by Eydie Maggio
She closed her eyes and let his words sink in. He actually understood. She pressed her forehead against his chest and brought her arms up and around his waist. Trey slipped his fingers into her hair and held her head to his chest. He kissed the top of her head. Day in bed = 2, Paris = 0.
“Are you coming back to bed with me?” Trey turned her head to look up at him while he cupped her face in both hands.
“I’ll meet you in there in just a second, I promise. I just want to take a hot shower.” Elise raised herself onto her tip toes and kissed Trey gently on his lips. He was smiling down at her as he still held her face in his hands.
“Want some company?” Trey raised his eyebrows.
Elise laughed, “You’re the reason I need a hot shower.” She massaged her sore shoulder.
“And you’re the reason I need cold ones.” Trey kissed her on the tip of her nose. “Enjoy your shower.”
Elise made her way to her bathroom where she striped off Trey’s shirt and started the hot water. She got under the warm jets allowing the water to start to relieve some of the tension that was in her neck and shoulders. She massaged her scalp as she shampooed and conditioned her hair. She felt the tension leaving her body as she glided her soapy sponge over her arms and legs. She stayed under the spray for just a few minutes longer before she finally got out and toweled off.
She went into her dresser and pulled out a pair of black cotton boxer sleep shorts and a white razorback tank. She threw on her comfy pajama set and towel dried her hair once more before she went back into her bedroom to meet Trey. She felt so much better now.
When she opened the double doors that separated the bathroom from the bedroom, she saw Trey sitting up in her bed with his back against her headboard. He was scrolling through emails on his BlackBerry. On the nightstand, there was a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich cut into four pieces and a handful of pretzels on the side.
“Did you make that?” Of course he did, unless there’s a grilled cheese fairy she didn’t know about.
“Yes. You have to be starving.” Trey looked at her with concern.
“You made that for me?” Elise was touched.
“Yes. I also made three for me, but that one is yours.” Trey was smiling over at her.
Elise walked over to her nightstand where she picked up a piece of the sandwich and took a bite. He was right, she was starving. She didn’t realize it until she spotted the sandwich on the nightstand. She gobbled down three of the four pieces and a couple of pretzels in no time. There was a bottle of water next to the plate. She opened it up and drank nearly half the bottle. She returned the cap to the bottle placing it back on the nightstand and then grabbed the plate and ran it over to the kitchen. When she returned, he was scrolling through his emails again.
She crawled into her bed and onto Trey’s lap. He looked up at her with a smile. Elise wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “Thank you so much.”
Trey kissed her cheek, “I told you I was going to take care of you tonight.”
Elise sat back and pulled her arms from around Trey’s neck. She moved her hands up to his gorgeous face. “And now, it’s my turn. You need to sleep.” Elise reached over and turned off her lamp on the nightstand. She grabbed Trey’s BlackBerry and placed it on the nightstand, too. She crawled off his lap and under the covers facing Trey who was now under the covers with her. “Come here.”
Elise lay on her back and guided Trey’s head onto her chest. “So you expect me to actually sleep on top of all this temptation.” Trey kissed her sweetly before he lay his head down. He wrapped his arms around Elise like his pillow earlier and nuzzled his head on Elise’s breasts. “I love you, Elise.”
Elise kissed the top of his head, “Sleep, Trey.” Her arms were wrapped around Trey’s shoulders and head. She ran her fingers through Trey’s hair until she felt the full weight of his head on her chest. His breathing became rhythmic and shallow. He was asleep.
Elise continued to run her fingers through his thick hair. His face was tilted towards her so she took the opportunity to study every stunning feature. She ran her finger along the three small laugh lines that ran along the length of his forehead. They led to the adorable freckle right above the curve of his eyebrow. She kissed her finger and placed it over the small diagonal white scar located where his brow met the bridge of his nose. She traced his square jaw around to the center of his chin where his trademark cleft resided.
She hugged him tightly once more and placed a kiss on his head. “I do love you, Trey Watts.”
Chapter 23
Trey’s BlackBerry began vibrating on Elise’s nightstand. It was the alarm that he set last night while Elise was in the shower. It was 5:30 am. He immediately reached over and shut it off so he wouldn’t wake Elise. When Trey passed out on her chest last night, he must have been exhausted because that was where he woke up this morning. Trey knew she was sleeping deeply, too, when he lifted his head off of her chest and got out of her bed without her moving a muscle.
Trey had a scheduled interview with a local Virginia morning show. He was scheduled to meet Paul at the television station at 7 am, which shouldn’t be a problem. Elise’s townhome was literally 10 minutes away from his home where he needed to change before heading over to the station.
Trey wanted to let her sleep, but he also felt the need to wake her up and let her know where he was going. He didn’t want her to think he just left her again. He was also scared as hell that she was going to get on that plane to France today. She didn’t tell him she loved him last night, and she wouldn’t make love to him. He knew she needed time, but that didn’t stop the pain that was in his heart.
He was quietly putting on his clothes from yesterday debating whether he should just leave her a note or actually wake her up. He went into the bathroom to get his shirt that Elise was wearing last night. When he came out of the bathroom putting on his shirt, he looked up to see Elise sitting up bed. Trey was happy that she was awake. “Hey babe, it’s very early.”
“I know. So you’re leaving?” Elise’s face was covered with disappointment.
“I have an interview on Channel 4’s morning show, but I’ll be back. I’m glad you’re up. I was debating on whether or not I should wake you up to tell you. I didn’t want you to think I just left.” Trey sat on the bed next to Elise. He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. When he looked back up at Elise, her head was tilted to the side and she had a small smile on her face.
“What time is your interview?” Elise ran her hand through Trey’s hair.
“It’s live at 7:30 am. There’s the interview portion then segment where the voters can call in. I’m kind of nervous.”
Elise raised her eyebrows and had a look of compassion on her face. “You’ll do fine.” She crawled out from under the covers and crawled onto Trey’s lap. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Trey felt his nerves melt away as he blew out a deep breath. “Just be yourself.” Elise pulled back and cupped Trey’s face in her small hands. “How can they not love you?”
Trey smiled. “I love you, Elise. Thank you so much for … everything.”
Elise kissed him on his cheek then crawled off his lap and back under the covers. “Anything for you. I’ll be watching and cheering you on from here. Just call me when you get a chance.”
“You’re going to be here today?” He needed to know.
“Yes. I’m selling my apartment in New York, so this is the only home I have.” Elise smiled up at him before closing her eyes.
“For now.” Trey whispered as he kissed her forehead gently before he turned around to leave.
Elise smiled then repeated, “For now.”
~
Trey and Paul walked into the Channel 4 Studio where he was scheduled to do his interview. He was early considering his segment wasn’t scheduled to go on for another 30 minutes. They were welcomed by the station manager who introduced himself and escorted the gentlemen into Makeup. The y
oung lady that was responsible for applying the makeup had her ear buds in and was surprised when she turned around and saw Trey standing there.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. The station manager said that I needed to come in here before my segment.” Trey felt bad since the poor girl jumped back when she saw him.
“That’s cool. Hop in.” She patted the back of the chair that sat in front of the mirror. Trey walked over to the chair and sat down while she applied a paper cover onto his clothes. She couldn’t be more than five feet tall. She had short blond hair that was pulled into two pig tails and had a ton of piercings on her face. “So what are you here for?”
“I’m running for Congress, and I’m here for an interview.” She was dusting powder on his face. Trey would never get used to this. He didn’t think she was paying attention to what he said until she responded.
“So why should I vote for you?” She was looking at him, but not looking at him. She was just checking out her work, so her question surprised him.
“Well, what are some of the things that are important to you as a constituent?” Trey learned from his dad to listen, ask questions, and do more listening. Paul was watching Trey in action.
“Well my sister is a teacher, and she has to pay for stuff for her classroom out of her own pocket. Not like extra stuff out of the kindness of her heart, but other stuff that she needs to do her job like update reading material. That’s crazy. Why doesn’t she have enough money for things like that in her budget?”
Trey did not like hearing that. Whether he was elected or not, he wanted to fix this. “First of all, my name is Trey. What’s yours?”
“Jenny. Nice to meet you, Trey.”
“Jenny, would you please do me a favor and write down your sister’s name and the school where she teaches? I can’t wait for an election to fix something like that. I’ll make personal donation to each teacher at that school. Whether I’m elected or not, I’ll work with whoever is elected and local officials to make sure they have what they need to do their job.”
She put her hands on her hips and gave him a very skeptical look. “You’re not serious.”
“I’m very serious.” Trey was looking her right in her eyes. “Paul, can we get the superintendent on the line?” Trey said as he looked over his shoulder.
“We can, but can I talk to you in private for a second?” Trey knew what that was all about – PR.
“What are you worried about? It’ll look like I’m buying votes?” Trey was staring Paul down, and he didn’t care if Jenny witnessed the conversation.
“Well, yes. This may be an ethics issue, too.”
“What if the contribution was anonymous or didn’t come from me?”
“Then that’s fine. I would just prefer that if you did want to make a contribution that it remains anonymous and doesn’t come from any of your accounts that we need to turn over for auditing as part of the election.”
“So what if I got Elise or Sophia to donate it? Would that be cool?” Trey was trying to do the right thing and work within the guidelines.
“That’s fine. Jenny, can I get your sister’s information?”
“I can’t believe you are actually doing this.” Jenny was stunned.
“I can’t believe the system failed our teachers.” Trey just shook his head.
When Jenny was done with the makeup, she removed the paper cover around his neck. Trey stood up and saw all the makeup on the table had the initials EDP on them.
“It was really nice meeting you, Trey. I hope you win the election.” Jenny was twirling the brush she just used around her finger.
“Thanks. So what do you think of Elise DePaul cosmetics?” Trey motioned his head to all the makeup scattered on the vanity in front of the mirror.
“Best on the market. Hands down. I won’t use anything else on my clients. Why?” Jenny was intrigued by Trey’s interest.
“She’s my girlfriend.” After this past weekend, he hoped he could still call her that. There was still a lot of unfinished business between them.
“That’s sick!” Jenny smiled then lowered her voice. “Well don’t tell Cheryl that. You’re really hot, and it’s like a challenge to her.” She was looking behind Trey.
“Who’s Cheryl?” Trey didn’t understand where Jenny was going with this.
“The morning show host that’s about to interview you.”
“I thought her name was Sherri something.”
“That’s what she uses for the show. Her real name is Cheryl, and she can’t stand it that I call her that.” Jenny had an evil smile on her face. Trey really like this chick. She was a total badass. “I’m not hiding my relationship with Elise, and she’s headed down a dead end road if she does make any advances.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn ya’!” She shrugged her shoulders and went to the vanity to straighten up the makeup. Trey was turning around to leave. “Hey Trey, thanks for doing that stuff for my sister. Your secret’s safe with me.”
Trey smiled, “Thanks. It was nice meeting you. Thanks for sharing your concerns.”
This was the reason Trey wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.
~
Elise was sitting on her couch with a cup of coffee when there was a banging at her door. Her heart began racing. The last time someone showed up this early in the morning banging at her door, it was Rixby. She learned from her last mistake. Elise walked to the door and looked through the peephole. It was Jeremy. She breathed out a sigh of relief and opened the door.
“What the hell are you doing here at 7:30 in the morning on a Tuesday?” Elise was cranky before her morning coffee.
“What the hell are you doing lying to Martie about anything?” Jeremy was nose to nose with her. He must not have had coffee, either.
“Coffee?”
“Love some!” Jeremy kissed her cheek then walked past her into her kitchen.
“Really, why are you here?” Elise followed Jeremy into the kitchen and grabbed a cup out of the cabinet for his coffee.
“Uhm, let’s see. Trey called last night freaked out wanting to know where you were and told me that he fucked up and needed me to call Martie for him so he could find you. I totally busted you lying to Martie. Then got a text from Trey saying he found you here.”
“I am so confused.” Elise seriously needed her coffee.
“You’re confused, honey? Last time I saw you and Trey, you were in love. Then I get a frantic phone call from Trey not knowing where you were. What the hell happened?”
“Long story short, Rixby. But, it was a big misunderstanding, and I think we’re ok.” Elise motioned for him to follow her to the living room. “I’m about to watch Trey’s interview with Channel 4.”
“I really need this coffee.” Jeremy just shook his head and took a sip.
Elise turned on the television as they sat on her sofa. Trey was already on set with the morning show host. He was wearing a charcoal colored suit with a scarlet tie. His hair was slicked back and he was clean shaven. “Wow, he looks gorgeous.”
“Didn’t you see him this morning?”
“He had to head home to change. He wasn’t prepared to stay here last night. I’ll tell you the whole story later.” Elise waved off Jeremy and focused her attention back on the television.
Trey and the bleach-blonde host were sitting on tall stools that were angled towards each other. The host had just asked Trey about his brother’s wedding.
“Yes, my brother got married recently. We are all very happy for him.”
“So why did they have the wedding in Paris?”
“That’s where they were engaged.”
Elise noticed that Trey was trying to keep those answers really short. He was probably trying to respect Jessie and Will’s privacy without being rude. Elise thought this was supposed to be about his election, not a tell-all about his family. That host was obviously never going to win any awards for cutting edge journalism.
“So, do you see y
ourself getting married any time soon?”
“I’m not opposed to the idea.”
Elise was positive that Jeremy would be able to hear her heart pounding in her chest. Trey’s face was so soft and tender for just a moment when he answered her question. She loved how transparent he was any time it dealt with matters of the heart.
“Trey, tell us how a good looking, successful guy like you is still on the market?”
Elise raised one eyebrow and pursed her lips. Ok, so maybe she shouldn’t be as upset as she was, but there was no way that this gossip columnist didn’t know about Elise. And on top of that, she was leaning over and had her hand on Trey’s thigh. Elise did not like that at all.
“What rock has this bitch been under?” Jeremy basically said what Elise was thinking.
“THANK YOU! I was trying not to be catty, but REALLY!” Elise rolled her eyes and waited to see how Trey would answer.
“I’m not on the market.”
Trey’s answer was really direct and pointed. Elise bit her bottom lip and looked over at Jeremy with wide eyes.
“Well, he told her!” Jeremy was grinning. “Oh, and by the way, I told Trey I would put a hit out on him, too. But we’ll talk about all that later.”
“Jeremy!”
He was now waiving her off. “Shh! Look at that whore!” Jeremy was pointing to the television.
Elise whipped her head back towards the television. It seemed the host didn’t like Trey’s answer about him being off the market and turned up the charm. She had her hand on Trey’s arm and was smiling sweetly at him. Elise was getting pissed now. This was beyond unprofessional.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think that those rumors could possibly true.”
Trey leaned over to the side table and reached for his coffee mug causing her hand to slide off his arm. It was subtle, but effective.
“Well, I would really love to talk about some of the questions that you had about the campaign, but I understand that being in politics, my personal life is up for discussion, too. So, let me just lay it all out there. I am in love with Elise DePaul. That is not a rumor. I am completely devoted to her, and we are exclusive.
