Rage

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Calista

May, 2020

I 've managed to keep stringing Alistair along for the past six weeks, and he hasn't lost interest at all. If anything, he's even more aggressive in his pursuit of me. I've already contacted a realtor and have started the search for my perfect home, since I'll be given access to my trust fund this week. It's almost time to reel Alistair in all the way, and I cannot wait.

Graduation is tomorrow. So, tonight I'm going out to dinner with the study group I've been a member of for the entirety of my university career. The majority of the group plans to get shit faced and then go bar hopping. But I have no desire to be intoxicated in public, so I'll have maybe one glass at dinner.

I dig through my closet in search of the perfect dress for dinner. I rarely have a reason to wear my favorite little black dress, which is an absolute shame, because I look phenomenal in it. Pulling its hanger off the rod, I carry it into my bathroom and hang it on the back of the door. I strip out of the loungewear I've had on all day, and toss it in my dirty clothes hamper before turning on the hot water. I feel like taking an ‘everything shower’ today, so I let the bathroom steam up a bit before stepping in.

I take my time washing, deep conditioning, and shaving every inch of myself. I have a good feeling about tonight, and I don't know why. I'm not one to question my gut though, so I know something good is coming.

Once I feel squeaky clean, I shut off the water and pat myself dry, before slipping on my fluffy bathrobe and a pair of panties that make my ass look fantastic. After moisturizing every inch of my body, I brush and blow dry my hair, put my contacts in for the first time all week, and move on to makeup. This is the first time in months I've gone out socially, so I say fuck it, and do a full smoky eye with winged liner.

The eyeshadow look takes me longer to do than I'll ever admit out loud. I add two coats of mascara, a sharp black wing, then a bold red lip stain that will last all night. I move back to my hair, and use my flat iron to softly curl my onyx black tresses. Stepping out of my robe, I hang it back up on its hook, and walk back into my bedroom to pull my dress off the hanger.

I step into the curve hugging fabric. Once I have the halter style top in place, and I'm sure that my braless breasts aren't going to pop out all night, I once again find myself looking through my closet. This time, it's for a cute pair of heels that match perfectly with my dress. When my eyes land on my only pair of red bottom stilettos, I know that they're perfect.

Slipping my feet into my favorite heels, I stand in front of my full body mirror and turn to the side. The halter top has a thin string that ties behind my neck. The front plunges down into a deep v that shows off the cleavage of my double D breasts, but still holds them firmly in place. It narrows at my waist, and somehow hides the fact that I still have a bit of a belly. The soft fabric clings to my wide hips, and paired with my panties, my full yet firm ass looks flawlessly perky. My calves appear even more toned than they really are thanks to my red bottoms, and I look like a million bucks, even if I do say so myself..

My hair falls to the middle of my shoulder-blades thanks to the soft curls, and my makeup is flawless. I throw myself a wink in the mirror, then turn to dig through my messenger bag for my debit card and ID. I tuck them, as well as my cell phone and keys, into my clutch, then step out of my dorm room and into the hall. Locking the door behind me, I head to the elevator and pull up my rideshare app to order a car. Even if I do only have one drink tonight, I still don't want to have to drive home later.

The weather is perfect this evening, so I decide to wait for my ride outside, on a bench near the main entrance of the building. I don't wait long before a sleek, black sedan pulls up with the rideshare logo lit up in both its front and back windshields. The driver rolls her window down as I rise from the bench and step towards her car.

"Yarrow?" she asks me. I turn my phone, showing her the confirmation screen, and she nods before unlocking the doors for me. I open the rear door, and slide into the leather seat before closing it. The ride to the restaurant goes by quickly. Neither the driver nor myself says much after our brief introductions.And the silence gives me time to think about the fun night ahead, as well as my plans for Alistair.

As we pull up to the upscale restaurant where I'm meeting my study group, I rate my driver a full five stars and leave her a hefty tip. I slide off the seat and out of her car with her thanking me several times as I go. I don't respond, instead, I smile and dip my head in a nod before stepping out of her car. I run my hands down my dress to straighten out any possible wrinkles, then walk towards the entrance.

The windows are heavily tinted so that you can't actually see inside, which means I have no idea if any of my group is even here yet. As I move to open the door, someone beats me to it.

My eyes take in the most perfect specimen of an older man I've ever seen in my life as he lets go of the door. He's easily six-foot-two, and towers over my five-foot-five height. He has a perfect, aquiline nose, cheekbones that I'm hella jealous of, and a thick, perfectly trimmed salt and pepper beard. His hair is a silvery gray; the sides trimmed close to his scalp with the top left longer and pushed back with the perfect amount of product. And his eyes... My god. They're a gunmetal blue that I find myself wanting to get lost in.

He's dressed in a single breasted suit, so well tailored that it appears as though the black fabrics are molded to his body. His jacket is unbuttoned, and beneath it he has on a black turtleneck that's tucked into his pressed trousers. His shoes are polished so well that I can nearly see my reflection in them, and this all adds to the fact that this is the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on. When I finish taking all of him in, I lift my eyes and see that he's doing the same to me. One of his perfect eyebrows is cocked, and he's lightly biting his bottom lip. I wait for his eyes to meet mine with a cocky grin on my face.

"You are perfection," he sighs, and his voice is just as perfect as the rest of him. It's throaty and deep, and I find myself wanting to hear him speak again.

"You're no slouch yourself, sir." He chuckles at my response, and my pussy clenches at the sound. He holds his hand out for me, and I place mine into it. Gripping the ends of my fingers loosely, he brings my hand to his lips and places a kiss on the backs of my knuckles, holding eye contact with me the entire time. His lips are pillowy soft, and I already know I want to feel them against my own.

"I'm Erich," he says as he throws me a flirty smile.

I return the smile as I reply, "Calista."

"I was supposed to meet my business partner and his wife for dinner this evening, and I've been dreading feeling like I'm the third wheel. But now I'm curious if you'd like to have dinner with me instead?" He hesitates for a second before adding, "Unless you have plans tonight, that is?"

I find myself shaking my head. "I was just supposed to meet up with my study group one last time. But dinner with you sounds far more fun than sitting around chatting about past assignments and the professors we hated the most, for the millionth time."

The smile Erich gives me is heart-stoppingly breathtaking. He holds his arm out for me, and I slip my hands around his firm bicep, lightly squeezing it once. He opens the door for a second time, and together, we walk inside the restaurant.

I'm hit with the scent of lavender and rosemary once we reach the hostess podium. And I'm wholly ignored by the blonde hostess in the tight white button down and black pencil skirt. Meanwhile, Erich is given a flirtatious smile and a hair twirl. I can't even blame her; my impromptu dinner date is the single most attractive man I've ever laid eyes on. He's walking sex in that suit. Though, I do find myself wanting to strip him out of it and see the body underneath.

As the hostess continues to flirt, Erich pays her no mind. He shifts his arm and drapes it over my shoulders, pulling me into his body. I slip my phone out of my clutch and quickly tap out a message to my study group that something came up and I won’t be making it tonight. Not bothering to wait for a response from anyone, I lock my screen and return it to my bag. Erich’s eyes haven’t left me the entire time, and once my phone is put away, he pull his own out of his inner jacket pocket and seemingly fires off a text as well.

As he returns his phone to his pocket, the eyes of the hostess finally fall to me, and her coy smile disappears immediately. I can't help but straighten my spine a bit more and slide my left hand up his abdomen. Through his shirt, I'm able to feel his abs, and I want to rip his clothes off even more. The hostess finally leads us to a table, where Erich pulls my chair out for me, then pushes it in once I'm seated. She drops two menus onto the middle of our table, then turns abruptly on her low heels and stalks away.

Erich lets out a laugh full of mirth, and the sound warms my insides, making my own laughter join his. His arm stretches across the linen tablecloth, and before grabbing a menu, he reaches for my hand. He gives it a light squeeze before withdrawing to his menu, and I pick up my own to peruse the options. A server, dressed in all black, stops by our table and leaves a basket of baguette slices. He asks us what we'd like to drink, and I'm still planning on only having one glass of wine. So when Erich holds eye contact with me while asking for a bottle of the house white, I nod once and allow a soft smile to lift my lips.

Before the server can walk away, Erich asks me, "Have you had long enough to decide what you'd like to order, beautiful?"

I look up at the server and see that he looks bored as hell. "I'd like the bouillabaisse, please. And can I also get a glass of water with a couple slices of lemon in a small bowl?" The server nods and taps the screen of his tablet before turning to look at Erich expectantly.

"The beef bourguignon for me please. And I'd also like a glass of water."

He holds out a hand, and I pass him my menu. He hands them to our server once he's finished tapping Erich's choice into his tablet. With a brief nod, he spins on his heels and walks away.

Once we're alone at our table, Erich stretches his arm across the surface and takes my hand in his again. "Tell me about yourself, Calista. What brings you here? What do you do? All of the good first date stuff," he asks, the corner of his mouth tipping up in a smirk.

"Well, I'm twenty-two, but I'll be twenty-three in a few weeks. I graduate from Paramount University tomorrow. I’m majoring in business law, and have a love-hate relationship with my dual majors. I was raised by my mom, at least, until she passed from lung cancer in 2014, which is when my father took over and enrolled me in prep school." I roll my eyes, and Erich chuckles. "To this day, we still don't see eye to eye. He made it very clear that a child, even a teenager, was an inconvenience. And he did as little as possible, aside from throwing money at me from the day I moved into his house until the time I moved onto Paramount's campus."

"What does your father do?" Erich picks up a slice of bread and spreads some herbed butter on top of it, one handed, before taking a bite. I reach for the basket and grab a slice for myself, doing the same.

"He's a patent attorney. His grandfather started a law firm and it's stayed in the family ever since. Father wanted me to go into law, but I had no desire to go to school for that long. So we agreed on business law. I'm expected to join his firm this fall, but ugh."

"So, some minor daddy issues then," he says with a laugh. I roll my eyes again. "Something like that, I guess. I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day with me. What about you? Tell me all the fun first date stuff about yourself, Erich."

I catch the tail end of what I think is a rumbly growl when I say his name, he clearly likes it. I smile to myself and file that information away for later use.

"I just turned forty-seven. I have a son, but we haven't spoken in almost ten years. He's a piece of work who took after his mom. When we divorced, he believed the lies she spoon-fed him about me, and decided that he didn't need a dad anymore." It's his turn to roll his eyes.

"So, I have daddy issues, and you have parental alienation syndrome. We sound like a match made in hell." Erich lets out a belly laugh, and it makes my belly feel all warm and fuzzy. Just then, the server returns with the bottle of wine, and two glasses. He places both glasses down on the table and opens the bottle, holding it out for Erich to inspect. My date looks over the label, and seemingly pleased, nods once to the server. He fills each glass halfway, before placing the open bottle on the table between us and walking away.

Erich is still holding my hand on the table, and his thumb strokes my knuckles as he picks up his wine glass with his other hand. I reach for my own, and we clink our glasses together. "To first dates and our complementing issues." He winks at me before taking a sip of his wine, and I feel my cheeks redden a bit as I take a sip from my own glass. The zesty, fruity flavors of the pinot grigio hit my tongue, and it's lovely. It's just acidic enough to have a bit of a bite, but not overly acidic like a lot of white wines.

"So, Erich. What do you do?" I question as I return my glass to the table.

He hesitates for a second before answering, "I own a realty and home rehab company. I started it in the early two-thousands with a friend. We started out buying abandoned homes all over the state. Within ten years, business picked up thanks to the rise in those house flipping shows and we expanded several times. Now I own seven offices in different counties all over Indiana. We're about to open three more within the next year. That's what tonight's dinner was supposed to be about." The way his tone shifts tells me that he has no desire to sit through a meeting of any type.

"That sounds incredible. Why were you so eager to skip the meeting?" I pick up another slice of bread, and before I can put butter on it, Erich does it for me. I give him a smile as a thank you before taking a bite of the delicious, crusty bread.

"I never wanted to get this big. I started the company because I love the physicality of flipping houses. I also love being able to take a run down house and turn it into a home for someone who needs it. I don't get to do any of that anymore. Now it's all meetings, and conversations about the bottom line." He shakes his head in disgust, and scoffs. "Every now and then I ditch the suit and show up at one of our rehabs to pitch in. My crews love those days. But they happen far too infrequently for my liking."

"So older, good looking, and enjoys getting his hands dirty. Good to know." It's my turn to wink, and I do so in the most exaggerated manner possible. I pop my mouth and left eye wide open at the same time that I blink with my right eye, and I'm rewarded with Erich's deep laughter. Rather than warming my insides, this time, it causes my panties to dampen.

Before he has a chance to respond, our server returns to the side of our table. In his hands is a large round tray, full of our food as well as a pitcher of water, two empty glasses, and my small bowl of lemons. Erich finally releases my hand, and I drop it into my lap. The server shifts the tray to his left hand, and uses his right to place every item onto our table, one at a time.

"If there's nothing else I can get for the two of you," the server looks between us, "enjoy your meal." He spins on his heel and walks away again.