Just to be Left Alone (5 page)

Dessert
was set down in front of us. That was quick. She was certainly angling for a
good tip today, or she was used to serving him this quickly.

“You’ll
probably recognize one of them, but I won’t give that away yet. One is a
boutique owner, one is a real estate agent and the other is a model. You can
figure it all out when you meet them tonight. We’ll be there around nine-thirty
to get a table.”

I
took a big bite of the cheesecake as soon as I finished talking and almost
moaned aloud as it melted on my tongue.

“How’s
that cheesecake?”

“So
good I’ll need a nap after all of this.”

“We’ll
only need another hour or so to go over the estimates and then we’ll cut out
for the day.”

I
finished off the last bite of dessert and leaned back in my seat.

“Finish
your pie so I can get back to work.”

 
“Ouch, you injure my pride, but be still my
beating heart.”

He
placed his hand over his chest, feigning pain.

I
tried to make a stern face, although I knew my eyes betrayed me.

“Yes,
ma’am.” He saluted me.

It
only took an hour and a half to choose the best crew. Parker made the call to
the crew manager of our chosen company and we set up the time to start for
Monday morning. We closed up the warehouse and he walked me to my vehicle.

“I’ll
see you in a few hours. Take your cat nap and get all gorgeous for me.”

He
had no idea that I was setting him up with the girls tonight.

“You
never know Parker, you might fall in love tonight.”

I
got into the driver’s seat.

“I
doubt that. I’m too old and you’re still available.”

He
grinned at me as I started the motor.

“Keep
smiling and I’ll start calling you Cheshire.”

“Go
home, Alice.”

He
walked to his car and I pulled out of the parking lot, shaking my head. I drove
home thinking that my life sure had gone down the rabbit hole within the last
week.
Alice indeed.
I had a long
night ahead of me which hopefully didn’t include glasses marked ‘drink me’ or any
strange mushrooms. I set out my outfit and curled up with Bella to take my nap.

A
couple of hours later, I woke up and took a shower then ate a sandwich while I
listened to my favorite music, blaring it as loud as possible. The apartment
upstairs was being remodeled and the one next door had been empty for a couple
months. Unless I turned the radio all the way up and opened the windows, I
would not affect anyone. It was pure heaven to me.

I
danced around my bedroom while Bella made herself comfortable on my bed. No
ironing was needed, so all I had to do was slip my outfit on. I fixed my hair
like Chastity suggested, with it pulled onto the side, and secured it with tiny
silver clips. After spraying it with hairspray, I moved on to my makeup.

I
had decided on smoky eye shadow and red lips to contrast with the lightness of
the outfit. I smoothed on the perfumed lotion that went with my bath soap and
spritzed the body spray all over. I put on the earrings and belt Chastity had
picked out. I heard my cell phone ring.

“Hello.”
I turned the music down a little to hear better.

“It’s
Felicia, just checking on what time you’ll be at Raven’s place.”

“I’m
almost ready now. When do you want me there?”
 

“Raven
said anytime after eight would be fine. She’s getting ready right now.”

“I’ll
be there. Bye”

My
cell phone rang again. It was probably one of the girls again.

“Hello?”

“Samantha,
its Jason. What are you doing?” He asked quickly.

Bella
heard his voice and ran from the room.

“I’m
fine but kind of busy right now. Why are you calling me?”

“Well,
I haven’t heard from you and I had hoped we could finally talk. Are you going
somewhere?”

He
sounded apprehensive about the last part.

There
was a noise and I heard Bella hiss. I needed to get Jason off the phone to look
for her. Just when I walked down the hallway Bella ran back to the bedroom and
scampered under my bed.

“Look
Jason, I’m heading out and Bella’s acting strange. I don’t have much to say
right now.”

I
knelt under the bed and saw that Bella was cowering in the middle next to my
shoe storage box.

“I
was hoping we could see each other soon,” he whined softly. I hated whiny men.

“That’s
not going to happen right now.”

“How
are things at work after the accident?”

He’d
changed his voice to be more neutral and less like a spoiled brat.

“I’m
fine. Wait, how did you know about that?”

I
hadn’t told him anything about it. He recovered quickly.

“Chastity
mentioned a little to me when we spoke. She’s really mad at me. If it weren’t
for you she would probably have already run me down. Thanks for that.”

“If
things had gone better none of us would have a reason to be mad. I really have
to go.”

“If
that’s the best you’ll give me then I’ll just have to take it.”

He
sounded almost happy.

“Bye,
Jason.”

I
hung up before he could get anymore thoughts. I coaxed Bella out and laid her
back on my bench seat with her favorite pillow. She didn’t purr, but at least
she wasn’t shaking. There wasn’t anything weird outside, just someone moving
around next door. Maybe I would be getting a new neighbor soon. I turned the
music down just a notch.

I
sat next to Bella as I strapped on the high heels. She was finally purring when
I got up to put the belt on. I was glad she had gotten over whatever noise had
frightened her. Maybe the maintenance man was next door ripping up carpet or
something else that would bother her after so much silence over there. My phone
rang as I finished with my shoes. It was Chastity.

“Hello.”

“Hey,
Sam. I’m on my way to Raven’s. Do you want to ride along with me?”

I
heard traffic on her side of the line and knew she was already on her way here.

“Sure,
but how do I get back home?”

“You
can get a ride with Felicia if she’s not drinking or you can crash with one of
us. Bring some clothes just in case. I’ll be there in about five minutes.” She
hung up.

I
grabbed my backpack that already had some toiletries, jeans, a T-shirt,
underwear and sandals packed into it. Just as I grabbed it and my handbag I
heard the door bell ring. Bella ran past me toward the front door. I stepped
over her and let Chastity in. She grabbed Bella before the fur ball got over
the threshold to greet her. Bella had a bad habit of meeting my friends at the
door. Scratching Bella’s neck, Chastity smiled at me. “You ready to go, girl?”

“I’m
ready and have my backpack filled up. Let’s go.” I grabbed my keys as she set
Bella down on the couch and then we were off to a hopefully unforgettable
night.

Chapter Three

When
I got to Raven’s, Felicia let us in and handed me a drink she’d made. It was
blue and fizzy without being too strong. I loved it right away. Chastity
grabbed one herself while Raven drank water.

After
a while, we made our way to the club and once inside found a great spot right
up front by the DJ booth. Music was starting up when the drinks came and I
ordered the same drink as before. The name of the drink was vulgar and
hilarious, so I liked it right away. After a few sips, Chastity jumped up on
the dance floor. It only took about thirty seconds for a guy to jump up there
with her.

“Round
one,” Raven said as she nodded toward Chastity and the guy dancing closely with
her.

“Just
wait. I have a present coming for you guys.”

“His
name is Parker and he’s right behind you.”

I
jumped up and turned around to see him.

“Well,
meet my friends,” I said as I waved around me. I introduced Felicia and Raven
to him. Then Chastity walked up. He stretched his hand over to her.

“And
you are..?” asked Chastity in her sweetest voice as he kissed the back of her
hand.

“Chaz,
this is Parker Stevenson. He’s the insurance adjuster I’m working with for the
next couple of weeks.”

Chastity
hadn’t taken her eyes off him or her hand from his. Felicia jumped up and said
she was going to dance. Raven went with her. I thought I’d leave Chastity and
Parker alone for a minute. With the looks they were giving each other, it could
take a few minutes for them to even speak.

I
started swaying to the music and thought it was indeed time to get on the dance
floor. I always had a way of losing myself to the music. By the second song,
Chastity made it a foursome.

I
felt a metaphysical pull. I focused my gaze into the darkness and saw a
familiar form in the corner of the bar. I felt my heart skip a beat, but kept
dancing while our gazes were locked. I didn’t look at the girls when I heard them
whispering about me.

“I
think you have somewhere to be, Sam,” said Raven.

Without
her even knowing who he was, Chastity laughed and said, “I agree”.

I
looked back over to the table he was standing by, though he was leaning against
the wall all alone. I started over to him while keeping our eyes locked
together.

“Hi
you,” Conrad said huskily when we were close enough to talk.

“Again,
I am pleasantly surprised at seeing you.”

I
moved within a foot of his relaxed figure.

“Same
here, but now I won’t be leaving early,” he said as a smile reached his green
eyes.

“Are
you here with someone or alone?”

“With
someone and no, it’s not a girl. He’s coming up behind you. Blake Evans, meet
Samantha Malone.”

The
gentleman behind me was carrying two drinks. He gave one to Conrad before
shaking my hand. Blake was a dead ringer for Matthew McConaughey and I tried
not to gape. I did manage to say hello and the guys exchanged looks over my
head.

“Blake,
this is the lady I mentioned a couple of days ago.”

Blake
nodded in response.

“Well,
it’s nice to meet you Samantha. I’m glad my buddy was there to help you the
other night. No other problems, I hope?”

“Only
a problem at work that has us shut down for a few weeks. Thanks for asking
though,” I smiled at them. “I’m here with my girlfriends, if you want to meet
them. I’m sure you noticed them on the dance floor with me.”

I
nodded toward our table.

“I
was a little preoccupied as I stared at one lady in particular, but yes, I’ll
meet them. I did recognize Raven from last weekend.”

He
came off the wall and nodded at Blake. “Come meet her friends and then we’ll
play pool.”

“Alright,
as long as they don’t eat me,” Blake laughed.

“They
won’t do that, they already had dinner.”

I smiled up into his face.

“Hey
Samantha, aren’t you going to introduce us?”

I
turned around to see Parker behind me with two drinks. He was grinning. I
wondered what he was up to, especially since they had seen each other at the
diner.

“Parker,
this is Conrad Forsyth and his friend Blake Evans. Guys, this is Parker
Stevenson, a co-worker of mine. Parker is handling the accident that happened
at work. He’s with the insurance company. Parker, Conrad is the gentleman who
helped me out last weekend.”

They
all nodded at each other without offering to shake each other’s hands.

“He’s
the white knight, huh?” Parker asked.

“Yes,
I am. Nice to meet you, Parker.”
 

“Okay
boys, this way.”

I
led the way back to our table and let them think what they wanted about the
introductions. All the girls were there when I got to the table and their
expressions were priceless. Chastity looked ready to eat up Parker, Felicia
looked totally surprised and Raven looked intrigued.

“I’m
back and I brought re-enforcements,” I said smiling with my arms out.

The
guys flanked around me. Parker stepped around to give Chastity one of the
drinks he held.

Chastity
spoke up. “Now I know what took you so long.”

Parker
looked at her and said, “I was checking to make sure Samantha was okay. As you
can see, she’s just fine.”

He
passed a look at Conrad.

I
made the introductions all around, once again. Blake’s gaze stayed on Raven as
I spoke. As soon as I finished talking, Blake spoke to Raven.

“I’ve
seen you somewhere.”

“Probably.
She’s plastered everywhere,” Felicia said.

“I’m
a model. You’ve probably seen some shot of me in a magazine.”

Most
guys remembered her by a bikini ad she did two years ago.

 
“I know where I’ve seen you. My little sister
is in design school and has a picture of you in a wedding dress on her wall at
home.”

”I’m
flattered. Tell her to keep at it. I’ve met a lot of designers and it’s hard
work.”

She
was actually fluttering her eyelashes at him.

“When
I tell her I met you, she’ll flip. She won’t even believe me.”

He
ran a hand through his hair.

“I
can arrange proof, if it’ll work out better for you.”
 

“Sure,
that would be great. Would you like a drink?”

“I’m
fine right now, but I may take you up on that in a little while.”
 

“Just
let me know when and what you want, it’s yours.”

“Parker,
let’s go grab some pool sticks,” Chastity interrupted as she grabbed Parker.

I
knew one of them would pin him down and he’d be down for the count.

Conrad
gently pulled me to the corner behind our table.
 

He
said, “I’m glad I was wrong.”