Nice Girl (16 page)

“You’ve never dated?  How old are you?”

“I just turned 30 in December.”

Oh God.  30!  The magic age for the orgasm pact.

“Why do you look so shocked that I’m 30?  You turn 23 in June.   Do you consider me that old?”  He chuckled.

“How did you know I’ll be 23 in June?”

“I did a background check on you.  Anthony just hired you on the spot.  I felt we should’ve been a little more cautious with people we hire that walk in from the street.  Don’t worry, I didn’t tell anyone about your three felonies.”
  He was joking and he was adorable.

  “Well, that’s a relief.”

“Your secret is safe with me.  Thanks for being my bowling partner, Grace.”

“Anytime.  Good night Vinnie.”

If he only knew my real secret.

I’m sure he could do something about it. I was way too intimidated to find out.

Chapter 15

When you brag, make sure you can back it up. 

In conversations with my father and my girlfriends, I boasted that graduate school couldn’t be going any smoother.   I was easily keeping up with my studies despite my work obligation to A and V. 

Then March hit me like a wall of bricks.  Rigorous research papers, taxing nightly readings, and exams to prepare for hit my stress level to the max.  My studies seemed to occupy all my free time in the evening and on the weekends.  I found myself cutting my web chat time short with my girlfriends in the evenings.   I was finding I was too exhausted the next day if I stayed up late chatting with them.

Every day, I looked forward to that short time I could see Vinnie.  We would often only have time for short conversation.  Sometimes it was just a few words of pleasantries but it was enough for me.   I just loved seeing him every day.  He was like a drug and I needed my fix.  The way he smiled at me when he arrived, made my heart race.  I pretended in my head that he felt the same way as me.  With all the pressure of school right then, I needed that fantasy to look forward to every day. 

The new contracts with the insurance companies meant the office was busier than ever.  Anthony was giving me more and more responsibilities.  I was returning most of the phone calls, billing clients, and even following up on leads.  My self-assuredness level was gaining.   When I took the job at A and V, I thought I’d be practicing strong confident woman with the guys I was working with.  I didn’t expect that I would be dealing so personally with the male clients on a daily basis.  I was professional and knowledgeable. 

I refused to get flustered when some of the clients became agitated or impatient.  Some of the particularly older ones were even a little rude.  You could tell they didn’t enjoy dealing with a young woman.    Those were the calls I wanted the most.  I loved the challenge.  I could feel the change in me.

I did confide in Jamie about all the stress my graduate studies were putting me through.  We had our daily chat session by my desk when he first arrived in the morning.  We often went out for coffee breaks together.  At least twice a week, he and Luke took me out to dinner.  No matter how close I felt to him, I still couldn’t bring myself to tell him about my secret longing for Vinnie.

It was too hard to talk about.  Vinnie and I were so different.  I was frightened off by his history with women.  Yet, I couldn’t stop dreaming about him.   

I barely even told my girlfriends of my desire.    When I first mentioned Vinnie, it was that description of him from my first day.   He was massive, scarred, and threatening to kill someone.  Not the best first impression.  They laughed their asses off when I told them he was my bowling partner.  I admitted I was attracted to him mostly because of his big muscular domineering attitude.  I don’t think even the girls I grew up with had any inkling I wanted to take it any farther than that. 

“Okay Grace, time to go out for coffee.  You look like you‘re going to pass out.”  Jamie’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Good idea.  Last night was a long one.  I finally finished that project that consumed my entire week.”  I grabbed my wallet to walk across the street to Starbucks.  Just the idea of a caffeine jolt had instantly revived me.  I was drained.

We both ordered a large and then Jamie surprised me by wanting to sit down.   Whenever we run out for a coffee break, we’re both so busy, we take it to go.  The only time I linger is when Carmella is in the office.  For some reason, she hasn’t visited in awhile.  I’m assuming it is because Anthony has been swamped with all the extra work too. 

“Well, this is new.  Do you need a break from the office?”  I asked curiously.

“Definitely.  Can’t you feel it, Grace?  The client load has tripled.  I think they’ll need to hire another employee soon.”

“Where will they put him?  There isn’t an extra office.”

“Well maybe A and V will grow so big that we’ll need another location.”

“I hope not!  I love the three block walk to work.”

“Don’t worry.  We will make sure that any new office location is up to Grace’s standards first.”

“Well I hope so.  I’m very important.”  I add sarcastically.

“Yes, you are.  Especially to one of the owners of the company.”  Says Jamie with a wink.

“Okay, Jamie.  I am way too sleep-deprived for your cryptic message.  What do you mean by that?”  I sigh.  He was always joking around.  I didn’t know where he was going with his owner- of- the- company comment.

“Oh, only that the ‘V’ as in A and V private investigations is totally hot for you.”

I spit out my coffee.  “Jamie, that’s not funny.”

“Tell me with a straight face you didn’t notice.”

“Notice what?”  How could anyone know about my purely erotic dreams of Vinnie every night?  Did anyone notice that? 

“He is a completely different person around you.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.  He is not used to being around women period.  He has always hung out with the boys from the neighborhood.  He is trying to be a gentleman around me.  That doesn’t mean he has the hots for me.”

“Anthony was teasing Vinnie at our surveillance last night that he hasn’t been with a woman in months.  Anthony asked him if he is holding out for a certain woman in particular.”

“And what was his answer to that, pray tell?”  I asked with as much scorn as I could muster.  I wanted to act like I didn’t care. 

“Well, Grace if you really don’t want to know.”

“Shut up and tell me, Jamie.  You obviously are dying too.”

“Vinnie said that maybe he was holding out for a particular woman.  He said he was sick and tired of strip clubs and whores.  He’s ready for a nice girl.”

“Oh God.”

“Yes, Grace.  I wonder who that nice girl is.”

“You can’t assume it’s me.”  I answer softly.  All of a sudden I’m very intimidated.  My dreams are one thing.  To really be with Vinnie sexually is another.

“Well I guess we’ll know more tomorrow night.”

“With this crazy week, I almost forgot about Jamal’s birthday.”  I was sure out of it.  Ivy had planned this all just a few days ago.

“You better not forget.  When we were talking about it this morning, Vinnie told me he was going to pick you up.”

“He c-can’t.”  Now I was freaking.  Would it be considered a date?  “I mean because it’s on a Thursday.  I have class.  I was planning on coming right from class.  It’s only at Mahoney’s which is a three block walk for goodness sake.”

“Tell that to your possessive boyfriend.”

“Jamie, don’t say that!  I’m totally uncomfortable with your assumptions.”

“Why?   Don’t you feel that same way?  What woman doesn’t want that walking beefcake?  He would be a gay man’s fantasy but I know he doesn’t swing that way.”

“First of all, I don’t buy your hypothesis.”  I sounded like an annoying college geek at that moment. “Vinnie has been a little overprotective of me.  That’s because he is looking out for me as a friend.  You know like a brother watching over a little sister.”

“Grace, for someone going for her PhD, you surely are clueless.  Come on.  We better get back.”

I couldn’t feel my feet on the walk back to the office.

What is that cliché?  Be careful what you wish for?  I was anxious and uneasy about what Jamie said.   That Vinnie would actually want to pursue more than friendship with me.  No strong confident woman for me.  I am officially all talk.  I only wanted the fantasy.  I was too chicken for anything else to happen.

As I was getting ready to leave, Jamie shouted goodbye to me.  Like a bad rehearsed script, Vinnie rushed out of his office.

“Grace, I keep forgetting to ask you.  Do you need a ride to Jamal’s birthday at Mahoney’s tomorrow night?”

It should have been completely natural.  A co-worker wanted to help out another with a ride to an office celebration at a local bar.  Instead it was awkward.  I now knew about the conversation last night.  I picked up that Vinnie was acting nervous.  Vinnie was the ultimate tough guy.  There was so sign of weakness when you looked at him.  He wasn’t supposed to appear uneasy.

“Oh Vinnie, that’s so sweet.  But I have class.  I was going to have to show up late.  I’ll meet you guys there.”

“Okay.”  His face fell.  His gorgeous sexy face looked upset.  Well, we couldn’t let that happen.

“I would love a ride home though.  I don’t want to walk back to the dorms late at night by myself.”

“That’s a no brainer, Grace.  I’ll see you later.”  And he smiled ….and my heart raced.

Tonight, I will NOT dream
. 

Chapter 16

On Thursday, I rushed from work back to my dorm room.  Normally I go right from A and V to class.  It usually meant I was early.  I liked taking the time to go over what the professor was going to discuss that evening.  I felt it gave the impression that I was prepared and serious of my studies. 

Not tonight though.  Tonight I was going out right from class and I needed to freshen up.  The thought that Vinnie was looking at me as more than a friend had my entire body in a panic. 

I needed to shower because what if I smelled?  Not sure why I would smell from my shower that morning but that was how irrational my thoughts were.  I needed my hair down without the bump in the back from when it is pulled up all day.  My makeup had to be fresh.  I couldn’t wear my office clothes.  I had to be dressed down but still looking alluring.  Oh my god, I was driving myself insane. 

I knew I would be late for class for the first time this semester.  I didn’t care at all.  Vinnie was interested in me.  I’d deal with any fallout from my professor later.

My class started at 4pm and I snuck in at 4:20pm.  Since I was never late for class, I felt that I deserved at least one pass.    But, of course, the professor had to stop talking and say “Grace, we were discussing chapter 10 of the text.”

“Sorry I was late.”  I mumbled with my face red. 

After a few minutes of discussion, I finally looked up from my text book.  Mark was staring at me and smiling.  Just then I remembered the shirt that I chose showed a little cleavage.  Great.

Class actually ended 30 minutes early.  There is a god.  I grabbed my books and purse faster than the energizer bunny. 

“Wait Grace!”  Of course it had to be Mark calling out to me.  Why were men such cleavage addicts? 

Well let’s get this over with.  I purposely held my books to my chest like a good Catholic school girl.  “Hi Mark.  What’s up?”

“Nothing much.  I got called in for some overtime tonight.  I don’t feel like working but it is good extra money.” 

“Well I hope it’ll be a quiet night for you.”

Then, he started looking me up and down.  Could he be any more obvious?

“Are you going out tonight, Grace?  You look nice.”

“Yeah, it is a birthday get together for a friend from work.  I am so late.  Got to run, Mark, bye!”  and I took off as fast as I could considering my boots packed some heels. 

I regretted the boots instantly after the three block walk.  Why do we torture ourselves with footwear?  The feminist in me was screaming at how ludicrous I was in the planning of my outfit for tonight. 

I walked into Mahoney’s a little out of breath.  I was surprised at how packed the place was on a Thursday night.  Being short is always a disadvantage to finding people.  You can’t see over anyone when there is a crowd.  I had a feeling Ivy would make sure that they got a table.  I knew the tables were in the back so I made my way through the herd.  I kept my books on my chest like I had when I was talking to Mark.  There is a unique sensation when you are a lone female walking through a bar.  You can feel the stares of single men even if you’re not looking directly at them.   I wonder if it is part of their genetic makeup to fixate on a woman.  I guess a typical man would answer me by saying what did I expect?  I was wearing tight jeans and black boots with heels.  My long hair was down and probably wind -blown from the three block walk.  If I moved my books so my low cut blouse was showing, I am sure it would have been the call of the wild.  I suddenly was uneasy about what I chose to wear.   For many years, I was too chubby to wear any form fitting clothes.  I wasn’t used to attention from men.

As I passed the bar area, I noticed that Vinnie was sitting on a stool.  He had his typical scowl on his face.  I wondered what he was mad about now.  As soon as I saw him, my body reacted.  He must have noticed my abrupt stop, because he turned and we made eye contact.  His frown turned into a smile. 

Damn!  My nipples reacted when he smiled.  This had never happened to me before.  I was such an idiot for wearing this thin shirt.

“Hey Grace!”

“Why do you look mad Vinnie?”  I asked as I made my way towards him.

“I was just catching up on a basketball score.”  He nodded to the TV hung on the wall above the bar but didn’t take his eyes off of me.  “Here.”  He reached for my books. “Put your books down, I’ll get your drink.” 

I was not letting go off my books.  In fact, I needed to go somewhere private and fix my buttons so that my shirt was not so low cut.  I could feel the hardness of my nipples and I was starting to freak out.