Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Ethan
I couldn’t shake the fact that I had another nightmare last night, and what made matters worse was that Aubrey was there. Now, she’d start asking questions, and I wasn’t about to discuss anything with her. I was angry. I was angry that the nightmares returned, and I had no idea why. I took in a deep breath as I ended my shower and got dressed. As I walked down the stairs and headed to the kitchen, the smell of Ingrid’s Belgian waffles smacked me in the face. Damn her.
“I told you I wasn’t hungry,” I spoke as I walked into the kitchen and over to the coffee pot for a cup of coffee.
“I made them for Aubrey, not you. So go take your coffee and enjoy it.”
Rolling my eyes, I leaned against the counter and sipped my coffee while staring at Aubrey, sitting at the island eating breakfast. Damn, those waffles smelled and looked so good.
“Fine, Ingrid. Give me some waffles.” I sighed as I sat down next to Aubrey. “As soon as we’re done eating, I’ll take you back to your apartment.”
“Okay,” she softly spoke.
I saw Ingrid glance over at her and then back at me.
“Aubrey got a call, and they aren’t letting anyone back into the apartment building until tomorrow.”
“Is that true?” I asked her.
“Yes. My Aunt Charlotte called. Don’t worry. You’ve helped me enough, and I appreciate it.” She got up from her chair. “I’m going to go get dressed.” She headed towards the elevator.
As soon as the doors closed, Ingrid shot me a look and stood there shaking her head.
“What?”
“First of all, you didn’t tell me that the girl who made you dinner was blind. And second of all, you’re an asshole.”
“How am I an asshole?”
“First, it was your attitude towards her when you came back from your run. And, second, you are not going to sit there and tell me that you didn’t sleep with her last night. Because I know you, and you can’t keep your dick in your pants for nothing when a woman is around.”
“You know what? I should fire you right now.”
“Go ahead and see who else would put up with you and your bullshit every day.”
I rolled my eyes. She was right.
“In fact, you’re not worthy of my Belgian waffles.” She walked over and took the plate away from me.
“Jesus Christ, Ingrid. What the hell is your problem?”
“That poor girl up there is feeling like she’s not welcome here because of you and your attitude. She’s not like the others, Ethan.”
“Don’t you think I know that!” I slammed my fist on the counter. “She’s different, and she’s an incredible woman, and I like spending time with her, but it scares the hell out of me. I had another nightmare last night.”
“Then I suggest you call Dr. Perry and work it out. In the meantime, I think you owe Aubrey an apology.”
I sighed as I got up from my chair and went up to Aubrey’s room. Lightly knocking on the door, she told me to come in.
“I’m ready to go.” She sat on the edge of the bed.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Penelope’s, I guess. I tried to call her again, but she didn’t answer. She’s probably still with that Leo guy.”
I sat down on the edge of the bed and took hold of her hand.
“I’m sorry about last night, and don’t want to discuss it. I shouldn’t have snapped at you the way I did or given you an attitude when I came in this morning. You have done nothing wrong, Aubrey. You’re staying here tonight. Okay?”
“Thank you, Ethan, but it’s best if I just go.”
“You may think it’s best, but I don’t. So, it’s settled. You’re staying here tonight.”
“You think so?” She cocked her head.
“I know so, and it’s no longer up for discussion.”
She laid her head on my shoulder. “Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome.” I kissed the top of her head as I closed my eyes.
My fist clenched at what I was about to ask her next. Was I making the right choice? I didn’t know. But what I did know was that it felt right.
“Would you like to come spend the day with me at my parents’ house?”
“That’s nice of you to ask, but it’s your family day, and I don’t want to intrude. You go and have a good time. I’ll be fine.”
“You won’t be intruding, and if I didn’t want you there, I wouldn’t have asked.”
“I don’t want to go in the same clothes as last night, and I don’t have any makeup on. I’m sure I look like a hot mess.”
“Actually, you look beautiful.” I smiled.
I had an idea. One that I thought she would enjoy.
“Come with me.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her up from the bed.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. We’ll leave now because we have a stop to make first.”
“Is Harry outside already?” she asked.
“Harry isn’t driving us. I am.”
“You’re driving the limo?” She grinned.
“No. I’m driving my personal car.”
I led her to the garage and opened the door to the Bentley. She climbed in and ran her hand along the leather seat.
“Sometimes I wish that I could drive.” She glanced over at me as I pulled out of the garage.
“Not in New York, you don’t.” I chuckled.
I pulled up to the valet parking at Bloomingdales and helped Aubrey out of the car.
“Are you going to tell me where we are?” she asked.
“Why don’t you see if you can guess once we get inside?”
She held on to me as we entered through the doors. Once inside, she stopped and stood there momentarily, trying to figure out where we were.
“A large department store. We’re either at Bloomingdales or at Bergdorf. But I’m going to say Bloomingdales.” She grinned.
I stood there shaking my head in disbelief that she knew exactly where we were.
“How did you know?”
“Because we weren’t in the car that long, and Bloomingdales is closer to your townhouse.”
This woman never ceased to amaze me, and I found myself at war between feeling comfortable with her and wanting to run as fast as I could.
“So why are we here?”
“I thought you would like to have your makeup done, and then we could get you a new outfit to wear to my parents’ house.”
“Are you serious?” She smiled as she turned her head in my direction.
“Very serious.”
“Ethan. I don’t—” She lowered her head.
“We’re doing this, Aubrey. I want you to be comfortable at my parents’ house. Now, the girl at the Chanel counter isn’t busy. Is that okay?”
“Chanel is fine.”
I took her over to the counter, and a young saleswoman named Vanessa asked if she could help us.
“She would like to get her makeup done.”
“Do you have an appointment?” she asked as she looked at Aubrey.
“No, she doesn’t. We’re heading out for the day, and she needs her makeup done.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but we do makeup by appointment only.”
I sighed as I pulled my wallet from my pocket and took out three one-hundred-dollar bills.
“This should cover the makeup session. Plus, we’ll be buying whatever makeup you use. I do believe you work on commission, correct?”
“Yes, sir.” She smiled. “Please have a seat?—”
“Aubrey. Her name is Aubrey, and she is visually impaired.”
“Oh. Okay. Do you usually wear makeup?” she asked her.
“Yes. I wear it every day.”
“Great. I’ll go pick a foundation to match your skin tone, and we’ll get started.”
While Aubrey was getting her makeup done, I pulled my phone out, stepped away, and called my mother.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Mom.”
“Ethan, you better not be calling to say you’re not coming.”
“I’m not. I’m calling to let you know that I’ll be bringing someone with me.”
“Oh. Who?”
“Her name is Aubrey.”
“Ethan! That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to meet her. How long have you been dating her?”
“We’re not dating, Mom. We’re friends. Her apartment building had a fire last night, and she will be staying at my place for a couple of days. I thought she should come instead of staying home alone since she was there.”
“Perfect. I can’t wait to tell your sister.”
“Mom, she’s not my girlfriend, so don’t go saying that she is. She’s just a friend of mine. You need to know something about her before we come over.”
“What?”
“She’s blind.”
“Oh dear. Thanks for letting me know.”
“We’ll see you soon, Mom.”
“Bye, darling.”
Placing my phone back in my pocket, I walked over to where Aubrey was sitting and smiled as I looked at her made-up face.
“She’s all done. What do you think?”
“I think she looks absolutely beautiful.” I smiled.
“So you would like to purchase all the products I used?” Vanessa grinned.
“Yes, just put it on my account here.”
“Your name?”
“Ethan Klein.”
“Thank you, Mr. Klein.” She smiled and then turned to Aubrey. “Your boyfriend is a keeper. You better hold on tight to him.”
“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my pimp.” Aubrey smirked as she got up from the stool and lightly grabbed hold of my arm.
I looked at Vanessa, who was standing there with a shocked expression on her face, and gave her a wink.
As we were taking the escalator to the next level, where the women’s clothing was, I asked Aubrey why she said that.
“Because she shouldn’t just assume things like that.”
“True. But a pimp? Really?”
“Did you want me to say you were my gay best friend?” She arched her brow.
“I suppose pimp was fine.” I chuckled as I stopped at a rack of long dresses.
“You like long dresses, right? I’ve seen you in a couple of them. Here’s a rack of very casual-looking ones. Perfect for a barbeque, I think.”
She took the fabric of one of the dresses on the rack and felt it between her fingers.
“This feels nice. What does it look like?”
“It’s navy blue with small white flowers all over it.”
I pulled it from the rack and held it up while she felt the neckline and ran her hands all the way down the dress.
“I’ll have to try it on. Do they have a small?”
I looked at the tag on the inside of the dress and smiled.
“This one is a small.”
“Lead the way to the fitting room, Mr. Klein.” She held on to my arm.
The sales associate opened a dressing room for her, and I took a seat on the chair sitting right outside. After a few moments, Aubrey called my name, and I stepped inside to see how stunning she looked in that dress.
“How does it look on me?” she asked.
“It’s perfect. You look beautiful.”
“You’re not just saying that, are you?” She smirked.
“No. If I didn’t like it, I would tell you. I don’t hold back on anything.”
“How much is it?”
“Don’t you worry about the cost. I’m paying for it.”
“No, Ethan. You already paid for my makeup. I can buy myself a dress.”
“It’s going on my account, Aubrey. End of discussion.”
“Is everything okay in here?” the sales associate asked as she walked up.
“Yes. I’ll buy that dress, and she will wear it out of the store.”
“Very good. Just follow me, and I’ll ring you up and remove the sensor and the tags.”
I walked inside the dressing room and grabbed Aubrey’s other clothes.
“Do you need shoes?” I asked.
“No. The white sandals I’m wearing are fine.”
I led her over to the cash register, picked up a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote a note to the sales associate.
“My friend is blind, and I don’t want her to know how much the dress costs. Please do not say the total out loud.” I handed the note to her.
She read it and then looked at me with a smile.
“You can just put the dress on my account. The name is Ethan Klein.”
“You’re all set, Mr. Klein. Thank you for shopping at Bloomingdales.” She nodded her head.
I had the valet bring the car around, and we set out to my parents’ house.