Breathless (75 page)

“This place is so gross.” Emily’s voice irritated me as she interrupted my thoughts. I tried not to snap at her as she looked at the silverware in front of her with disdain. “I hope I don’t catch anything.”

“I’m sorry.” I looked at her with a sorrowful expression. “I’m sure this isn’t as nice as the place Braydon took you to.”

“No, it’s not.” She snapped. “He always took me to the Capital Grille.”

“Oh?” I cocked my head to the side. “Any particular reason?”

“We both liked steak.” Her eyes flashed at me and I resisted the urge to ask her if she ever really ate more than a salad anyways. From the looks of her, I doubted it. But I knew I had to keep my thoughts to myself.

“The Capital Grille is a pretty popular place. I think Braydon goes there a lot, huh?” I continued, hoping Emily would make this easy and just give me the information that I wanted.

“I have no clue.” She shook her head. “We only dated a few weeks.”

“Yeah, he’s a player.”

“I haven’t heard that you’re an angel.” Emily looked up at me and laughed. “You make Braydon look like a wannabe.”

“I wouldn’t say all that.” I shook my head, embarrassed, even though her words were true. I didn’t do relationships, and I made no secret of that fact either. Women only wanted one thing from guys: to settle down and get married. I shuddered just thinking of all the women who had told me they loved me and wanted to be with me forever. Women who didn’t even know me, women I didn’t know and didn’t want to know. I suppose I was a bit of a challenge, the man that had never been in love. The man who didn’t do relationships. Little did they know, that was never going to change. I was never going to let some woman come in and destroy me.

“Excuse me, but have you guys decided what you would like to eat?” Lucky’s words interrupted my thoughts again and as I looked up into her clear brown eyes, I felt the slight shock of some unfamiliar emotion course through my bloodstream. My whole body felt on edge, and I scowled at her in displeasure. “We’re not ready yet. I’ll let you know when we are.” I dismissed her casually, and I saw the quick flash of pain in her eyes. She looked at me uncertainly before she walked away, and I felt ashamed of myself for my cold and dismissive words. I took a gulp of beer and stared down at the menu with my heart beating rapidly. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but as I looked at the items on the menu, the words blurred and all I could see was Lucky’s face in my mind.

“Hey sexy, are you on the menu tonight?” a loud rowdy voice called out, and I looked up to see some skinny punk trying to touch Lucky’s ass. My blood boiled as I saw his hand on her back, and I was about to jump out of my seat and smack his hand away when I saw her glare at him and take a step back.

“I’m not on the menu, Sir, and if you touch me again, I’m afraid to tell you that nothing on the menu will be available for you.” She ended the sentence with a sweet smile and I saw the guy look at her with shock on his face. I bet no one had put him in his place like that before. I was impressed at her spunk and frustrated at the same time. What if the guy had groped her or gotten angry at her talking back to him? I looked around the diner and was upset to see that there were no men working, only Lucky and the other waitress she had called Maria. I bit my lip and looked back at my menu
. It’s not your problem, Beaumont
, I repeated to myself over and over again.

“I guess I’ll get the taco salad.” Emily’s whiney voice aggravated me and I wanted to tell her to just have whatever before I stopped myself
. Get it together, Beaumont
, I ordered myself. I needed to ensure that Emily was one of the girls who fell for my charm. I needed to concentrate on her and not let myself worry about some flimsy waitress who was too bouncy and too open with her smiles. I vowed to myself that this was the last time I would come to this diner. I didn’t need any distractions at this time and I knew that Lucky could turn into the biggest and most unwanted distraction of my life.

***

“Thank you for dining with us tonight.” She avoided my eyes as she laid my change on the table, and I wanted to reach over and grab her chin.
Look at me
, I wanted to command her,
look at me and let me see your beautiful brown eyes
.

“It was our…” My voice trailed off as she walked away without letting me finish my sentence.

“Well, she’s rude.” Emily’s voice was loud. “She should get fired.”

“It’s fine.” I shrugged, not wanting her to see how annoyed I was that Lucky had dismissed me so casually. Who was she to turn around and walk out on me?
She thinks you’re a jerk
, the voice inside my head whispered,
and who can blame her
? I pulled out a $50 and placed it on the table as a tip.
Let her think I’m a jerk now
. “Let’s go.” I jumped up out of the booth and waited for Emily to stand up.

“Where are we going?” She smiled up into my eyes and I knew she expected to come back to my place to fuck. Shit, any other night and I would have been all about that.

“I think I have to be up early tomorrow,” I spoke with pretend remorse, trying not to watch Lucky as she picked up plates from another table. “I may just have to take you home.”

“But, I want to spend the night with you.” She whined and grabbed hold of my arm, her fingernails digging into my skin and causing an acute pain.

“Not tonight.” My voice was low and grating. Why wouldn’t she just shut up? We walked toward the door and just before we exited, I looked around and saw Lucky, standing at the booth I had just vacated, staring at me with wide eyes. I watched as she played with her ponytail, and an image of her on top of me running her hair across my face flashed in my mind. She mouthed
thank you
and gave me a sweet smile and I nodded before turning back around with a grin on my face. She wasn’t mad at me anymore. A sudden lightness filled me and I wanted to run down the street and pump my fists into the air.

***

“So, I was thinking we could go back to your place, and I could show you my latest yoga moves,” Emily whispered in my ear as I got into the car and started the engine.

“Not tonight,” I ignored the urge to flick her fingernails off of my arm as I started the car. “Let me take you home.”

“I don’t want to go home.” Her voice changed abruptly and I could hear the anger in her tone. “I want to go home with you.”

“I’m busy.” I turned on the radio and turned it quickly when I heard the sound of Paul McCartney singing “Hey Jude”. I finally left it on the country station and listened to Tim McGraw tell me about how much he loved his dad.

“Too busy for me?” She purred again, obviously realizing that she wasn’t going to get me by being surly. “I went shopping especially for tonight,” she giggled, and I turned to look at her quickly. Her face glittered in the moonlight as we drove along Washington Avenue and I was struck at just how beautiful she really was. She was beautiful and vapid, and I had no interest in her whatsoever.

“What did you get?” I was curious. Not curious enough to change my mind, but curious enough to want to know.

“Crotchless panties.”

“Oh,” I grinned at her, my mind wondering if I shouldn’t perhaps give her the opportunity to show me her new purchase.

“And the rest are edible.” She shifted in her seat so that she was closer to me. I could smell the faintest hint of her perfume. It was obnoxiously heavy and I wanted to tell her that she shouldn’t wear a perfume that was heavily marketed to someone her grandma’s age. It wasn’t sexy, and I turned my head to avoid the smell.

“Edible, eh?” I shifted in my seat at the thought of demolishing her underwear. The stirrings of unwanted desire grew in my pants for the briefest second, and then recoiled again as I thought about who I was with.

“And I’m sure you’re hungry, after that horrible meal.” Emily wrinkled her nose in distaste. “What a horrible restaurant: the food was awful and that waitress sucked. She was so rude and tacky.” Emily’s fingers ran down my now tense arm. “I suppose I should feel horrible for the girl; her life obviously sucks, working at a tacky diner, wearing cheap clothes, and well, if I looked like her, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”

“Looked like her?” My voice was low and I tried to not let her see how angry I was becoming at her words.

“You have to admit she was very plain,” Emily continued and moved her fingers from my arm to my thigh. “I would hate it if I was that plain and had that horrible frizzy hair. Doesn’t she know to go to a hairdresser? I can’t believe they let her come into work looking like that.”

“She looked fine.” I gently shoved her hand from my thigh, it was dangerously close to my crotch and I was no longer interested in the possibility of bedding Emily, crotchless panties be damned.

“Well yes, maybe she looked fine, but I mean, who wants to look
fine
? I’m so glad I’m beautiful.” Emily’s voice was sharp. “Don’t you think I’m beautiful, Zane?”

I looked over at her clinically and nodded. “Yes, you’re beautiful.”
But you’re not heartachingly pretty, you’re not adorable and genuine. You’re not a girl I would want for more than a night
.

“Sometimes, I think guys like you take girls like me for granted.” She giggled and placed her hand in my lap again. “You’re lucky I said yes to tonight’s date.”

“I am.” I tried not to roll my eyes at her words. I wasn’t being cocky when I said I could have almost any woman in Miami. The only ones that would possibly say no were lesbians, and I’d even dated some of them.

“I want to go back to your place.” Her voice was firm, and I knew that Emily was a woman used to getting what she wanted.

“That’s not going to be possible.” I pulled onto I-95 and pressed my foot on the gas. I was fuming inside at what she had said about Lucky. But not only was I fuming at her, I was also mad at myself. What did I care what Emily had to say about the girl? Some of it was true. Lucky was poorly dressed, likely because she was poor and she was working in a somewhat trashy diner on a Friday night. She wasn’t a girl I would normally look at twice, for a number of reasons. Yet, something about the glint and smile in her eye wouldn’t leave my mind. Emily might have called her plain, but there was nothing plain about Lucky. Her big brown eyes were expressive and beautiful. They were so open and honest, and I’d been able to read her every emotion; that was something I couldn’t really do with the crowd I hung out with. And yes, her hair had been somewhat frizzy, but it gave her character. The loose tendrils surrounding her face had been sexy as hell, and I could picture myself playing with her hair in bed, as those tendrils teased my chest and face.

“Well, I guess you’re not exactly as Braydon said.” Emily’s voice interrupted my thoughts and I turned to her quickly.

“Oh?” I looked at her through narrowed eyes. My heart had slowed and I kept my voice even. Did Braydon suspect what I was up to already?

“Yeah, he always said that you were just after sex, and any girl that dated you would be a fool to think you were interested in anything else.” Emily looked at me with a wondering and weak expression. “But, I don’t think you took me out just for sex? I mean, you’re taking me home…” Her words trailed off, and I could tell she was confused, concerned, and slightly hopeful. I knew she was worried that she had lost her mystical powers of entrapping any man she wanted with sex. But I also knew she was wondering if perhaps she had been the one to tame me, and maybe I was holding back on sex because I wanted a more meaningful relationship with her. I almost laughed in her face. There was no way in hell I wanted a relationship and it certainly wouldn’t be with her, if I ever changed my mind.

“You almost seemed to pay more attention to that waitress than you did to me.” Her voice was upset and my breath caught. “I felt like you didn’t even listen to me much.”

“I…”

“Like, when I told you that Braydon had asked me to go to a party with him in St. Barths next weekend and if you thought I should go, you didn’t even respond.”

“Wait, what?” I frowned at her words. “I don’t remember you saying anything about a party with Braydon.”

“Because you were too busy watching the waitress,” she huffed.

“Oh.” I bit my lip in anger at myself. What else had I missed watching Lucky walk around the diner? I’d never lost focus before, and now wasn’t the time to start.

“It makes me wonder why you even asked me out,” she pouted again and I knew that there was only one thing to do to make sure I got everything I needed out of Emily.

“Let’s go back to my place.” I hesitated slightly as I spoke, but I knew it was the only thing I could do, to make Emily happy again.

“Really?” Her tone changed and she slid back over to me.

“Really.” I nodded and turned my car around and we drove back to my place in silence. As I drove, I felt an impending doom in my stomach. I’d slept with plenty of girls that I’d never cared about before, but somehow, this just felt wrong. This time, I just didn’t want to do it. It wasn’t that I wasn’t attracted to her. She was beautiful and her body was amazing. Any other night, I would have fucked her without a problem, but tonight, in this moment, the last thing I wanted to do was take her into my bed. I could tell myself it was because of my distaste for her, but I knew that wasn’t it. I didn’t even want to think about why I just wanted to go home and read my book by myself.

I felt numb as I drove back to my place. I could hear Emily prattling on about something, but I ignored her. She didn’t seem to care now that she had achieved her goal. I guess I was just another notch in her belt: she’d be able to tell her friends that she had slept with Zane Beaumont, son of Jeff Beaumont, the head of Paragon Studios. For all I knew, she had aspirations of becoming an actress and was hoping for an easy in. Little did she know, I hadn’t spoken to my dad in about a month and didn’t care to, either.

I pulled up the driveway and jumped out of the car quickly. I wanted to get the night over with, so I could take her home in the morning and be done with her. I was pretty sure she didn’t have any info on Braydon, but I was hoping to convince her to go to the party with him in St. Barths, and maybe then she’d have a bit more to report back to me. She didn’t need to know why. I just needed her to do my bidding.