Chapter 8
Cole
It’s Friday, finally the day of the gala, and I’m getting ready to leave work.
The past week flew by, and I have been too busy with work to have time for myself, so I am leaving work early today so I can have some free time before heading to the gala.
Before I leave, there is one more thing I need to do.
Walking out, I stop by Ellie’s office. I still haven’t been able to get her out of my mind, even though we haven’t seen each other much the past week.
Since she hasn’t noticed me standing in the doorway yet, I take a moment to watch her.
She is so beautiful. She’s so engrossed in whatever she is working on and biting her lip in concentration, and it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
I’m lost in her when Sarah comes walking up.
“Oh, sorry!” She breaks me out of whatever spell Ellie just had me under, and Ellie looks up at the interruption.
She smiles lightly at me, and I realize I’ve been caught by them both now.
“Sorry, I was just coming by to see if you would want a ride to the gala tonight? I could pick you up on my way there if you would like?” I ask Ellie, ignoring that Sarah is standing there. Apparently, I no longer give any fucks about being professional around here.
Ellie glances at Sarah and back to me. Sarah has the widest smile on her face.
“Uh, yeah, sure. I’ll text you my address,” Ellie finally says nervously.
“You have my number?” I ask her, even though I’m sure she doesn’t.
“Oh. I guess I don’t,” she says with a nervous laugh.
“Here,” I say, grabbing a Post-it and writing my number down. “I am leaving to go home now. Just text me when you can. Good night, Sarah.”
“See you tomorrow, Mr. Simmons,” Sarah replies.
I head to my car, turning up the sound all the way on my phone. I do not want to miss her text when it comes in. I can already tell this is going to be a great night with Ellie. Although, I did get the feeling she probably would have said no if Sarah wasn’t standing there.
Ellie
It’s the night of the ball, and I invited Sarah, Renee, and Bri all over to get ready for the ball.
Although Bri and Sarah aren’t going, they still came over.
Sarah is helping Renee with her hair and makeup, and Bri is helping me.
I am excited to get dressed up and go out.
It has been so long since I have been to an event like this.
I’ve always loved attending events where you have to get dressed up; something about a new dress and heels is so refreshing.
“So, what was all that about with Mr. Simmons earlier?” Sarah asks.
“Ohhh, what happened now?” Bri asks enthusiastically.
“What do you mean now?” Renee asks.
“Bri, no,” I say. I do not need anything about what happened getting out. It is bad enough that Sarah even witnessed our interaction earlier today. He didn’t even try to hide it.
“Interesting,” Sarah says with a smug look on her face.
“What happened?” Bri asks.
“Well, I went to our dear friend Ellie’s office to help her with a project. As I was walking up to her office, I came upon a certain someone standing in her doorway, mesmerized by what he saw.”
“Hmmm,” Renee says as Bri starts laughing.
“He was not staring at me. And what does ‘hmmm’ mean?” I say.
“Girl, he so was! He didn’t even notice me. I had to interrupt to get either of your attention,” Sarah says.
“I was working, of course you had to get my attention,” I say with a roll of my eyes.
“The ‘hmmm’ was because this would not be the first time he has shown interest. Which is also not like him at all if I might add. He’s always been so closed off. He always keeps his work life separate from his personal life,” Renee says.
“It wouldn’t even be the second or third time either!” Bri says, laughing.
“Bri. Stop talking!” I whisper-yell.
“OK, yeah. We are going to need more info,” Sarah says, laughing.
“It’s nothing! I think we’re almost ready. I am going to text him and let him know what time to be here to get me.”
“You are texting him, and he’s picking you up?” Bri exclaims.
“Ahh, yes. This was the wonderful interaction I got to witness after the staring incident,” Sarah says. “The tension in that room was enough to make me combust!”
“Oh, whatever.” I just want to talk about something else, literally anything else. “He’s just being friendly.”
“Is there something going on?” Renee asks. “He’s been acting different lately, especially when you are involved. It’s like he can’t control what comes out of his mouth. The other day, he slipped and told me you always look beautiful.”
I glance at Bri, and she nods her head toward them, signaling I should tell them. I hesitate for a moment before I finally say, “OK, something did happen. But you cannot let this out. This stays between the four of us if I tell you.”
They glance at one another and then nod.
“So, we slept together,” I say nervously.
“Oh my gosh!” Sarah and Renee shout together, while Bri just grins ear to ear.
I quickly tell them the story of what happened the night Cole and I met. By the end, all three of them are laughing, then Sarah says, “Oh! So that’s why the situation was so uncomfortable when I introduced you two!” and they all start laughing even harder.
“I’m so glad this is so amusing to you all,” I say dryly.
“So … How was it?” Renee asks. I hesitate to respond. I’m not sure how far I should allow this conversation to go.
“Best. Sex. Of. Her. Life!” Bri yells, and they start laughing. Then there is a knock on the door.
Shit, he is early. I know I’m blushing, but I don’t want to keep him waiting.
I open the door to him propped against the frame, smirk on his face.
He’s wearing a tux, looking way hotter than I thought was possible.
I’m convinced this man could make a trash bag look good.
He looks me up and down, finally settling on my eyes.
“You look beautiful,” he says, and I know I am blushing even more now.
He lifts his hand like he is about to reach for me, and I back into the apartment and look over at the girls.
He steps forward and follows my gaze. When he realizes we aren’t alone, he clears his throat and says hi to them. They are all grinning ear to ear.
Since he arrived earlier than I anticipated and Renee is still waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up, we all just hang out and talk for a few minutes.
Finally, Renee’s boyfriend arrives and we all go outside.
Cole’s car is waiting at the curb for us.
I say bye to Sarah and Bri, and he opens the door and ushers me in, then goes to his side.
We ride in silence for a while before I speak up.
“Do you attend the gala every year?” I ask, trying to come up with something to talk about.
“Yes, it means a lot to me. I donate to this charity every year.”
“That’s nice. Bri and her mother got help from a similar charity. I’d like to make a contribution; they really do change the lives of those who need it.”
“It’s a great cause, this exact charity helped my mother and me.”
“That’s wonderful. It’s so great that you can give back to them.”
“They helped us out of a dark time, and they do the same for many others. I’m more than happy to donate to help get anyone out of a dangerous situation. I don’t know what would have happened to my mother and me if we wouldn’t have gotten help.”
“I’m sorry. I cannot imagine. Bri told me about her situation growing up. I’m so thankful for people who can help others in those kinds of homes. I wouldn’t have met Bri if it weren’t for them. She’s my best friend, my life would be a lot different without her.”
“You probably would not have met me either,” he says quietly and with a sad smile.
“Yeah. That’s true.” I instantly feel bad for starting a conversation that turned this direction. I’m not sure how to fix it.
We ride in awkward silence for a moment before Cole clears his throat and starts smirking.
“You know, you also wouldn’t have had the ‘Best. Sex. Of. Your. Life’!” he says, mocking Bri. I can tell he is still upset about the dark turn our conversation took, but he’s trying to turn it around.
“Oh my gosh. You heard her?” Seriously, why do I have the most embarrassing friend on earth?
“Kind of hard not to hear Bri.” He laughs.
“She was talking about herself!” I rush out. Yeah, like he is going to believe that one, Ellie.
“I’m sure. So, does she always talk in third person? Or just talk about her sex life in third person?” he says, still chuckling.
“Oh, look, we are here!” I say, trying to change the topic.
He’s still laughing as he gets out of the car. He comes to my side and helps me out. As I stand beside him, he leans over to whisper in my ear, “It was the best I’ve ever had too.” Goose bumps rise all over my body, and my stomach flutters at his admission.