She had glanced at Ben and thought about lying, then decided against it. Joel had a way of finding out things. “Benjamin is taking me home.”
“Invite him in darling.” He had told her in delight.
“No.” she had said briefly. “I am hanging up now.”
“I hear he is pretty good in bed. And you can judge from that strong brawny look of his. Don’t miss out on the chance of getting laid.”
“Bye Joel.” She had told him as she hung up.
He slid the car to a stop at her apartment door and turned the engine off. “I actually live a few blocks from here.” He murmured.
“Oh.” She reached for the door handle.
“Your number.”
“What?”
“I need a number for you.”
“Oh, of course.” She reached into her clutch and took out the small notebook and scribbled her name and number down.
“Thank you Elena. I will be calling.”
“No expectations!” She reminded him.
“None whatsoever.” He told her with a smile.
“Okay, thanks. It was very nice meeting you.”
“Same here.” She got out and closed the door, slightly annoyed when he opened his door and came around to follow her to the door. “You did not have to do that.”
“My Mama brought me up to be a gentleman.” He told her with a grin.
“This is me.” She inserted the key and opened the door, standing there to make sure he left before she went in. “Goodbye.”
“Bye Elena.”
She opened the door and went inside, closing it behind her and walking straight to the bedroom to slip out of the highly expensive shoes with the impossible heels, knowing that she was never going to wear it again. “Maybe I can sell it on eBay.” She muttered as she massaged her insteps. “And the damned dress as well!” She flopped back against the pillows and smiled slightly. It had not been a bad night after all and she liked Benjamin. She had told him the truth when she said they could not be anything more than friends. After a few years had passed, she had tried to do the relationship thing and at one point had thought that it would actually go somewhere. But every time someone had tried to go deeper than just kisses, she had freeze up and realized that she could never be go all the way. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift to him. She could see the emerald green eyes, the tumble of dark hair and that mischievous devil may care smile that he had. He had made her laugh and forget her gruesome circumstances. They had spent hours on the phone talking when they were not together, and he would sneak out to see her. He had become her life and even though commonsense had told her that they did not belong together, she had not been able to help herself…. They never spoke about the future because they knew it was not guaranteed as far as they were concerned - her eyes snapped open as she felt her phone vibrating inside her pocketbook.
“I am about to go to bed.”
“With Benjamin, I hope.”
“I am not a slut like you Joel. I am certainly not going to meet a man for the first time and jump into bed with him.”
“You should try it darling. Liberate yourself.”
“I am not doing that. You catch STDs that way. Are you still at the party?”
“Yes and I hooked up with this charming …..”
“I don’t want to hear it. One of these days you are going to die of a fatal disease.” She predicted as she got up to take off her dress.
“We all have to go somehow, and I am predicting that you die alone in an apartment with some cats.”
“I hate cats.” She reminded him.
“A dog then or a hamster.”
“Goodbye Joel.”
“Bye darling, Talk to you tomorrow. At least tell me that you gave him your digits.”
“I gave him my digits but told him not to expect anything.”
The sigh was loud and long. “Darling I am on the verge of giving up on you.”
“You should.” She hung up and padded over the chest to grab an old t-shirt to put on. She went into the bathroom to sluice the makeup off her face and piled her hair into a bun on top of her head. Climbing into the bed, she pulled the sheets over her and refused to give into the memories that were clamoring for release.
*****
Chad folded his hands behind his head and stared up at the plain ceiling, a frown on his brow. He was not the least bit sleepy and had imbibed enough alcohol to sink a damned ship, but it was not numbing enough. He could still see her; still taste her even after all these years. He had been her first …. He broke off a groan as he remembered guiding himself into her and how he had stopped when she cried out in pain. But she had pressed him to continue and he had swallowed her cries as he pushed deeper into her. He had told her that she meant everything to him, and he had meant every word of it. Moving his hand from behind his head, he dug it into his sweatpants and wrapped his fingers around his dick, taking it out and trying to ease the pressure. His breath accelerated as he stroked the hot skin, his eyes closing as he remembered her full bottom lip, the generous breasts and her spontaneous laugh. “Christ!” he groaned as he stroked the skin, his hip moving up and down, his body shuddering. The release came but it was far from satisfying and left him feeling more miserable than he had been all day.
Chapter 3
“You came!” Melissa swirled forward in a cloud of emerald green that was a tad darker than her eyes. Diamonds glittered at her ears and throat and a diamond and emerald bracelet was secured around her slender wrist.
“It’s your birthday and I try not to miss it.” Chad told her with a slight smile as he enfolded her in his arms and kissed her smooth cheek. Expensive perfume wafted around them as she pressed her fingers against his jaw before looping a hand through his arm. “And you cleaned up well darling. You are even wearing a suit.” Her eyes sparkled as she took in the well-tailored black tux and the green shirt opened at the throat. His unruly black hair was brushed back from his face with curls springing forward on his forehead.
“I thought you said something intimate.” He murmured as he gazed at the familiar crowd, a mixture of movie stars, film producers, models and politicians. The First Lady was also present, holding court with a very famous actor. James Gilroy was resplendent in a dark blue tux, his impressive height making him head and shoulders above most of the men in the glittering ballroom.