SWNOVELS Mine To Promise: Chapter 21
I watch the clock turn to four before I get up from my desk, smoothing down my skirt. My hands are all clammy with nerves as I walk to the back of the house where I know everyone is in their office. Every single step toward the chattering of voices gets my heart beating faster and faster as it echoes in my ears. My hands nervously shake as I get closer and closer. I know they were supposed to have a little meeting this afternoon about possibly bringing in someone else to help. I stick my head into the conference room, seeing the four of them sitting around the table going through the applicants who have been applying all week long. “I’m headed out,” I say, avoiding eye contact with each of them, smiling quickly before hightailing it out of there.
“Okay,” Clarabella says, leaning back in her chair looking at me.
“Have a great night,” Presley calls, and I can hear her snicker right before she adds in, “On your date.”
“You guys know?” I shriek, walking into the room, putting my hands on my hips, and looking at all of them as they all roll their eyes at me. This last week has been me dodging them and their questions. Every single time they walked in the room, I picked up the phone and pretended I was talking to clients. It did help I was also very busy this week seeing new clients. I managed to book four of the five I saw, so deflecting was easy. But I guess I wasn’t that good at deflecting.
“How can we not know?” Sofia crosses her hands on the papers in front of her. “I’m babysitting.”
“Who said it’s a date?” I fold my arms over my chest. “It could be the two of us going out to discuss co-parenting.”
“Is it?” Clarabella asks, her eyebrows going up. “How did he phrase it?”
“Well,” I start to say, trying to think of a lie, but I’m the worst when it comes to lying. I can’t do it to save my life. “He said, let’s get together to talk.” I avoid looking at everyone as I glance at the ceiling and around.
“Did he?” Shelby asks, and when I look at her, I see her folding her lips. “Is that what he said?”
“Well, more or less,” I finally stutter and Clarabella shakes her head.
“So he didn’t ask you to go on a date with him?” Presley accuses as she taps her pen on the desk.
“Ugh,” I say, throwing up my hands. “Yes, yes, he did.”
The four of them clap their hands together to cheer. “So are you going to wear sexy panties, in case?”
Yes! my head screams, but I shake my head from side to side. “In case what?”
“Oh, come on,” Clarabella chides, “you have to ask yourself if it is as good as you thought it was.”
“I might have, maybe,” I admit to them, “but I just can’t sleep with him.”
“Why not?” Shelby asks me, her eyebrows pinching together. “You are both single adults.”
“Yes, but it’s more complicated now.” I spit out the words I’ve been telling myself since last week when he kissed me.
“You sleep over at his house almost every night,” Sofia states, shocked. “Are you telling me that you sleep in separate beds?”
I gasp. “How do you know?” The words are a whisper. Ever since my place lost power, we have been spending quite a few nights there. The next night, we somehow still didn’t have electricity because a tree fell in the middle of the road and knocked down a pole, so I took his offer up to sleep at his place. Then when the power did come back on, the house was an oven. Even being in it for a couple of minutes, we had sweat pouring down our faces, so again we slept over. I even did my class there last night in the office, and when I finished, Avery was already asleep, so I caved to staying again. But tonight, I am going back to my place.
“We live around the block,” Sofia reminds me. “We went out on a date two days ago, got home after one, and your car was in his driveway.”
“I didn’t have power,” I defend quickly, “and he offered.”
“What else did he offer?” Clarabella winks at me.
“I’m leaving.” I turn around. “I’ll see you when I drop off Avery.”
“Don’t forget to shave!” Clarabella hollers before she laughs.
“And wear panties you are okay being ripped off you,” Presley adds, and I turn to look over my shoulder at her. “What? If you have been sleeping at his house all week long and haven’t given him anything, that man is walking a fine line and he’s about to snap so… Poof.” Her two hands come up in fists and then open. “Gone.” She is not wrong. The two of us have been playing this game of cat and mouse, and I, for one, am ready to snap. At this point, I don’t even know who is the cat and who is the mouse, but something has to give. It’s the little touches while we prepare dinner; it’s the kisses right before I go to bed. It’s the fact I know he’s sleeping so close to me. It’s him getting up in the morning and coming down without a shirt on, showing me at least one thing has changed since the last time. His abs are so much more defined, which is saying something since he had an eight-pack the last time. It’s the way he’s with Avery. It’s the way that he slides his hand into mine when we walk out the door, even just to go to the backyard. It’s the way that he’ll sit on the couch and watch mindless television with me just to sit next to me. It’s the way he set up his office, so I can study, and keeps Avery busy. It’s everything that he’s done since he found out about her.
“Have a great weekend,” I mumble to them as I make my way over to my purse, grabbing it and leaving work.
“Be safe!” I hear Presley shout.
“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter as I make my way over to my car. I pick up Avery from daycare, who is going on and on about going to Sofia’s house. I should be happy that she is the friendliest kid I’ve ever met. She is so social and never once is shy about anything.
My phone rings the minute I walk into the house, and I look down and see it’s Stefano. “Hello,” I answer, my stomach feeling like I’m going to throw up from all the nerves.
“Hey.” His voice sends shivers up my body. “What time will you be over to drop off Avery?”
“Where are we going?” I ask him, and he just laughs.
“I told you it was a surprise.” He laughs again.
“Okay. What should I wear?” I ask him and his laughter stops.
“If I tell you nothing, what will you do?” His voice comes out so low that if he was in front of me, he would see my cheeks get all pink.
“I’ll be at Sofia’s at six,” I tell him, not answering his question. “Bye.” I hang up the phone and go over to my bedroom, opening up the closet.
“What screams I want to have sex with you, but I don’t want you to know I want to have sex with you?” I ask the hangers in front of me. I move one hanger at a time, contemplating what I’m working with. The only thing I have that is even remotely sexy is the light-green skirt I bought through one of those Instagram ads one night. I grab a white, silky, sleeveless, tank bodysuit that goes very low in the back.
I take a shower, making sure everything is cleaned up. I can hear them laughing in my head. “If I get into an accident and they have to cut off my clothes, do they want to see that? No.” I try to avoid looking at myself in the mirror because deep down inside, I know the reason I did that was just in case. I let my hair loose, using my hands to shake out the curls, and opt to just add some mascara to my lashes.
I slip on the tank body suit, clipping the two snaps together before I slide on the skirt. It is tight on my hips and goes down to my midcalf in the back, but the front is cut up to the middle of my thigh. My whole right leg is out, and when I walk, the other leg comes out, too.
“You’re pretty, Mommy,” Avery says when she comes into the bedroom.
“Thank you.” I smile at her before slipping into see-through, low chunky heels.
At five thirty, I grab Avery’s bag and my clutch purse I planned for tonight as we make it down to the car. I try not to second-guess every single thing as I drive over to Sofia’s.
I pull into the driveway and see Stefano is already there. I open the back door, and Avery jumps out as I grab her bag. She runs in ahead of me to the front door, ringing the bell and then looking over her shoulder at me.
The front door is pulled open by Sofia, who smiles down at Avery, and then looks at me and her mouth hangs open as her eyes go big. “She came to play.” She puts her hands over her head and claps them.
“I want to play!” Avery yells, jumping up and down.
“Uncle Matty got you a present,” Sofia says as Avery runs into the house as if she’s here all the time.
“Well, well, well.” Sofia folds her arms over her chest. “Damn, girl, you.”
“Oh my God.” I hear from behind her and see Matty putting his fist in front of his mouth, hiding the smile. “He’s going to lose his mind. I hope the Ring cam catches it.”
I don’t have a chance to ask him what he means because Avery comes running back. “Momma, they bought me a tea set,” she says, “to have tea.” She grabs her bag. “It’s a good thing I brought the tiara.” She unzips the top of her bag and takes out the tiara gently and puts it on her head. “I knew it was going to be a special day.” She turns to Sofia and asks her, “Can we do the tea party now?” Sofia just nods her head.
I look from them over to Stefano, who is just looking at me, his eyes moving up and down as he takes me in. If I thought my nerves were shot before, that look just pushes me out into orbit. It also makes other parts of me really happy that I shaved. “Daddy,” Avery says, walking to him, “I’m having a tea party.” She started calling him just Daddy two days ago. At the beginning she would call him Dad Stefano, but then one day, she was just like Daddy.
He takes his eyes off me and squats down in front of her. “That’s fun. Tomorrow, how about we have one at the house? I’ll come and get you after breakfast.”
“Okay,” she agrees with him before she turns to Matty. “I can’t have too hot water. I’m going to burn my skin off,” she informs Matty, who just nods at her.
“Okay, get out of here,” Sofia tells Stefano, who walks outside and I take him in. He walks down the steps wearing blue dress shorts and a light-blue button-down linen shirt, with the top two buttons open at the top.
“Hi,” he says softly when he stands in front of me. All I can see is him and all I can smell is his scent, and it makes my mouth water at the same time certain parts of my anatomy want to feel his touch. “Where are your keys?” he asks me, his teeth clenched together. My hand comes up and shakes a bit when I open it. He grabs the keys from my hand and turns to toss them to Matty. “See you guys tomorrow.” He then slips his hand into mine before turning and rushing us both back to his car.
“Call me if you need anything,” I instruct over my shoulder at Sofia as my feet try to keep up with Stefano, but the door slams in my face. “That was rude.” I look over at him but don’t take my hand out of his.
“No,” he says, stopping by the passenger door of his car, right in front of me, boxing me in. He puts his hands beside my head, stepping in closer to me. “What would be rude is me pushing you against this car and finding out what you are wearing under that dress.” His voice is low as he presses into me a bit. “That would be rude.”
“Yes.” I try hard not to show him how much he affects me, but my voice comes out breathlessly. “That would be rude.” My eyes stare into his, and I can see his head coming closer and closer to mine. “There are cameras,” I finally say, “all around the house.”
“Oh, I know,” he assures me, “trust me, I know.” He opens the door for me. “Besides, when we do this, it’s not going to be a five-minute thing.”
I look at him. “I certainly hope not,” I mumble as I get in the car, jumping when he closes the door. “I should have taken my vibrator out,” I tell myself while I watch him walk around the car. My nipples literally perk up, and I have to close my eyes and think of anything that will stop me from asking him to take me home and have his way with me.
“Are you okay?” I hear him ask me and my eyes fly open. I was so busy trying not to react to him that I didn’t hear the car door slam.
“What?” I ask, blinking my eyes rapidly as my chest heaves, and my heart beats what feels like a million times an hour. I don’t know anything right now. You could ask me what my name was and I don’t think I could even answer that. My head is spinning, this week has been pushing and pulling me in every single direction. It’s all too much, and what little thread I have been hanging on to is starting to fray.
“Are you okay?” he asks me again, one of his arms resting on the car door as his hand is on the steering wheel, while the other hand is on his leg, but I really wish it was on mine. I could picture him reaching over and putting it on my leg. His fingertips roaming up my bare leg until it’s underneath it. “Addison.” I hear my name, and I snap out of my daydream.
My face feels like it’s been lit on fire. “Yeah,” I answer, avoiding looking at him. My mouth is so dry I’m having a hard time swallowing. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I turn to put my seat belt on before I hold on to the door handle so tight my knuckles are white. I look out of the window, seeing the trees pass by. We get to the corner of the street and he stops. “Nothing.” The word comes out of my mouth and all I can do is go with it.
“What?” he asks me and I turn to look at him. Just like that night, all those years ago, we are back at the same spot more or less. He took the first step that night, asking me to come to his room. I didn’t know then what I do now, but even then, I knew I wanted to spend the night with him. But now that I’ve already had him, all I want is to see if my memory is anything like the real thing.
“The question you asked me before,” I explain, my heart beating so hard in my chest, I’m surprised he doesn’t hear it himself. “You asked me what I was wearing underneath this dress.” His eyes go the darkest green I have ever seen. “The answer is nothing.”
“Addison,” he growls, and I can see his Adam’s apple go up and down as he swallows. “Be very clear right now.” We look at each other, our eyes having a secret conversation. His eyes ask me if I want him to take me home. My eyes say there is nowhere else I want to go. He just nods his head and turns in the direction of his house.
His car picks up speed. “Okay, I might have lied a little bit,” I backtrack as we get closer and closer to his house. I shake out my hands nervously. “I’m wearing a bodysuit, so it’s like clipped.” I point at my vagina. “But unclipped, there is nothing there.”
“I’m going to need you to stop talking right now,” he states, his jaw tight, and his teeth clenched together. “The last thing I need is to pull over and fuck you in this car.”
My mouth opens in shock and then closes and then opens again, nothing coming out. He puts the car in park and I see we are in his driveway. “Now, this is your last chance,” he says, looking at me. Fuck, the way his lips fall, the way his hair is pushed back, the way I want to taste him, it’s the most overwhelming feeling I’ve ever had.
My hand comes up to touch the door handle, this time pulling it open. “Is the front door open?” I ask him and don’t even wait for him to answer me. I just open the door and step out. My knees feel like they are knocking together. The butterflies in my stomach are at an all-time high, and the only thing I’m wishing for is not to throw up all over his porch.
I reach for the handle of the door right before I feel his hands on my hips, pulling my ass into him. He bends his head, and I can feel his breath on my neck. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this?” he whispers close to my ear, and my body shivers.
“Do what?” I whisper, holding my breath as I wait for him to answer.
I close my eyes, waiting for the touch to come. I close my eyes, willing it to come, but instead, he says, “It’s better if I show you.” He puts his hand on mine, opening the door.