her waist lifting her onto his lap. Elise wrapped her arm around his still bare shoulder so their faces were only centimeters apart. Her legs were stretched out and crossed long ways on the sofa as she sat in Trey’s lap. “The only expectation I had this morning was to wake up next to this beautiful woman and crawl back inside of her again.” He gently rubbed his nose against hers.
Elise’s eyes went wide. “Well, damn! If you would have told me that, I would have stayed! We need to work on your communication skills.”
Trey was rubbing his hands over her thighs. He moved his mouth to her ear and whispered, “So if I tell you that I want you to stay tonight because I would like nothing more than to wake up tomorrow morning and ravage your body, will you stay?”
“Oui.” Elise started running her finger over his broad chest that was still bare. Trey kissed her gently on her neck.
“Will I find more notes on my body written in lipstick?” Trey continued to whisper in her ear “Because I really hope I do.”
Elise laughed loudly. Trey was lightening up a little, and Elise was pleased to see that he had a naughty side. She held both sides of Trey’s face in her hands, “Be careful what you wish for.” She was giving him fair warning.
“Say it in French.” He bit his lip in anticipation. Sexy as hell!
“Faire attention à ce que vous souhaitez.” Elise drew out each word and added a breathy tone to the statement. Trey attention was focused on her mouth through the entire phrase.
The naughty thoughts that were going through Elise’s mind were interrupted by her hotel phone ringing. She leaned over the arm of the sofa reaching for the phone on the side table.
She answered, “Allo.” It was the front desk letting her know that her car service was here. “Merci. Nous allon etre en panne peu de temps.” Trey’s eyes were focused on her mouth again which made her smile.
She gave him a sweet kiss on his cheek and slid off of his lap and onto her feet. “Our car service is here to take us to the Bercy. Let me grab my purse.” Elise went into the bedroom and grabbed her black Fendi clutch and her ticket to the concert. Trey put his shirt back on and made his way to the door. “Do you have your ticket?” Elise asked as she made her way across the sitting room. Trey pulled his ticket out of the back pocket of his jeans and held it up. “Excellent!”
~
Trey was in the back seat of the car with Elise as they made their way to the concert. Ronald was sitting in the front seat with the driver as the car made its way through the thick traffic. Trey watched Elise pulled her cell phone out of her purse and checked it to see if there were any messages. Before she could put it back in her purse, Trey motioned for it. Elise looked at him with a puzzled face, but handed the phone over to him. “I’m putting my phone number in your contact list so I don’t have to continue to use the concierge to send you dirty messages.”
She smiled, “That may be the most creative way someone has tried to exchange numbers with me. Kudos! You get points for assertiveness and sexual intent. Hand over yours.” Elise extended her hand for his phone which Trey gladly gave her. She added her number into his contact list and took a picture of herself to attach to the contact. He liked that.
“So are you a big fan of the Foo Fighter’s?” Trey wanted to know more about her.
“Yes. Dave Grohl’s a genius. And, you?”
“Yeah. They contributed heavily to the grunge phase I went through in high school.”
“You had a grunge phase? Hmm, interesting.” Her eyebrows were raised.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but my music collection has an alternative genre that spans from Alice in Chains to Rixby Storm.”
Trey noticed that Elise’s smile broke as she looked down at her hands. He was caught by surprise and tried to figure out what he said to upset her. She opened her purse and grabbed her ticket. “I still can’t believe Ashley did this.” She was smiling again but her smile was different, “I’m glad you decided to join me.”
“Me, too. I was actually trying to get tickets to this concert when Will and Jessie announced that their wedding would be here this weekend.” He wanted to tell her about how his mom was a client of hers, but didn’t want to creep her out that he already talked to his mom about her.
“See, everything happens for a reason. It was fate that I totally grabbed your crotch on the plane.” Fun Elise was back.
“I still can’t believe you did that.” Trey was smiling and shaking his head. “Strike that. I totally believe you would do something like that.”
Elise’s mouth was open, and she had her hand on her chest. “Moi?”
“Yes, moi.” Trey was trying to imitate her.
It’s vous, not moi.” Elise corrected him.
“Where did you learn how to speak French?”
“I studied French and Spanish in high school and in college, which I am so grateful for. It really helped me build my company since I was able to deal with vendors in their own language.”
“Where did you go to college?” Trey smiled at the thought of Elise as a coed.
“NYU. And, you?”
“Harvard.”
“Nice. I’m impressed.”
“You should be.”
“Hey! That’s my line!” Elise gently elbowed him.
“So do you live in New York?” His fact finding mission continued.
“Yes. I split time between there and Virginia.”
“Virginia?” No way.
“Yes. That’s where I’m originally from. My mom still lives there.”
“Where in Virginia?”
“Fairfax County. Outside of D.C.”
“That’s the district that I’m running in.” What were the odds?
“For?”
“Congress.”
“Holy shit! You are like running, running for office.”
“Yes. What did you think I was running for?”
“I didn’t even think about it, but there are a couple of elections that are pretty big deals, Presidency, Senate, and,” she motioned her hand toward him, “the House of Representatives. You would be Congressman Watts. That’s pretty ambitious for your first political role.”
“Go big or go home.” Trey lived by that motto.
“Confidence, I like that!” Elise smile was priceless.
“It’s helped me make a name for myself, but it’s also taught me some lessons. You can’t be a maverick all the time. Being cautious and careful are just as important.”
“I see why you are so concerned with protecting your image.”
“That sounds shitty, doesn’t it - protecting my image?”
“Absolutely not! You are building a brand which is no different than the brand I built with my cosmetics company. You’re selling yourself, your policies, and your ideas to the people of Virginia. The integrity of a product will define its success. I totally get it.” Every second that Trey was with her, he was exposed to a new layer that interested him. “Plus, I’m sure that every facet of your life with be examined and twisted by your opponent and the media. And, you won’t know who you can really trust. That’s what’s shitty.”
“So you understand trust issues?”
“Yes, I’ve been burned. Besides my mother, Ashley and Jeremy are the only two people that I truly trust personally and professionally.”
“What about your father?”
“I don’t know who he is. I was raised by my mother.” She was very matter of fact about that piece of information.
“I’m sorry.” He didn’t know why he was apologizing. He just found it was necessary. She looked vulnerable, and Trey’s instinct was to protect her.
Elise surprised him when she placed her hand on his cheek and said, “You have no reason to be.” She was smiling sweetly at him and shaking her head. Suddenly her eyes shifted to the window behind him, “YAY! We’re here.”
~
Trey’s Secret Service guy made special arrangements for them to enter through a private entrance which was used by the band and other people who were associated with the band or the Bercy. The tickets that Ashley gave her were on the front row in a VIP section which was gated separately from the other seats.
The concert was so high energy that she and Trey stood and danced the entire time. Well, she danced around and Trey watched. They were inseparable the entire night. If Elise’s fingers weren’t laced through his, Trey’s hands were on her waist or shoulders. If the song was fast, Elise was rubbing her body all over his while she danced. Everlong was the last song of the night which was performed acoustically and at a slower tempo. Trey sang the song while rubbing his lips along her jawline and neck. Their chemistry was unmatched by anything that Elise had ever experienced, including Rixby. It scared the hell out of her.
Trey turned her around and held her body close to him. He surprised her with a deep kiss that nearly caused her legs to buckle. She wrapped her arms around his back, grabbing his shirt. He pulled his lips away slowly, “Thank you.”
Elise’s eyes were still closed, “After that kiss, I should be thanking you.” She opened her eyes slowly.
Trey was smiling down at her. “I had a great time, Elise. Thank you so much for inviting me.”
“You are very welcome. But the night’s not over.” Elise bit her lip.
“I’m afraid to ask.”
