Chapter Eleven
Spencer
The door opens, and Tabitha sashays into the room with her hips swaying and her lips curled into the sort of smile that would make any man want to fall to his knees and kiss every inch of her body. She settles her lovely arse onto a chair, then crosses her legs in a deliberate attempt to get me randy. It”s working, of course.
She twirls one foot in a circular motion. ”You wanted me, Spencer?”
”Yes.” I can”t stop staring at her foot. Her shoes have open toes, and she painted them a pale shade of rose. I would love to suck on those toes, but not right now. So, I clear my throat and fold my arms on my desktop. ”You know I want you, love. But there”s something we should do before we get started on our adventures together.”
”What”s that, Spencer?”
Every time she speaks my name, she employs a sultrier tone. Combined with her red lipstick, it makes me randy as hell. ”I want us to get to know each other better before we do those other things we talked about.”
”You want to date me?”
”That”s right. Are you disappointed?”
She shakes her head. ”You should know by now that I”m up for anything.”
”I”m well aware of that fact.” I hesitate before asking my question. Why? Because it”s been a bloody long time since I did this with anyone. ”Would you have dinner with me tonight, Tabitha?”
Her lips stretch into a beautiful smile. ”I would love that.”
”Shall I pick you up at your home at seven o”clock?”
”That sounds perfect. What”s the dress code?”
”You can wear whatever you like, though this is a moderately formal restaurant.”
She lifts her brows. ”Are you trying to impress me? No need for that. I”ve been impressed since the moment we met.”
”And you have captivated me since the first time I saw you.” My gaze flicks to her raised foot. She has begun to wriggle her toes while rocking her foot, and I can”t wrench my focus away from her toes. ”I”m looking forward to this date more than I”ve ever looked forward to anything in my entire life.”
She laughs again. ”You”re the cutest, Spencer. Even your hyperbole is adorable, and it makes me want to kiss you.”
”Why don”t we save that for tonight?”
”Good idea.” She sets her foot on the floor, scooting forward in her chair. ”Was that all you needed right now?”
”Yes, that”s all. Thank you, Tabitha.”
She stands up and turns toward the door, then pauses to glance back at me over her shoulder. ”I can”t wait for our date tonight.”
”Neither can I.”
Tabitha blows me a kiss and walks out the door.
I spend the remainder of the day struggling to concentrate on work. The memory of Tabitha waving her pink-painted toes at me keeps rushing through my mind. It”s distracting, to say the least. But I manage to negate the distraction by playing music on my computer, the sort that would wake up a dead man. When I walk out the door at five o”clock, my assistant is there waiting for me.
She sets her hands on her hips. ”Not sure I can have dinner with you, Spencer. You”re a fan of heavy metal.”
”It”s not what it seems. I like a bit of hard rock now and then, but the ear-melting type of heavy metal is not my style.”
”Then why were you blasting it in your office?”
Because you distract me so thoroughly that I can”t think about anything else. But instead, I tell her, ”It keeps me awake. Poring over financial data can be mind-numbing.”
”You do that every day without the heavy metal pick-me-up. What”s different about today?”
I shrug.
She puckers her lips in the sweetest way.
And I take her hand, leading her to the lift. She still seems rather peeved that I played heavy metal music for an hour and fifteen minutes. I don”t like annoying her, so I feel as if I need to make amends. Fortunately, we are the only ones in the lift.
I step in front of Tabitha, clasp her face with both hands, and kiss her.
She doesn”t even pretend to be upset with me. Instead, the wonderful woman sags against me, relaxes her jaw, and lets me plunge my tongue between her lips. We devour each other with abandon during the whole trip down to the underground parking garage. Then I need to summon all my willpower to peel my mouth away from hers. Tabitha”s lips curl into a soft, sweet smile.
Maybe I should have suggested we try dating before we shagged, but my brain shuts down every time she smiles at me. For the first time ever, work seems less important than my life beyond the office.
I walk Tabitha to her car.
She opens the driver”s door but hesitates.
”What is it, love?” I ask as I brush stray hairs away from her eyes. ”You seem uncertain of something.”
”I”m just wondering whether I should go home. I mean, we only have less than two hours until our date.”
”That”s true. I hadn”t thought about the time when I suggested that. If you need to delay our date until eight or even nine, I can wait.”
She glances at something past my shoulder. ”Um, I was thinking...”
”You want to cancel our date.”
”No, no, not at all.” She nods toward that same something beyond my shoulder. ”I was actually thinking that neither of us really needs to change clothes. We both dress up for work, so why couldn”t we just skip going home and head straight for the restaurant?”
”Our first date will look like a business meeting.”
She bites one side of her lip. ”I didn”t think of that. Okay, back to your idea. We reschedule for eight o”clock.”
I clasp her hand and kiss it. ”I shall pick you up at eight o”clock precisely.”
She kisses my cheek. ”Can”t wait.”
Tabitha climbs into her car and drives away. Only then do I stride over to my car, which comes with a driver. I still feel a bit odd about that. But my driver, Duane Miller, is a good bloke who loves to tell me humorous stories about his family. His anecdotes make the drive seem to take no time at all. I don”t know how he keeps coming up with new tales every day.
This evening, as Duane navigates the streets of Arlington, I tell him a few stories about my family. When I describe my brother”s escapades, he doesn”t quite believe me.
”Are you shittin” me, Spencer?” Duane asks. ”No way would any guy strip naked in front of all his friends unless he was high or drunk.”
”Kendall was an exotic dancer. But, yes, I agree it sounds like a wildly implausible story. It”s true, though. My uptight brother organized a male revue show for all his mates---with them as his fellow dancers.”
Duane chuckles. ”I”m fifty-eight years old, and I didn”t think anything could surprise me anymore. But your kin could make me blush.”
”Then pray you never meet my mates. They could make a porn star blush.”
”I might need to go to England just so I could find out for myself how wild those folks are.” We”ve just pulled into the parking garage at my building, and Duane deftly slips into my reserved slot. Then he twists his head around to grin at me. ”You gotta tell me more about your buddies.”
”Tomorrow, I will. You have my word.”
”Have a fun date with Tabitha. She”s a great lady.”
”No arguments there. She is a wonderful woman. Good night, Duane.”
I leap out of the car and rush to the lift. All right, maybe I am excited for this date. I only told Duane about it because I know he will keep the information to himself. If our first date turns out well, Tabitha and I will need to report our relationship to HR. I miss the days when a gent could ask a coworker out on a date with no paperwork involved.
The lift seems to take forever to reach my floor. I”m treated to a pair of young women gossiping about their mates until the lift finally stops at my floor. If I have to hear those girls describing their sexual encounters for one second longer, I might shout at them to shut their mouths. For pity”s sake, I don”t need to know that much about two strangers.
Once I”m safely inside my apartment, I head for my bedroom to figure out what to wear for my date with Tabitha. If she wants to tell me all about her sexual preferences, I”ll listen with rapt attention.
For the next hour, I rummage through my clothes and try on various outfits. Maybe I do want this date to be perfect in every way. I know that”s rubbish, but I can”t stop myself from trying on a few more combinations before I settle on an ensemble. I”ve opted for a semi-formal tone.
Never before in my entire life have I worried so much about my clothing. If it”s clean and not horribly wrinkled, that”s good enough. Well, that used to be my attitude. I want to look perfect for Tabitha. But honestly, she could wear sweatpants and a hoodie, and I”d still think she”s the most ravishingly beautiful woman on earth.
I sit on the sofa until seven thirty, counting the minutes on my watch. I glance at the dials every thirty seconds. In between those checks, I tap my fingers on my thighs. Has time slowed down? It feels that way.
Then, finally, it”s time for me to depart.
Duane grins at me when I slide into the backseat. ”Lookin” good, kid. Ready for the big date?”
”Ready as I”ll ever be. But you didn”t need to drive me. I have my own car.”
He shakes his head. ”No can do, boss. It”s my job to drive you wherever you need to go, whatever the day or time is.” He winks. ”Can”t have you getting lost and missing your first date with Tabitha.”
”I know how to use a map, physical ones and the digital sort. But it”s much more enjoyable to ride in the backseat while you tell me stories about your family.”
And he does exactly that while somehow managing to obey all the traffic laws and not cause any accidents.
Soon, I”m taking the lift up to Tabitha”s apartment.
I hesitate at her door, checking to make sure my clothes haven”t gotten wrinkled. Then I ring the bell.
The door flies open.
And Tabitha grins. ”I”m ready. Let”s go.”