The Beginning of Us (245 page)

By half past two I’m jumping on the interstate and heading for the mall. Traffic is light so it doesn’t take more than fifteen minutes to get there. As soon as I find a parking spot, I head straight to Victoria’s Secret. I don’t know if he plans on sleeping with me tonight or not, but I do know that I’m going to have wine with dinner, and I don’t want him to use the “you’re drunk” excuse.
Who cares?

I decide it won’t hurt to buy a few sexy outfits to throw in my overnight bag, just in case. After purchasing my new things, I check my watch. I may end up with an hour to spare once I get home.

*****

I get back home and place the VS sack in my bag and add a little bit more makeup for evening wear. After trying on what felt like everything in my closet. I settle on my white Miss Me capris that have the cuff on the bottom. I tuck in a black silk button-up blouse that has three quarter inch sleeves. I top it off with black heels and a black thin belt. Some silver hoops along with a few silver bracelets and my silver Coach clutch.

It’s 5:52 PM when I hear my doorbell ring. I’m nervous about seeing Slade again. I’ve been in such a hurry all day that I haven’t had the time to think about being with him tonight.
Now, it’s all I can think about!

I open the front door and gasp. All my nervousness is suddenly gone. Slade’s standing on my front porch with a bouquet of white roses, and looking like a God; no man should be allowed to look this good. He’s wearing a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled back a couple of times, exposing his sexy tan forearms. He has his hair spiked and messy,
and sexy as hell!
He’s wearing a dark pair of jeans and a pair of black boots. My entire body starts to tingle.

“Hello, Angel. You look breathtaking.”
His deep voice is so sexy.

I smile. “As do you.” Could a man look any more beautiful?
No!

He looks to have just thought of something and as his brows draw together. “But you didn’t ask who I was.”

“What do you mean?” I step aside gesturing for him to come inside.

He walks in then turns to look at me. “When I rang the doorbell. You didn’t ask who it was. You just opened the door. I could have been anyone.” I turn to walk towards the kitchen as he follows behind me.

I open the cabinet under my sink and pull out a vase “I looked through the peephole.”

“Oh.” He says with a little laugh like he didn’t think of that option. He comes to stand next to me handing me the flowers.

“The flowers are gorgeous, thank you.” I give him a big smile and take the flowers from his hand.

“Give me a second. I just have to grab my bag and I’m ready.” I walk out of the kitchen to grab my purse and overnight bag out of the living room.

“Here let me take those,” he says coming up behind me taking both before I can even object. It’s not like they were heavy.

I turn off the lights and lock the front door then turn to him as we walk to his car. “Where are we going?”

He opens my car door. “It’s a surprise,” he says excitedly.

“Oh, I love surprises.” He gives me a smile and a cocky wink as he closes my door, placing my bag in the trunk before settling himself in the driver’s seat.

As he is pulling out of my driveway, his cell phone rings. He answers, and Micah’s voice comes through the car speakers.

“Hey, man. Holly wants to go check out that club, Rue 13, tonight. You want to go?”

Slade looks over at me for my opinion. I shrug my shoulders and give him a smile. It sounds like fun, but it’s up to him.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Holly is going to invite Sam. I hope you can behave yourself. I heard you two got into a fight in the parking lot last night. That’s all anyone in the bar wanted to talk about. Holly tried to call her just before I called you, but she didn’t answer. Whatever you did to piss her off, you need to fix it. If you start shit and get in trouble, I will never hear the end of it.” He gives a little chuckle.

I put my hand over my mouth, trying to cover up my laugh. “Micah it will all be okay. In fact, Angel is with me right now. We are on our way to dinner.”

Silence fills the car.

“Micah?”

More silence.

Slade looks over at me. “I think I lost him.”

“Dinner?” Micah says in a high pitch. He clears his throat. “You guys are on your way to dinner?”

“Yes, so be nice and say hello to Angel.” Slade chuckles quietly.

“Hi, Ang...I mean, Sam.”

“Hi, Micah,” I say rather cheerfully “Tell Holly I’m sorry I missed her call. My cell is in my purse, and I didn’t hear it ring.”

“Oh, okay. Well, you two have fun. Slade, text me when you guys leave the restaurant and we’ll head downtown. We want to go rather early because we don’t plan on staying too late.”

“Will do.” Slade hangs up, then he throws me a quick glance as he pulls into a parking lot.

I look up to see a small brick building with a glass front. The black awning reads Niche across the top. Slade pulls into a parking spot then comes over to open my door, grabbing my hand to help me out of the car. Once I’m out, he doesn’t release it, just intertwines our fingers together. I can’t keep the big smile off my face.

Chapter Ten

Slade

“Can I help you?” an older man asks as we enter the front door.

“Reservations for two. Long.”

“Right this way, sir.”

He turns, grabbing two menus, as we follow after him.

The restaurant has dark hardwood floors, and the walls are white with colorful art hanging on them. The tables are covered with a white cloth, and decorated with little tea lights. The chairs are also dark wood, and the couches are a pretty burgundy color.

As the host seats us, I look over at Angel and just watch her. She looks absolutely stunning tonight. I keep telling myself I want to wait, to get to know her better, but every time I see her, my body reacts to her. She makes me hard in all the right places. It makes me want her, needing to feel her up against my body. The waiter shows up and I pull my eyes away from her.

“Hello, my name is Peter. I’ll be your server tonight. What can I start you off with to drink?”

“Would you like some wine?” I’m not much of a wine drinker, but she told me that she prefers it.

She gives me a small smile. “If that’s what you would like.”

I nod my head to her. “You choose.”

“A chardonnay would be perfect.” She looks to the waiter with a smile on her face.

“Very good, ma’am.” He turns around to go get our drinks, and I turn my attention back to my angel, watching as her beautiful green eyes search the menu. I remember what they looked like last night while she was coming. She was so fucking sexy, and the sexiest part is that I don’t think she even knows it. I can’t get over why she was embarrassed this morning. I wouldn’t change a thing that happened last night. In the process, I found a new side to myself. It’s a side that I want to continue exploring, with her. That’s why I did some shopping today and bought a few things I plan to try out whenever she is ready. I loved how her body reacted to my dominant demeanor. It was fascinating, mesmerizing and the biggest turn on I had ever experienced.

I feel my pants start to get tight and I pull myself out of those thoughts; now is not the time for them. I look back at her and notice she is taking a drink of her wine.
I didn’t even notice the waiter return with our drinks!

I clear my throat. “Tell me how you met Holly.” I want to know about her and Jax. As much as the thought of her with him makes me want to punch his face in, I still need to know, but I have to work my way up to that question.

She sets her menu down, and leans back in her chair. “Well, it was late one night and a phone call woke me. When I checked the number, it was one I didn’t recognize. It had a St. Louis area code, so I figured it was for Jax, but when I turned over to wake him he wasn’t there. I answered the call and it was Holly calling to tell me he had passed out at the bar. Guess he had mentioned his girlfriend Samantha a few times, so when he passed out with his phone in his hands she went through it until she found my name.”

She picks up her wine glass and slowly turns it around in her hand. “I was so mad at him. I now know that was the night our relationship started to fall apart.” She shakes her head slightly as if to clear it. “Anyway, when I got there, Jax was still passed out. So I decided to stay a while, hoping he would wake up. I started to help Holly clean up when Micah arrived.”

She takes a drink of her wine. “Micah helped me get Jax in my car and they followed me home. I tried to reassure Micah I would be ok, but he insisted on helping me get him into our house which ended up being a good thing cause there’s no way I would have been able to do it myself. He just would have had to sleep in my car.” She laughs quietly. “Holly called me the next day and asked if I wanted a part time job working at Larry’s. I said yes, and the rest is history.”

She shrugs and looks down at the wine glass still in her hands. I ask the second question that’s been on my mind.

“Why did you stay after you and Jax broke up? Why didn’t you go back to Dallas?”

She brings the wine glass to her lips while looking like she’s off in outer space. She lets the glass sit on her perfect lips for a few seconds, before taking a long drink. I wonder if she is ever going to answer when she finally sets her glass down and looks into my eyes. Those green eyes seem to paralyze me.

“Because there wasn’t a good enough reason to go back there.” She gives me a sad smile. “The family that I do have lives in Tulsa, but I never talk to her. I only moved to Dallas for college. I didn’t know it at the time, but when I left Dallas, I was moving on to bigger and better things here in St. Louis.”

The waiter comes up to the table. “Are you guys ready to order?”

“Do you know what you want?” I ask Angel.

She shakes her head no. “Everything sounds delicious.”

“Do you mind?” I nod to the menu.

“No,” she smiles. “Go ahead.”

“We’ll do the four course Prix fixe meal.” I look to Angel and see her eyes looking over that section of the menu. “Which would you like?”

“Oh,” she says, surprised. “I was just looking. You choose what you like. I’m not picky.” She smiles.

The first course is only one selection, Missouri Chestnut Soup. “For the second course, we would like Yellowfin Crudo. Third course, Filet of beef. For the fourth course, Sage Ice Cream.”

The waiter nods his head. “Absolutely, sir.” As he turns and walks away,

I think of another question to ask.

“Her?” She looks at me, confused “You said a
she
lives in Tulsa. Who is she?”
I hope my digging doesn’t piss her off.

She takes a deep breath while looking down at the table. “My mother. My mother lives in Tulsa with her husband. We don’t speak. Well, not since my dad passed.”

“Do you want to talk about your dad?’’

Her head snaps up, and I think I’ve pushed a button, but then a slow smile spreads across her face.

“He was wonderful. The best dad a girl could ask for. My parents divorced when I was three.” She sighs, and shrugs her shoulders. “My mother hates me. When my dad passed, he left me his concrete company and I sold it, making a lot of money from it. It made my mom mad, and she quit speaking to me.”

The waiter brings out our soup, placing the bowls on our table.

“What about you?,” she asks happily as she picks up her spoon.

“What would you like to know?” I take a sip of my wine.
It’s actually very good.

She shrugs. “Whatever you want to tell me.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You don’t want to know anything specific?” I smirk.

She shakes her head slowly, looking down at the soup in her spoon as she sighs.