We arrive at the pier in about 45 minutes which is pretty considering how late it is and the traffic we ran into. Lord, help me I miss having my bike. Traffic is always a breeze when I'm on my motorcycle. I shake my head and smile. Even though there was bad traffic, I still enjoyed the entire trip because I was spending time with Antony. We talked about everything from the Cousins' war (War of the Roses) to WW2. With each of us learning something new from the other.
We pull into a parking spot and before I know it he's out of the car and opening my door. I go through my purse and make sure I have all my important stuff that a girl would normally need when going out. "Why thank you dear sir." I say taking his hand letting him kiss my knuckles.
"You're welcome my beautiful lady." He says ever so sweetly.
"Come on. I'm sure Mary and John are looking for us. I forgot to call them." I say giggling slightly and looking around for our friends.
"LILI!" I hear my name being screamed and I whirl around to see Mary running towards me. I prepare myself for her to tackle me so that we both don't hit the ground. I hold my arms out and Mary collides with me making me step back a bit. She hugs my neck and smiles her sweet smile at me. "Oh my gosh, there's so much to do tonight. We are going to get some beers and go play some games." She says linking our arms together and dragging me to a small bar and grill right on the boardwalk overlooking the water front. I turn back and see John and Antony bringing up the rear both seem to be lost in conversation. She drags me to our table and we sit down, I immediately grab a menu, and start looking at the beer lists.
The boys come and sit down with us, but all I can catch of their conversation is about the FIFA tournament and about college football. I roll my eyes and keep looking for a specific beer that I have been craving. After a moment a waitress appears at the table.
"Hi my name is Amber and I'll be your waitress this evening. What I can start you guys off with to drink?" she says politely smiling.
"I want a Somersby please." I say
"I'll take one as well." Mary says and goes back to looking at the menu.
"I'll take a Killians Irish Red" John calls out from behind his menu.
"Do you have Kilkenny Cream Ale?" Antony asks
"Yes sir we do."
"I'll take a pint please draft." He says closing his menu and touching my back of my hand.
"Ok so I have a Kilkenny, Killians, and two Somersby." She says. We all nod our head and she disappears to bring us our beers. A few minutes later the waitress brings our beers to us and she takes our orders. About 20 minutes of jibber jabbering between all of us our food comes out and everyone chows down.
"Oh my this is really good food. Mary, why have you kept this little place from me?" I look at her asking as I finish off my juicy hamburger. Mary just shrugs and giggles as she eyes John blushing the color of crimson. I roll my eyes and pick at my fries as I take another sip of my third beer.
"Ok so I have a question to ask you Lil." Antony says wiping his mouth after finishing his burger. "There…." He pauses and takes a sip of his beer "Ok look there's this thing I have to attend. It's a gala of sorts for the people I work for. The thing… is this year… ah…. they asked me to bring a date. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me as my date." He asks very quickly. Saying the words almost too quickly that I could barely understand what he is asking. But none the less I understand him and I look at Mary. She's grinning from ear to ear. Jeez she looks like she about to burst out of her own skin.
"Yes I would love to. What should I wear?" I ask and Mary grabs my arm bouncing around.
"Well this is a very formal event. They are exhibiting crown jewels from around the world. That's why I had to leave to go to work that night I came up to the bar. So a floor length gown is required. No high lows, straight down floor length gown. Please" he says and takes another sip of his beer. And I can see his face physically relax. I shake my head and look to Mary who is about to seriously bounce off her stool.
"Can I get you guys anything else?" The waitress appears and looks at us.
"We'll have one round and the checks please." John answers, we all nod our heads in agreement.
"John you and Mary are more than welcome to come as well. It will be very fun. Plus, we can all hang out." Antony says politely and then he and John start back to their own conversation. The waitress brings out our beers and our checks. John and Antony both pay for the checks and we there for a little while longer.
"Lil we have to go shopping and find dresses. First we can go through your closets…all of them. Including the ones up at the house, not just the apartment. Then we can go find shoes, jewelry, get manicures and pedicures. All the fun girly stuff that we use to do together." Mary says all giddy like a kid in a candy store. She maps out everything for us to do to get ready for this gala event.
"Ok no problem, but for now let's just enjoy tonight." I say as I finish off my beer, and watch everyone else finish off theirs and we make our way down the wooden boardwalk.
We pass by all sorts of games. The kinds you can find at any fair. Of course, the boys stop at the shooting game. The game where the carny gives you a BB gun and 100 BBs. The object of the game is to shoot out a little red star completely. Mary and I stand back and watch the boys do their thing. After ten minutes, of course, the boys win us girls some stuffed toys. I get a red rose stuffed toy, and Mary gets a stuffed unicorn. Mary and I link arms as we look around walking down the wooden boardwalk. Our heels clicking with each step we take. The boys are behind us talking about something but I can't hear them. Mary and I walk ahead and I stare at the people walking around us. The sound of laughter and children running can be heard all around. The sun had finally set and the temperature has dropped a few degrees, but we all are laughing and walking. Mary and I stop and play the ring toss. I loss, but Mary wins a big elephant. She giggles and shows john and he hugs her affectionately. Antony comes over and snakes an arm around my waist and hugs me kissing the top of my head. We all walk along talking about this and that. Nothing special just everyday things.
"So this Gala, when is it?" I ask looking to him as we stand in front of a roller coaster.
"It is two weeks from now. We can either leave from my place, or I can pick you up. Whichever best works for you." He says
"Come on you two lets go on this ride." Mary calls out waving us over.
"We could just always let everyone get ready up at the manor. It's big enough for all of us, and Mary and I can get ready together and surprise you boys." I say as I start walking toward the roller coaster.
"I think Antony might have a fear of roller coasters." John teases and Mary playfully smacks him.
"Come on sweety let's get the front seats." I say walking over to Mary and John.
John and Mary get in line to ride the coaster just as Antony and I run to get in line behind them. I stand in front of Antony and next to Mary. We giggle and gossip about the things to come to prepare for the gala.
"Mary you know that doing all this will take time. We will need to be able to have days off together. We will need at least four days to go through the house out in the country and possibly another two days to go through both your house and my apartment. I'm sure we can go to the salons for everything else soon. I know our nails need to be done a few days before hand." I say to her as we wait patiently in line for our turn.
"Yes very true but Oh My God it's going to be so much fun doing it all." She says happily as the gate doors swing open and we all pile onto the ride.
We all get on the roller coaster and somehow Mary and John make us get in the front seats. So I climb in first with Antony climbing in beside me. I smile as our fingers intertwine as the safety harnesses click into place. We start climbing up the 45 degree angle of a slope to the top. As get to the top the coaster tumbles down and the screams start. For almost eight minutes we ride up, down, sideways, in all directions we fly around the wooden track at what feels like break neck speeds. Being tossed about and slammed into each other. We arrive back at the platform where we started. We come to a stop and the harnesses let us go and we exit opposite of where we entered, coming out just on the other side of the line of people waiting to board.
We all head down further passing more games and rides as we talk and walk. Mary and I stop and get some cotton candy, while the boys get a few beers. We continue to play games and I find that I want to play so bad. It's called break the plate. I've always loved playing this game. It's a great stress reliever. I walk up to the game and I see Mary tell John something and she wonders off toward a restaurant. John and Antony begin to talk and I shrug and turn towards the carny. I pay him and he gives me three balls. I get ready and throw breaking a plate. I throw my second ball and smash a vase. Finally, throwing my third ball I break yet another plate. Too bad too they all looked very pretty. I laugh at my own thought and the man hands me a beautiful stuffed black teddy bear with a large red ribbon tied around its neck in a bow on the side. I smile thanking the man and walk towards the boys. I catch a little of what they are saying.
"No… Alpha or not." Antony says
"You have to be there no matter what. You know that just as well as I do. You know she will never be accepted by the pack. I'm glad you are happy but…." John trails off just as I approach.
"Hey guys what are y'all talking about?" I ask and Antony whirls around and I see surprise cross his face for only a moment. He places his arms around me and hugs me close. "What?" I ask looking up at him, and he just shakes his head.
"Nothing…nothing. Come on let's find Mary and enjoy the rest of the night." He says as we head toward where Mary went.
We decide to grab a bite to eat together again, just something small and we all have coffee. The conversation is light talking about nothing special. But I have a nagging question in the back of mind. 'What the hell was John and Antony talking about. Alpha….pack. Hmmmm I wonder….Oh shit he's keeping something from me. But what?'
"Lili what do you think?" Mary asks looking at me.
"Huh…I'm sorry I must have spaced out. What's up?"
"What do you think about all of us going up to the manor, getting the horses saddled up, and all of us go for a ride out in the country. Then go back us girls go inside and cook, while the boys build us a nice big fire. And all of us just hanging out." Mary says looking between me and the boys.
"Yes that sounds great. We could make s'mores, good coffee, and maybe a good scary movie." I say nudging Mary in the arm.
"Hell, forget the boys we can do that ourselves" Mary says busting up laughing.
We finish our coffee and treats, and continue on walking the boardwalk. The boys act normal and Mary is her normal self. As we walk along, the boys play a few more games while Mary and I gush about the gala, and the riding adventure. A few hours later we all say our good byes and each couple goes to their vehicles and head out. As we leave out Antony takes my hand in his and gives mine a small squeeze. I, of course, squeeze back. We take the three hour drive back in mostly silence. We talk about a few things about the gala, the gathering of us all together, and a few other things about the night. I was mostly tuned out watching the trees, cars, and houses pass by as I ponder what I heard between John and Antony. I made up my mind right then.
We pull into the drive and I grab all my things. I know that I really need to get ready to head back to my apartment in the city but right now I had questions and frankly I wanted them answered.
"What were you and John talking about when I walked up?" I ask as we make our way inside the house. We stand in the living area for a moment and I can tell Antony is trying to find the words.
"We were discussing a meeting that we both have to attend." He says not looking at me.
"Really? Huh ok." I say as I toss my things on the couch. "When is this meeting?" I ask and quickly add "so I can plan around for the outing that we were talking about earlier tonight." 'Nice save.' I think to myself.
"It's in a week. We are going to a vineyard to discuss business contracts." He says quickly as he disappears into the kitchen. I, of course, follow him in.
"Ok no problem. I'll be sure to plan around. Though, I would like a date that way Mary and I can pick out the date. That way I know to have all the things I need to have here and the horses can be prepared." I say as I go to the fridge and grab a bottle of water. As I stand there I see a hand on the top of the door and push it close. Of course, it's Antony shutting the door. I can see stress etched on face. I know he's hiding something but who knows. We've spent a lot of time together, though a short time, but it feels like years. He just puts his arms around me and he hugs me. One hand goes to the small of my back and the other tangles into my hair. I smile against his chest and inhale deeply. No matter what he does or has been doing, he has that intoxicating scent. It smells like the woods after a rain storm. Just fresh, clean, woodsy, and like the earth.
"Come on we both have to work. The roads should be clear enough for you drive to the bar tomorrow. I'm going to have to leave in the morning to make it to work myself." He say resting his head on the top of mine.
"Good but I think I should still take one of the cars." I say thinking about if I should take the SUV, or the car. 'hmmm I think I'll take the car.' I think to myself as I feel Antony release me. He looks down at me and I can feel his amber eyes bore into me. I yawn softly and I can feel his hand on my back start to guide me to the kitchen door. I nod my head and make my way upstairs. "I'm going to get a bath real quick." I say as I make my way to my bedroom. I know I'm going to need to sleep most of the day so that I can stay up and work all night. I walk through the hall, to my bedroom, and through into the bathroom. I Lean over starting the hot water for my bath. I light the candles at the edge of the tub and wait for the water to get hot. After a few minutes the water runs hot and I adjust the temperature so that the tub fills up with warm water. I grab a towel and shut the door. I take my phone out of my pocket plugging it into a small speaker. I put on swan lake to relax and clear my mind. I lay the towel near the tub and undress. I fold my jeans and shirt, I lay hang my coat on the back of the door, and I place my boots by the vanity. I slowly lower myself into the water and turn off the faucet once the water is high enough. I lay back and just relax.
After about an hour in the tub the water goes cold. I'd already washed myself and my hair. I let the tub drain and get out wrapping the towel around myself. I pull my hair to the side and wipe the fog off the mirror. I dry off and let my hair slightly air. I put in my leave in conditioner, brush my hair, brush my teeth, and walk into my bedroom. As I walk in I see Antony laying on the bed. I smile shaking my head. I grab my over sized t shirt and pull it on over my towel. I let the towel fall to the floor and climb into bed. As I do I curl up next to Antony and snuggle into his chest. I smile and just lay there next to him. His strong arms wrapped around me holding me close and protecting me. I quickly fall asleep and let my dreams consume me.
Author's note:
Hey everyone I'm so sorry for waiting so long to write this up. I've been working a lot more than usual, I'm trying to pack to move, and I'm dealing with family issues. I have a lot going on and writing got put on the back burner. But I got this done, and I swear I will do what I can to get the next chapter put up. However, this is a warning about the next chapter. It will seem rushed but I'm dying to get to the next little bit of this story. Loves and thank you for being patient.