Chapter Five – Hazel
CHAPTER FIVE
HAZEL
“S o, do you have everything I gave you on all of the top donors from last year?” I ask.
Ricky rolls his eyes. He offered to come over and help me get ready since my assistant has the flu.
“You’ve asked me five times and what did I say the other four times?’
I sigh and shove my hand through my hair, wincing when I hit a nasty knot.
“And quit doing that. You’re making a mess of yourself,” he says, tsking.
I know I am. I mean, I’m dealing with so much pent-up need. All for Milo. My entire body is still vibrating and every time he texts me, my heartbeat speeds up. At this rate, I’m worried my heart is going to burst out of my body.
I inwardly groan. After spending time with my trusty vibrator—and, yes, I called Milo’s name out when I came—I promised myself I would put any ideas of the two of us out of my mind. I have one day left before the fundraiser.
“What does it matter if I look like a mess?”
It’s a good question because we’re at my apartment today. With everything I need to double check on with the event, I decided to take a day off. If there was an issue, I can take care of it from here. But I need a strategy.
“I have to look at you. Do you think I want to see a mess?”
There are times I wonder why we’re friends. I mean, we shouldn’t work on paper, but we do. I call him my gay boyfriend and I’m his straight girlfriend. But he’s more than that really. I have a very small group of friends—true friends. You know the kind I mean. The ones who know your secrets and if you needed them at one in the morning, you could call them.
He’s come to a lot of my fundraisers, and normally he would be there tomorrow night. Just as a friend, because everyone knows who Ricky Garcia is in this town. The rich and powerful always show up at his restaurant, whether they want to admit it or not. Unfortunately, I couldn’t ask him. It just so happened that it landed on his wedding anniversary.
“And stop looking at me like that. I am not going to the fundraiser.”
“It’s okay. Georgie will be there.”
“I will!” Georgie says running into the room.
“Hey, slow down. If you fall down in my apartment and Silas hears about it, he’ll blame me.”
She rolls her eyes. “Be right back.”
She hurries off to the bathroom. She seems to be doing that a lot lately, I think with a tinge of envy. I’m ecstatic that I’m going to have a niece or nephew. It’s just that I don’t think it is ever going to happen for me. But that’s what happens when you fall for a man who is out of your league.
My phone buzzes and I snap it up. I’ve been worried Milo is going to come to his senses and back out of this insanity.
Momzilla: Do you want to ride together to the fundraiser?
Me: No. I have to be there at about two in the afternoon, and I doubt you will want to be there that early.
Momzilla: That’s nap time.
I chuckle. My mom has been loving life since Dad retired. He worked so hard for so many years, but the moment he handed everything over to Silas, his main focus was my mother. And I have a feeling my dad takes those naps with my mom, if you get my drift.
That’s what I want. I want a man who wants nothing more than to be with me and enjoy my company. I’ve had crap luck dealing with that.
“What are you wearing tomorrow night?” Georgie asks as she settles on the big, overstuffed chair, her hands on her stomach. She already acts like she has a baby bump, which she doesn’t. It’s kind of cute and goofy at the same time.
“I was thinking the red dress.”
“Girl, you have fifty million red dresses,” Ricky says.
That’s true. It is my favorite color.
“You mean the one with the big split up to your vajayjay?” Georgie asks.
“It isn’t…it’s just high thigh.”
Ricky stops what he’s doing and stares at me. “You mean the one I have been begging you to wear for the last five months. The one that new designer made for you, saying that he thought you were the perfect model?’
“Oh, that Italian guy?” Georgie asks. “He had the hots for you.” She wiggles her eyebrows and I blush.
“He did not. He was just trying to get in good here in the states.”
“Sorry, but all men are the same, whether they are going after men or women, and I agree with Georgie. That man wanted you.”
I blink at Ricky. Georgie isn’t any better with men than I am. I had one relationship and one sexual experience in my past. She had none. But Ricky, he definitely knows men.
“How do you know that?”
“Darling, he watched you move. And he was overly interested in your tits.”
I glance down and then shake my head before frowning at him. “All men—” he opens his mouth, but I plow ahead, “all heterosexual men, that is, look at my boobs. It’s automatic.”
“And your ass. He looked at your ass a lot. Plus, he asked me if you were seeing anyone.”
“Wait, what?”
“I was right!” Georgie yells and dances around my living room before losing her balance and falling. Thankfully, it’s on the couch.
“He did. I told him you were involved.”
I settle my hands on my hips. “Why did you do that?”
“Because. You can’t be involved with another man until you get Milo out of your system,”
“I don’t want him out of my system.”
“Exactly.”
That’s when I realized what I said. “I mean, he’s not in my system. Other than a friend. A friend with really large hands.”
He stands up. “Listen, I love you as much as I can since you have the wrong body parts. But, sweetie, you’ve been in love with him for years. When are you going to take a chance?”
I sigh and look at Georgie, who is watching us with rapt attention, as if we’re a telenovela and the villain has just been revealed.
“I did that once. I fell on my face.”
He steps closer and slings his arm around me. “You made a mistake in loving someone who wasn’t worthy. You were young. You do not even want to know some of the mistakes I made in my early twenties.”
“No, but you tell me about them anyway.”
“I want to know about them,” Georgie chimes in but he ignores her.
“This is what I am going to do. I am going to show up tomorrow. I am going to help you get ready before the fundraiser.”
“No. You have plans.”
“They aren’t until later. I’m sure the hotel will let you have a room to stage things, so get hold of lover boy and find out.”
I hesitate, but Georgie jumps in.
“It makes sense. You don’t want to go there all dressed up and you can’t get ready for something like this in a bathroom. Text or call Milo. He’ll help you. You know he will.”
I nod and pull out my phone, knowing if I don’t do this right now, I’ll lose my nerve.
Me: Hey, do you think I can get a room to get ready in tomorrow? I need to be there early and then I’ll need to dress for the evening.
Milo: You got it. We have a family apartment you can use.
“So?”
I look up at Ricky and Georgie. “Yeah. They apparently have some kind of apartment I can use.”
My phone vibrates one more time and I look down.
Milo: You can just store your things there until after the function.
Ricky grabs the phone out of my hand.
“Hey!”
“Oh, baby, so we need all your stuff and some really great lingerie. White.” He looks up at me. “Do you have white?”
“Isn’t that boring?”
“Oh, no. It’s makes the guys think of innocence. With that red dress you’re going to wear…Milo will lose it,” Georgie says. I almost open my mouth and ask how she knows that, but from the look in her eyes, it has something to do with my brother. I am super close with my brother, but I do have my limits.
“Okay,” I say, as Ricky turns and heads back to my bedroom.
“Don’t start going through my panty drawer.”
He laughs. “No woman has ever accused me of that.” But he doesn’t stop. I hurry after him.
“Get a bag, and let’s get you packed up for tomorrow.”
I open my mouth to tell him to step off, but Georgie slips into my bedroom behind me.
“Just go along with Ricky on this one. I have a feeling he has a plan.”
I look down at her. Georgie is super short. “I’m the one who plans.”
“But we love you, baby girl, and for once, you should let your friends handle it,” Ricky says.
He’s standing there, holding one of my favorite bra and panty sets, and he should look ridiculous. But he doesn’t. He’s telling me he loves me in his own way. I look at Georgie and I feel the backs of my eyes burning.
“I swear if you start crying, I am going to lose it,” Ricky says, his voice heavy with emotion.
I nod. “Thank you. Both of you.”
“That’s what friends are for,” Georgie says. And with that, we start packing my clothes and getting me ready to go after the one man I think I might ever be able to truly love.