Indebted: Part 1: The Virgin & The Bad-Boy Billionaire (A BWWM Billionaire Romance) (7 page)

“I want to take you out. I can’t stop thinking about you, and I know I don’t deserve anymore of your time, but I can promise you that if you let me take you out we can really get to know each other. The guy you saw last night isn’t the full picture, Kendra, and there’s something about you that makes me want to share more.”

“Awww, Kendra! Do it!” Brianna interrupts from the 12-foot gap she’s inched between us. I give her
the look,
and she backs off a bit more.

I want to get to know more. However, I don’t have time for games, and I can’t help but feel that he’s playing me for a fool. I shouldn’t go out with him after he disrespected me, but the idea of refusing him hurts more than that. “Ok,” I finally concede. Matthew smiles broadly.

“Yay!” Brianna squeals from 15-feet away.
Seriously?

“I’m going to be in the city for a bit. Can I take you out tonight?”

Tonight? I need time to get ready, and I still have schoolwork. I can’t do it.
“No, I’m sorry that’s impossible.” I watch clouds roll in over his brilliant blue eyes. “I can do tomorrow though,” I offer.

“Tomorrow it is. Are you free in the afternoon?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess so.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up at 3 o’clock then.” He smiles and leans in before I can even think and gives me a quick kiss before walking away so fast that it’s almost like he evaporates into the air.

“Oh my god, you kissed Matthew fucking Blackwell!” Kendra yells loud enough that I’m sure everyone in the kitchen heard her.

“Shhh. Jeez, Brianna, cool it.”

“Oh listen to you, Miss calm, cool and collected over here. Tell me you aren’t just a fucking puddle right now. Oh my god, he’s so hot.” She isn’t wrong, I’m melting from his brief touch. “So, tell me what happened? Where are you going? This is so exciting!” She jumps from foot to foot.

Honestly, I’m not really sure what’s going to happen, but I can’t wait to find out.

Chapter 5: The Date

Who goes on a date at 3 o’clock in the afternoon? Children who go on playdates and seniors who don’t want to be late for their 4 o’clock supper.
I can’t imagine what he has planned for us, but as long as we don’t run into Marjorie it’s bound to be better than our last date. The photograph of them on his mantle flashes in my mind. I’m not sure I totally buy his reason for keeping it up on display like that. As much as I don’t like her, I can see how she would get mixed signals from that. I can see why she can’t get over him, there’s something about him that sucks me in like a black hole.

I’ve never cared about any man like this, and I don’t think that’s only because of my lack of experience. It’s more than that. Matthew’s gaze makes me feel like the eye of a hurricane, perfectly calm in the center of mind-bending chaos. I only hope falling for him doesn’t turn out to be just as damaging.

I had such a hard time figuring out what to wear on this date. Telling me he’ll pick me up at 3 o’clock doesn’t give me a lot of information about what to wear. In the end, I went with a sweet, teal blouse and my slim cut black capri dress pants with sandals. I figure there’s little chance that we’re going anywhere too stately at this time of day. I grab my purse and a light sweater out of the messy front closet when Janelle comes stumbling down toward the bathroom. Even at this hour, she’s still wearing her fuchsia, plaid pajama pants, and a stained, gray t-shirt. Her hair looks like a chia pet all strewn in every direction like it’s defying gravity just for spite. She stops cold, scratching her thigh and checks me out.

“Going on a job interview or something?”

“No, why?”

“I dunno, you don’t usually wear make-up and shit.”

“I have a date.” I smile as the words cross my lips. I like the way they sound.

“You? Seriously? Crazy.” She keeps stumbling on her journey to the bathroom. It’s one of the longer conversations that we’ve had as roommates.

When I reach the front lobby of my building, I see Matthew waiting for me. He looks like a magazine ad, leaning against the hood of his car, cell phone in hand, casually waiting for me. He’s dressed in fitted jeans and a thin, plaid shirt that looks like he must have struggled to get the buttons to cooperate, it’s so snug over his sculpted frame. I take a photograph in my mind. I would take one with my cell, but that would just be weird. Even if this goes south, and there’s no future in the cards for us, I want to remember the moment that a man this gorgeous was waiting to take me out.

Making an effort to walk at a normal pace, I close the gap between us. When he looks up from his phone, his eyes inch along every part of me like I long for his tongue to.
Whoa, wait, where did that come from?

“Kendra, you look beautiful as always.” He places his hand in the small of my back and kisses me on the cheek. He smells faintly of cologne. I breathe it into my lungs deeply like it’s the very oxygen I need to survive. His light, musky scent puts me right back into the eye of that hurricane. I don’t even care that this guy is supposed to be bad news, there’s just something about him that makes me feel like I’m living for the first time in my life.

It isn’t until he opens my door for me that I actually notice the car. I’m not a girl who’s easily impressed by someone’s ride. Most of the time I don’t care about cars at all, but this one is so sleek I almost want to whistle at it. The slate gray, two-door Ferrari Spider must get him a lot of attention from the ladies. Not that he needs a car for that.

He drives like a damned maniac,
what is it with this guy?
I’m clutching onto his soft leather seat like it’s gonna save me from my impending death if he doesn’t slow down. “Are we in a hurry?” I squeak.

“Sorry,” he chuckles, slowing down a bit. “I don’t get to take her out for a spin as much as I’d like. I get a little carried away sometimes.”

“You don’t say,” I laugh. “So where are we heading?”

“Well, I thought we could get some fresh air. It’s a beautiful day out. It’d be a shame to waste it in some gallery or restaurant.”

“What did you have in mind?” Please don’t let it be some speed boat or something. I know this guy loves living fast, but the thought of stepping on a boat totally freaks me out.

“You’ll see.” He smirks.

I’ve never been more relieved to see Central Park! When we pull into the garage at the Time Warner building, and Matthew pulls a backpack out of the trunk, my worries float away. I can’t help but steal glimpses of him as we make our way over to the park. He’s right. It’s a warm, sunny day out. The kind of day that makes you love New York even more. Even under the direct sunlight, Matthew’s skin looks flawless. I can feel the stares of onlookers as he leads me to a nice spot under a maple tree and pulls a thin blanket out of his bag. It doesn’t click in until he starts pulling containers and plates out, lying them down on the blanket, that he’s setting up a picnic.

I’m thankful I didn’t wear a short skirt and heels as I take a seat beside him on the red, checkered blanket. When he starts opening the containers, I’m surprised at the spread. Potato salad, cole slaw, veggies and dip, and roast beef sandwiches on cheese buns aren’t the fancy foods I was expecting from a billionaire. “This looks great!”

“Dig in,” he smiles.

The food might not look impressive, by my god, this isn’t your grocery store coleslaw or buns! Everything is so fresh and loaded with flavor, it’s an effort not to just start cramming it in my face. I can taste just a slight tang of fresh dill in the potato salad and ground white pepper on the slaw. My taste buds are in heaven. I’m so sucked in by the food that I forget about carrying on a conversation. I stuff my face without making any small talk for about five minutes. My mama gives me a little cuff from above, reminding me of my manners.

“Thank you for setting this up. The food is delicious.”

“No need to thank me, it’s my pleasure. Speaking of, what is it you usually do for fun Kendra? Have any hobbies?”

Fun?
I turn the word over in my mind like I’m translating from another language. I can’t think of the last time I had fun, I’ve been so busy with school and work for as long as I can remember. “Oh, you know, just hang out with friends mostly. Nothing too exciting,” I lie. My only real friend is Brianna, and she would be the first to rat me out about barely ever spending time with her outside of work. “Let me guess, you spend your free time skydiving over live volcanoes or surfing in shark infested waters,” I tease.

“Is that my reputation now?” He laughs easily.

“No, I mean the first time we went out you took me on a helicopter ride and then this time you were driving like we were on a race track. I’ve put it together that you might be a bit of an adrenaline junkie,” I laugh.

“You got me there. I guess when you spend as much time in board rooms as I do, you have to do something to get the blood pumping again.”

I probably spend just as much time in classrooms, and I’ve never once craved that kind of rush. Well, not until now. Matthew Blackwell definitely gets my blood pumping. “Makes sense.” I lean back on my hand, lazily eating what’s left of my picnic lunch and notice for the first time that people are taking pictures of us and pointing in our direction. “What the hell?”

“Oh that,” he answers flatly. “Just ignore it, you get used to it.”

The gawkers shuffle away from my angry glare, leaving us in peace again. “I don’t know how you can put up with that. Don’t you ever just wish you had a normal life?”

“More than you know.” He stares off for a moment, but shakes himself back to the present quickly. “There’s no point in wishing for things you can’t change though, right? We can only make the best of right now.” He smiles, and the rest of the world and whatever assholes taking our pictures in it all evaporate.

He’s stopped smiling, but I’m still staring. I pull my reluctant eyes off his face and try to fill up the awkward silence growing. “Well, I guess I’d put up with my picture being taken if it meant living like you do. Your parents must be proud of you for building the career that you have.”

“I wouldn’t say that, no.”

“Yeah right! I bet your mom is bragging to all her friends…”

“I don’t really talk to my mother, Kendra. And I don’t think she’s all that impressed since I inherited the family business from my father when he passed away.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I know what it’s like to lose a parent. I’ve lost both of mine now.”

“Don’t be sorry, he wasn’t a good guy. He was good at what he did, and he didn’t let humanity get in his way,” he says in a low, cold tone that gives me a chill. I remember when Marjorie set him off at the fundraiser by mentioning his “daddy issues.” I think I’m getting a peek behind the curtain on what she meant.

Matthew pushes a tense smile across his face and starts clearing the picnic. “Anyway, enough about all that. It’s getting late, how about we go for a walk?”

“Sure.” I breathe a sigh of relief. For a second, I thought he was going to cut the date short. I jump up a little too enthusiastically, happy that I haven’t soured the date. I have no idea where the time went, but the sun is getting lower in the sky. I don’t understand how the last hour of my shifts at the diner can drag by like a slug traveling over broken glass, but this felt like minutes passing by. I’m just happy to see where the nightfall will take us.