Chapter 23 Daniel
DANIEL
“When will you get here?” Claudia asked as soon as I picked up the call.
With the phone pressed to my ear, I looked around the busy street. “I’m almost there. My meeting dragged on longer, but thankfully, it was just uptown.” Which was good, because it meant the restaurant was only a few blocks away.
“Hurry up, okay? I don’t want us to lose the table,” she said, her voice mixing with the background noises.
“Remind me again why we couldn’t just stay home to eat?” I asked, a frown on my face at the thought of this new restaurant she’d insisted we go to tonight.
“Just be happy I managed to get a table here, and besides, I wasn’t about to cook dinner. Were you?”
I sighed. “We could have ordered takeout like we always do.” Neither she nor I ever bothered with cooking. “I’m sure Maya would like some pizza—”
“Just a second, honey.” She put me on hold as she spoke to someone else. “I’ll hang up now… but you’re almost here, right?”
Typical of her, she didn’t wait for my response and had already ended the call.
In every way that counted, Claudia was the perfect opposite of me.
Ever since we met, she had been the popular party girl, the one who was always up-to-date on the coolest trends and events, while I most definitely was not.
Preferring to spend my free time at home or working out, I wasn’t much of an outgoing person.
But our odd dynamic often worked, as we both had just enough going on in our lives not to mind it, with Maya being the common ground.
But occasionally, Claudia made sure I accompanied her. This evening was one of those times.
Another example was the other night when she took me to one of her shows.
I couldn’t care less about fashion, but I was beyond eager to join her on that special occasion.
After all, it was a perfect opportunity to see him—my French prince—once again.
After a whole year of regretting a moment of shameful cowardice and gut-wrenching longing, I thought that seeing how well he was doing would help me accept reality and move on.
Only it didn’t. Instead, seeing Elliot in all of his glory, walking down the runway like a living, breathing masterpiece, fueled me with the unsettling need to have him. Keep him. Hold him.
Therefore, like a primitive fool, I went over to his hotel, despite knowing I wasn’t at all invited, and knocked on his door.
Never once on my way there did I dare to imagine he’d open his door—and heart—for me again.
But he did. And when I saw him there, wearing nothing but a bathrobe and a priceless expression, I couldn’t control myself, and I took him.
I took him because I needed him more than I could ever say in words.
And I still do. Which was a horrible thing to admit, considering the fact that I’d just walked into a restaurant where I was meeting my wife, who was innocent in it all.
Yet none of those things stopped me before I fucked Elliot like it was my last day on Earth.
And now, looking Claudia in the eyes was a task of its own.
“Do you have a reservation, sir?” the young hostess asked, her dark eyes checking me out from head to toe. Tall and beautiful, I wondered if she was a model, too.
“Yes. It should be under the name Williams.”
Peeling her eyes from me, she went back to check the list.
“Are you sure that’s the name for the reservation?”
I scratched my jaw. “Perhaps it’s under my wife’s name… Could you look for Claudia?”
“Oh, there it is.” She tapped the list. “A table for three under the name Claudia L. Williams.”
My brows drew closer because did she say… three? Was someone joining us tonight? That was odd, as I didn’t recall Claudia mentioning a word about it.
“Would you follow me, please?” the hostess said, and I nodded before she began leading the way through the busy restaurant.
It was one of those big spaces with high ceilings that was trending now, and I must say the music was way too loud for my taste.
It felt more like a club than a place for fine dining, but I presumed that was the whole point.
“There you go, sir. I hope you’ll enjoy your dinner,” the hostess said, and I looked ahead to see Claudia sitting at our table in front of—
Even though he had his back to me, I recognized Elliot immediately, as no one had such astonishing raven hair like his.
My heart galloped in my chest as the room turned hotter, or maybe it was just my panic that slowly simmered inside me like boiling water that was turning my palms sweaty.
Yet, before I had any time to adjust or digest the meaning of it, Claudia had already called for me, causing Elliot to turn in his seat as well.
Our eyes met, and all the air in my throat vanished, leaving it raw and dry like the Sahara Desert.
What’s he planning?
Clearing my throat, I took a deep breath and then walked toward them, my stomach flipping as if I were on a boat in the middle of a storm. Despite all that, I kept my cool and smiled upon reaching the table.
“Elliot, I didn’t know you’d be joining us tonight,” I said before sitting in the chair beside my wife.
Fluttering his eyelashes like some innocent boy, he smiled from ear to ear.
“Is I not welcome?” he pouted when Claudia gasped.
“Of course you are welcome, sweetie. Daniel is thrilled you’re here.” She turned to frown at me. “Isn’t that right, honey?”
I gave them a strained smile. “Of course.”
“Really? Because it look like the pussy is on your tongue.”
My brows snapped together as Claudia burst out laughing.
“I believe the phrase you’re trying to say is ‘cat got your tongue’,” I said, voice tight with my nerves as I grabbed the wine bottle from the ice bucket beside our table and filled myself a much-needed glass.
“Oups, mince alors.”
Your mistake, my ass.
“Sometimes I mix word in English.” He pushed his glass closer toward me, and understanding the message, I filled it.
“So no pussy on your tongue, hein?” Elliot purred, and my eyes shot to his as I stared at him with fury. Too caught up in the taunting smirk he had on, I nearly spilled the wine. I would have if not for him covering the glass with his palm, forcing me to stop.
I knew what I did to him was wrong, but did it give him permission to humiliate me this way?
“To be fair—” Claudia sipped from her drink. “—we did plan this dinner as a little surprise.” She wiggled her finger at Elliot, who had just brought the now full glass to his lips. “You see, it was Elliot’s idea not to tell you. He thought it would be funny, and he was right.”
Putting his wine down, Elliot smirked. “It is true.” His accent thickened with each word. “I said to Claudia, we need to keep secret from Daniel so it is be funny.”
Clueless to the game he was playing, my wife laughed at Elliot’s act. “You’re such a little tease, Elliot, truly.”
Pleased with himself, he took another sip from his wine before glancing at me. “What is the matter, Daniel? Je croyais que tu aimais avoir des secrets.”
I thought you liked having secrets.
My lips twisted at his implications while Claudia went on and on about how she wished she knew French, too.
Thank God she doesn’t.
Fully aware it was Elliot’s way of punishing me, I kept my lips sealed and didn’t take his bait.
But then, he took off the jacket he wore tonight, revealing the necklace adorning his neck.
The sapphire stone hung there, the one I once claimed reminded me of his eyes, mocking me so cruelly I nearly hated him at that moment.
“Oh my, Elliot, this jewel is stunning!” Claudia gasped as she leaned a bit closer to examine it, while I tried distracting myself by emptying my glass as quickly as possible.
“I know.” He put his hand on it. “It is gift from a lover.”
My eyes widened before I choked on the damn wine and began coughing like a fool.
“Oh dear, do you need a glass of water?” Claudia asked and patted my back as I attempted to wheeze some air back into my lungs.
“Maybe hit him harder,” Elliot so kindly suggested while trying to hide his smile.
“I-I’m all good.” Cough. “The wine went down the wrong pipe… that’s all.” I rubbed my throat and loosened my tie just a bit.
“So a lover gave you this necklace? Mind telling us who?” Claudia asked, and I immediately looked at Elliot, a plea in my eyes.
Yes, I’d cheated on her with him, but Claudia didn’t deserve to find out this way. She deserved much more than that. I knew it was hypocritical to think this after betraying her trust, but still. Elliot wasn’t this cruel.
Was he?
In a moment that dragged out forever, he held my stare, and I feared he’d sell me out. But then, just when I was ready for the truth to come out, he let out a soft chuckle.
“I cannot say. You see, she is famous singer, and we no longer lovers. But it is so pretty. Isn’t it?”
I breathed in relief with the lie, just as he brushed a hand over his neck, his fingers stroking the faint bruises I’d left there.
“It’s stunning.” Claudia smiled.
“So ask Daniel to buy you one, too.”
My jaw twitched, and I kept my body still. My heart raced at his blunt indication while Claudia laughed and smacked my chest.
“My Daniel would never. He isn’t romantic enough.”
Putting his elbow on the table, Elliot leaned on his palm, his lips curling into a mischievous smile. “Who know? Maybe he surprise you.”
My blood pressure spiked with how angry I was, and scared I’d say something out of place, I pressed my lips together before reaching for the menus. “Shouldn’t we order? I’m starving.”
“You know what always make me hungry?”
My jaw tightened at his question, and I clenched the menu harder.
“Elliot—”
“Sex.”
Oh dear Lord.
“How naughty!” Claudia giggled while I cussed under my breath.
“Sérieusement. Great sex… Euh… always make me hungry.” He smirked. “Like the sex I had this week—”
“How about a Caesar salad for an entree?” I cut in.