Chapter 13
Ian
One week later, on Friday, I picked up Ellie from Soho, where she was shopping with Isabelle in Tess and Skye’s store. We were going to Bear Mountain for our weekend getaway.
My phone beeped with an incoming call on the way. I let it go to speaker.
“Hey, Ian!”
It was Henry.
“Henry! I haven’t heard from you in a while.”
“Sorry, man. Life at a law firm is crazy. What are you up to?”
“I’m—just wrapping up the week.” I almost told him I was picking up Ellie.
“Cool! How is Ellie doing?”
“Damn, and I was so proud of you for only asking that question ten times this week instead of twenty as usual.”
“Dude! You can’t blame me.”
“Actually, I can.” I always liked riling up Henry, teasing him for being the most overprotective person I know.
Because I knew Ellie better now, of course I understood it.
The bullying story at school still made me see red.
I could sympathize with Henry. Dialing down the worry wasn’t easy.
It wasn’t a switch you could just flip on and off.
“She’s okay, man. I think she’s got a lot more work than usual, but she’s enjoying it.
” There, that wasn’t a lie. But I didn’t like keeping things from my best friend.
I wanted to talk about this with Ellie. The last few times we’d been out we never got around to it—but I was going to talk to her about it over the weekend.
Initially I’d been completely on board with her suggestion to keep things on the down low, because it didn’t make sense to get his hackles up when we weren’t sure what was going on between us.
But things were different now. I couldn’t be the only one noticing the change.
I didn’t want to keep lying to my best friend.
“That’s good. I was thinking about visiting her, but not sure when.”
“Did you ask her when it would be a good time?”
“No, not yet. I’ll do that.”
“Cool. She’ll be happy to see you. Want to go out while you’re here?”
“Sure.”
We spoke a bit about what we could do. I missed my best friend, and that just added to my guilt.
I knew he wasn’t going to be pleased, because he wanted the best for his sister, and I was far from that.
But I wasn’t the same guy I was in college. And ever since meeting Ellie, I felt different. I’d never felt as free or as happy as when I was with her. Ellie unlocked a side of me I hadn’t been aware of.
When I arrived in Soho, I parked and sat in an ice cream shop opposite Soho Lingerie, watching them through the window display.
I only saw Ellie’s back. She was with Skye in front of a rack of merchandise.
I was pleased with how well she fit in with my family and friends.
I remembered how much she enjoyed herself at the dinner with my parents.
She didn’t just exchange pleasantries. I heard her ask Mom about herself and then details of my childhood.
She wanted to know stuff about me that no one ever did.
I'd never had that in my life. Well to be honest, I never gave any other woman the chance because the interest on my part wasn’t there. But with Ellie, it so was.
I looked at her intently, and when she finally looked over her shoulder, she smiled instantly when she saw me. Then she took out her phone, and a few seconds later, I got a message.
Ellie: I'm going to wrap this up quickly. I've bought too much stuff.
Ian: I can't wait for you to model everything for me.
Ellie: You wish.
Ian: Oh, I do, and I'll make it happen.
Ellie: Bossy, huh?
Ian: Bossy doesn't even begin to cover it.
Ellie
It was love at first sight with Tess and Skye Winchester. There was just no other way to describe it. I was so happy Isabelle called me before going there. The girls were a hoot. I liked their sense of humor and their designs. They had a great sale section.
"I can’t believe you have so much stuff on sale," I said.
The store was elegant and sensual but not overtly sexy.
It was decorated in shades of gold, dark green, and terracotta that matched the neighborhood's vibe nicely.
Between the cobblestone streets and the old buildings, Soho made me think of something out of the past.
"Well, we like to offer something for everyone," Tess explained. "Our stuff is a bit pricey, so we know that not everyone can afford to buy it when it comes out, and as soon as it becomes last year's items, we put it on sale. All except for our bestsellers."
“And I love your maternity collection," Isabelle said, rubbing her growing belly.
"Yeah. It took a while to come up with it," Skye said. "I have to be honest, before I had my son, neither of us had experience with the way a body changes and what it needs, and well, once you go through it, you know what you need and what you wish you found in lingerie stores."
"So you and Ian are going to Bear Mountain, huh?" Tess said. "I always knew Ian would change the tune he was singing once he found the right one."
Skye nodded, but Isabelle shook her head. "I wasn't so hopeful, honestly. He's always seemed like an eternal bachelor. He's so different since he met you," she added, nudging me.
My heart was a bit heavy. The way they spoke made me think of dangerous things like if Ian and I could have a future together.
I shoved the thoughts to the back of my head in the box titled “Dreams.” I was super happy, enjoying what we had now, even though he'd raised the bar so high that I wasn't sure how I'd feel without him.
I mean, the man was whisking me away for a weekend, giving me foot rubs, and seemed determined to make me swoon nonstop.
I brought everything I wanted to the table where the cash register was. I couldn't stop touching the set of lacy panties I was buying. I had also purchased a garter belt. I didn’t know when I’d wear it, but the opportunity would present itself eventually. I was sure of it.
"Ellie, you're set," Skye said, packing up everything with love in pink paper. "Feel free to drop by at any time."
"Oh, I will," I promised them. "I like you girls."
Tess smiled from ear to ear. "I'm happy to hear that. We were dying to meet you ever since Isabelle told us about you."
I glanced at Isabelle next to me, who seemed very proud to live up to the informant status in the Gallagher family. "Hey, I like bragging about my siblings."
I was giddy with happiness. I felt a warmth I'd never had with my family. It felt good to have a group of girls to chat with and do stuff like shop together. I was going to miss all this when I went away.
I glanced over my shoulder through the window display while I paid. I had a direct view of Ian in the ice cream shop. To my surprise, he was already waiting in front of Soho Lingerie. After saying goodbye to the girls, I sashayed out of the store with a sway in my hips.
He looked at the bag in my hand and cocked a brow. "That doesn't look like a lot of outfits," he said.
"It's lingerie. It's small."
"Tell me what you bought," he said, putting an arm around my shoulders and walking me down the street. "I didn't park far away."
"Well, I could tell you, but I thought you had a better idea before."
"So I don't even have to convince you to model it?"
"Oh, that's right. I was trying to play hard to get. Damn. I forgot that was my tactic."
He kissed the side of my head, laughing wholeheartedly. "Are you excited?"
"Yes, very. I can’t even feel my feet. Or my shoulders.” I was still moonlighting as pastry and pantry chef.
"I'll make sure you're relaxed this weekend," he said.
"Funny. I have the same goal, to make sure you are relaxing."
I loved thinking about ways to make him happy. Once we were in the car, I began Operation Taking Care Of Ian by giving him chaste kisses on the cheek and the neck.
"Ellie, what are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm starting the weekend and the process of relaxing you." I kissed the point where his jaw met his neck, and he groaned. I pulled back. Okay, so maybe my kisses weren't that chaste. "Okay. I'm just going to stay super still. I don't trust my fingers or my mouth," I said.
He just laughed, shaking his head.
“This car is so fancy,” I said, touching the leather seats. I hadn’t been inside it since he drove me from the airport.
“I was thinking about selling it and just renting something when I go out of the city but changed my mind after Isabelle moved to Tarrytown. It’s useful, though I hate driving in Manhattan.”
We dropped by my place first to pick up my bag, and then we went to his. His condo was on the Upper East Side, and he parked the car on the street at the back of his building.
"I'll be right back," he said.
I eyed a food cart a few feet away. "I'm going to buy some provisions for the road."
“The drive is an hour and a half.”
“Hey, never stand between me and food.”
“Duly noted.” He winked before heading to the building. I jogged to the food cart. It sold sandwiches that looked yummy.
"I'll have one with beef and one with chicken. Please put a lot of lettuce in it as well." The lettuce looked freshly chopped, as did the tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs. It was going to pop in my mouth. I could almost taste all the flavors.
The prep took some time because the guy serving it, Johnny, wasn’t moving too fast, but that was okay. Perfection couldn’t be rushed.
"Are you done?" Ian asked, surprising me, kissing the side of my neck. I broke out in goose bumps.
“Not yet. He’s going to heat the sandwiches too. I’ll come to the car afterward.”
"Sure." He kissed my neck again.
I nudged him playfully with my elbow. "Hey, we said we'll keep our hands to ourselves."
"No, you said that you had to do that, not me," he whispered against my neck. I didn't just have goose bumps on my arms now. I also had them on my legs and my intimate area.
"Hey, go to the car," I said.
He wiggled his eyebrows but let go of me, wheeling his small suitcase to the car. I turned to look at the food truck.
While I was waiting, another customer showed up, a beautiful blonde who seemed to look funny at me. She ordered a sandwich with beef jerky too.
"Was that Ian?" she asked out of nowhere.
I blinked. "Yes. You know him?"
“I live in the building next door. We met while jogging. Fucked a couple of times too."
Johnny straightened up.
My eyes bulged. "You just broadcast that information to everyone?"
"No, but you two seemed very cozy. I thought you deserved a warning."
"About what, exactly?" I crossed my arms over my chest, looking her straight in the eyes, pulling myself to my full height.
"Ian is just Ian. He's not serious about anything or anyone."
I held up a palm in front of her face. "Stop right there. I'm not interested in any of this."
"Are you sure? By the way you're getting all riled up, I'd say that you're pretty deep into this.” She flailed a hand toward Ian’s car “A word of caution. Don't get involved."
How dare she? Maybe she was trying to warn me, but it was coming across hateful to me. "What I do is none of your business."
"Leah," Ian greeted, coming up behind me. He put an arm around my waist.
"Ian," she said with a nod, still looking at us funny.
"Are the sandwiches ready?" he asked me.
"Yes, they are," Johnny answered, wrapping them up in a plastic bag and handing them to me, looking between Leah and me with a strained expression. Poor guy. I was betting he didn't hear conversations like this often.
"Okay, so we're done then, right?" Ian said. He seemed oblivious to the fact that Leah was glaring at us. "Bye, Leah," he said just before we walked to the car.
We ate in silence in the car. I was still thinking about Leah.
Ian might not have realized in front of the cart that something was off, but it sure took him less than ten minutes to realize it in the car.
"Ellie, is something not okay? You're too silent," Ian said after we ate.
"You really didn't see it, did you?"
"What?" He honestly looked unaware.
"The way she was looking at us."
"She? Who? Oh, Leah? What do you mean?"
I sighed, shaking my head. "She was sort of warning me off you before you came over."
Ian clasped his hands tight around the wheel. "She what? Why?"
"She also informed me that you slept with her."
"We had some fun a while back, like two years ago, but I was upfront about it. She brought that up?" He looked stunned. "Why would she do that?"
"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that she's still holding a grudge, but it doesn't matter."
"Yes, it does. It's affecting you." And right there, I knew he wasn’t hiding anything. Instead, he cared about me and how I felt. Honesty was a biggie for me, maybe because my family didn’t have a lot of it to go around.
"It's not, Ian," I said in a reassuring tone. "It's okay. I was just ambushed, that's all."
"Look, I can explain everything. There's just not much to it."
"You don't have to. I'm not judging you for your past. That would be ridiculous. Let's just enjoy this afternoon and think about all the things we are going to do around Bear Mountain State Park."
“I want to tell you anyway. I don’t want any secrets or barriers between us. Before you, I just dated casually. Very casually. I’d call it hookups more than dating, but I was always honest about what I was looking for. I don’t make false promises, and I don’t lie to anyone.”
“Okay. Thanks for sharing that with me.”
Even after Ian explained to me his past dating habits, it would be untruthful to say the encounter didn’t dampen my mood.
Which was so ridiculous. The past didn't matter.
It didn't belong to us, just as the future didn't either.
What Ian and I had was for now. It was amazing, and I was going to enjoy every second of it.
Be careful, Ellie… you’re falling fast.