Chapter 6 #2
There’s a knock at the door. “It’s time to fake it.” I put on my best fake smile, relax my body, and head toward the door.
“Morning,” Willow says, her voice chipper and happy. Her eyes are slightly surprised as she observes me. They widen, and she blushes as she realizes I’m only wearing my boxers. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t—”
“You can come in,” I say, stepping back, feeling devious.
“I just came to make the bed. Sorry, I thought you were already up.”
“I am up,” I say, grinning. “You can make the bed. Thank you.”
“Oh, sure. No worries.” She steps into my room. She’s wearing slim blue jeans and an oversized gray sweater that reads Columbia University.
“Did you go to Columbia?” I ask, surprised.
“Oh, no.” She looks down at her sweater and laughs. “I just got it at a thrift store. I didn’t go to college. I mean, I wanted to. I had the grades, but…” She pauses. “Anyway. Everything works out for a reason, right?”
“Certainly.” I look her up and down. Her lips are red today, and she licks them nervously as she stares at me. I notice my laptop is still sitting on the mattress, so I grab it, close it, and place it on the desk.
I head over to the armchair and sit, watching her.
She stares back. I realize my legs are spread, and I’m semi-hard.
“Sorry, is this awkward? I can come back,” she says quickly, heading toward the door.
“It’s not awkward. I’m not feeling awkward. Are you feeling awkward?”
“Who, me?” Her voice goes high, and she blushes red. “Of course not! Why would I be awkward?”
She looks down at my crotch, then back up at me.
Her eyes are wide, her smile topsy-turvy.
“I mean, you are just sitting there in your underwear, but I’ve seen plenty of men naked, so what’s one more?
” She giggles nervously, and I’d bet a hundred dollars that she hasn’t seen plenty of men naked at all.
I’m surprised she actually addressed the elephant in the room. I would’ve bet fifty dollars she wouldn’t say anything about me being practically naked. Maybe she isn't as timid as I thought. I am having a hard time understanding who the real Willow is.
“I can put on some clothes if you want. If that makes you feel more comfortable.” I jump up, reach into my bag, pull out a T-shirt, and slip it on. “Is that better?”
“Yeah, sure.” She blinks. “Thank you.”
I grin and walk over to her. “How are you doing this morning, Willow?” I stop next to her and look into her eyes. Her lips are slightly parted, her nostrils flaring. I take a deep breath; she smells like peaches. I wonder if she tastes like peaches, as well.
She licks her lips. “Sorry, what did you say? I woke up really early this morning, and I spaced out a bit...”
“It’s okay,” I say softly. A wisp of her blonde hair falls in front of her face, and I reach over to tuck it behind her ear, my fingers gently grazing her neck. Her skin is soft.
“What are you doing?” She steps back and licks her lips nervously. She looks like an anxious doe in an early morning field, worried a hunter would catch her.
“You had a…” I pause. “Well, I thought that little wisp of hair deserved to be behind your ear so I could look into those pretty eyes of yours.”
“Ooh.” She frowns slightly, looking self-conscious and pretty, and I have to admit she has the innocent damsel look down. “Look, I don’t know if you’re coming on to me, but—”
“What?” I say, surprised.
“I’m just saying, when I met you at the club, you weren’t particularly nice. I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt because I don’t know you, and yesterday you were kind of nice, but now you’re trying to flirt…” She shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m just confused. What’s going on here?”
“What do you mean, what’s going on here?” This is a weird part of her snag a rich man game.
“I just mean, you’re tucking wisps of hair behind my ear, and we don’t even know each other…” She shakes her head. “I’m just trying to understand what’s going on.”
“I am not sure... Maybe I’m just interested. Have you ever gone stargazing?” I ask, changing the subject.
Her eyes narrow slightly as she shakes her head. “No. Why?”
“Well, you’re into astrological signs, and a lot of that is based on the stars. Sometimes I think it’s really cool to actually look up at the sky and see what guides so many of our thoughts and feelings about the world. The universe is so much larger than—”
“Sorry, what?”
“I’m just trying to connect with you, Willow.
” I gaze deeply into her eyes. “I’m deeply apologetic about the night at the Magnolia Club.
I just think it’s very fortuitous that I happened upon this hotel and saw you again.
Don’t you believe in signs? Don’t you believe in fate bringing two people together? ” I lower my voice.
She nods slowly. “I mean, kind of. Do you think fate is real?” She sounds surprised. “I didn’t think men really believed in fate.”
“I do,” I say softly, grinning. “I think the world has a way of making everything just right.”
“I guess,” she says, smiling—this time, a genuine, excited smile. “I guess I’m just a little apprehensive because my life… well, it hasn’t necessarily gone according to plan. But maybe the world does have a way of rewarding us when we really need it to.”
I smile to myself at her words, because I hadn’t said anything about rewarding anyone, but maybe in her greedy mind, all she could think about was my money and how rewarded she would be when she ran off with more millions. My millions, this time.
“Would you like to go stargazing tonight?” I ask softly. “There’s not much light pollution if we drive about twenty minutes north, closer to the woods. We can probably see some constellations. I can check and see if it’s going to be overcast or not.”
“Oh, you want to take me stargazing?” Her eyes widen as she pulls the duvet off the bed and holds it in her arms.
“I’d love to take you stargazing,” I say.
There’s such an innocent look about her.
I don’t know how she does it, but maybe that’s the trick.
That’s how she pulls men in. I’m not weak-willed, and I don’t go for women based on looks alone.
In fact, there’s never been a woman who’s drawn me in just because of how she looks.
But there’s something about Willow that I find…
titillating. Engaging. Something that makes me want to talk to her more, really get to know her, and figure out what makes her tick.
The thought makes me angry inside, because I don’t want to have anything to do with this woman.
Not really. I don’t want to care about the inner workings of her brain.
“I think it could be really cool to go stargazing,” she says, nodding. “I mean, if that’s something you really want to do.”
“It’s a date, then,” I say, grinning.
“A date?” Her jaw drops. “Like… a date, date?”
“I guess I’m asking you to go on an official date with me, Ms. Willow Montgomery. Do you accept?”
I grab her hand.
She nods slowly. “Yeah, I guess I’ll throw caution to the wind.
” She giggles slightly, and I step closer to her.
I can feel the duvet crushed between our bodies as I stare at her.
Something in me wants to kiss her, but I don’t want to move too quickly.
She needs to feel like she’s emotionally invested—or at least like I’m emotionally invested before we take it to the next level. I’ll have to pretend I'm falling.
“I had a dream about you last night,” I say as the idea pops into my head.
“You did?” She stares at me in surprise. “Really?”
“I guess seeing you again just brought you into my subconscious. It was like a part of me was waiting to see you again.”
“Really?” Her eyes narrow slightly, and I can tell she’s not buying it.
I remind myself not to push it too hard.
“I mean, maybe it’s because I find you so sexy,” I say, reverting to base instinct—and this time, I’m not lying.
I do find her sexy. I stare at her long, slender neck, the way her breasts curve, and the way her slim waist curves into her hips.
“You’ve got a body under that shirt,” I grin.
“Excuse me?” she says, affronted.
I laugh. “It’s a lyric from a song I heard once upon a time. But let me let you do your job and make the bed. I’ll take a quick shower. Let me know what time you get off work, and maybe we’ll get dinner before we go stargazing. Would you like that?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I’m off at six.”
“Sounds good,” I say.
“I mean, I’ll have to go home and change, but I can be back by seven.”
“Perfect. I look forward to it.”
“Thanks. I look forward to it, as well.”
She offers me a small smile, then shoos me toward the bathroom. “Now scat! I need to concentrate and make this bed. And Katherine told me to remind you to give me your breakfast order so we can make sure you’re fed.”
“Thank you. I am very, very much looking forward to eating.” I lick my lips, and she blushes again. I know she’s caught the connotation and secondary meaning of my words. “I’ll go shower now before I get myself into trouble.”
“It is so dark out tonight,” Willow says, her voice low as she walks ahead of me. “I don’t normally come out this way. I hope we don’t get lost.”
“That’s because it’s nighttime, and we’re away from all the buildings and artificial light.
We only have the stars and the moon to guide us,” I say, walking behind her, my hand resting lightly on the small of her back.
“Don’t worry, though, we will never be lost when we can see the sky. The Northern star will be our guide."
“I know. What constellations are we going to see again?” she asks, looking back at me. She looks sexy. Her hair hangs loose down her back, her tight black top emphasizes her breasts, and her black jeans fit like a second skin. I can’t help but feel something in my stomach as she looks into my eyes.
“Well, I have an app,” I say, laughing and pulling out my phone. “I don’t know the constellations that well, but I just point the phone to the sky and it’ll tell us.”