Chapter 35 Audra #3
“Maybe it’s time you did,” she said bluntly.
I searched Cora’s face, and I knew she was right.
The truth about my reservations would have to come out for us to have the possibility to move forward.
At the bare minimum, I needed to give him an explanation for the mixed messages.
Not that it justified what I was doing, but at least there was a reason.
“And you know,” she added, “you could always just ask him. A little conversation goes a long way. Not to bring this back to Maverick and I again, but I screwed myself by not pushing him to talk about what we were. I thought we were full steam ahead, but he … well, he’s in California now.
” Cora’s voice wobbled a little, but she didn’t cry.
But what if I don’t want the answer either? I said to myself. No, I know I need to talk to him. “We’re actually heading to New York on Wednesday, so maybe I can gauge how well we do there, and if it’s good enough to want to keep pursuing, then we’ll have that conversation.”
“Whaaaat?? You’re going to New York? With him?
! Um, that’s exciting news! What are you going there for?
Jules takes off for New York on Wednesday, too.
She won that award, and the celebration is at some swanky place.
Well, it’s for her and a couple of other people, too. But her team won the top accolades!”
“That’s right, I forgot about that! We are going because there’s some celebratory dinner for his sister, who passed the bar on her first attempt.
Then he said we could do whatever I wanted to.
l’ll have to connect with Jules for sure.
” Jules was a marketing phenom. She was winning awards at twenty-five that most people couldn’t even dream of achieving before forty.
“And to be clear, he invited you to dinner with his family? Figure out your shit and talk to him, you knucklehead. He is entitled to a say in this before you put all the bad scenarios in your mind. In the meantime, let’s pack some bags for you.
Because you’ll be staying somewhere that isn’t here for a bit.
Let’s get you New York ready.” She did a funny dance move with her arms pumping.
“Seeing as I have nothing to do today, let’s finish up here, get pedicures, and shop for a dress at that new clothing boutique that will blow Sir Donovan right out of the water… if you don’t blow him first.”
Laughter bubbled out of me.
“Wait, have you?” Her look became serious. “Are you guys hooking up?”
“No, I’ve pretty much jumped him three times.
First, I pulled him into a kiss in front of Theo.
I’m still not sure if that was a good move or a bad one.
I mean, good because the man can kiss like, I don’t even have the words.
But bad because I’m pretty sure the message I was trying to get across to Theo hit the mark, and I’m positive that’s contributing to all this bullshit.
Then, in the pool last night, I literally mounted him, Cora.
I’m talking ankles locked behind him, and told him I just wanted him to kiss me, nothing more, and he did.
And it was fucking hot. After we were back inside and getting ready for bed, I asked him to sleep with me, but not for sex, just because I wanted someone with me.
Which was the honest to God truth, but we kissed in bed, and before I knew it, I was on top dry humping him and pressuring him to go further. ”
“You didn’t!” Her mouth was agape at my story.
“Oh, I did. Some may say begged. And he rejected me because he said that he wanted more than one night of orgasms with me, and crossing the ‘just a kiss’ rule I put in place might push me away. I was pretty desperate for his dick, which seems gigantic, by the way, so I wouldn’t have stopped once we were underway, but somehow he knew I would regret it when the sun came up. ”
“Damn, girl.”
“Damn.” I muttered, and hit my palm on my forehead. “So that’s what I have going on. On that note, let’s pack me up and get started on blowing him … out of the water.”
We moved quickly and efficiently through my house.
She suggested I take everything of value and she would store it in her middle apartment until we figured things out.
So I took about half my clothes, most of my daily use and special use products, and all my sentimental items like photo books and jewelry.
We ended up stuffing Cora’s SUV full of stuff and taking two trips to bring it all over.
By the time we were finished, we decided that dress shopping took precedence over pedicures, so we went to the boutique.
diLusso opened its doors three months ago. It had been on my list to check out, but I just hadn’t yet. One side was all dresses, from cocktail ones to sundresses, and the other side was regular clothes. It seemed like a super cute shop.
Cora, ever the businesswoman and socialite, introduced herself and told the woman, who looked to be in her early 40s, that she was opening Grá down the street in a month.
They became instant friends and chatted while I perused the aisles.
The woman, Tori, came up and gave me some recommendations on dresses that she thought would look good on me.
I realized I didn’t quite know what kind of dinner we were having with his parents.
Did I need to be super formal? Cocktail dress?
Low-cut sultry cocktail dress? Probably not because it was with his parents.
Backyard BBQ sun dress? I decided to cover all my bases and get a couple of different ones, but my favorite was the cocktail dress Tori picked out for me.
It was a black, off-the-shoulder number, that screamed timeless and graceful elegance.
The fabric panels crisscrossed over my chest to fit my waist, stayed tight through my hips, and then flared out.
Normally, I shied away from dresses that hugged my hips like that, but I felt like a movie star in this dress.
I figured I could dress it up or down with my shoes and jewelry.
As soon as I stepped out of the dressing room, both of their eyes popped out of their heads.
“Holy shit, Audra. You need this dress in every color. I’ve never seen something more perfect on you,” Cora said.
“Wow,” Tori said, “you look stunning. I hope you’re going somewhere special in this one.”
“Yeah, you look fucking delicious, Audra. Who the fuck are you trying to impress?”
That voice had us all turning around. Theo had entered the boutique, and since everyone was so focused on me, none of us heard him come in.
My stomach dropped initially, but then I channeled the rage I had earlier in the day.
Who the hell was he to follow me around and show up like this?
“I bet you’d like to know, you prick,” I sneered.
“Oooh, there’s a new fight in you, Audra. But I bet I can guess who you’re trying to impress. Moving from one rich guy to another, eh? Bit of a gold-digging move there, don’t you think?”
Cora stood up. “Do I need to remind you that you broke up with her almost three years ago, asshole? You have no business here, Theo. Get the hell out.”
“What if I’m searching for clothes for my new girl? A girl that I can actually marry because I couldn’t marry yours,” he said to Cora as he pointed at me. Both he and I knew exactly what he was doing with his words, and they still hurt.
“I don’t think your girl likes my clothes,” Tori said, standing up, reading the room. “You’re going to have to leave.”
“I have money to spend. Lots of money, bitch,” he spat.
“And this bitch doesn’t want it. Now or ever. I’m telling you to get the fuck out before I call the police, or worse, my husband.” All her sweet and friendly demeanor was gone.
Before things could escalate, Tori’s husband entered the store with no idea what was going on.
A big, burly, bearded, tattooed man, he looked like he could be the president of a motorcycle club.
All of us turned to look his way, and you could see the confused expression on his face.
Never in a million years would I pick a person who looked like that to co-own a ritzy fashion boutique.
“Hey, babe, I’m glad you’re here. This not-quite-gentleman was having some trouble leaving our store,” Tori explained.
His eyes narrowed, and he turned to Theo, who put his hands in the air in surrender.
“I was just leaving.” He stuttered, and scurried out without a glance back like a cockroach who had seen light. Fucking coward. Had no problem running his mouth to us, but the minute he felt threatened, he ran away.
“I’m Little Joe, Tori’s husband. Everyone ok?
” Introductions went around, and they could easily become some of my favorite people in Savannah Springs.
What a wonderful addition to Main Street.
After some urging from Cora, we gave them the rundown of who Theo was, a brief explanation of the situation, and then apologized for the scene in the store.
Donovan would have been proud of me for speaking up.
They were more than gracious and said they were always safe havens for me and even gave me their numbers to contact them if I ever needed to.
I ended up buying four dresses and a few cute tops to sightsee around New York.
Since it was already 5:00 p.m., we decided to forgo pedicures for the day.
“What’s the plan for you? My place? Donovans?” Cora asked. Given that I’d spent so much time with him recently, and that I’d be going to New York with him on Wednesday, I decided to give us a night of space. Plus, I knew Cora would like the company.
“I’d love to sleep on your couch tonight if that’s ok with you.”
She clapped her hands together. “I was hoping you would! Yay! What do you want to do for dinner?”
“Why don’t we do a pickup from Savinn, then head to your place?
” What I wanted to do was to sit at Savinn because it was the oddest restaurant known to man with the most delicious food ever.
But I couldn’t risk another encounter with Theo, so we placed our order and went to pick it up before going back to Cora’s.
I had promised Donovan I’d text him, so I updated him with my plan to stay at Cora’s. Rather than text back, he called, and I excused myself to take it.
“Hey Audra, how was your day? Is everything ok?”
“Yes, I had a great day! We moved some stuff of mine into her middle apartment and we did some shopping, too. I’m just going to stay with Cora tonight. Maeve’s heading over to hang out, too.”
“Are you sure this has nothing to do with last night?” he quietly asked. I couldn’t quite place what the emotion behind it was. Hurt? Concern?
Then it clicked. I bet he was viewing this as me not wanting to come because of embarrassment over last night.
But I was looking at it like I wanted to spend some time with my gals.
“Oh gosh, no. Really, it’s not Donovan. I’m just looking forward to a little girl time before you whisk me away to New York, which I can’t wait for. ”
He breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Ok. I was a little nervous you scared yourself off, and we didn’t even get to the orgasms.”
Heat pooled in my belly. That kind of sexuality was foreign to me, but I sure liked it.
“Don’t worry. I’m still very much here. Still planning on New York, and some more games.
Like darts or something.” I physically smacked my head.
Like darts or something? Clearly, I was not as good at reciprocating those sexually charged messages.
Kudos to him for not audibly laughing at me on the other end, because he had to be doing it.
“Good. Our flight leaves very early Wednesday morning, so it might make the most sense for you to sleep here tomorrow, if that’s ok?”
“That sounds good. I’m scheduled to work a ten-hour shift tomorrow, so I’m going in, and then I’ll come over after I pack my bag?
Around 6:30. Want me to cook dinner? I feel bad that I haven’t cooked for you since carbonara!
Also, what kind of dress do I wear to the celebration dinner?
” I would still pack all the fun things I bought, but at least I’d have a better idea.
“As for the New York dinner dress code, formal, think a cocktail dress. As for dinner here tomorrow, you just worry about packing and getting here. I’ll take care of everything else. Enjoy your night, Audra.”
“You too, Donovan.”
I hung up the phone and felt warm butterflies all over.
When’s the last time a man genuinely cared about my plans or status?
I was more than a little giddy. In New York, I was going to lay it all on the line and tell him what was going on in my head.
I just hoped he would be honest and upfront with me about what his situation was and any weird shit he had to adhere to.