The Sunday Arrangement (25 page)

I hung up the phone.
He hadn’t sounded at all guilty for anything. I thought maybe he might tell me
what he’d done in a drunken haze, and I’d realize that it truly didn’t mean
anything. There was still a lot I didn’t know at this point—how much I didn’t
know I hoped wouldn’t shock me to the core.

~*~*~*~

“Toby said he should
have the new model out here by next week. His wife is sick and needs him to
help with the kids.”

“All right, we have
the proposal pretty much finished. We just need to add the information on the
model. All we have left is scouting more places, but we already have an idea of
what the best places on the strip do to attract people. So I guess that means
we get a week off.”

I leaned back in my
chair. “I haven’t had an entire week off since college. What am I supposed do
for an entire week?”

He smirked. “Go
shopping?”

I shook my head. “For
an entire week? I don’t need that much stuff.”

“Fly back home until
Saturday?” he asked. I could see him tense up.

“I’d rather not have
my mother harping at me about the flight back out here. The woman is terrified
of flying. And I don’t want her to ask me over and over when I’m going to give
her more grandchildren,” I said. It was true, but that wasn’t the real reason I
couldn’t face her right now. I knew that, if I saw her, I’d tell her about
everything involving Dad and his apparent rape charges. It’d come spilling out of
me, and I’d be powerless to stop it.

“Spend it with me
then.” It wasn’t a question, and it took me by surprise.

“Wouldn’t that be
going against our arrangement?”

“No, we wouldn’t be
having sex. Just spending time together as friends. Let’s get to know each
other better.”

This floored me. How was
I supposed to take that? He had told me several times that he never allowed
himself to get attached. Now he was asking me to spend the week with him? I
figured he was either serious about wanting to move on to a friendship, or he
was messing with me for his own personal enjoyment.

“Okay,” I agreed
hesitantly.

He stood from his
chair with a megawatt smile on his face. “I’m glad to hear that. Why don’t we
start with lunch? I know this great place I haven’t showed you yet. It’s really
a hole in the wall. Not what you are used to, I’m sure.”

He must think I’m a
rich snob
.
“I doubt that. Let’s go.” I stood.

We took his car to a
small restaurant that was part of a shopping chain. It seated maybe a half-dozen
couples, and the menu was on the wall behind the cashier. It reminded me of the
small places I’d go to for lunch in high school. This place served Mexican
food, and it smelled good.

We got in line to
order. “I’ve been to a place like this.”

“Your father let
you?” he asked, surprised.

I frowned. “What does
my father have to do with where I chose to eat growing up?”

“My father said that
yours had always been very picky. That he wouldn’t have supported a small
business like this with even a few dollars.”

“My father doesn’t
care for low-cost food, but he never kept me from it. Not that I saw him much
growing up.”

Pierce didn’t
respond. I was glad because that wasn’t a conversation I really wanted to have
now. I didn’t want to spoil the afternoon, and I didn’t want to give anything
away.

I ordered a shredded
beef taco with green chili salsa and a chile relleno. He got something called
the supreme burrito and swore it was the best meal on the menu. It was odd
seeing him in a place like this and even odder when I watched him eat food off
a paper plate that was made by a man wearing a hair net. It made me see that he
was more normal than I might have guessed. Despite the good time we were
having, I couldn’t help but wonder why he wanted to spend time with me outside
of scouting and sexual Sundays.

My taco was
excellent, soul serving even. Most high-end restaurants could never achieve
what this hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant could with some beans and cheese.
Pierce didn’t talk much through lunch; we simply enjoyed the food and the calm
atmosphere of the quaint little restaurant.

He drove me back to
my apartment after lunch and told me that he’d be back in the morning bright
and early. “Pack a beach bag,” he said before driving away, which confused me.
There
aren’t any beaches in Las Vegas
.

~*~*~*~

The next morning, he
arrived early as promised. I packed a beach bag, and I was wearing a brown
bikini with a black beach sarong that tied around my neck. Wearing a regular
white cotton T-shirt and black swim shorts with blue lines going down the side,
he was more casual than I’d ever seen him.

“Are you ready?” he
asked.

I nodded. “Where are
we going?” I asked as I lead him to my elevator.

“For a long drive and
then a surprise.”

“Surprise?”

“Yes. I think you
have an idea where. It’ll be a fun day.”

He was right; it was
a long drive to where he took me. On the way there, we listened to music with
the top down. After a few hours, we arrived at our destination, Santa Monica Beach
in California. I hadn’t thought he would make such a long drive for a beach. It
was Wednesday and not a holiday week, so the beach had maybe only a dozen
people on it. It was quiet and not at all overwhelming as beaches could be.

“Do you like it, my
surprise?” he asked.

“Yes, I haven’t been
to the beach since my mother took my brother and me when I was fifteen. That
was the last vacation she dragged us on before Toby left for college, and then
they just stopped all together.” I wasn’t sure why I told him all that or why I
was being so open with him.

“I haven’t been to
the beach in a long time either. I figured it’d be fun, and we could get some
sun since we’re normally stuck in the office all day.”

We found a spot to
set up our things. I placed a huge towel on the sand and sat on top of it. He followed
suit with his own towel, placing it next to mine so that the edges overlapped.
I untied my sarong and got out some sunscreen. He watched me as I put it on,
and I asked him for help with my back.

“Do you need some
sunscreen on your back?” I asked. I figured it would be good to offer since he’d
helped me out. He agreed and lay down on his stomach. Suddenly, I was struck by
how similar this was to all the fantasies I’d had about us being in Greece on
the beach. Of course, I knew nothing like that was going to happen. We had
agreed to no sex until Sunday, after all. I moved slowly as I gently rubbed the
lotion on his back. I started at his shoulders and used pressure to give him a
small massage. He seemed to enjoy the massage; he made small noises of
appreciation. I then lay down on my own towel and soaked in the rays. It had
been a long time since I could relax like this without having to worry about
work or anything else. It was beyond relaxing. It made me wonder what he had
planned for the rest of the week; there were three days left. He told me he had
everything planned and to leave it to him. I was looking forward to the mini-vacation
we had in front of us.

After a few hours of
sunbathing, he took me to an early dinner at a small seafood restaurant. It was
odd that it felt so normal.

~*~*~*~

The next day, Pierce
picked me up around noon. The night before, he had told me to dress casual, so
I wore a pair of dark denim jeans and a loose-fitting, champagne-colored blouse
with a pair of black wedges. He seemed happy that I listened to him. We got in
his car and drove for a while. Finally he pulled up in front of an old-style
theater. He told me to go into the theater so that he could get our tickets. I
had no idea what we were going to see, but thought it would be fun to snuggle
up to Pierce in the theatre. It felt like we were actually on a date. He met me
inside, and we got popcorn and drinks.

“What are we seeing?”
I asked. We entered the small room with its red, plush chairs. It was
completely empty.

He chose a seat near
the center. “A double feature. I rented out the theater. I hope you like the
movies.”

He still didn’t tell me what movies we were
going to see until they appeared on the screen. I had no idea how he knew my
favorite movies, but we watched
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
and
While You
Were Sleeping.
He didn’t even complain about the romantic comedies. As much
as I enjoyed our faux date, it made me wonder what he was up to. He had
obviously taken the time to find out what my favorite movies were. Was he being
romantic on purpose or was he trying to win me over to help with his plans with
Toby?       

Chapter Eighteen

Pierce called me on
Sunday afternoon. We had taken a couple of days off, hanging out separately
after our movie “date.” Without work, I’d been extremely bored, so I was
thankful for his call. He told me to come over to his place.

“April is here. I was
thinking we could all have some drinks.” He sounded as if he’d already had a
few himself. “Come over.”

 It was odd hearing
his slurred words as he claimed that he didn’t like to drink. I agreed to meet
them even though my insides twisted. I knew it was irrational; I was just
uneasy about being around an intoxicated Pierce. I didn’t know how he would act
or how, if at all, his personality would change.

~*~*~*~

I stood in front of
his door, knocking. It took a moment, but soon it opened and Pierce smiled at
me.

“You came!” he said with
a slight slur. He reached out and pulled me inside. “Come in!”

I stumbled inside.
“How much have you had to drink?” I asked.

He shrugged. “A Bloody
Mary and a few vodka shots.”

“I thought you don’t
drink? At least that’s what you told me a few weeks ago.”

“I felt like it
today. I’m legal. Is it a crime?”

“No, it’s just weird
that’s all.” I stared at him. I could tell something was bothering him, bothering
him enough he wanted to escape it by drinking. “Are you okay?” I asked.

“Never better. April
is in the living room. She has a drink for you.”

I gave him one last
look before going into the living room. He followed closely behind me. I half expected
him to wrap his arms around my waist.

April also greeted me
with a smile, but I could see the anger she had toward me well up in her eyes—which
were glassy and complemented her flushed cheeks. As she handed me a Bloody Mary,
I wondered how long they’d been drinking before they called me. I took a sip
and almost spit it back out. It was nearly all vodka with a hint of tomato
juice for coloring and even less seasoning. I was not a fan of straight vodka, so
I put my drink down; one of us should be sober. I then realized why he called
me here. It was his Sunday. I could only assume he wanted to do something with
April and me. Together.

Pierce stood next to
me. His cheeks were red, and he swayed on his feet like he was dancing to an
imaginary tune. “Lauren, I need to ask you a question in the bedroom,” he
suddenly announced. “We’ll be right back, April.”

I glanced at the
beautiful blonde to see her fold her arms across her flat chest. She sank into
the leather arm chair, clearly displeased with Pierce’s interest in me. He
grabbed my hand and led me toward the back room. Was he in the mood for a
quickie?

He closed the door
and spun around to look at me. “I told April that I want to have a threesome
with the two of you. She has agreed to an evening together. Do you?”

I recalled April’s
intense gaze, her eyes forever locked on Pierce. She was ogling him like a love-struck
idiot, and I almost felt sorry for her. She’d do anything for him. Little did
she know, so would I.

I took a deep breath.
This was what I expected. However, now that the question was staring me in the
face, I wasn’t so sure. “April doesn’t exactly like me,” I said, choosing to
leave out the part where I didn’t particularly care for her either.

He swirled the red
liquid in his glass like he was at a wine tasting. “She’s agreed though, hasn’t
she?”

Sleeping with Pierce
was one thing. Sleeping with his other fuck buddy was something else. After
coming off my first female encounter with Kat and the hurt I had caused her, I
wasn’t exactly thrilled about jumping into the arms of another woman.

Suddenly he grabbed
my arm and gently squeezed me. “Who cares about her? Just think about me, okay?
It’s just me and you, Lauren. April’s just along for the ride . . . our ride.”

I wanted to combat
this argument.
Then why have her here at all?
I wanted to ask.
We’ve
been doing just fine on our own
. Something silenced my tongue. I didn’t
want to put Pierce in a foul mood, not when we were so close to being together.
The desire for him was stronger than my annoyance with his assistant. If he
wanted April tangled between the sheets with us, so be it. But I was going to
do my absolute best to make him forget she was even in the room.