by Kimi Flores
“Really Amiga, there are worse things he could be thinking about than the fact the woman he is swooning over is buying lingerie for the hot weekend ahead.” She snickered.
Abby smacked her again. “Damn it, now I’m going to be freaking out wondering what he could be thinking about.”
“Yeah, because you weren’t freaking out about it before now, right?” Leah chuckled, worked some ninja moves, and was able to avoid the third shoulder smack.
After getting home from work, Abby found herself nervously pacing back and forth across her living room while her bag sat, waiting patiently by the front door. Caleb wasn’t going to pick her up for another two hours. Her tummy was doing flip-flops, filled with anxiety. If she kept this up, she was going to wear a hole in the wood flooring. She’d never gone away with a man for the weekend before, and although it was an innocent trip, she’d developed such strong feelings for him already. She was afraid of making the wrong move, or doing something that would thoroughly turn him away from her. She was driving herself crazy, and needed to do something productive. Grabbing her things, and then getting in her car, she headed over to Leah’s shop to see if she could be of any use there.
The recognizable chime on the storefront’s entrance sounded. Leah appeared from the back carrying a beautiful arrangement of her favorite flowers. Different shades of pink, yellow, and orange puffy Pincushion Proteas were displayed on top of the clear vase. She was all too familiar with these flowers, thanks to her best girlfriend’s love for them. Abby had taken the drive with Leah all the way down to the growers in Fallbrook several times.
The floral aroma permeated the air. Abby enjoyed coming in the shop for the smell alone. “Hey chica, what are you doing here?” Leah placed the vase on the countertop.
“I just wanted to see if you needed any help since I have a few spare hours.” Abby hoped Leah was buying her reason for standing there.
“I’m actually good, but you can hang out with me if you want.” Leah squinted one of her eyes and placed one hand on her hip. Abby was familiar with this stance. “Why are you actually here? Are you nervous? If I were you, I’d be going crazy right now.” She smirked.
Abby scowled at her. “Thanks for the pep talk, amiga.” She emphasized the Spanish word for friend.
Leah laughed. “You know I love you, and I’m only giving you a hard time. Stop with the nerves. He is totally into you, and you are into him; everything will fall into place, just as it should.”
“Well I don’t know about the he likes me part, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up. I can’t imagine him ever giving me more than friendship, and I guess I can live with that. I don’t know that I’m worthy of him anyway, and before you start with the real pep talk, you know what I’m talking about. I mean this man is perfect. I know he said he wasn’t a great guy before, but I just can’t imagine him ever doing a bad thing in his entire life.” She felt her worry line deepen on her face.
“Abby, nobody is perfect. You know that as much as I do, so you stop. He may have evolved into one hell of a man...” Leah winked. “But as he said, he has his skeletons. No guy that good looking has a completely squeaky clean past.”
“Would you stop talking about his appearance? He is so much more than that. He has the best heart. Oh, and he is the most incredible dad.” She stared off to the side with a dreamy look on her face. She’d fallen hard for him already.
“Wow. You have it even worse than I thought. You’re in love with him aren’t you?” Realization hit Leah’s face.
“What? No!” Abby’s expression said one thing, but her heart said something entirely different.
“Sweetie, you are completely in love with him. Your face says it all.” Leah reached for her hand that rested on the countertop, rubbing Abby’s knuckles with the pad of her thumb.
Defeated, she looked down at the table behind Leah where a variety of cut flowers laid. “Yes. I’m in love with him. I didn’t want to say it because then it’s real. I don’t want to love him. What if he doesn’t like me back Leah? I will be completely devastated.”
“What if he does?” Leah smiled and raised her eyebrows.
“I don’t know what to do with that either. He’s everything I could ever want in a man. But how could he ever care as much for me as he did Rene? I would always be second to her, and I don’t know if I could deal with that either.”
“Well, let me tell you what I see as an outsider. This ‘perfect’ man has been struggling because he does have feelings for you. Honestly, it’s even more obvious on him than on you. He is completely gaga over you. It’s a tough situation with Rene in the mix, but I believe he can or already does love you the same if not more than Rene. He was young when they married. He’s a man now, and he has been through hell and back. He can offer you more mature, deeper feelings than he ever could have offered Rene.”
“Where did that come from?” That was pretty insightful.
“Most of it from me, but Grace and I have had some conversations too. We both see it, and can’t wait for you two to make it official.”
“Great, you guys are talking about us?” Abby had already suspected these ladies spoke often.
“Um, yeah.” Leah looked like she was hiding something.
“Why do you look so guilty Leah? What did you do?” Abby squinted her eyes, looking suspiciously at her best friend.
“I didn’t do anything. Grace may have orchestrated some of your chance meetings, but I didn’t do anything except maybe tell her where you would be at times. You didn’t really think you ran into this hot guy all the time on your own, did you?” She snickered loudly.
“You guys are quite the team, aren’t you?” Quite the sneaky team that is.
“Well forget that now. The bottom line is that you guys are crazy about each other, and if it’s meant to be, this weekend will move you closer together.”
“Or it will solidify our friendship.” She had to be prepared for this also.
“Let the cards fall where they may my friend; just don’t smell your underarms in front of him okay?” Leah hooted loudly and smacked the countertop.
“Stop! I changed deodorants. I’m good.”
“Don’t forget those panties we just bought too.” Leah pointed at Abby as if she was scolding her for already packing her white cotton briefs.
She squared her shoulders with complete confidence. “I’m ready to go. Don’t worry your pretty little head about my undergarments.”
Caleb pulled up to Abby’s house at 3:00 sharp. He was so nervous. This weekend was going to be his deciding factor. It would be the longest time they’d spent alone, and he was going to dive in to discover every little thing he could about Abby Sullivan. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it right. He strolled up to the wooden door and knocked. Abby opened it, and the sight of her nearly knocked him over. She stood before him in a pair of dark jeans, a silky blouse and heeled sandals with her hair cascading down her shoulders. Her bright eyes stared back at him, probably wondering why he was gawking.
“Uh, you ready to go?” He was shocked he’d been able to put a few words together to make a complete sentence.
“Yeah, let me grab my bag.” She bent down to pick it up, and Caleb stepped in, taking it from her hand. He got a whiff of what he assumed was her shampoo, and nearly tackled her right there. She smelled so good. He was sniffing her like he’d caught her doing to him at the zoo.
He cleared his throat. “Let me take that for you.” He put the strap over his shoulder, and led her outside before he did, in fact, pounce on her. He stood next to her, examining the beautiful skin on her face as she locked the door. She caught him when she turned to walk to his car, and his favorite beet red color appeared on her cheeks. They hadn’t even left yet, and he was hopelessly ogling her.
He placed his hand on her lower back and led her to his car. Man, how was he going to handle being in that small space with her for the next couple of hours? He opened her car door, closed the door once
she sat down, then went to the back, and placed her bag next to his. He took a deep breath of ocean air before entering the car himself.
“Hopefully we can beat some of the traffic.” He started the engine and pulled onto the street.
She shyly smiled and looked out of the window as though she’d never seen the scenery of her driveway before. She must be as nervous as he was. That was good because he hoped he wouldn’t be the only one making a fool of himself this weekend. It also wasn’t good though, because he wanted her to be comfortable with him.
“What kind of music do you like?” He rested his right hand on the shifting knob just under the radio controls.
“I like most music. Leah is a dancer, so she’s exposed me to different styles of music.”
“I know she is. We saw her at the dance studio last month. It made sense because she has a dancer’s body. Well, not that I’m thinking of her body, or actually have taken notice of it, I mean...” He was digging a bigger hole with every word he said. She started giggling. Ah, his new favorite sound.
“That’s ok; I know what you mean.” She smiled, and then rested her hand on top of his to reassure him. He was enjoying the feel of her soft skin on his, but she pulled her hand back far too soon for his liking.
“Okay, so who is your favorite singer or band?” He wanted that touch back from her, but didn’t want to push her.
“I love Colbie Caillat and Nora Jones.” He could live with that.
“Then Colbie Caillat it is, and some Nora Jones afterward.” He searched through his satellite radio stations while they sat at a red light.
They entered the freeway, and both traffic and conversation remained light during their two-hour drive. He didn’t want to scare her off with heavy questions. There was plenty of time for that stuff this weekend.
They pulled up to an extremely fancy and popular hotel just before 5:00. The butterflies started to dance in Abby’s tummy again. Even though they were staying in separate rooms, she was still checking into a hotel for the weekend with a man. And a HOT man she was in love with no less. She started to go get her bags when Caleb pulled her by the elbow. Oh, the feelings that erupted in her body when he touched her.
“Let’s go check in first.”
They stood in line, and she looked around at the crowd. She loved Los Angeles. The people in L.A. had such a distinctive facet to them. A tall, platinum blonde stood with her hands on her waist, gawking at Caleb then Abby. The blonde was probably wondering what the heck Caleb was doing there with such a ordinary woman. Well, maybe she didn’t like the attitude of everyone in L.A. This woman was not even hiding the disgust on her face while checking Abby out. Abby turned her back to the woman because she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Everything okay?” Caleb’s concerned eyes followed the frown lines on her face.
“Oh fine.” She lied.
“You sure?” He didn’t look convinced.
Shake it off Abby. You don’t even know that woman. Inhaling through her nose, and then puffing out through her mouth, she fibbed again. “Yeah, I’m fine. Really.”
Walking up to the registration desk, Caleb gave the clerk all the necessary info to check them in. The two room key cards were handed over to Caleb. As they turned to get their bags from his car, Abby saw that the feline and a couple other women who had joined her were shooting daggers with their eyes. Feeling her bottom lip begin to quiver, and tears welling up in her eyes, she ducked her head, not wanting to give those bitches the satisfaction of seeing their effect on her. What the heck was their problem anyway, and why was she letting them get to her? She must be PMSing.
Caleb noticed her demeanor change and turned her body to face him. He bent his knees so that he could see her eyes, worry covering his face. “Abby, what’s wrong? What did I miss?”
She didn’t want those women to see that they had gotten to her, but Caleb deserved an explanation. “I’m just being sensitive. There were some girls giving me snotty looks; that’s all. I don’t know them, so I’m not sure why I let them get to me.”
“Where?” He craned his neck around, searching the room.
She looked at him with tears still threatening to fall. “Behind me. Blonde. All of them.”
His eyes zoomed in on whom she’d referred to. “Damn it. I’m sorry Abby. Let’s go to the car.” He wrapped his arm protectively around her waist and guided her outside.
She kept her head turned toward him as they left the hotel. He pulled their bags out of the car and handed the keys to the valet.
“Come on, let go to our rooms, and I’ll explain along the way.”
She was confused. What did he have to explain? “I can get my bag Caleb.”
“No, I’ve got it. Let’s just get inside.” His disposition seemed to alter.
They strolled through the lobby on their way to the elevator. As Abby scanned the room, she felt confident that the girls were not waiting for them. Caleb and she made it to the elevator, got inside, but just when she thought it was clear, the group of women stopped the closing doors and entered. Abby’s heart started to pound rapidly when Caleb turned her body to face him before drawing her into his torso. This was quickly becoming her favorite spot to place the side of her cheek. She heard and felt his heart beating radically.
“Caleb.” The blonde ringleader seductively sang.
“Paisley.” Hearing his voice rumbling through his chest prompted Abby’s eyes to grow wide. Oh, crap. He knew this vixen.
“It’s been a long time, Lover.” Pay emphasized the last word, ripping a hole in Abby’s heart. Had he slept with this woman before? In an attempt to keep tears from springing loose again, Abby closed her eyes.
“That’s enough Paisley.” He grumbled.
“Surely your little mousey woman here knows about you, right?” The venom in this woman’s words burned like acid.
“Stop Pay. My past is just that. I live another life now.” He informed them, with complete confidence.
“Well, I’m in room 309 if you get tired of Sandra Dee here. I can make you remember how much fun we had before you decided to go vanilla.” She started to slip her room key into Caleb’s back jean pocket. WTF? Abby had enough.
Grabbing for the key card, and straightening her back, Abby faced the tramp. “He said that was a long time ago. Give your key to someone who is interested in a cheap woman.” Abby flicked the key card at Paisley’s stunned face where it smacked her forehead before hitting the floor. The women with her wore the same expression. They were probably used to dishing crap out, and not prepared to receive anything in return.
The door opened to the third floor. Abby rotated her body so that her back was in a protective posture directly against Caleb’s front. She would gladly claim this man any day. “This is your floor, correct?”
The women got off the elevator without picking up the key, and Abby exhaled loudly as soon as the doors closed. She hadn’t looked at Caleb yet, and sidestepped away from him, took a brief glance and found him smirking.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know where that came from. I never retaliate when I’m being attacked.” She knew exactly where it came from. He was being harassed. There was no way Abby was going to let that woman stand there and demoralize the man that she’d fallen in love with.
“No, I’m the one that should apologize. You shouldn’t have been subjected to her. I’m impressed though. You know how to handle yourself.” His expression said that he was more than impressed. She really hoped that was true.
“It was actually my inner Leah channeling thorough. She just made me so angry. I can’t believe the nerve she had.” The doors opened to their floor.
“Well, remind me not to make you mad.” He led her out of the elevator and down the hallway toward their rooms.
“Who was she anyway?” Abby didn’t really want to know the answer to this question.
“My past.” He simply answered.
“She was your girlfriend?”
“Not exactly.”<
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“Oh.” She didn’t even want to know what he and that woman had done together. Her imagination was pretty active though, and she didn’t need him to confirm her thoughts.
“Well, this is you, and I’m next door. We can drop off our bags, I have to make a few calls, and then we can go to dinner if you like, say in maybe thirty minutes?”
“That sounds wonderful to me. I’m starting to get hungry.” She opened the door and grabbed her bag from him, brushing her fingers along his shoulder. “See you in thirty?”
He stood at her door much as he had when he first picked her up. She’d like to think it was a look of admiration, but still didn’t want to get her hopes up. He gave a half grin, shook his head, then turned saying he’d see her in a few. She closed the door behind her. So, this perfect man she adored actually did have a past. Unfortunately, that past included a tall skinny blonde. Abby unconsciously looked down at her body. She didn’t have body image issues, and knew everyone was different. She was her perfect weight, but obviously had larger curves than Blondie. Abby had full bosoms and a round rear. Either Caleb liked her generous curves or he didn’t. Her body was perfectly her own, and she wouldn’t fret over this. She scolded herself for even thinking about it. Now she had to do what any other girl would do. Call her best friend, and tell her all about the catfight on the elevator.
They stepped into one of his favorite chain restaurants, and he couldn’t wait for Abby to taste his favorite veggie burger. The friendliest staff met and led them past several large display cases holding music memorabilia, and to a table right beside the famous sign “Love all; Serve all”. The hostess took their drink orders, and said she would love to take any requests they had for music. Caleb turned to Abby. “What will it be?”
“Hmmm, how about Depeche Mode? I love their music videos.” That surprised him.
