Chapter 7
Chase's POV
A week later I drove into the parking space allotted to guests of the building, checking my looks a final time in my rear-view mirror. I left the car and stood through the agonizing wait in the elevator. Eventually making it to her floor and knocking on the black entrance door to the condo she shared with her father's best friend, I was fidgety and my palms were sweaty just at the thought of seeing her again. I took those few seconds to think about the two of them, a few questions crossed my worried mind: Had they ever been intimate? Did she have feelings for him? Did he have feelings for her? Was this all just a platonic friendship motivated only by the fact that they cared for the same person?
She opened wearing a yellow summer dress over what seemed to be a pink bikini, she also had a duffel bag, which I had to guess contained a few belongings to maintain her appearance when we would go for dinner. Her hair was pulled in a pony tail and she wore a matching head band in her long hair. In her feet she wore white flip-flops, but I had to guess there were her usual stilettos somewhere in the bag. I congratulated myself for the two hotel rooms I rented for us to spend some time making sure our appearances were acceptable prior to having dinner together.
"Hi...Wow you look pretty."
"Well you look good too." She eyed me slowly, complimenting the shorts and t-shirt I wore, I also had a bag waiting for me in the car.
"Well I think we should get going." She nodded as I grabbed her bag, which was considerably heavier than I expected.
That day, I taught her how to surf, enjoying the sight of her body the entire time through the wet suit she wore. She seemed to enjoy herself the whole day. Later we finally reached our own rooms and got ready for a fantastic sea food dinner. She drank a glass of wine and I looked at her suspiciously.
"Hey this isn't my first drink, I do still have alcohol, only responsibly..." She nicely retorted.
"I'm not judging." "Yes you are... why?" She seemed upset by my behaviour and I decided she did need a bit of the truth.
"My mother was an alcoholic, I watched her self-destruct for 5 years...She died 15 years ago." Her kind eyes stared into mine, rubbing my hand softly.
"You must think I'm pathetic, but I did do cocaine in the past and I might have been somewhat addicted, but I can't let this define me and this is why this is our last date."
"No. I like that you did what you did and turned your entire life around and I'm sorry I judged you.
" "It's alright, I would have judged myself too, a couple of years ago."
The conversation stalled, I looked at my plate and she looked out the window mindlessly rubbing her hands.
"I read your book." Her eyes opened wide in surprise.
"I loved it."
"Really?"
"I can't believe I'm even having dinner with such a great author."
"You're lying."
"I am not, you're great."
"Well if you are such a fan of my work, I'll have you know that there is a sequel coming up. I'm sort of on the fence about the ending but it's almost there." I smiled.
"Good for you, tell me a bit about it."
"It's the same characters but this time they are dating so doing what they used to do naturally no longer works for them... she's his boss it's now a lot more complicated to tell him what to do."
"Admit it this is about your dad's relationship"
"A character loosely based on my dad. He did help with the medicine"
"Hey if it works for you... I can't wait to read this."
"Well, as soon as I'm done I might let you read it." I smiled.
I truly enjoyed reading her book, she was such a great author, I loved her command of the English language, her tone, her sense of humour, her book read really well for a novel intended for a readership of females.
We went dancing at a nearby club, where I could fully admire her outfit for the night. She wore dark skinny jeans and a loose see-through top that she wore over a tight green tank top. She nearly towered over me in expensive-looking leather shoes. Her long red hair was tousled and loose on her slender shoulders, the only jewellery she wore were diamond earrings. She one drink that she sipped slowly to make it last the entire evening. I danced with her all night until we were too tired from our long day in the sun to keep on.
We walked back to our hotel rooms silently. I took the time to think back of my ex-wife, Allison was great, she was beautiful, smart, I loved her, I loved the way she acted with me but Erin exuded something completely different. First, she seemed to breathe sexiness through every single pore of her pale alabaster skin; second, she was confident, she was broken, she had been hurt but she accepted it and made you accept it along the way. In a way, she also seemed very fragile and that made me want to be with her even more. I also found her deeply mysterious. I was drawn to her, attracted to every inches of her skin .
"I must say, although you haven't been working in the fashion industry for quite some time you have not lost your sense of style."I said lamentably trying to compliment her. She smiled
"Well thanks." I loved her dazzling smile. I stared at her thinking about how although it took me years to fall for Allison, I'd give up everything for Erin and spend the rest of my life with her after barely hours.
She looked at the shore, enjoying the view of the ocean.
"How did you end up here?"
"It's a boring story."
"Well bore me."
"I... went to Seminary school in England." Her eyes grew wide, this is generally the effect it had on people.
"I decided this wasn't the life I wanted and met a gorgeous girl that I followed here, making it to med school." She looked into my eyes.
"Are you like... religious? Do you go to church? Could you have spent years of celibacy?"
"Somewhat, I haven't for a while and maybe. Do you believe in god?" I stated, answering her private questions in the same exact order she had asked them. She smiled shaking her head softly.
"I can't even imagine doing such a thing. In that respect I am very much my father's daughter, the 12 steps are very unrealistic for me I couldn't possibly turn all of my free-will over to a higher power. I just love that free-will and was told to nurture it as much as humanely possible." I smiled at her honesty.
We stood at the threshold of her bedroom door, looking into each other's eyes, unsure what to do next. I slowly leaned in when I noticed she did as well, meeting her lips halfway. Our kiss was simple, soft, humble, small and pure and yet I battled with everything I had not to go too far, not to scare her. She broke the kiss.
"Well that was an awesome date...I'll see you tomorrow..."
"Yes, we should have breakfast before we go." She nodded.
"We should meet at the restaurant at 10." She nodded leaning in once more for a quick kiss, her tongue now slyly making its way into my mouth.
We met the next morning for breakfast; she wore a vintage-looking white dress that was patterned with cherries that she matched with red accessories and red patent leather kitten heels, her loose strands framing her gorgeous face.
"Hi." I smiled thinking back of the hot kiss we shared before going to bed. We had pleasant conversation over breakfast, the kind of mundane discussions people shared that were both interesting and uneventful. We drove back and I thought how things were simple with her, how it came naturally to want to be with her and spend time with her.
