A Forbidden Love (The Forbidden Series) (13 page)

The
waitress brought us our entrée’s and they both looked and smelled delicious.
After an hour of mindless conversation, and witty banter we finished our meals
and left. He wouldn’t let me pay for a thing, which was nice.

“That
was nice Lance, thank you for taking me there.”

“No
problem, I’m glad you liked it. It’s one of my go-to places for lunch.”

He
drove up to my apartment door, gawking at me from his seat. His eyes were like
two blue magnets, fixated on mine and I couldn’t bear to look away. I wanted to
kiss him right then, but I restrained myself and lightly brushed his cheek with
my lips instead.

“Enjoy
the rest of your day Lance; I can’t imagine how busy you must get. Thanks
again.”

“Alecia,
wait would you like to go out again tomorrow? Maybe grab dinner this time?”

“Sure,
just let me know what time.”

“Does
six o’clock sound good?”

“It
sounds perfect. See you then.”

I
carefully closed the door to his yellow Porsche and went inside my complex. I
hadn’t been this happy in a while and it was a nice change from the months of
depression I just went through.

I
thought about Lance all night. I wanted to call him but couldn’t find the nerve
to, in the event he was working on a case. Lacey needed my help to build the
new entertainment center she bought for our living room and it took us all
night to put together.

“Well,
that was exhausting, but it’s together.”

“See,
who needs a man when we’re here together,” Lacey laughed.

“Having
a man here would have made this a hell of a lot easier, though.”

“Eh,
whatever I’m going to bed. We can set the TV up tomorrow.”

Lacey
shoved the empty boxes to the side and stomped off to her room. I retreated to
mine shortly after. I couldn’t stop thinking about my date with Lance and how
incredibly sweet he seemed. He was the perfect gentleman and I almost wanted to
find a flaw in him, so that he wouldn’t seem so damn perfect. I plugged my
phone into the charger next to my bed and before I could even get my eyes shut,
my phone vibrated. A message from Lance popped onto my screen.

Lance
: Just wanted to let you know
that I was thinking about
you
 
-
Lance.

Me
: I was thinking about you, too.

Lance
: Can’t wait for our date
tomorrow, get some rest Miss.

Me
: Me either, night.

Chapter
10
:
A New Beginning

All
I could focus on was seeing Lance that night. I had worked a short four hour
shift at the sub shop earlier that day and was already back at home. I wasn’t
sure what fancy place he’d take me, but I wanted to dress to impress.

I
found a gray three-quarter sleeve belted sweater dress in my closet that I had
previously washed, but never had an opportunity to wear it until now.

Lance
called me and let me know that he was on his way, so I made sure I put a brush
through my hair and smoothed my curls out. I even splashed on my Japanese
cherry blossom perfume for the occasion. I waited by the window and searched
the parking lot until I saw his yellow Porsche come speeding through it.

I
ran outside to the passenger side door of his car before he had a chance to get
out and let myself inside. His eyes were fixated on my outfit and he shot me
the warmest smile.

“Where
are we headed tonight?”

“You
look so beautiful tonight, Alecia. Normally most girls wait until I get the
door for them though.”

“Hopefully
you’ll learn sooner rather than later, that you can’t compare me to any girl
from your past.”

“I
can tell, and where we’re going tonight is special.”

We
were in the car for quite some time, hitting toll roads, and cruising down
multiple highways. Our journey ended on Route 1 in Saugus, where we pulled into
the parking lot of an Asian style restaurant named Kowloon. The lot was nearly
full when we arrived but after circling around once, we found a spot a few feet
from the entrance, after someone left.

The
inside was gorgeous; there were pictures of celebrities hanging everywhere.
Wrestlers, movie stars, you name it. We walked by an enclosed private room, and
I would assume there was someone famous behind the red curtain, because there
was a ton of security standing guard outside of it.

We
were greeted by a young Asian lady standing behind a narrow podium. She lifted
two red menus from a pile behind her and escorted us to a small booth inside
the Tiki room. There was a beautiful Chinese stone statue mounted on top of a
small pool, surrounded by boulders and a black sprinkler system that
consistently shot water inside the pool. Red and blue lights enhanced the
crystal clear water and hand painted
zen
lanterns dangled above each booth.

We
sat down on these plush red cushions that were covered in black and white
Chinese calligraphy. The hostess poured us two cups of water and informed us
that our waitress was on her way. I scanned the menu for something unique, that
I’d never had before.

“How
about we order a Scorpion Bowl for two, a
pu-pu
platter with crab
rangoon
,
and a large shrimp fried rice. Since shrimp is our thing now.”

“Sounds
like a plan to me!”

The
waitress came over and Lance gave her our order. She let us know it would be
about twenty-minutes before our food was finished, but the drink would be right
out.

She
came back with a huge round yellow bowl, hand painted with a hula girl sporting
a Hawaiian Lei around her neck, packed with a multitude of rums, vodka, fresh
cherries, pineapples, juice and two huge bendable straws.

Her
assistant was close behind her with a small tray of bread and butter for us to
eat before our meal arrived. Lance thanked them both and we dug in.

“So,
what makes this place so ‘special’ to you Lance?”

“I
felt it was the perfect place to take you to dinner because there’s so much to
see around here. The atmosphere is very welcoming, the food is amazing, and I
figured if you hated it, there are lots of other places we could see on the
Route 1 strip.”

Two
waitresses came back with our food. One was carrying a small wooden bowl with
separate slots for the wings, teriyaki, crab
rangoon
and egg rolls, and there was a pretty blue
flame resting in the center of it. The other waitress held a silver platter
full of fried rice and jumbo shrimp.

“Enjoy
your meal, if there are any leftovers we will be more than happy to bag them up
for you,” said the first waitress.

“Thank
you, now let’s eat!”

While
enjoying my meal, I looked around the room and watched other couples sitting
together, taking pictures, laughing, and enjoying their meals. I even watched a
guy bend down on one knee and propose to his girlfriend in front of a fake palm
tree.

This
place was magical and I think that was the real reason Lance brought me here. I
got goose bumps watching the lady burst into tears after accepting her new
fiancé’s ring. I felt so happy for her and hoped that one day I’d be able to
feel what she was at that moment. Her cheeks were flushed with rose, and she
was absolutely beaming with joy.

My
eyes locked with Lance’s across the table after the proposal charade, and he
grinned from ear to ear. The light reflected off his beautiful eyes, making
them sparkle, I couldn’t help but lust for him.

Our
waitress dropped off the check and disappeared behind a black set of double
doors. She quickly returned with a large stapled paper bag filled with our
leftovers and a small plate of pineapples. Lance left a more than generous tip
with the check on the table and we walked back to his car. Once inside, we both
gazed at each other in complete silence while he rested his hand on my thigh.
His touch was warm, but calming. I weaved my fingers in between his and enjoyed
the lighted scenery as we drove through town.

Two
hours later, he drove us back to the front door of my complex. He bent over the
center console and placed his hand between my legs onto the leather material
beneath me. Lightly kissing behind my ear and sending tiny chills down my
spine. His hand slowly traced the inside seam of my dress, before he slid it in
between my enticing thighs. The windows quickly fogged up from the heat
radiating off of our bodies.

“Lance
stop, we can’t do this.”

“Okay,
I’m sorry it just felt right.”

“Don’t
be sorry, I do want it but I want the moment to be perfect.” I kissed him on
the cheek, and exited his car.

“Come
on Alecia, at least wait until he takes you on a third date,”
I said to myself while opening
the door to my apartment. Lacey was sitting at the kitchen table looking at me
with a crazed expression on her face. She didn’t say anything to me, but I
could feel her judgment. I just smiled and went into my room.

I
changed into a pair of gray sweatpants, a black camisole and turned on my
laptop. I typed Lance Doherty into my search bar to see if I could dig up some
dirt on ‘Mr. Perfect’ and a ton of pages showed up. I didn’t feel like
searching through 15 pages of Lance Doherty’s so I decided to end my search.
But before closing my laptop I saw an online dating site, I tried to click on
the link but the profile was set to private.

Moments
later, as if it were on cue, a message from Lance popped up on my cell.

Lance
: Alecia, I felt something from
you that I haven’t felt for anyone in a really long time tonight. I’d like to
take you out again tomorrow and I won’t accept no for an answer.

Me
: We can’t, I have to work the
closing shift tomorrow. Maybe we could try another time.

Lance
: How about after you get off
work? I would really like to see you even if we just grab a burger and fries.

Me
: Sure, meet me at eleven o’clock
at my apartment.

After
a long boring day at work the thirty minute stretch was finally upon us. We
barely had a customer all day and I was hoping it stayed that way. Before the
thought had even left my mind, a bunch of young high school teens came bursting
through the door. They looked like a bunch of jocks, coming from football
practice. Sporting their blue and white uniforms, matching cleat’s, and
miraculously their shoulder and knee pads were still intact too.

“We
just came from practice and we’re starving,” said a cute, thin blonde haired
boy. I could tell by his size he must have been the team’s quarterback.

Alisha
and I piled twelve subs full of assorted meats, cheeses, and veggies, wrapped
them up and sent the boys on their way. As they were leaving one looked at his
phone and said, “It’s ten already?” I quickly ran behind them and locked the
door. Alisha and I thoroughly cleaned, wrapped, and restocked everything for
the breakfast rush and left. Cindy locked up behind us and we all went our
separate ways.

I
pulled into the parking lot of my complex and Lance was already there awaiting
my arrival. I stuffed my visor inside my glove box and tossed my sweater over
my uniform. I didn’t want him to know where I worked just yet. The door to his
yellow car opened, and he stepped out holding two fast food bags in his hands.

“How’d
you know I loved Pizza Avenue’s food?”

“It
was a lucky guess.”

“Would
you like to come inside?”

“Are
you here alone? I’d hate to disturb anyone this late at night.”

“Good
point, my roommate Lacey is such a bitch if I’m ‘rowdy’ after ten.”

“Come
inside my car, it’s nice and warm, plus our drinks are still in there.” He
opened the passenger side door for me; I sat down inside his car and devoured
my meal.

“Thank
you so much Lance, that was perfect, I love bacon cheeseburgers they’re like my
kryptonite.”

“Good
to know what it takes to win your heart, bacon.” Laughter immediately erupted
from the both of us.

“It’s
so weird seeing you in normal people clothes.” He was wearing a black and navy
blue striped Adidas track suit.

“I
enjoy letting my hair down every once in a while.”