Take Me Out (11 page)

Chapter 10

Meet the Parents

(Charlotte)

The week had gone by in a blur. I went to the doctor and opted for the Depo-Provera shot instead of the pill. It would work quicker and I wouldn’t have to worry about taking something every day. I would get knocked up for sure if I had to remember to take something at the same time each day. A pregnancy scare was the last thing I needed. But we had come pretty close the other night. Jesus it had felt so amazing too. We were so caught up in the moment I almost didn’t care what happened.
Would it really be that bad?
Who the hell am I fooling? It would end us and we’d barely gotten started.

It was Thursday and the night of the dreaded dinner with my parents. Normally, I was outspoken and confident when it came to my family, but this time, I was a nervous wreck. I needed this dinner to go off without any drama. As I walked down the hall, I heard giggling coming from inside Shay’s bedroom. It sounded like she had someone in there with her.
What the hell?

“Shay, what’s going on in there?” I asked, pounding on the door.

“One minute,” Shay called out. I heard something crash to the ground. “Oh shit!” She giggled as more things fell to the floor. Something was totally going on in there and she was trying to hide it from me.

“What the hell is going on in there?” I asked, turning the door handle so I could see what was going on for myself. “Why is the door locked?!” I laughed. I knew exactly what was going on.

“You have a guy in there; don’t you?” I could barely contain my laughter. Shay was a grown woman, but you’d think she was a thirteen year old in the process of getting caught by her parents. “Is it anyone I know?”

Shay poked her head out the door, laughing hysterically, her normally perfect hair a mess.

“May I help you with something?” she asked coyly.

“Um... Well I was going to see if you wanted to go out for mani-pedis, but apparently you’re preoccupied this morning.” I tried pushing the door open to see who her mystery visitor was, but her foot blocked the door from opening more than a crack.

“Oh, he was just leaving... right?” Shay responded, looking over her shoulder at her companion. This was the first time she had been so secretive about having someone over. It made me want to know who it was that much more.

“I’ll be ready in fifteen,” she said to me, moving her foot away as she backed into her room. I pushed the door wide open and just about passed out.

“I thought you were leaving last night, Mr. Morgan?” I taunted Drew as he raced to put on his clothes.

“Well, I saw this beautiful young lady getting out of the elevator and wanted to get to know her a little better.” Drew shot me a dazzling smile as if that would help me believe his blatant lie.

“Yeah, whatever guys...”

I wouldn’t let Shay live this one down. I couldn’t. It was just too good not to use against her every chance I could get. Drew was just her type-- tall, preppy and boring as hell. Shay
dated the rainbow
like she always told me. Race was never an issue but it seems like recently she had sworn off all black guys in her life. I wasn’t sure what had happened with Shane, it had been years but it was pretty damn bad apparently.

To:
[email protected]

Subject: Caught Out!

Date: June 30 11:45

From: Charlotte A. Windsor

You are not going to believe WHO I caught in Shay’s bed this morning. Let’s just put it this way. Your roommate didn’t sleep in his own damn bed last night! I have a feeling we may have another tag along this weekend.

-Charlie

My mind began to race at the thought of my boyfriend meeting my parents. I knew, right off the bat, my mother wasn’t going to like him. The tattoos were going to be a deal breaker for her. She was quick to stereotype everyone, including her own children. I recalled her insisting Trey was gay years ago and wanting to ship him off to a
pray away the gay
summer camp. To this day he still hadn’t forgiven her, but he tolerates her. We all tolerated her. Trey also toted around any social debutante he could for a week just to rub his love for women in her face.

Shay and I went for coffee and hit the spa for some pampering. I checked my e-mail as we walked back to Shay’s car, curious to see if Bentley had responded. But there wasn’t anything. Which was surprising because he was usually great about staying in touch.

My stalking skills kicked in and I jumped on Facebook and Twitter to see if he’d updated anything. He hadn’t posted much, which was unnerving. I couldn’t seem to get enough of him. There was one lone tweet, sent an hour before.

Why do your eyes paralyze me? What makes me feel this way? @C_A_Windsor

@HardcoreBentley

That made me smile. Those were lyrics from
Nerdy
, one of my favorite
Poison the Well
songs. One simple public declaration of his feelings made it okay that he hadn’t emailed me. That gesture made me feel more secure; it was as if he were sending a message to all the women throwing themselves at him that he was off the market. In the back of my mind the memory of the creepy redhead was still fresh. The fact that she was clearly unstable worried me more than the fact they had hooked up.

I had a nightmare about her, but I would never tell Bentley about it. It would only make him worry more. I dreamed she found out where I lived and followed me home, only to attack me inside my apartment. I had always had a vivid imagination, especially if I ate too late at night. I shook those thoughts from my head, mentally preparing myself for dinner. I would make the best of it with the man I loved, no matter what.

As we pulled into the parking garage of our building, I put my phone away and gathered my purse trying desperately not to nick my newly manicured nails. My phone rang just as I got to my bedroom door. Seeing it was Bentley, I hurried to pick it up before I missed the call.

“Hello?” I answered sweetly.

“Hey there, gorgeous!” Bentley replied. I could hear the smile on his face.

“What’s up?” I replied. It was odd that he was calling me, most of the time we just texted when we were apart. That was fine by me, since I hated talking on the phone. I didn’t mind if people texted me all day long, but I outgrew chit-chatting sometime in middle school.

“I’m actually running a little early. Would you mind if I came over to your apartment now?”

I looked over at the clock and it was almost five. It wasn’t
too
early. We were going to be leaving for dinner in thirty minutes anyway.

“I guess so, but I’ll be getting ready. It may get kind of boring.”

“It’s okay baby, I don’t mind. I’ll just watch some of the sports highlights while I wait.”

“Okay, Bentley. I’ll leave the front door unlocked. I gotta jump in the shower.”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

I stripped and got into the shower where I tortured myself for at least a half hour; shaving, shampooing, conditioning, exfoliating-- all the stuff guys never had to do. I had to make sure I looked pristine any time I was going to see my mother. No matter how fantastic I thought I looked, she could always find a flaw.

I was lost in the thoughts of my dream man when I heard my bathroom door creak open. It was Bentley.

“I just wanted to let you know I’m here,” he called in, closing the door without waiting for a response. That was odd. I expected he might have leaned against the vanity to ogle me while I showered. He couldn’t resist watching me when I was naked. The feeling was mutual.

I finished up and got out, drying myself just enough that I wouldn’t drip water all over the hardwood floors. I wanted to go out and give Bentley a proper hello.

When I got to my bedroom door, there was a sticky note just above the knob.

Don’t come out till you are
completely
ready for the night...

He was totally up to something!

One step at a time, I completed my routine for a fancy evening out.

Lotion— check.

Makeup— check.

My hair was the biggest project of the night. Since I’d allowed it to get so long, handling it had become a pain. But I liked it long and didn’t want to cut it. I heated up the curling iron so I could start working it through my hair. A half hour later the ends fell in beautiful curls and I worked to pin up the sides. I had seen this on a how-to web site a while back and had been dying to try it. This was my first opportunity since then for a nice up-do.

I turned to look in the mirror. It was perfect; or at least like the model on site. I thought I looked classy. I was almost sure even my mother would be pleased. I pulled out the silver and pink cocktail dress I had picked out and slid it on. My high-heels would have to wait until I was ready to walk out of my room. I hated wearing them, but heels were a necessity as far as my mom was concerned.

I slipped the gorgeous, glittery silver heels on and walked to the door. I am sure everyone within a mile’s radius could hear me coming because each step echoed against the wood floor
.
Everyone was staring at me as I walked down the hall. Not just Bentley, but Shay and Drew, too. I guess tonight was a big night for Shay, too. Here I thought Drew was just a one-night stand and she was bringing him to dinner with the parents. It shocked the hell out of me.

Everyone looked like movie stars. Bentley’s eyes were wide when he could see all of me, his jaw slack. I wasn’t sure whether to slap him or tease him for it. Instead, I let him look. There would be opportunities to poke fun at him later.

“Soak it in now, because this doesn’t happen often,” I sassed.

“She’s right, appreciate it tonight, because this--” Shay motioned up and then repeatedly over the length of my body, “--doesn’t happen often at all. In fact, this just may be the last time you see it!”

Without a word Bentley walked up to me and planted a tender kiss on my hand and then my cheek, being careful to not mess up my makeup.

“Shall we?” Bentley asked, opening the door for all of us.

I gave Shay an uncertain look, my stomach in knots. This was it. Hopefully, my parents would take one look at this guy and fall in love with him. He looked like a Greek god in his suit. He was the paragon of a successful, wealthy businessman. I knew that under his polished exterior, he was the rough bad boy I had grown to love. Maybe after they met him and learned to like his personality, what was under his suit wouldn’t matter so much.

It was better to find out sooner rather than later.

Shay noticed my hesitation to walk out into the breezeway. She took my hand supportively, giving it a squeeze. “Let’s go, or we’re going to be late,” she said.

“Before we go, I have something I’d like you to wear tonight. A little gift for a special occasion.”

With that, he spun me around so I faced away from him and lifted a necklace over my head and fastened it around my bare neck. In my haste to get ready, I had forgotten jewelry. My mother would have had a field day with that.

“I saw this the other day and it reminded me of you. This symbolizes my heart being yours,” he said to me. The words lit up his face. I couldn’t suppress a giant smile. Not only did I get the guy, but every chance he got, he showered me with gifts. What woman wouldn’t love that?

“It’s beautiful. You really shouldn’t have Bentley.” I was surprised I could actually get those few words out. I felt like the wind had been knocked right out of me. It was a feeling I’d often experienced since Bentley Young had come into my life.

And the feeling cemented my courage. I let go of Shay’s hand and took Bentley’s, smiling bright at her. Drew offered Shay his arm and we walked out into the night. I knew there was no turning back. I had worked hard orchestrating the plan. And whether it turned out to be stressful or relaxed, Bentley was well-worth it all.

Our party was seated at the table but my parents were running late, thanks to the traffic. Bentley was to my right, Shay was to my left and Drew was on her other side. Across from us was the jury panel for the evening. My brothers, Jonathan, Trey and Christian, all eying us, awaiting Bentley’s first offense. I was positive they didn’t give a rat’s ass about Andrew, because everyone knew Shay could handle him herself. If only they trusted me as much.

Just as I was starting to relax, I spotted my parents walking through the old, mahogany-framed doorway into the lavish dining room. Shay stood and waved them over. Christian whistled to them.

Whistling? Really? We aren’t at the ball park!
My mom was going to be pissed by that.

The queen-mother parked right next to Christian. “Christian, really! We can dress you up, but can’t take you out, huh?”
Just as I thought!

A moment later Bentley stood, walking around the table and extended his hand in greeting.

“Mom, this is Bentley Young. Bentley, this is my mother, Elizabeth.”

He took my mother’s hand and brought it to his lips. “The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Windsor.” He turned to my father, dialing up the charm. “You’re a very lucky man, Mr. Windsor. Now I can see where your beautiful daughter gets her amazing looks from.”

I turned beet red, knowing he just made a slam dunk in their book. He had pulled it off and I could see it all over their faces. I completely missed Drew’s introduction because I’m pretty sure I was drifting off to heaven with Bentley by my side. I leaned over and whispered into his ear “Where did you learn charm like that?”

“I am not a complete Neanderthal, love,” he replied with a grin on his face. His grin had the ability to send my body into over-drive.

Conversation flowed and dinner was delicious as always. I felt like I hadn’t eaten in days. I probably looked like a pig, given the ten-ounce sirloin I devoured. Just when I thought we were all in the clear, the classic question came...

“So Bentley, what do you do for work?” My father questioned with a straight face. It was a question I had been wondering myself, so I paid close attention to the reply.

“Well, Mr. Windsor, I am a student at Boston University with Charlotte, in my last year of the Pre-Law program. Right now I run a web site called
Renter’s Space.
Have you heard of it?” The confidence with which he spoke was far-removed from his normal relaxed demeanor. He was clearly in business
-
mode.

My dad nodded and Bentley continued. “Drew and I founded that site about three years ago, during our freshman year. We sold it this spring for record-breaking numbers and have started to work on a
new
internet-based company. Its uses are similar, but it’s centered around corporate and commercial properties.”

“So you mean to tell me you two boys are the masterminds behind that multi-billion dollar deal on the front page of every area newspaper back in March?” My father questioned again. “Morgan-Young Enterprises?” Andrew Morgan and Bentley Young.

I had no idea what he was talking about. March had been a rough month for me, one in which I spent most days in a drunken stupor. I wasn’t paying attention to the newspapers. I never really did. But did I just hear the word
billion
?

“Yes, sir. That would be us.” Shay excused herself from the table and all I could hear while chasing her to the ladies room was her classic, “Oh LAWD! Dear LAWD! What have I gotten myself into?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction. I knew what kind of meltdown I would find when I walked into the ladies room. I couldn’t blame her because I was fighting a meltdown of my own.

“Did he just say the word
billion
? Please tell me he didn’t just say the world
billion
. I can deal with million, I can’t deal with billion.” Her words came out so fast I could barely make out what she was saying.

“Shay, calm down and we’ll figure this out later, you cannot do this here! We need to get back out to the table. Who knows what’s going on now?” I barked. We needed to get back to the table. Not only to protect the guys, but because my own nosy nature prevented me from staying away.

“Okay, we will hash this out at home.” Shay said as she calmed down.

“Charlie, you wouldn’t believe what your parents just invited us to,” Bentley laughed. “Apparently we’re all heading to the Cape this weekend!” I couldn’t help but giggle because that was the plan anyway. We both knew this, but I wanted to humor everyone at the table.

“Will Drew be joining us as well?” I asked.

“Oh, you bet I will be! I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Drew announced to everyone. Shay looked like she wanted to die right then and there.

I really don’t think she was up for all this, at least not yet. She always kept men at an arm’s length and now her protective barrier was virtually gone. And our parents had her all but betrothed to Drew.