Something More (3 page)

“I apologize. My
mistake.” He reaches over and grabs my arm gently, a touch of sincerity. “Truly
sorry.”

Something inside me
shifts again and the fire deep in my core roars back to life. His eyes are
bearing down on mine, lighting all of my nerve endings aflame.

“Listen,” he continues,
“it’s an occupational hazard, of sorts. I get a lot of...propositions, you
could say.”

My eyebrows pop up. I
don't know why I'm shocked. He's hot, well dressed, and looks like he could
tear the panties right off a girl. Mine are about to fall off of me right now. “Maybe,
next time, think before jumping to conclusions?”

He smirks. “Deal. How about
I take you on a tour of the city?” 

“Well, I don't know.
Are you assuming I will say yes?” I question through squinted eyes, attempting
to show a little bad-assery as if to say,
See,
 
I can hold my
own.

A menacing grin
briefly moves across his face. That beautifully, perfect face.
Oh, right. Bad-assery
.
Focus, Becca!

Drew asks, “If I
promise to behave myself, will you go?” A perplexing look crosses both of our
faces…his wondering if I might refuse him, mine wondering if I should trust his
cocky words. Tapping my finger near the corner of my lips, I look up to the
ceiling as if I'm debating something.

Bec, you know you are
going, just get on with it. You have to see what happens.

“I'll go with you.” I
pause. “Only if you don't break your promise.” I pause again. “And...”

“And?” he questions.

“Yes. And.”

“And what?” he asks,
smiling.

“And…only if I pay my
own way. I don't want you to be put in an awkward position, or thinking I want
you to pay,” I say and he laughs heartily.

Once he regains his
composure, he says, “I can't promise you that I won't pay for anything on our
adventure, but I will let you pay for
some
things.”

Relief washes through
me. “I guess I can deal with that.”

“Great. It's a date.
I'll pick you up on Saturday morning. Eight o'clock?”

“A date?” I murmur. “Uh.
Okay. I live at the Brookwood Apar...”

He interrupts, “I know
where you live. What apartment number?”

Standing there with my
mouth hanging open, I say, “Um, what do you mean you know where I live?”

He chuckles again. “I've
seen you walking there on a couple of occasions. What apartment number?”

Still dumbfounded, I
mutter, “F-four thirteen. We will be talking about
this
more on
Saturday. Right now, I should get back to my friend.”

With a devilish sneer,
he pulls a business card and a pen out of his jacket, places it on the wall,
and jots something down. He hands it to me. “I can't wait. I will see you
Saturday, Rebecca. Dress casual.” And then he was gone. 

I leaned up against the
wall for support. What in the
hell
just happened? I gather my wits and
head back to Alyssa. She must be wondering if I had fallen in or something.

I get back to the table
and I see an excited Alyssa, grinning from ear to ear. “What was that all
about?” she demands.

“You saw that?”

“I saw him get up and
go that way after you went into the restroom. I was hoping that you talked to
him or something.” I told her what had happened with me running into him and
then the door hitting me, rolling my eyes at my clumsiness.

“That's it?” she asks.

“Let's get out of here
and we can talk more on the way home.”

Explaining what else
transpired, she lit up like a Christmas tree. “I can't believe you are going
out with him on Saturday!”

“Me, either. I'm a
little weirded out by the fact that he knew where I lived, though. A discussion
will be had and I'll be taking some type of defensive weapon with me.” We
laugh.

When we get to our
apartment building, I drop her off on her floor, and then head up three more
floors to my own.

What a wonderfully
peculiar evening. “Mr. Tall Water” is Drew Chambers. Thinking about him reminds
me of the card he gave me. I pull it out of my purse to look at it. The company
name is Chambers Industries and the name on the card is Andrew Chambers. He
must go by Drew.

Under his name on the card,
it says “Founder & CEO”.
He owns it?
Handwritten on the back of the
card are a phone number and the words, “
Looking forward to seeing you again,
Rebecca”.

Hmmm…a stalker and a
mogul
.
Interesting
.

Drew's face is now
burned into my memory after the rather lengthy exchange we had tonight. Shaking
my head, I get into my comfy pajamas and get ready for bed. I'm
exhausted. 

Lying in bed, I think
about the events of tonight.
Do I really have a date with that gorgeous man?
Does he realize that I'm an old lady? What is he thinking? And what is this
overwhelming burning feeling when he is near me? It all seems so strange to me.
I just don't understand any of it. I guess I will find out soon enough.
Saturday is only three days away. What should I wear? Are my casual clothes
cute enough? I need to wear my best pair of jeans, ones that will make my ass
look amazing.

Oh, the things that go
through your mind when you are trying to go to sleep
.
I am never going
to fall asleep thinking about this, and I'm never going to be able to stop
obsessing about this date until it is done and over with. I'm too nervous and
too excited.
Crap.
 

Throwing the covers
back, I get up and saunter over to my closet. Might as well take a gander at
what I'm working with. I rummage through my jeans. There's not many to choose
from, but I quickly spot the pair I like the best to show off my backside.

 I don't know where we
will be going so I don't know really what kind of shoes I need to wear
.
Hiking boots? Wedges? Flats? Sneakers?
Oh my. I might have to break down
and call him to get more information about what we'll be doing. No. That is not
an option. I will just have to make do.

Maybe I’ll take a
backpack with an extra pair of shoes. I'm sure that will get a laugh out of
him. Being from Florida, I'll probably get a lot of laughs around here. My
flip-flops alone will cause riotous laughter. That's it. I will take a backpack
filled with essentials.

I pack a pair of
flip-flops, a beach towel, a pair of nice sandals, and...pepper spray. I laugh
out loud.
An essential with this handsome stalker around
.

Should I take
sunscreen?
Naaa, we Floridians will risk the skin
cancer instead.
Is the water too cold here to go swimming?
It is summer,
but the water is definitely not as warm as the waters in Florida.
Do I need
to invest in a wetsuit?
I can't even imagine putting one on much less going
out in public in one. I still wear a bikini so Oregon will just have to deal
with it. You can take the girl out of Florida, but you can't take the Florida
out of the girl.
 

My wardrobe for
Saturday is almost complete. I just need to pick out a shirt. Thinking about
it, I have the greatest idea.
Let's go loud and proud.
Flinging through
my hangers of shirts, I find it…a bright orange shirt with a big gator on the
front that says “It's a swamp thing”. Yes! This is it. A little payback for his
rudeness.

I will be easy to spot,
in case of emergency, and might attract the attention of the wonderful gold
diggers of Portland. This puts a smile on my face. Even if one of them gets
jealous, my work will be done. Satisfied with my wardrobe, I go back to bed.

It's the day before the
big date and I'm anxious to see what will happen. I am leery of Drew's
intentions, but the new Becca is ready to explore. I have all of my essentials
packed and I threw in an extra blouse, just in case he decides to take me to
dinner or something. I don't want to look like a disaster. I have thought of
everything…I hope.

Shortly after five in
the afternoon, my phone rings. It's Alyssa. “Hello?” I answer.

“Hey,” she says. “Do
you want to do something tonight? Dinner and drinks?”

“Yes! That sounds
perfect.”

“I just got off work.
I'm going to go home, change clothes, and freshen up, then I'll be up.”

“Okay. See you then.” I
look down at my own clothes. I guess I'd better change, too. Can't go to dinner
looking like I'm going to the discount store. I throw on a pair of jeans, a
decent top, and a pair of flats.

I go into the bathroom
and see that my hair is a disaster. What have I done all day? Nothing except
think about tomorrow. I let out a sigh. How can a stranger, albeit handsome as
all hell, do this to me? “Stop thinking about him, Bec!” I yell at myself and
go back to my hair, throwing it up into a makeshift bun. At least it will be
out of my face. So I guess only my head is going to the discount store. A
giggle comes out of me. At least I can laugh at myself.

The doorbell rings. “Coming!”
I yell, knowing Alyssa probably can't hear me. I hurry to the door and open it.
She is standing there, smiling. “What are you smiling at?”

“I'm excited for you.
And me. Maybe
I
will meet a successful businessman tonight!”

“Well, if
he's
stalking me again tonight, you might just meet
him
.”

She smiles then looks
me over. “You wearing that?”

I look down at my
clothes. “What's wrong with it? It's just you and me. Should I change?”

“Do you have a skirt
you could throw on? Just to dress it up a little?”

I blush. “That bad,
huh?”

“Well, since you are
dressing casual tomorrow, make it fun and flirty tonight. You never know if
he's going to show up unexpectedly.”

“Good point. Let me go
see what else I can find real quick.” As I am walking back to the bedroom, I
raise my voice a little so she can hear me. “I'm not used to this going out
thing. It's been a while since I've really had any kind of a social life. Sad,
I know.”

“It's not sad.” Her
voice, right behind me, startles me and I jump. She laughs, but continues, “I
would probably be the same way. Wear that cute, little romper dress. You can
still wear those flats.” She points at something in my closet and after
snatching the garment off the hanger, I strip down and put it on.

Alyssa says, “You have
an amazing body for a woman of yo...” She pauses in mid-sentence, probably
deciding whether or not she is offending me.

I let her off the hook.
“My age. It's okay. I am not ashamed or afraid. I am not what I once was, but
it's not too bad for an old lady.”

“I hope that I look
that good at your age. And after having a kid.” She whistles. I smile and
finish getting ready.

“You ready to get out
of here? I'm starving,” I say.

“Yeah. Let's go!”

We head over to the
Italian restaurant nearby and take a seat near the bar. It's less of a wait
that way. Pasta is my favorite food, but it can be a curse for my figure. Maybe
I will work it off tomorrow on my date.

Alyssa and I agree on
an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms, and try to decide on what we want for our
entree. “Have you had the lasagna here?” I ask.

“Yes, it's good. I was
thinking about having the baked ziti this time.”

I swear, Alyssa and me
are two of a kind. “A girl after my own heart. I usually order lasagna or the
ziti. They are my safe choices. What do you say I order the lasagna and you
order the ziti, then we share them?”

“Sounds perfect. You
know, it is starting to feel as though we were meant to meet,” she says.

“I am feeling the same
way. We're very similar. You're a younger version of me.”

As we finish up our
dinner, a strange sensation runs through me. A minute later, someone approaches
our table. Without looking up, I say, “We'll take our checks now.” I look at
Alyssa and see that she is staring, mouth open.

I hesitantly look up to
see a set of Caribbean blue eyes looking back at me. Of course, he is
well-dressed and looking perfect in every way. “Oh,” is all I can muster up.

A devastatingly
handsome smile is radiating at me. “Good evening, ladies,” he says.

“Uh. Hi,” I say, still
shocked. I guess I shouldn't be too shocked. Apparently, he
is
a creeper.
“Still stalking me, I see.” Alyssa is still gaping.

“Are you going to
introduce me to your friend?” he asks.

“Uh. Sure. Drew, this
is Alyssa. Alyssa, my stalker extraordinaire, Drew.” Drew holds out his hand
and when she reaches for it, she knocks over what's left of her drink.

“Oh, shit!” she yells.

Drew laughs. “I see why
you two are friends. Nice to meet you, Alyssa.”

Rolling my eyes at him,
I retort, “Well, maybe you should stop making all of us ladies so damned
nervous. Remember, you were stalking me and
you
made
me
run into
you so I think I am entitled to be nervous. Maybe I should call the police.”

I notice that Alyssa,
while she cleans up the spill, is trying not to seem like she is paying any
attention to us.

He leans down to
whisper in my ear and I bite my lip. “You are very cute when you're defensive,
and even more so when you bite that lip of yours, Rebecca.” Something deep in
my core tightens and yearns as his breath flutters against my ear.

Pleased with himself,
he stands back up. “It was nice to see you ladies again. Enjoy your dinner. I
will see you in the morning, Rebecca.” I sit there dumbstruck as he walks away,
no doubt with a smirk on his face. Good thing I'm already seated or my knees
may have buckled.

Alyssa is cleaning
herself up and looking at me curiously. “He's impossible!” I exclaim.

She finally gains her
bearings and says, “Impossibly perfect. And he has got the
hots
for you.
I could feel the heat over here.”

“This was the first
time he’s flirted blatantly. He was brazen. Tomorrow could prove to be more
interesting than I thought. I'd better be on my game.”

Once we compose
ourselves, we go to pay our checks and find that Drew has already paid for us.
Boy,
he's really got the sneaky stalker thing down pat.
Alyssa and I walk back
to our apartment complex, say goodnight, and go to our respective apartments. I
need to get some sleep tonight, but once again, “Mr. Tall Water” has hindered
that from happening. He is challenging and, I sense, likes to be
challenged. 

I lay in bed thinking
about his beauty, and I think about what might be going on under those clothes.
Is he totally ripped? Or just toned with a little definition? I wonder if he
has gnarly feet, or if they are as pretty as the rest of him. Is his butt firm
or jiggly? I suspect this kind of thinking will either get me nowhere or it
will make me need a shower.
Hmmm. A hot shower might not be such a bad idea.

Still lying there, I
think about getting up and “taking care of business” in the shower. I also
ponder just staying here in bed and doing something to make me feel better.
Choosing option one, I grab a “toy” and head into the shower. Taking care of
business lately, with Drew on my mind, is so much better than thinking about some
random guy.

Feeling a bit more relieved
and a little more tired, I try the whole sleeping thing again. As I start to
drift off, I’m positive that Drew will star in a dream or two.

*
* * * *

I spring up into a
sitting position from a dead sleep. I notice that my heart is racing, I am
almost out of breath, and I am sweating.
Whoa. I wonder what that is all
about.
Not remembering my dreams can sometimes...well…suck.

I look at the time and
see that it is only thirty minutes before my alarm is supposed to go off so I
get up and figure the extra time might do me some good this morning. I make
coffee and snack on a bagel. I wanted something light, just in case Drew makes
my stomach tie up in knots the entire day. I take a quick shower to wash off
the sweat from the dream I wish I could remember. It must have been really good
for me to wake up panting.

I lotion up my legs and
elbows, spray a little perfume, and brush my teeth. I grab a pair of black
lace-waist panties that I got from Victoria's Secret. I might as well have
pretty ones in the event something occurs. I suppose I'd better match the bra
with the panties. A matching set is a turn on, right? They make a girl feel
sexy, regardless.

Now with the undergarments
out of the way, I can go for the wardrobe I already picked out. I am beginning
to rethink the jeans. Maybe I should wear jean shorts. Decisions, decisions. It
might be cool outside wherever we may go. In Florida, I would have gone with
the shorts, but I opt to stick with the jeans. I slide those on, having to do a
little wiggling to get them in place. Next was the bright orange t-shirt.
Giggling, I look myself over in the mirror. I look like I'm going to a football
game.

With my socks and tennis
shoes on and my backpack ready, I'm all set. I guess that extra time did help
out because just as I sit down on the couch to wait, the doorbell rings. There
goes my stomach, which is now balled up into a tight little bundle.

I stand up, take a deep
breath, and walk over to the door. One more deep breath, then I open it. Drew
is standing there with one arm against the door frame, as if he's holding it up.
I take a long, slow look at his attire…t-shirt, gym shorts, and tennies. Gym
shorts? My eyes travel back up to his face. I notice a little stubble. I like
that he lets his beard grow out a little when he's not at work. Or maybe it's
his five o'clock shadow I keep seeing. It's sexy, whatever the case. Maybe it
means he's not all business all the time.

Our eyes meet. I swear
those eyes could make me orgasm all by themselves. “Good morning, Rebecca,” he
says.

“Why do you keep
calling me Rebecca? I told you, I go by Bec or Becca.”

“It is your name, is it
not?” I sigh in exasperation. He’s already wearing me out.
Pick your
battles, Bec
.

He grins as he reads my
face. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes. Let me just grab
my bag and jacket.” I get my stuff and grab my keys off of the counter, then
close and lock the door. “Okay. All set.”

He holds his hand out
to usher me ahead of him. Since I am the first to arrive at the elevator, I
push the button. The doors open immediately and Drew puts his right hand on the
small of my back to urge me inside. We step in and he pushes the button for the
ground floor.

The ride down is a
little awkward. Neither of us is saying a word, but I feel something happening
between us. It's a very strange feeling and I've never felt it before. It's as
if I'm being pulled to him. It makes my core tremble.

Finally, we get to the
ground floor and the elevator doors open. We step out into the lobby and then
exit out onto the sidewalk. Drew places his hand on the small of my back again and
leads me in the direction he wants me to go.

“Where are we going?” I
ask.

“To my car. Unless you
want to walk everywhere we go today.”

“Uh. No. Cars are good.”
He leads me to a black Hummer with really dark tinted windows. “Not exactly
energy conscious, are ya’?”

“This is one of my
splurges. I don't drive it often. Are you an energy conscious woman?” He opens
the passenger door for me and I hop in. The interior is tan leather, of course.
Beautiful. He’s still holding the door open, waiting for my response.

“I try to be. I recycle
a lot. I don't own much to do much else. I also walk instead of taking my car
sometimes.”

“How very green of you.”
He shuts the door and walks around the vehicle to get in the driver's seat,
another stupid grin on his face.

“Where are we off to?” I
ask, trying to get the answer I was hoping for from my previous question.

“I thought we'd go to
the beach and hike the cliffs a little before it gets too hot.”

“Sounds good. It was on
my list of things to do before I start work.”

“You work?”

“Well, I am not rolling
in the dough so, yes, I have a job, but I don't start until Monday. I've been a
lady of leisure for the past couple of weeks.”