Chapter 32

Lorali

After dressing in some of Ian’s clothes, we head to the kitchen for coffee. I raise the neck of the oversized t-shirt to my nose and inhale deeply. I hope he doesn’t want these clothes back because I have every intention of sleeping in them for the rest of my life!

He heads over to the coffee maker and I grab a stool at the bar. I wince as I sit.

“Sore?” He asks with a grin.

“Actually yes. A little. It seems your voracious attacks on my lady parts have left them a bit…sensitive.” I grin back at him.

“Sorry.” His smile never waivers, his eyes hold no remorse.

“Don’t be, I’m not.” His phone beside me rings. On instinct I look over at it. MARIA CALLING. Flashes on the screen. I try to hide the look of disappointment on my face.

He snatches up the phone, his face blank when he looks at the screen. “I have to take this, excuse me.” Is all he says as he walks from the room.

I tell myself it’s no big deal, I don’t own him. Just because I’ve spent the last 12 hours with him doesn’t mean anything. He’s a playboy. Alexa made sure I knew that.

“How do you like your coffee?” He implores coming back into the room a few minutes later, breaking me away from my thoughts. He plants a kiss at my temple as he walks past.

“Umm, lots of cream and sugar please.” I watch his back as he makes my coffee to perfection, his taut muscles moving silkily under his tan skin. This man topless could end wars, everyone stopping their battle just to stare at his perfection. He turns and I’m even more entranced by his front. His body is ‘fuck me’ personified. The more I think about it the more sure I am he would cause wars rather than stop them, every woman fighting to be with him, every man wanting to be him.

“Ms. Bennett?” I jerk my eyes to his. He chuckles as he places my coffee on the bar in front of me. “You like something you see?”

“You know I do!” I grab my cup and hold it to my lips, blowing the steam across the top, more as a means of distraction, knowing there’s enough creamer in it to make it immediately drinkable. “You’d have even more women crawling all over you if the paparazzi ever got a shot of you shirtless.”

He shakes his head, a beautiful smile playing on his lips. He leans into me and whispers in my ear, “I prefer the ones who throw themselves at my feet.”

I gawk at him as he walks back towards his bedroom. He returns a few minutes later, fully clothed. What a waste.

“Ready? I have a few stops to make on the way to your house if you don’t mind?” He slides his phone and car keys into the front pocket of his jeans.

I glance at the clock on wall. Eight forty-five. “Sure I have plenty of time before the bingo hall event.”

“Great.” He grabs my hand and we walk towards the door.

***

Once in the car we head across town, the houses getting smaller and closer together. I hadn’t realized just how far from the chaos of the city he lived.

We ride in companionable silence. My curiosity, growing as we head into a part of town known for its poverty, is piqued most when we pull up to an apartment building. It stands out a bit from the environment that seems to be encroaching on it. This set of buildings is nicer than the neighborhood it’s situated in, which I find odd. Like time and the desperation that ruined everything else couldn’t touch this one.

“Stay here.” Ian demands as he gets out of the car. I hit the door lock when his door closes behind him because I’m also aware that this area of town is known for its higher crime rate. This makes three times he’s been in less than elite locations across the city.

Ian walks purposefully across the sidewalk and knocks on apartment number one hundred and seventeen. The door opens and he steps inside. I look around having no clue why we’re here or who’s in that apartment. A wave of uneasiness washes over me causing my skin to break out in goose bumps. I’m out of my comfort zone and the happy orgasmic bubble I’d been in since the sun came up has been popped. My thoughts are once again wondering just what in the hell Ian has himself mixed up in.

After a few minutes, I see Ian standing on the front step. A woman’s hand reaches out and lovingly cups his cheek. My vantage point in the car does not allow me to see who this woman is. Ian turns to walk back to the car, and I immediately avert my gaze, hoping he didn’t see me staring at him and the intimate moment he just shared with the occupant of apartment one-seventeen.

I unlock the car as he approaches. He slides in and tosses a black backpack in the back seat. He’s brooding and silent. The air around us has suddenly turned into something tangible. I can feel the anger rolling off of him in waves.

Within minutes, we’ve hit an area of town more familiar. Before I know it, we’ve stopped again, this time right outside of the Happy Suds Laundromat.

“Feeling nostalgic?” I joke with a grin, a feeble attempt to change his mood.

He huffs, “I wish. Stay in the car please.” He grabs the bag from the back seat and walks inside. The angle of the sun and its reflection on the glass prevents me from seeing inside.

What the fuck is going on! First we go to a weird apartment in a seedy area of town and then some woman strokes his face after he spends several minutes alone with her doing God knows what, and now he’s carrying a backpack from said woman’s apartment into this seedy ass laundromat. Nothing good can come from this.

He steps back out within a few minutes, empty handed. His mood is no better this time around. I want to ask him what’s going on, but the look on his face and the twitch in his jaw prevents me from saying anything.

We pull up outside my apartment a few minutes later and he kills the engine on the car. He released his seatbelt and grabs for the door handle. I reach out and grab his arm.

“You don’t have to walk me up. I can tell you’ve a lot on your mind and I’ve taken up enough of your time today.” I turn to get out of the car.

“Lorali,” His pleading voice stops me in my tracks.

I turn to him, his hand immediately going to my cheek. I almost tear up remembering the woman in the apartment holding him the same loving way he’s holding me now. I close my eyes against the sting of tears.

He leans in and his lips gingerly graze mine. My breath hitches. He kisses me slowly, with nothing but passion, no hint of his earlier anger on his lips. I kiss him back, afraid this will be the last one. I know in my heart Ian Hale is not a repeat offender so to speak. I should count myself lucky to have had him repeatedly within the same twenty-four hour period.

He breaks our kiss and rests his forehead against mine. Why does it feel like he doesn’t want to let me go either?

“I can’t wait to see you on Saturday,” he whispers. What!? I raise my head and look in his eyes. “Pick you up at seven thirty?”

He sounds hopeful like he’s not sure I’ll still want to go. Do I want to go? My life was simple before I crashed into him, and seems like nothing but chaos since then. Beautiful chaos.

I smile, knowing I don’t have a hope of denying him. “See you then Mr. Hale.”

“Have fun at bingo, Ms. Bennett.” I smile at him as he starts the engine and drives off. How quickly he went from stressed and flat-out pissed to carefree and joking. It leaves my head spinning. I head inside to get ready for the grannies at the bingo hall. My life is so glamorous.

***

The bingo hall event was well…uneventful, just as I’d expected. I’ve never seen so many e-cigarette smokers congregated together before in my life.

I get in a few hours of work at the office before heading back to the apartment. My work schedule is clear until I go back to work on Tuesday. I make sure to make a stop at the store to grab a couple of bottles of wine, knowing the interrogation will start once Josie gets home and will be even worse if Alexa doesn’t have plans for the evening.

Since I left work a little early, I’m alone in the apartment for a little over an hour before Josie gets here from school. I’m on the couch channel surfing when she plops down beside me. She doesn’t say anything just grabs the box of cheesy crackers from my lap and steals a handful. We sit through an episode of some reality show where some rather orange tinted housewives argue over where they’ll go for vacation. Ridiculous.

I hear the door open and close, less than a minute later Alexa wanders in, bouncing from foot to foot as she removes her heels. She grins at me deviously and I know it’s a matter of minutes before the waterboarding begins.

“Wine?” She quirks her eyebrow up.

“In the fridge. Grabbed a few bottles on the way home.” Her eyes narrow, she’s well aware that I know what her plans for the evening are.

She’s only gone a minute or so when she returns to the living room with a tray holding a bottle of red wine, three glasses, and plates with grapes and cubed cheese. Holy hell she’s settling in for this story!

“I had a good time last night,” I confess before she can even start her questions. “I’m glad you guys talked me into a girl’s night!”

“Yeah I bet you had a good time! Imagine my surprise when I went to check on you when we got home and your bed was empty!” Alexa pours three tall glasses of wine and settles back into the overstuffed chair to my left. “So you went to his house and had sex with him last night?”

I giggle. “I did not have sex with him at his house last night!”

“Bullshit!” I grin at Alexa knowing it’s semantics we’re arguing over. “That ‘just fucked’ look on your face says you’re a liar!”

“We didn’t have sex last night. I fell asleep in the car on the way to his house. We had sex this morning, when we woke up.” I take a sip of my wine to try to hide my smile.

My virginal sister is shaking her head with huge a grin on her face.

“Hold up,” Alexa is literally holding her hand out to stop me from speaking. “You made that delicious man wait until you woke up before he got a taste?”

The laugh escapes my lips so fast I spray wine all over my hands. “Umm, not exactly.” I rake my eyes back and forth between my roommates.

“Quit playing coy, Lorali. You know I live vicariously through you and Alexa and after witnessing her train wreck last night I need something!” Josie has a look of frustration on her face.

“Train wreck?” I look quizzically at Alexa.

“We’re not talking about me right now! Spill it, Lor.” Alexa counters trying to get the attention off of her.

“You know he met me in the hall.” I start “Well we sort of went at it in an office at the end of the hall.” I bow my head and look at Alexa shyly through my eyelashes.

“You slut!” Alexa’s grin spreads over her entire face. “You never said a word when you got back to the table. I knew you guys had made up but I had no clue!”

“Was it good?” Josie inquires quietly, like her question was inappropriate but she wanted to know the answer enough that she’s willing to suffer the fate if she was chastised.

I just throw my head back and groan.

“Yeah it was good!” Alexa must know great sex because she interprets my response perfectly.

“It was amazing! I mean it was fast and hard and wild but this morning he tortured me and made love to me slowly. It was perfect. I know I’m ruined for all other men.” I sigh and sit back into the sofa taking another sip of wine and I can’t help but smile at the memory.

“Play your cards right and maybe there won’t be another man you have to worry about.” Alexa winks at me as she pops a grape into her mouth.

“Ha! Yeah, I’ve no hopes of anything long term with Ian, but I’ll see where it takes me. I wouldn’t mind a few more rounds with him, that’s for sure!” I blush.

“What’s gotten into you?” Josie asks smiling. She knows I never say anything like that.

“Ian Hale, that’s what gotten into her!” Alexa’s all but giddy at my recent adventures.

“Okay, enough about me. Tell me about this train wreck last night!”

Alexa sits back and takes a long gulp of her wine. I look at Josie knowing that with the way Alexa is acting she’s not wanting to verbalize whatever it is that happened.

“Oh, Lorali! I’ve never seen anything like it!” Josie cuts her eye to Alexa.

“Don’t be so dramatic Josie, it wasn’t that bad!” Alexa is clearly uncomfortable.

“Just tell me what happened!” Now I know how they feel when I’m keeping stuff from them.

“Alexa was denied last night!” Josie leans in to tell me like it required top secret clearance.

“What? By who?” I glare at Alexa. We’ve been friends for a long time and I’ve never seen her set her sights on a man and not score so to speak.

“Garrett,” she huffs under her breath.

“Ian’s cousin?” She looked awful cozy with him last night, and he seemed to be soaking up all the attention she was throwing at him.

“The one and the same.” Alexa sneers refilling her glass, bringing it to her lips. It’s already half gone before she continues. “He was very gentlemanly about it, but yep. I offered, he declined.” Alexa takes another long pull on her wine finishing off what was left. Her frustration clear in her eyes. Rejection doesn’t look good on her.

“I wouldn’t consider it being turned down Alexa. He told you he had to close down the club and meet with staff after hours since it was the soft opening.” Josie says trying to cheer her up by cushioning the blow.

“It wasn’t like I wanted to bring him home! Hell Ian and Lorali got it on in his office! I wouldn’t have turned him down in there! We could’ve had a romp in the damn wine cellar for all I cared.” She sighs and grabs a handful of cheese cubes, tossing one in her mouth.

“Well, better luck on the next guy, I guess.” I give her a sympathetic smile.

“Fuck that!” She sits up and glares at me. “I’m not giving up on Garrett until he gives in!”

“Alexa Warner chasing a man? I never thought I’d see the day.” I smile big at her, glad her mood is changing.

“Well that makes two of us. Lorali Bennett, fucking a billionaire!!” Alexa hollers. We all burst out laughing.

We talk and drink wine for several more hours. Mainly helping Alexa plot and scheme on how to win Garrett Hale over to her dark side.

Yawning, I stand up “Well ladies I’m going to bed. I’ve a date with a billionaire tomorrow and I think I’ll need my rest for dessert.”

They giggle as I leave the room. I can tell they’re both very close if not completely drunk.