Chapter 2
I wake up and the sun is already shining through my small window. I check the time and I have 30 minutes to get ready to meet Damien. I get up and look at my wardrobe. I pull out my black slacks and a white button up shirt. I also grab some bandage. I wrap it around my chest. I do not usually wear it but when we have guests and my suit I typically do. (Little trans children. Do not do this. It is bad) I pull on my slacks and white button up shirt. I go into the communal bathroom and wash my face and teeth. I pull my long hair up and style it so now it looks shorter. I am so nervous. What if I get in trouble…. My mind is racing. A little bit later I walk out to the front entrance and take a deep breath. I can see Damien's figure through the door. He is in another suit. I step outside and smile a little.
"Good morning sir." I say and walk up beside him. He looks down at me and blinks.
"Woah. You look so different today. It is nice. And what did I say. Please. Call me Damien." He says with a smile. He steps forward and opens the door to his car. It is a beautiful black car. I think it is called a Bentley. I get in with a tiny blush. He closes the door and walks around the side and gets it.
"DAMIEN! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" I hear a muffled yell and look. There is Celine standing right in the doorway. She looks very mad.
"That is our cue to go." Damien says and starts up the car. I can see her walking up to the car and she locks eyes with me. The hatred in her eyes is evident. He drives off.
Why does she not like me? Why is she so angry at Damien? I think as I look out the window. I glance over at Damien. He is staring at the road intently.
"Stop that please." He does not look at me.
"Stop what?" What did I do? Did I upset him?
"Stop biting your lip. It is….. distracting." He glances at me. I stare at him. I release my bottom lip from my teeth.
"I….. I did not realize that I do that. I will try to stop." I shift a little. How often do I do this?
"I am sorry about Celine. She is a little protective over me. She always has been. Even as kids."
"Why is she so angry? Did I do something wrong?"
"No. I just do not think that she really likes the job you do. Nothing against you exactly."
"Oh… are you two siblings?" I watch as the trees start to turn into buildings.
"Yes twins actually. She is a little older than me. She thinks that means she is in charge. Do you have any siblings?" He glances over at me.
"No. My parents died when I was little. I grew up in this kind of life. I started working under Mark a few years ago." I look down at my hands.
"I am so sorry to hear that….." He stays quiet for a minute. "We are almost there." Not long later he parks the car. He gets out and opens the door for me.
"Thank you." I say and step out of the car. I glance around the busy street and shiver a little.
"Hey you okay?" He looks at me very concerned. I glance up at him.
"I am just not used to this. There are so many people and this is so new." I see a few people looking at me. Damien grabs my uniform and shuts the trunk.
"Do not worry about them. They do not matter. Follow me. We will go to the cleaners first and then somewhere for lunch. I know I am hungry. What about you Alex?" As if on cue my stomach growls. I blush a little. He smiles and leads me to a building. A stout portly man greets us with a smile.
"Hello Damien. It is good to see you. Who is your friend?" The man looks at me.
"Hello Joseph. This is Alex. They are coming with me on a few errands today." Damien says to the man named Joseph. He looks me up and down and accepts my clothes that is handed to him.
"You do not get out much do you?" Joseph asks and puts a tag on my dress.
"Is it that obvious sir?" I look at the ground.
"It has manners at least." Joseph says and turns to put my dress in a bag. I look up at him with my mouth open to say something.
"They grew up with a wealthy family." Damien comments and I can hear a slight hostile tone in the voice. "We will be back before you close." Before the man can say anything else Damien leads me out the door.
"He…." I start to say but then stay quiet. I look up at Damien. He looks down at me with a kind smile.
"Forget about him. Where would you like to go for lunch? There are so many good places. What do you like to eat?" He walks with me down the street.
"Seafood I suppose. Although I do not eat much while I am working." I look down at my hands.
"I know a great place. It is right on the beach. At the ocean." He leads the way down the street. I can smell a strange salty smell in the air now.
"Ocean? I have never been to one." I comment as we walk together.
"How? You live so close to it." Damien looks at me with shock.
"I just have not been. Working under Mark has kept me at the manor for so long." I glance at him and smile. Not long later we make it to a small restaurant and are seated. There are a few tanks around the room with multicolored fish swimming around. We both order waters and look over the menu.
"Order anything you would like." Damien comments and looks at me from across the top of his menu. He smiles as the waitress comes back with the waters and sets a candle between us and lights it.
"What is this for?" I ask politely to the woman with a name badge labeled Jill. She smiles at me.
"It is for you two. Make it a little more romantic." She leaves before I can say anything else and I am just left blushing. I hear a chuckle come from Damien. I look over at him and blush.
"It is not a date but it is still nice touch." Damien says and looks down at the menu and runs his finger along the pages. We each order what we want a little bit later. I had decided on some smoked salmon with fries and broccoli. Damien had chosen some fried shrimp.
"What do you do for work?" I ask and sip at my water. I look out the window. I can see white sand and the roaring ocean pounding onto the shore. It is so beautiful.
"I working for the city. A small desk job, but one day I would love to become the Mayor. Help the world or at least our small part of it." Damien says with a smile. I look over at him and smile.
"I think you can make it. You are kind and caring. I am sure people will choose you, I say go for it." I sip my water.
"What would you like to do if you did not work for Mark? Where would you see yourself?" He sips his own.
"I am not entirely sure. I love reading and would love to write"
"There is a bookstore nearby. We can go there after this." I sigh and look out the window knowing there is no point in arguing with him. "Is Mark nice to you? Do you like working for him?"
"Oh yes. He is kind. He lets me wear my dress or my suit whenever I want to." I smile and look back at him.
"If you do not mind me asking. Why do you wear suits? I am not making fun of you. It is your choice. I am just curious." I rub my finger on my glass for a minute in thought.
"I never really felt comfortable some days. Some days I feel really good in a dress other days I feel better in a suit. I know I am weird. Where I grew up some of the adults called me unnatural and I could not wear boy clothes." I close my eyes trying to get rid of the memory.
"I do not think you are weird. It makes you unique." I feel his hand touch mine and he takes it in his own. I open my eyes and look at him. His kind understanding smile makes me lose my train of thought. I glance down at his hand. I can feel my face start to heat up but I do not want to pull my hand away. He pulls his hand away after a few seconds but it feels like minutes.
"Here you go. Enjoy your meal." I hear Jill say and set down our food. I smile up at her. Not long later we finish eating our meals and we leave. It was amazing. Best food I have had in a long time.
"Thank you again. You did not have to do this though. I owe you one." I walk beside him down the street to another building.
"Like I said. Do not worry. You owe me nothing." He opens the door for my to the new building. The smell of books hits my nose and I smile. "I hope you like it here. The owner also sells tea."
"This place seems amazing~ thank you for bringing me here." I wander and look around the rows and rows of books. I manage to find a few that peak my interest and pull them out to look at them.
"Get as many as you want." Damien says and puts his hand on my shoulder. I am too excited to really notice. I wander around and keep looking. Not long later I end up getting a few books and some tea.
"I should make us some tea." I say as we walk outside. He is carrying my bags for me.
"I will go to the cleaner and then we will go to the beach." I nod and watch as he leaves. I look around at some of the shops. I see a swimsuit shop and step inside. There are a wide variety of swimsuits ranging from very conservative to risque. I reach into my pocket for some change. I look around and find a one piece blue swimsuit.
"We have a sale today. Buy one get one free if you would like." The lady behind the counter says with a smile. I check the price on the swimsuit. I just have enough for it and I look around for another. I spot some blue swim shorts as well. I walk up to the counter with them. "Great choice. I am sure you will look great in them." The lady comments and rings up my purchases.
"Thank you." I say as I take the bag. I turn and see Damien looking around a little frantically. I walk outside and smile at him. "It is okay I am here. I just stepped inside to buy me something." Damien turns with a smile.
"Okay. Just do not worry me like that. What did you get?" He questions and glances at my bag with a raised eyebrow.
"I got me some swimwear. There is a pool at the manor. I thought maybe on my next day off I would enjoy some time there. Although I have never gone swimming." I comment with a smile. He smiles back at me. We head to the car to drop off our items.
"Are you having fun so far Alex?" Damien asks as he opens the trunk.
"A lot of fun. Thank you. I need more days like this." I smile at him.
"What do you usually do on your day off?" Damien closes the trunk and walks with me.
"Usually just stay in the room. The chef and other workers get together and play poker and drink. I usually just play the game." The beach is getting closer. The sun is just barely starting to set. "We have been put for a long time… I hope that everything is okay."
"Are you worried about Mark?" The smell of salt is getting closer.
"Not really him… the way Celine was looking at me as we left….. she might not be as understanding." I look down at my hands in worry.
"Celine can get used to it. She does not control your choices, or anyone's choices." I can feel his hand on my shoulder and it helps. "We are here. Take off your shoes. It will be easier to walk." We both take off our shoes and step into the sand.
"Woah. This feels great." The roar of the ocean is very loud in my ears as we near it. We start to walk along the shore just out of reach of the water. The orange sky is reflecting across the ocean. It is a beautiful sunset, but there does seem to be something off in the distance.
"It looks like there is a storm, but it is very far off." Damien comments and keeps walking.
"It might not hit the manor." I look at the sand and see something white. I bend down and pick it up. A circular shell comes out of the ground.
"That is a sand dollar. It is beautiful and whole. You should keep it." Damien smiles at me with a nod.
"Okay but we should head on back to the manor. We stayed pretty late." Damien nods in agreement and walks back to the car with me. I sit in the car and watches as he drives.
"I had a great time. I hope you did as well." The sky starts to get darker as we make it back.
"I did. Thank you." The gates to the manor open as we get close enough. Standing there at the front doors is Mark and Celine. Celine looks very angry and locks eyes with me. "This… will not end well….."
This is the end of Chapter 2. I hope you liked it. I cut it a little shorter than I originally wanted, but you will see next time in Chapter 3. Again I have an Instagram where I post photos and updates hunjess96.