by Jill Prand
Chapter Two
The show was great! Standing ovation for over five minutes and Joe was right in the center of it all. I have to say I am so proud to be Joe’s friend. We stood up and all started up the aisle. Stuart takes my hand so we will not get separated. Jodi and John fall in beside us.
“You guys want to share a cab to the restaurant?” Jodi asks.
“Sure,” I say.
As we get outside, Brad comes up behind us and asks, “Can you guys fit me in too?”
John turns and says, “Sure if you don’t mind sitting up front with the driver. “
“That’s fine,” says Brad, glancing at my hand in Stuart’s.
Stuart hails us a cab and Brad gets in the front. John slides in the back first then Jodi climbs on his lap. I sit in the middle and Stuart squeezes in beside me. Stuart puts his arm around me and hugs me close bringing his mouth to my ear.
“I can’t wait to get you home tonight. You smell delicious,” he says while nibbling on my earlobe.
I giggle, “That tickles,” and turn my face to his. His looks sometimes catch me off guard with his square jaw, dirty blonde hair and green eyes. He is the All-American, guy next door that every mom wants brought home. Not my usual type at all, which is probably why I resisted so hard while he was my client. I wonder what he sees in me. Average height of five-foot-seven, long brown hair that only does what I tell it to when I load it up with anti-frizz serum and brown eyes. Alright everyone says they are more hazel and they change with what I wear or my mood but as far as I know there are twenty girls just like me walking down the street right now.
Jodi interrupts my thoughts saying, “So weren’t you surprised to see Deb and Jimmy?”
“Yeah I was. That reminds me, Jimmy said something odd to me. I will have to ask him about it once we get to the restaurant,” I say looking at her.
She drops her eyes and looks away from me. I ask her, “Do you know something I don’t? What’s going on?”
She looks up and gets saved by the fact that the cab pulls to the curb. We are at Gino’s, an upscale Italian restaurant in the theatre district. Brad pays for the cab and gets out. Stuart opens our door while I look at Jodi, “Are you going to tell me?”
She looks up and says, “I will inside, let’s go into the restaurant first.”
I slide over and get out, reaching for Stuart’s hand. He draws me close giving me a questioning look. I shrug at him and roll my eyes. “It’s always something in our crowd.”
Stuart asks Brad if he wants money for the ride and Brad shakes his head. Jodi and John are out of the cab and we go into the restaurant.
Gino’s is a staple for the opening night crowd. It is the new Elaine’s but with a younger crowd that likes to eat and have fun. The waiters are all actors. Yeah okay a cliché in the city but these guys really will sing you the menu. And look good doing it too! Wow there is some serious eye candy in here. No wonder my mother comes with her friends at least twice a year!
We are ushered to a back room filled with the cast, crew and friends. It looks like over two-hundred people are here. I guess the producers have deep pockets! I have seen weddings smaller than this party. I notice Barbara and her husband, I can never remember his name, sitting at a table set for twenty people. I walk over and give her a kiss on the cheek and claim seats for myself and Stuart. Our table starts to fill up with our group and everyone is talking at once and catching up. I am still surprised we were all invited to this thing. Jodi is sitting across the table from me. I look at her and ask, “Ladies room?”
She nods. Now is the time I can get my answer. We stand up and start to walk out of the room. Joe and his boyfriend Fred are just coming in. I give Joe a hug and say, “You’re a star! The show was great!”
I turn to Fred. “You know you’re going to have to beat the girls and the guys off him with a stick now.”
He bows his head slightly and says, “Yeah I think I probably will.”
Just as I am turning back to Joe I hear a voice say, “Hi, Lisa”
It’s a voice I never thought I’d hear again. A voice that wakes me from my dreams all wet and bothered. A voice that still sends shivers down my spine.
Turning around, I look at him. God he’s even better looking all cleaned up and looking rich. Rich? Where did he get money? Last I heard he was hurt and discharged from the Army and recovering. Yeah ok that was three years ago. I asked people to stop giving me updates while I was in college and everyone pretty much honored that request. So what happened that he could possibly look this fine?
“Bobby,” I say. I grab Jodi’s hand and push my way through to get us to the ladies’ room.
Turning on her before the door even closed, “What the hell was that? Why is he here and why didn’t you tell me he would be?”
She looks like a fish. Her mouth just keeps opening and closing. “Jodi, talk to me! Did you know he would be here?”
“Yes” She drops her head moving into the room. “I knew. I didn’t know how to tell you. John said you would be able to deal with it better if you were surprised. He thought if you knew, you wouldn’t come and you really should be here. We all miss you.”
I close my eyes and try to process this. “He looks like he has money. When did that happen?”
“When his parents died in that crash he got a settlement from the lawsuit, fifteen-million to be exact. He started his own security company and it took off. You have probably heard of it, Harber Security.”
Opening my eyes, I look at her. Now it’s my turn to look like the fish. I tried, I really did, to get the words that were in my head to come out of my mouth but they just weren’t cooperating. Harber Security is one of the top security firms in New York. They help the Secret Service when the President comes to town. I never made the connection. Bob Harber CEO of Harber Securities.
Jodi continued, “All of his friends from the Army are his employees. Did you know he was in the Special Forces? Did he tell you?”
I finally find my voice. “Ah, no! I did not know! I’m the one he never wrote to, never called, never texted. I’m the one he left. I’m the one he didn’t want!”
Turning to the mirror I look at myself. I am not that girl anymore. I would not be drawn in to Bobby’s world again. I don’t care how much money he has or how gorgeous he is. I am over him. It has been six years. My light brown eyes show the shock and betrayal I am feeling. I have to get it together before seeing him again.
How the hell am I supposed to go out there? “Seriously Jodi, you’re my best friend. Why didn’t you tell me? How could you just let me walk in here knowing I would be seeing him?”
“Actually he wasn’t supposed to be here yet,” she says. “He didn’t think he would make it to the dinner, he was only going to show up at the club afterwards.”
She puts her hand on my arm and says, “I figured since you and Stuart were going back to his place you probably wouldn’t make it to the club so there was no reason to warn you.”
“So what, you were never going to tell me?” I jerk my arm away. “Did you think I wouldn’t run into him eventually? Obviously we still have some of the same friends.”
“I was going to tell you but you wouldn’t have come if you knew this would be the first place you saw him. You would have said you needed time to process it all and prepare. Then you would have felt guilty for not being here for Joe.” She puts her hand back on my arm, “You just need to get through a couple of hours. You don’t have to even talk to him. Let’s just go back in.” She pulls me away from the mirror towards the door.
“Please don’t leave me alone with him,” I ask.
“I won’t,” she says. Yeah and this worked out so well last time.
Chapter Three
As we’re walking back to the room I can’t stop wringing my hands together. Jodi smiles at me, “You can do this. He has been out of your life for years and you have a great guy now. Just go show him that he made a huge mistake letting you get away.”
Jodi’s right. It was his mistake not mine, why should I feel nervous? I am a successful woman who just landed a great job in NYC and I’m dating a great and handsome guy. Taking a deep breath, I straighten my back and walk into the room. While looking for my date, I spot Bobby at the bar talking to Jimmy. Stuart is on his way over there and that just sucks shit. I do not want Stuart to figure out who he is. Can I stop him from talking to them? Probably not, I will just have to go drag him away before he finds out who Bobby is and wants to network all night.
Putting down my bag, I look across to Jodi and say, “I guess I should go bite the bullet and get my guy.” I nod my head in the direction of the bar.
Jodi looks over. “I will text you in a couple minutes so you can have an excuse to leave.”
“Yeah that could work,” I say as I grab my phone out of my bag and I walk away.
Stuart and Bobby are standing together talking. Damn they are both hot! If I was anyone else I wouldn’t know how to choose between them. Stuart with the guy next door looks, Bobby the bad boy. Even dressed up he exudes power and intensity. His blue eyes turn toward me and I can see him look me up and down. His eyes flash and I see a look I remember, a look of want in his eyes. God not again! I ignore the tingling that moves down my spine. I look right at Stuart who has also turned to me with his charming smile. I give him my own wanting look. I am spending the night with him. I like him, I really do. His kisses may not fire my blood but they heat it up enough. I don’t need explosions, just a simmer is good.
Stepping right up to them, I put my hand on Stuart’s arm. “Hi, did you miss me?”
He takes my hand in his and pulls me closer, “Always. You and Jodi were gone a while, I was beginning to worry.”
“Gossip, you know how us girls are. Had to talk about what everyone was wearing.” I giggle at him.
“Well you look beautiful,” he says as he dips his head and kisses my cheek. As it happens I look at Bobby. His eyes scrutinize our interaction like he is trying to figure out something.
Stuart turns to him and says, “I guess you two know each other.”
Bobby and I both say at the same time, “Yes.”
“Wow in stereo,” Stuart says laughing. Yeah okay I had told him about Brad. I also told him why I had been with Brad, about the ex that broke my heart and left me wanting, but I failed to mention the ex’s name. He has no idea he is standing next to the guy he called an asshole not so very long ago. What’s he going to say when I tell him? Should I tell him? This just got very complicated.
Bobby smiles. “Lisa and I used to be close but we haven’t seen each other in six years.”
Ok he knows how long it’s been. He looks directly at me. “We lost touch, but I can see she has done well for herself.”
“Oh she has.” Stuart beams at me. “She just got a VP position at Harris Reardon, the hottest agency in town. I’m so proud of her.”
I squeeze Stuart and tuck my head onto his shoulder. “Thanks, even without your account I am doing okay.”
Bobby looks at us questionably, “Your account?” he asks.
“Yeah, she wouldn’t date me and handle my account at the same time so when she left to come here, I told her my account would not be coming with her,” he says. “I think I made the right decision, even though our sales have been down in the last week. I will just have to find another agency if they don’t pick up again. Or I will just have to try harder to persuade her to be my girl both professionally as well as personally.”
“I already told you,” I say. “I will not mix business and pleasure. So you’ll just have to stay where you are account wise that is,” I smile at him. “Anyway I don’t really need your three-million dollar account, I will bill over ten-million this year and I am sure I can pick up a few new accounts as well. New York is a big city. All I have to do is network a little bit.”
My phone goes off at that moment with a text from Jodi. “Looks like we need to get back to the table, the appetizers are being delivered. Nice seeing you, Bobby. Will you be joining us at the club?”
“Yes, I will be there, Lisa,” he says to me. The look in his eyes causes that tingle again. I nod and turn to walk away leaving Stuart to catch up with me. I hear him say, “See you later, glad we met.”
I don’t hear Bobby’s response. I don’t really want to. I can feel his stare on my back. He is watching me walk away from him. Again that damn tingle! Just ignore it and enjoy your night, Lisa. You are with Stuart, this is supposed to be all about being with him tonight. Bobby does not fit into this night. He doesn’t fit into this life. You will not think about him while you are with Stuart. Maybe if I repeat it enough it will happen.
I sit in my seat at the table. Stuart sits next to me and puts his arm on the back of my chair, “Why didn’t you ever tell me you knew Bob Harber?” he asks.
“It was a long time ago and as he said we lost touch. I didn’t even realize that he was Harber Security until Jodi told me in the restroom.”
“So that’s what took so long? I am surprised if she knew you didn’t. It sounds like you two like to talk about all your old classmates all the time,” he says.
“Let’s just say that Bobby and I did not get along well. So she never thought to update me on him,” I say quietly. I really don’t want the rest of the table to hear this conversation. They all know what happened and how it broke me. Hell I didn’t go to a party for three months after New Year’s. I barely socialized with my friends. It left me seriously and clinically depressed. I even saw a psychologist to help get me back into the world. Putting myself back there again is not an option. Bobby gets no more chances to screw up my life. I am stronger now and will resist the pull. I will be with Stuart tonight and will have fun.
Luckily the food starts to be served and everyone at the table draws us into their conversations. I sit through about a hundred pictures of Barbara’s baby. He is really cute but come on enough is enough. I excuse myself to go to the restroom. Jodi and John are in a conversation with Patty and I don’t want to interrupt them so I go by myself.
Going to the bathroom, check my make-up and am on my way back when I hear his voice, “You really have grown more beautiful. All put together and confident.” He comes up right behind me. I feel his hand on my arm turning me toward him. “I missed you.”
The tingle is gone, now it’s a shiver. It travels from where his hand is on me all the way to the toes starting to curl in my shoes. I look at him and steel myself, “Well I haven’t missed you, Bobby. I would appreciate it if you kept your hands off me and leave me alone.” I pull my arm away from him and walk back to the party.
He laughs behind me and calls out, “Not on your life, babe.”
Shit, shit, double shit! Why is this happening now? Alright keep it together. It is only one night, after tonight I won’t see him again. I can go back to the not knowing anything about him. I can go back to not thinking about him. I won’t dream about him. I can do this.
Dessert has arrived when I get back and the talk is about the club we are going to. Earlier I had told Stuart we could skip it if he wanted to but now I think I need to work off some frustrations on the dance floor. I turn to him and say, “Do you mind if we stay for a little while? I really want to hang out some more.”
“Whatever you want, Lisa. As long as we don’t stay too long, I can’t wait to get you to my place,” he says directly in my ear. My ear tingles, this one I can handle. I put my hand on his thigh under the table.
“Neither can I,” as I look into his eyes. I can see the heat there.
He puts his hand on mine and squeezes, “And dancing with you will be great foreplay.”
Ok I am ready to go now! “Let’s get this party started!” I say loudly to the table. “Who’s up for shots when we get to the club?”
I get a few denials but more cheers and nods. “What are we waiting for?” I ask starting to get up. I look over at Joe’s table and Bobby is staring at me with those intense eyes. I ignore him and
take Stuart’s hand, “Let’s go everybody,” and start to walk away.
Chapter Four
Joe comes up as we are getting to the front door, “Wait a minute everyone. We have vans to take us all to the club that way we will all get in together. They know we are coming but I don’t want to leave anyone behind to have to stand in line to get in.”
The vans are a good idea but now we will be stuck here until everyone makes their way out. I turn to Joe, “Are the vans outside waiting?”
“Yeah they are. You can get into them if you want to wait there but it might be a while,” he says.
I take Stuart’s hand and start walking out the door. Bobby is standing within a few feet of us following us with his eyes. He cocks an eyebrow as he hears me ask Stuart, “Wanna go make out in the back of the van with me?”
I get pulled out the door as Stuart says, “Hell yeah!”
There are six of those big vans with four rows of seats. Luckily they all have tinted windows. Stuart pulls me toward the first one and I pull back. He looks at questionably as I say, “That will be the first one people pick when they come out. If we take the last one we will have more time.”
“I like the way you think,” he says changing directions.
We get to the last one and the driver looks at us strangely as we slide open the side door. As I scoot my way into the last row Stuart hands the driver some money and says, “Would you mind standing outside and letting us know when people are coming?”
The driver looks down at the money in his hand and just salutes Stuart as he exits the van. I see him lean up against the front grill and hope he doesn’t turn around to look in.
Stuart makes his way back to me and pulls me in for a kiss. “This was the best idea.” The kiss starts out gentle and light. Stuart doesn’t really do intense. Every time I kiss him it is like building a fire, it slowly ignites. He runs his tongue over my lips asking for entrance. I open my mouth and let him in. He is tentative with his tongue, darting in and pulling out quickly. Not really giving me enough time to savor his tongue, I really like to savor.
