Fifteen Weekends (7 page)

  “What are you smiling about Ethan?”

  He paused for a moment and handed her the glass, “You’re cute, Miss Greene.”

  “That’s two compliments you’ve bestowed on me this evening, Mr. Carlson. I’m not really sure how to take that,” she replied arching one of her eyebrows at him. “You don’t seem to really like me, and you don’t seem very impressed with the level of my work.”

 
Bang!

  
Emily jumped about a foot off of the couch and spilled a bit of her drink on Ethan’s coffee table.

  “Fuck! I’m sorry Ethan,” her voice broke. “I didn’t mean to, spill my drink.”

     She was visibly shaken by the onslaught of thunder and lightning that continually raged outside. Ethan walked towards her, removing the glass from her trembling hand, placing it on the table.

  “Emily, it’s okay,” he mumbled softly rubbing his hands over her arms. Ethan eased her back to the couch and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.

  “Do you want to watch a movie or listen to some music, Emily?” Ethan asked softly, his brown eyes intensely fixed on her. “I know it’s kind of late, but once the storm passes I can follow you and make sure you get back to your house safely.”

  “That’s awfully nice of you Ethan, but I know you have better things to do with your time tonight than worry about the safety of a grown ass woman.”

  Flipping to the hard rock channel on the TV, Ethan chuckled softly and replied, “Emily, your safety is my
only
priority tonight.” 

 
Seriously, “When The Levee Breaks”? This song is so fitting for tonight.
Emily felt her heart thump in her throat as Robert Plant’s sexy voice crooned the chorus.

 
Taking a seat next to Emily on the couch, Ethan lightly grazed the back of her hand with his fingertips. Electric sparks ignited shifting the mood.

  “Emily,” he muttered softly sweeping her long bangs off her cheek. 

  Emily’s breath hitched, and her body trembled a bit when his hand found its way to the curve of her jaw and his lips found their way to hers.

  “Ethan,” she pulled back breathless. Her heart was racing. That kiss was everything she imagined it would be.

  Gone were the cordial conversations, exchanged pleasantries and the lukewarm flirtations. She felt it. He felt it. Now…the “it” that existed between them was pure desired attraction, and it was as charged as the vibrating jolts of lighting crashing outside. 

  “Shhh, no more talking Em,” Ethan whispered. He dipped his head, brushing his lips to Emily’s. Emily inhaled his oh-so masculine and fresh scent causing her mind to dizzy. Her lips parted allowing Ethan the sensual pleasure of delivering lush rolling licks to her tongue. Emily’s head was spinning. Mere hours ago she was cursing this handsome man who had her on the edge of a meltdown, and now she was wrapped up safely in his arms kissing him.

  Emily wished the storm outside would never quit.

Chapter Nine:

Amanda

  Amanda was slightly exceeding the speed limit, she had just been to her monthly waxing appointment at Studio Smooth in East Grand Rapids. It was nearly nine and she needed to hit up Macy’s before she went to work at ten. Today, the mall was open an hour early for the holiday weekend sales. Arriving at the mall she had about forty-five minutes to shop for a dress for her yet to be confirmed Saturday night date with Vince.

  Knowing exactly what it was she was looking for she made a beeline to the Misses section, in search of red and black dresses. Something sexy, yet sophisticated, she thought.  Amanda carefully explored the racks containing numerous poly-cotton, rayon-spandex blends and sifted through the endless amounts of somewhat appealing Jessica Simpson and Style & Co. designs.  Some days she still couldn’t believe she was shopping off-the-rack, but hopefully those days would soon be behind her and then she could call up Courtney at Gucci and have her pull designs for her special dates and events once again. It was so depressing how her life had fallen to pieces, but she managed to stay upbeat outwardly. Of course, Amanda sometimes helped herself put on that happy face by taking a Zoloft or the rare Lithium which helped with her moods and depression. 

  Finding a few red and black dresses that were suitable to her taste, she walked to the dressing room and tried them on. Ultimately she decided the sleeveless red Calvin Klein sheath was the winner, plus, it was on sale so that made the decision easier. Desperately wanting to peek in the shoe department, Amanda looked at her phone for the time. She had about twenty-three minutes to pay and be on her way to work. She knew she already had a pair of nude Jimmy Choo patent peep-toes in her collection that would go perfectly with the dress, there wouldn’t be enough time for new shoes today.

  While still in the dressing room, Amanda pulled out a silver and pink flask with some vodka in it. Taking her happy pills, as she called them, out of her purse and washing them down with two gulps. She popped two Altoids in her mouth while making her way to the checkout counter. 

  A woman with short dark hair and glasses, whose nametag said, “Angie” was standing behind the counter placing dresses back on hangers.

  “Did you find everything you needed today, Miss?”

  “Yes, I did. Thank you very much.”

  “Will you be putting this on your Macy’s charge today?”

  “I will not,” she stated firmly while handing Angie her debit card. “Oh, I’m also a mall employee. I work at The Bath Shop.”

  “Do you have your ID on you to prove that you work there?”

  Already a step ahead of her, Amanda flashed her nametag and handed Angie her Driver’s License. Glancing down, peering over her glasses at the nametag and then Amanda’s license, Angie smiled as if acknowledging they were both sisters in the customer service industry. 

  “Very good. Thank you, Mrs. Parsons. We are offering all mall employees an additional fifteen percent off today. So, you will get twenty-five percent off your entire purchase with us.”

Thinking to herself, it’s actually
Miss
Parsons you bitch, she didn’t have the time or energy to correct her.

  “Would you like your receipt with you or in the bag?”

  “I’ll take the receipt. Thank you, Angie.”

  Walking away from the checkout counter, Amanda pulled her phone from her purse and dialed Vince’s number, which she had already put on her favorite’s list. The phone rang four times before she heard Vince’s voice, but it was his outgoing voice mail message.

  “Hello, you have reached Vince Everett. I am currently away from my phone. Please leave me a message and I will return your call as soon as I can.”

  Exiting Macy’s and entering the main part of the mall, Amanda spoke into the phone saying,

“Hi Vince, this is Amanda Parsons. We met yesterday at the boutique, My Sister’s Closet. I was hoping that you were free tomorrow evening for dinner and drinks? This is my cell number. I will be at work until about seven this evening, please call me when you get the chance and let me know if tomorrow evening works for you.”

  Arriving at work and on time for once, Amanda headed to the back room placing her things in her locker. Grabbing her handbag she walked to the bathroom and took out her flask. She took a few swigs of vodka. The liquid burned her throat, and her stomach became hot. There was a knock at the door.

  “Just a minute and I will be out,” Amanda stated calmly while pressing toothpaste to her toothbrush.

  “Okay thanks,” the chirpy voice replied.

  Amanda didn’t recognize the voice on the other side of the door. Once she finished brushing her teeth she reached for her favorite lip-gloss and applied a fair amount. She unlocked the door, but whoever knocked was nowhere around.

  Amanda’s phone began to ring as she was placing it into her locker. She quickly retrieved it and saw it was Vince calling. She immediately walked to the back corner past the bathroom and answered.

  “Hello,” she answered cheerfully.

  “Hello Amanda. This is Vince.”

  “Hi Vince. How are you today?”

  “I’m doing very well. I was calling to tell you that I am free tomorrow evening for dinner. I’d like to take you to a French restaurant that I am quite fond of. Do you like French Food?”

  Amanda loved French cuisine. Her favorite dishes were tartiflette and truffade, but like most, she loved French desserts. She paused, she didn’t know of any French restaurants in Grand Rapids.

  “I adore French food. Where is the restaurant?”

  “It’s in New York City,” he replied. 

  Amanda was floored, after a few moments of silence she managed to muster the question, “Did you say New York City?”

  “Yes, I did. Is that okay? Do you have to work Sunday?”

   “Nope, my schedule is clear.” Amanda’s insides were screaming, and her heart began to beat wildly in her chest.

  “Good. My driver will pick you up at your apartment at 5:30 tomorrow evening.  He will bring you to the airport, and we will leave promptly at 6:00 o’clock. Pack what you like, but you really won’t need anything that I cannot readily obtain for you. We will be staying the night in the city.”

  “Oh…okay. See you tomorrow Vince.”

  “Goodbye Amanda.”

  Amanda ended the call and smiled from ear to ear noticing how easy it was to slip back into her country club mannerisms. The conversation, while casual, gave her the opportunity to present a refined demeanor. She walked out of the backroom onto the sales floor, butterflies danced in her stomach. Maybe she wouldn’t need the rest of that vodka after all.

Chapter Ten:

Emily

  The sidewalk was still wet from the early morning’s severe weather that had rumbled through the city. Careful not to get her pants wet, Emily walked slowly avoiding any pools or puddles of water. Surprisingly, she was awake and ready for the day despite only getting a few hours of sleep. A bigger surprise was Ethan admitting he had wanted to ask her out for some time. She confessed her feelings to him as well, and they ended up talking until well after midnight.

  After dropping of her stuff in her office, Emily entered the conference room and immediately smelled the rich aroma from delicious blends of fresh-brewed coffee. On the table were three to-go boxes, and as luck would have it, one of them was the Kona blend. She filled her cup and picked up one-half of a plain bagel, while looking around for light cream cheese.  She found the container on the opposite side of the table. Just as she was about to spread the bagel Ethan walked in the room.  She noticed he was wearing dark denim jeans paired with a collared shirt under a light blue V-neck cashmere sweater. 
He was wearing jeans on a Friday.

  Stopping behind her, he whispered in her ear, “Good morning Em.” The sultry tone of his voice sent a pleasurable shiver through her body, and she felt her nipples harden. Ethan reached over and ran the back of his hand down her bare arm. Frazzled, Emily accidently dropped the knife and the bagel she was holding. Both hit the table at the same time. The sound of the knife clanking back and forth was ringing in Emily’s ears.

  Ethan He picked up the knife and bagel as Emily stood there frozen, feeling the blood pooling in her ears. He motioned to the cream cheese with the knife while looking in Emily’s direction with a raised eyebrow. She nodded as if saying
yes
. Ethan took the knife and spread the topping over the sourdough bread, moving it back and forth circling the top.

 
Christ, could he do that any slower or sexier? He’s totally eye-fucking the shit out of me. Oh, Mr. Carlson you do not play fair.

  When he finished, the knife was gently placed back on the serving tray, and he took his left hand as if presenting the bagel to Emily like a prize. Still frozen, Emily felt her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, and the deep ache between her thighs was pure torture. Seconds later, which felt like minutes, she finally reached both of her hands up removing the bagel from Ethan’s grasp.

  Ethan moved from standing in front of her to standing behind her and whispered in her ear,