13. Chapter Thirteen ~ Chris
Chapter Thirteen ~ Chris
“I can just see you getting into all kinds of trouble as a kid,” she laughs and I can’t help but smile.
It’s been different having her here. From the start it was different, of course. I’m not accustomed to having my sexual partners live in my home. But I’m even less used to having women I’m not in a sexual relationship with living in my home. Sitting here, eating dinner together before work feels … comfortable.
“Trust me, there was a whole lot of trouble going on. But it wasn’t all me. My sister got into quite a bit too.”
“That’s Wendy, right?”
“Right,” I agree, though I’m surprised that she remembers my sister’s name. They only barely met one time, after all.
“She didn’t seem like the type to get into a lot of trouble.”
I frown at that and shake my head. “She didn’t used to be like this, stuck-up and snobbish. That’s new since she met her husband.”
“Is he like that?”
“The weird thing is he’s not. He’s just from a rich family so she thinks she needs to act that way. To show off to people I guess.”
“What about the rest of your family?”
“They don’t really approve of what I do.” I shrug but it’s annoying sometimes, the way they’re always trying to get me to change. “That’s part of the reason for the agreement between us.”
“Because of your family?”
“They want someone to carry on the legacy, as I told you. So I’m giving them what they want.” Though definitely not in the way that they want. They would prefer I dated someone from the same country club set that Wendy met her husband through. And then get married and have plenty of children.
“Have you told them that’s not what you want?”
“I’m here, aren’t I? We’re going to continue on the legacy.”
“Is that really something you want?”
“Sure,” I agree with a shrug but her eyes narrow and she stares at me for a long moment before standing up from the table.
“I should go get ready.”
I give a short nod and stand from the table myself, heading to my home office to get some of the things I need for the evening. “Do you want to ride together?” I ask as we both make our way to the front door.
It’s not the first time we’ve left at the same time. But it’s the first time I’ve offered to drive her and she seems startled by that fact.
“Oh. Do you think … do you think someone would notice?”
An uncomfortable feeling blooms in my stomach at the thought that she doesn’t want to be seen with me. But then, she’s told me that before. She doesn’t want anyone to know about this. I just thought maybe we were past that. Though a part of me wonders why.
Why does it matter to me if she wants to be seen with me or not?
“It’s the parking lot. It’s hard to say.”
“Maybe … maybe I had better drive myself,” she says, but she doesn’t look at me and quickly hurries out the door without another word.
The brief interaction has spoiled the good mood I was in and later, as I’m standing at the window of my office watching Emma move around the floor below, it sours even more.
I don’t like her down there working. I don’t like her flirting with the clients, even if it is just about her job. I don’t like her on her feet so much. She’s not even far enough along to be showing yet but still … I would much rather she just stayed home and took care of herself.
“You’re watching her again,” a voice says from over my shoulder and I choose to ignore Ethan entirely. Not that he goes away. “Something is going on with the two of you. I’d have to be a fool not to see it.”
“So you’re saying you’re not a fool?” I ask, turning back toward him finally.
“I’m not that big of a fool. You stare at her all the time, Chris. Others are bound to notice at some point too.” Yeah, I know that. But it’s not like I can help it.
Every time I sit down at my desk I think about her. And even when I manage to get into a flow with my work, something will inevitably remind me of her. It’s not something I’m used to. This … obsession. Because that’s what it feels like, an obsession.
It’s not just the sex. Though I can easily picture her naked body, the way she feels under my fingers … the way she tastes everywhere … no, it’s something else. Because I can also remember practically every word she says to me. The way her eyes sparkle when she laughs, even the way she curls her legs up when she reads, or how she chews on her lip when she’s really into what she’s reading.
“Hey, you still here?” Ethan asks and I scowl at him.
“What do you even want?”
“We need to have a team meeting. There are some things to discuss before the Mardi Gras party next week.”
“Right. Put it out for the rest of the crew,” I reply, knowing that he’s not talking about a meeting with our general floor staff. No, this is about the guys who run everything behind the scenes.
“Good. Now, about the girl-“
“None of your business,” I retort, though that’s more to do with my conflicting feelings than Ethan.
Still, he doesn’t take offense to it, another reason we get along so well. He tends to laugh at my moods more than get annoyed. Likely because we go way back, to the days of playground scuffles and sneaking out to party with the older kids.
“Dude, come on, Olivia Miller is going to be there.”
“Like I care about Olivia Miller,” I scoff and Ethan returns the gesture.
“Yeah, like you care at all about the girl you’ve been pining after for weeks. This is your shot.”
“She’s not going to look twice at me. Not with everyone else who’s going to be there.”
“She’ll look twice,” Ethan replies. “Now, let’s go.”
He was right, actually. Not only did Olivia look at me twice but we hooked up that night and several times thereafter …
And it was the start of a whole lot more.
More parties.
More girls.
More trouble.
But a whole lot more fun.
“Are we going to the party at the Westons’ this weekend?”
“No,” I reply and Ethan gives me a strange look. “We’re having our own.”
“Will we be able to compete, do you think?”
“Oh yeah.”
That was the start of it. That first party while we were juniors in high school. Competing with a party thrown by the most popular kid in school. But we managed to pull it off.
The kids who didn’t come to our party were jealous the next day. Because everyone who had come was talking about how great it had been. And before we knew it we were throwing parties every weekend. And they were packed.
By the time we graduated, it was a no-brainer to open up a club. And this place … this was the product of all those years of hard work. Of building up a client base that was right there when we opened and making sure to keep things going even through some of the rough spots.
“Dude, you keep going off in your own little world. What were you thinking about this time?”
“The Ward,” I reply with a grin and he shakes his head, practically beaming himself.
“That’s a name I haven’t heard in years. Remember when we created that?”
“We couldn’t come up with anything more creative for our parties,” I laugh and he sinks down into the chair across from me.
“Man, I haven’t thought about how we got started in ages. But damn did we have fun, huh?”
“Things were so much simpler back then. The guests drank whatever cheap booze we bought. We played music off the CD player you got for your birthday back in middle school …”
“And we got to make out with all the hot chicks,” he continues, and we both laugh.
“Yep. Those were the days.”
“Though, to be fair, I think we’re still making out with all the hot chicks.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal but I know he definitely loves the perks of this place. And the old one.
“Yeah, some things don’t change.” But I glance toward the window and from this angle I can just barely see Emma moving across the floor. Some things do change. And Emma … she’s one of the things that’s changed around here. Definitely for the better.