The Cliff

by Gucker, Christie A. C.

  “I’m sure it’s safe. No worries. We’ll look for it while you’re in the shower. Okay? It’ll turn up. No one but us has been in the house.” Dylan assured me.

  “Please look everywhere, under the couches and in the cushions. Woof likes shiny things. He might’ve decided to play with it.” I turned to head up the stairs.

  “Lanie? What about your phone call?” Chelsie asked, holding out the phone to me.

  “Yeah, I have to think about how I’m going to approach that one. Right now, the most important thing to me is getting things back where they belong with Grant. As far as I’m concerned, that woman no longer exists. She’s a piece of dust in the wind. I just want my guy back. I want things right again. She can die, for all I care. In fact, I hope she does.” I headed back toward the stairs.

  Yeah. I had missed Grant. I missed things being okay. I missed not feeling comfortable with touching each other. I missed knowing he’d be sleeping next to me every night. And I missed making love to him, all the time.

  I knew tonight was supposed to be a date and nothing was going to happen sexually between us, or at least that was my plan, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to tease him just the same. I needed to wear something that looked hot, but casual. Like it wasn’t actually my plan to get him all hot and bothered. Now how the hell was I going to accomplish that?

  I looked through my closet. Slip dress? It would work, but it was a little too in-your-face. Maybe a pair of cute sweats or yoga pants—great for cuddling and watching a movie, but a little bit too comfortable. I started to look through my tops, hoping something would stand out. And then it hit me.

  There in the back was the shirt I would wear for the Women’s Heart Disease functions I attended every year to represent our company. It was so cute and would go great with a pair of black skinny jeans. It was a nice deep red, sleeveless, baring my shoulders and my back completely, and secured around my neck with a long sheer tie. It had three long, flowing sheer ruffles across the front, and if I wore it without a bra, it would just give a wonderful hint of what was underneath. Perfect. I grabbed my favorite pair of wedgies that looked like sneakers but not as sporty. Actually, I loved them, and whenever I needed to be a little more than casual, I wore these.

  I decided tonight to pull out all the stops. I showered and used my vanilla shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner. I never used all three with my vanilla perfume, but tonight, I wanted to smell like waffles or cake. I wanted Grant to drool and try to eat me alive.

  When I was all showered, I blew my hair dry and left it in soft waves. I applied smoky eye-makeup to provide extra allure for when I gave him my best sex eyes. I was hoping tonight would go off without a hitch. I put on some toes rings, silver bangle bracelets and a cobalt and silver anklet. I checked myself out in the mirror. I had accomplished my mission. I looked casual but hot, and I was ready to let Grant redeem himself along with making him want me more than he already did. I headed downstairs and my Annihilation Team was still planning and plotting.

  “Well? How do I look?”

  “You look hot,” Dylan said. Samantha nodded her head in agreement. Steve whistled and Chelsie gave me thumbs up. Dane said nothing; I’m sure for fear of everyone thinking the wrong thing.

  “Dane?” He just turned and smiled. “Well?”

  “I think Grant is a lucky man to have someone who loves him so much and looks hot doing it.” Chelsie made a little cute noise.

  I still felt like something was missing. I turned and examined myself in the mirror. Then it hit me again. My ring was missing. In fact, it was a blaring reminder that I still didn’t know where it was.

  “Did … did anyone find my ring? Please say you found it.”

  “No, Hun. We tore the place apart. Are you sure you didn’t put it someplace special? Like a jewelry box upstairs?” Chelsie said, with a lot of compassion.

  “No. No! I put it right there. That was a sentimental special safe place. That dish was from when we all went on that school trip with the Italian Club in high school.”

  “Oh yeah, you and Grant shared a little kiss under the Ponte dei Sospiri in Venice.” Dylan chuckled. “I remember, because Grant wouldn’t shut the hell up about it for the rest of the trip. He totally believed the legend about kissing your soul mate there.”

  “And your point is? It worked, didn’t it?” I scoffed.

  “I stand corrected. But it still doesn’t change the fact that we didn’t find your ring.” Dylan looked sad for me. I felt sad for me. Grant was going to have a cow. He just gave me that ring and it probably cost him a small, no scratch that, large fortune. And it meant everything to him. And it meant everything to me. And here I went and lost it. I could feel the tears welling up and a lump forming in my throat. Samantha jumped up and started to fan my eyes.

  “You’re going to mess those eyes up. You just tell him nothing. You’re not supposed to be wearing it, anyway. Let him sweat it. We’ll keep looking. We’ll look everywhere.” I loved Samantha. Everyone nodded in agreement.

  “Lanie, no more tears. We’ll find it. We’ll look all night.” Dane reiterated what everyone else had promised. It didn’t matter. Until that ring was back on my finger, I wouldn’t care what promises were made. It wasn’t good enough. It gave me a bad feeling, like there was some kind of sign being shown to me. My ring was gone. Did that mean my relationship was, too? I hated to be superstitious and I knew it was school-girlish for me to even think this way. Why not just whip out the old Ouija board? All my answers could be found there. Ridiculous. Yet I still tried to remember which closet I had stuffed the board into!

  “And we’ll interrogate that small black furry thing you gave an identity crisis to by naming him after a canine. I bet he took it and is wearing it on his tail to attract some pussies.” Chelsie cracked herself up. We all kind of giggled with her. At ten to five, the doorbell rang.

  “Wow, he must really be in trouble if he’s ringing the doorbell! We all just get to walk in,” Steve said as he got up to answer the door.

  “Hey Grant, how’s it hanging? Are you here to pick up your date? Now remember, she has a curfew and keep your hands to yourself.” Steve was a ball buster.

  “Hello to you, too. Is she ready?” Grant entered the house. He looked damn hot in a pair of faded jeans and a tight blue t-shirt that showed every single edge of his outline underneath. His hair was done, but the only way I could describe it was sex hair. It was wild on top of his head and I suddenly wanted to curl my fingers into it and pull him into a deep kiss or whatever else I could pull him into. Namely me. I felt a fire begin below. Tonight was going to be a challenge.

  “Oh, she’s more than ready for you. I can tell you that. Just look at her!” Steve exclaimed and Chelsie kicked him in the shin.

  “Really? Grow up. Our little girl has a date. Now be nice and shut the hell up. Grant, I trust that you’ll be a good boy and have our girl home by ten?” Now Chelsie was continuing the faux parental grilling.

  “Yes and don’t think about trying anything funny, either. Keep your hands to yourself. We’ll be watching you.” Dylan made the two-finger-eye-to-eye-motion back and forth between himself and Grant.

  “Ooh! If I’m watching, put your hands all over her. I want to see everything!” Samantha chimed in.

  “You’re a real whore, you know that, Samantha?” Chelsie said.

  “You know you’d watch them, too. It’d be gorgeous porn. Look at them both!”

  Grant made a disturbed face at his cousins and shook his head. I heard a breath come out of his mouth. He looked thoroughly embarrassed. He turned towards me to see my reaction to the peanut gallery. I didn’t care. All I could focus on was Grant. I gave him my sweetest smile and felt my entire body heat up.

  “Well, they are right. You look absolutely amazing, Lanie.”

  Grant reached his hand out to mine, and I was about to reach with my left hand when I was suddenly again very aware of the missing ring. So I opted to give him my right hand, which
afforded him the opportunity to pull me close to him and give me a sweet kiss on my forehead. I heard them all sigh. Hell, at this point, I expected them to all whip out their cameras and start taking pictures like it was prom or something. I pulled Grant toward the door.

  “Come on. Let’s get out of here. It’s getting creepy,” I joked.

  “I agree. And anyway, I have a wonderful night planned for us, and I’d like to get it started, if that’s okay with you. Are you ready, my love?”

  “I’m so ready. I’m all yours,” I said to him. I turned to my family.” I can’t promise I’ll be back tonight, or how late I’ll be if I do. So don’t wait up. And thanks for doing that thing for me that you’re doing. It means a lot. Thank you for everything. All of you.”

  Grant shot me a glance and then looked around the room at our family. He gave them a grateful smile and then took my hand and we headed for the door.

  When we got outside, Pierre was waiting out front with the limo.

  “I thought we were …” Grant put his finger up to my lips and smiled. He put his hand on the small of my back and guided me toward the limo. I felt an intense heat where he touched me. This was really, really going to be a challenge not ripping every shred of clothing off him tonight.

  Pierre bowed and held the door open for me. I turned to look at Grant.

  “I love you, Lanie. Please join me for a wonderful night so I can show you how much. It’s quite overdue.” He motioned toward the door. I turned toward the house and everyone was at the window watching us. It was laughable. We both smiled and I got into the limo.

  There waiting for me were …

  Chapter 44

  Are You Ready for the Main Course?

  … chocolate covered strawberries and an ice-cold bottle of my favorite champagne. I turned and shot Grant a smirk.

  “Nice try. It’s not going to happen. At least, not tonight.”

  Grant gave me a sultry smile. “Can’t blame a guy for trying, can you? Have you looked in the mirror? You’re absolutely stunning. And I did warn you I was going to totally try and seduce you. I plan on standing by that promise.”

  He shot me an adorable grin and cocked his eyebrows. I melted. This was going to be tough. I was already starting to cave. I stepped into the limo and made myself comfortable. My love got in and slid right up next to me. I was almost right on top of him. He gently pushed me up against the side and put one arm above my head. I was his prisoner and I liked it. He brought his face close to mine. I could feel his breath on my lips. It was so hard not to kiss him—I started to lean in. He brushed his lips softly against mine and then pulled away. I was disappointed to say the least, but I played it off. He produced a strawberry and held it up for me to take a bite. Well, two could play at the seduction game. Game on! I looked him in the eyes and licked the strawberry slowly and made a little moaning noise. I put my lips over the tip and mouthed it. I heard a small growl escape him. I smiled and bit the tip off. He chuckled, turned and poured us both a glass of champagne.

  “I thought you were making me dinner? Where are we going?” I sipped on the sweet nectar that could be rule number two’s demise.

  “Just sit back and enjoy the night. It’s purely for your pleasure.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you only had my pleasure in mind.” I giggled like a schoolgirl on her first date. Grant turned and knocked on the glass partition. Pierre started the limo and we were off. We fed each other strawberries and sipped our champagne. When the bottle was finished, and my head started to feel giddy, Grant gave the partition another tap. I felt the limo turn and then roll to stop.

  “Destination achieved. Madame, may I escort you to dinner?” Grant reached for my hand. I took it and he helped me out of the limo, now parked outside his front door.

  “You picked me up in a limo to take me to your house right next door?” I giggled.

  “Nothing but the best for my girl. Are you hungry? I’ve been slaving over dinner all day.” He smiled as he opened the front door and ushered me in. The first thing that hit me was the smell of gardenias. Reminded me instantly of Hawaii. Then I could hear soft Hawaiian music playing in the background.

  “Are you going for a luau theme?”

  “I was going for South Pacific. Tonight we’ll be dining on treats from that locale. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” I started to look around the room.

  “What’s wrong? What are you looking for?”

  “My coconut bra and grass skirt,” I teased. He snapped his fingers like he’d forgotten something.

  “That’s okay, Love, I figured we’d go au naturale, like real natives do.”

  “Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Well, not on a first date!” I giggled some more.

  Grant took my hand and led me out to the back, where the terrace was decorated with tiki torches and tons of Hawaiian flowers. There were birds of paradise and hibiscus everywhere.

  “How the hell do you do this stuff? You’re like a magician. Where did all these flowers come from? I never saw a florist delivery truck, and you never left the house.” I was actually quite amazed how this man managed to get everything done the way he did. He should be a party planner.

  “I have my ways. But I can’t tell you, or I’d have to molest you.”

  “Isn’t it kill me? You’d have to kill me, not molest me.” I shook my head.

  “No, I like you alive, warm and breathing. Molesting is much more appealing.” He chuckled. “Now, please have a seat so I can win you back with my amazing culinary skills.” He pulled my chair out. I sat down, extremely excited about dinner. This was definitely not going to be Bennett Mac & Cheese.

  Grant disappeared and then returned with a tray. I was shocked by all he’d piled on it. He placed it down on a side table and suddenly I was getting lei’d. Well, not the way I was hoping, but fun just the same. He placed a beautiful purple and white orchid lei around my neck. He was wearing a traditional ti leaf maile around his neck. His button down shirt was gone and he was wearing a surf t-shirt. Nice touch. He then placed a ti leaf crown on my head. It was gorgeous. It had small white flowers all woven throughout. I got butterflies in my stomach. My guy had gone all out.

  I smiled and said, “Mahalo,” and then proceeded to admire my new adornments.

  “Madame, for your drink. I wasn’t sure what you’d be in the mood for, so I paired a different cocktail for each part of the meal. We’re starting off with a delicious Mai Tai.” He placed the drink in front of me. This was like being on vacation. I took a sip. Wow, he made his Mai Tais strong. He smiled as I shivered from the alcohol. I had a feeling it was all part of some sinister tropical master plan to get me drunk and in bed tonight.

  “We’ll be starting off with grilled pineapple and coconut shrimp with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.” He placed my plate in front of me. It was a nice small portion, which meant he had many more courses planned. There was even an orchid on the plate. Impressive. He sat down to join me.

  “Grant, this is … amazing. Why did you go through all this trouble? Mac and cheese would have been fine,” I said while stuffing pineapple in my mouth. I was starving. I had only had shots all afternoon.

  “Lanie, how would making you mac and cheese be trying to win you back?” he mused.

  “Have you tasted your mac and cheese? Really? It’s fucking awesome!” I was serious.

  “Yes, I’ve had it. And I love it, but I love you more, and you deserved something special. Lanie, I promise to treat you like this forever. Do you understand? I’m never going to stop giving you everything you deserve.” He leaned across the table and kissed my forehead.

  When we finished our first course, Grant took our plates and disappeared back inside. He obviously knew Mother Nature, because the weather was quite balmy and the soft breeze coming off the ocean seemed to carry the scent of the tropics along with it. I imagined this would be what our honeymoon would be like. When he returned, his tray was filled again. Beautiful presentation, but maybe it was just my o
wn personal hot waiter that made it look so good.

  “For our next course, I have a tuna and salmon ceviche paired with fresh guava slices and a balsamic martini. I hope you like it. It was the most difficult part of the meal.” I gaped at the plate.

  “Grant. This is really amazing. I mean, seriously, four-star restaurant level. You made this for me?”

  “Of course. I wouldn’t make this for any other woman alive. Not even my mother.”

  “Better not let Jennifer hear you say that.” I giggled.

  “You’re right, she’d kick my ass, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is you’re worth it. All of this.” I felt special, but I was still angry with him and he needed to work for this. I had to have a backbone and stand up for what was right for me. But the truth was, I was punishing myself keeping him at bay. I wanted to be with him. I needed to be. And it was just as much torture for me to be without him.