Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2)
Read Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) Online
Authors: Ivan Kendrick
KINDLE EDITION
Published by: Ivan Kendrick
Devoted to Her
Copyright © 2015 Ivan Kendrick. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether
electronic or mechanical—apart from excerpts in reviews or articles—without
express written permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Any references to real
people, events, or locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places
and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to
actual people, whether living or deceased, is purely coincidental and not
intended by the author.
Cover photo by electroalice.
For anyone who believed in me.
But mainly to yours truly,
for having enough pride
to demand better than lemons.
Settling is
so
not my style.
“Love does not begin and end
the way we seem to think it does.
Love is a battle, love is a war;
love is a growing up.”
James A. Baldwin
As he looked at the Manhattan skyscrapers through a suite
window, Nathan felt on top of the world. And that wasn’t just because he had a
stunning view of the city below. His high spirits had to do with the gorgeous
woman watching TV in the other room.
Nathan was in the suite that Amanda always used during
her stays in New York. He had just stopped by the window on his way from the
bathroom. Nathan still felt lucky that he was dating the world’s most beautiful
woman.
She is as far as I’m concerned, since I’m so in love
with her,
Nathan thought to himself.
It took Nathan plenty of effort to win her heart.
Amanda was way out of his league, but that didn’t stop him from fighting for
her. Nathan knew she had to be in his life for it to be worth living.
Smiling, Nathan walked to the living room. He saw
Amanda sitting on the couch. She looked great as always, wearing dark blue pants
and a pink long-sleeve sweater. Amanda looked up when she sensed his approach.
“Morning, beautiful,” Nathan said. He sat next to
Amanda, and claimed her lips in a tender kiss.
“Did you like breakfast?” Amanda asked. She had made
ham and egg croissant sandwiches just earlier. As Nathan was the one who usually cooked
for them, Amanda had asked him to let her make the food.
“Definitely,” Nathan said. He caressed the side of
Amanda’s face. “I look forward to dessert now.”
Amanda giggled.
“That’ll be after noon. For now, what would you
suggest we do to spend the time?”
“I have an idea. Do you know how to skate?”
“With roller skates? Yes.”
“Good. I’ll take you somewhere that Marissa told me
about,” Nathan said. He was referring to one of his best friends, who attended
Parsons School of Design.
Nathan’s fingers ran through Amanda’s hair. She didn’t
have the blue streaks she'd tried on briefly. Amanda preferred not having them.
Nathan thought about the awesome week he and Amanda
had had so far. They attended the New Year’s event at Times Square with their
friends. Nathan thought the experience was tiring, but well worth it.
A TV news report made Nathan turn to watch it. He saw
what it was about and frowned.
“Are you still watching that?” Nathan asked. Amanda
looked at the TV to see what was there.
“No. I didn’t think there would be any more news.”
Nathan and Amanda watched the reporter. He was talking
about Hilbert Melendez, Amanda’s former talent agent. The police caught wind
that Hilbert sexually abused some models that his agency represented. Having a
senator for a father wasn’t enough to save Hilbert from going to prison. A
trial took place during the first week of December. The jury found Hilbert
guilty of rape, coercion, and fraud.
The current news report was talking about Daphne Ross
Model Management. That was the agency that represented Amanda. Hilbert used to
be an agent and one of the top representatives. After his imprisonment, Daphne
Ross had struggled to stay afloat. The agency survived despite its damaged
reputation.
A new agent represented Amanda now. The transition
went smoother than expected. Hilbert in prison meant he couldn’t sabotage
Amanda’s career.
Nathan switched off the TV. Amanda looked at him.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes. You’ll drive,” Amanda replied. She handed him
the keys to her white Kia Optima.
Once the two were ready, they walked down to the
lobby. Nathan’s new car was in Ithaca (he’d chosen to buy it rather than fix
his old one). Amanda let him drive her car when they arrived at New York for
the holidays.
There was an ice skating place not far from where
Marissa lived. Nathan had checked on the Internet to make sure it was open.
Inside the rink, there weren’t many people. Nathan had
counted on that. It was Thursday, the second day of January. There were only a
handful of people (most of them couples) on the ice floor. Nathan helped Amanda
put her skates on, and then he put on his own. He took her hand and led her to
the ice.
“I admit that I’m sort of nervous,” said Amanda.
“I’m not going to let you fall.”
Nathan and Amanda skated in a circle around the floor.
They wove around the other skaters. Nathan kept hold of Amanda’s gloved hand,
leading her. They continued like that for some amount of time. Neither of them
kept track.
“Have you ever skated on ice?” Nathan asked.
“A few times. I usually go with Emmy or Judith. Never
with a guy I love, though.”
“Do you know how to twirl on one foot?”
“I’ve tried it. Do you want me to?”
“I was just curious. Try it if you want.”
Amanda thought about it for a second. She then skated
to the center of the floor. Amanda twirled ballerina style, spreading her arms
out for balance.
When Amanda was skating back toward Nathan, she
noticed his smartphone pointed at her. She gave him a look of mock irritation.
“How did I do?” Amanda asked as she skated past.
“You looked gorgeous, as usual.”
Nathan pocketed his phone and skated in Amanda’s
direction. She noticed him, and increased her speed.
“Oh, so now you’re going to make me chase you. Just
like old times.”
Amanda laughed at the comment. She remembered how she
made Nathan work hard to win her heart. One of Amanda’s reasons was that she
wasn’t sure she could love like her first time again. She’d also endeavored to
protect Nathan from Hilbert. He’d turned out to be more dangerous than anyone
could have thought. At least the hesitation made Amanda sure that Nathan didn’t
want her just because of her beauty.
Nathan caught Amanda off guard. He bumped into her and
they both stopped against a wall. Nathan grabbed Amanda’s arms.
“I’ll always catch you, love,” Nathan said. He kissed
Amanda, caressing her lips with his.
Moments later, the two were back outside. Nathan
walked with Amanda back to her car. This time, he let her drive.
Amanda revved the engine. In seconds, they were back
on the road. As she drove, Amanda thought about the way Nathan kissed her back
at the ice skating place. She enjoyed his touch, and the way his lips melded
against hers.
“Where are we headed?” Nathan asked.
“You’ll see. There’s this place I’ve wanted to show
you. Do you remember me telling you that I want to get a room at The Epic when
I move here?”
“No.”
“Oh. You’ll like it.”
After visiting The Epic, Nathan and Amanda returned to
their hotel room for lunch. Halfway through, Nathan challenged Amanda to a
chess match. Amanda accepted. She was glad her father taught her how to play
chess. Amanda had become quite skilled at it. She won the first game.
“You lost on purpose, didn’t you?” she asked.
“No. I played my best, I pinky-swear.”
Amanda giggled.
“Okay. Let’s have another round.”
“Last game, and then we get to use your Wii, okay? I
want to challenge you to a Mario Kart race.”
Amanda curved her eyebrow.
“You have no idea what you’re signing up for.”
“What?”
“Fair warning: I’m all but prodigious at Mario Kart.”
“I’d like to see that, sweetheart.”
“You’re on.”
After a second round of chess (which Nathan won), he
and Amanda played on the Wii. Nathan had asked her to bring the console after
seeing it at her apartment. That was the moment Amanda found out that Nathan
enjoyed videogames as much as she did.
The two had fun racing each other for much of the next
hour. Amanda won almost all the races, partly because she knew all the shortcuts
and maneuvers. She also kept obtaining good power-ups.
“Imagine if you could do that in real races,” Nathan
commented at one point. “Throw turtle shells at the opponents.”
Amanda burst into laughter. That gave Nathan the
chance to blow past her with a golden mushroom. Amanda scrambled to get
back on track. Nathan though she was interesting to look at when she was
deep in concentration.
When they finished, Nathan turned off the Wii and the
TV. He then moved toward Amanda. She watched as he pushed a lock of hair behind
her ear.
“You’re lovely,” Nathan told Amanda, looking at her
lips. He leaned forward and kissed them. Amanda’s eyes closed, and she put her
arms around Nathan. He started unbuttoning the front of her blouse. She was
wearing a white T-shirt underneath. Nathan ran his hands under it, touching her
skin.
Amanda removed her undershirt and lay back on the
sofa. Nathan tugged down on her pants. She helped him pull them off. He
proceeded to caress her thighs. Amanda gasped, enjoying the touch. She took
his hand and guided it to where she wanted to be touched.
“I love having you to
myself,” Nathan said. He caressed the bare skin of Amanda’s waist, and then
moved up for another kiss.
The next morning, Amanda’s fitness trainer arrived
for a workout session. She answered the door.
“Hi, Jonathan!” she said, stepping aside to let him
in. He was carrying a black gym bag.
“Good morning, Amanda,” he replied. “Have you rested
well?”
“Yes, thank you. After having been to two New Year
celebrations in Times Square, I’m kinda used to it.”
“I would doubt that. Even for someone with my fitness,
standing for over eight hours is tough.”
Amanda and Jonathan went to the living room. Nathan
walked in from the kitchen.
“Good morning, Mr. Clayton.”
“Good morning.”
“I’ll make breakfast so it’s ready after you’re done,”
Nathan told Amanda.
“Thanks. If anyone calls, let me know.”
“Sure will.”
Amanda and Jonathan warmed up in the living room. They
were going to exercise there, as there wasn’t another empty room to use. They
moved the coffee table out of the way.
After more than a year of working out with Jonathan,
Amanda had never felt better. She was fitter than she’d ever been. Amanda was
proud of it.
When their workout was over, Amanda thanked Jonathan.
He packed up and left. Amanda took a shower before joining Nathan in the kitchen.
Nathan was fixing breakfast. The pantry wasn’t fully
stocked, but the food there was good. Nathan grabbed a few eggs and some
shredded American cheese and set to work.
At around nine, Amanda emerged from the shower. She
wore a pair of chocolate brown yoga pants and a dark green bra. She was able to
get away with it because the apartment had the heating turned on.
Nathan turned to the doorway when Amanda walked in.
She was giving him a knowing smile.
“Morning, beautiful,” Nathan said once he resumed
breathing. “I love this habit of yours.”
Laughing, Amanda walked toward him. Nathan looked her
up and down.
“You sure work out,” Nathan said, touching her
abdomen. “These abs are so sexy.”
Amanda closed her eyes when Nathan laid a kiss on her
abdomen.
“You don’t disappoint, either,” she told him.
Nathan stood up and walked to the table. He pulled a
seat for Amanda. She sat down, and Nathan set a plate in front of her.
“Thanks. I love that you make me breakfast.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Nathan said. He made himself a
plate and sat down opposite Amanda. They ate.
“What’s the plan for today?” Amanda asked after they
finished their breakfast. Nathan put the plates in the dish sink.
“We’re going out for some fun. You’ll enjoy it.”
“Where?”
“I assume the Empire State Building is open to the
public, right?”
“It should.”
Nathan smiled.
“Then that’s where we’re going.”
“I did a photo shoot there,” Amanda told him. “At the
observatory. It was for a local photographer.”
