Chapter 12
“Brian Spawnery.”
“Brian. Hey, it’s Edward Caldwell,” he said with his phone on his ear.
“Can I help you?”
“You don’t remember me?”
“Edward Caldwell? I’m sorry. Should I?”
Edward let him think while he poured coffee from the pot in his room. Fresh out of the shower with a towel still around him, he wanted to get an early start to his day.
“It’s Eddie, from college.”
“Eddie Caldwell?” he exclaimed. “Damn, I haven’t seen you in what, ten years?”
“Yeah, it’s been a long time.”
“What the hell ya doing these days?”
“Remember Joe Johnson?”
“I do, yeah. You two were inseparable.”
“He and I ventured together and started that company.”
“No shit. I remember you were gearing up for it just before graduation. How’s it going? Get much success in that?”
“Well, I’m in town for a couple of days. Got some time for me today? We can have a couple of beers over lunch and I’ll tell you about it.”
“Yeah, sounds great! Oh, wait a minute.” Edward heard some ruffling of papers. “Shit, I have a meeting this afternoon early. But hey. What about tonight? Say after six?”
“Sounds good. Where do you want to meet?”
“Where are you staying?”
“The Shangri La Hotel.”
“Shangri La? Damn, you must be doing well for yourself. There’s a place about five minutes from your hotel called Pub Kleber. Google it. You shouldn’t have a problem finding it. Meet me there about six.”
“You got it. See ya then.”
It wasn’t difficult for Edward to gear back toward his business since it was all he knew since he graduated college. As he pulled his suit out of the closet, he looked at it as a foreign object. Although the week flew by, it seemed like ages since he arrived in Paris wearing the suit he held in his hands. Eva was still heavy in his mind but he knew how to switch the feelings off when he needed to.
He draped the suit on the back of the sofa and walked to the nook. He sipped his coffee and enjoyed the view from the open glass doors, letting Eva’s pretty face take up his time and his thoughts before pushing her into the back of his mind. He thought about the way she looked at him, her eyes dancing, and how her tongue would jet out of her mouth to moisten her lips as they talked. His body stirred when he began to wonder how she looked as he peeled her clothes from her body, letting them fall to the floor. He parted his lips as he imagined his hands sliding over the curves of her body, her breasts rising and falling with each heavy breath she took. He closed his eyes and could almost feel his lips touch her skin just above her collar bone, working his way down to the nipple on her perfect breast, taut and hard from the anticipation of what was to happen. His tongue would play over the hardness, causing little electrical currents to be sent up through her body, pushing her closer and closer to the edge before he dominated her fully, causing her to submit to him, becoming his forever.
He knew, she was different. Eva was the woman of his dreams and he was going to do whatever it took to make his dreams a reality.
A knock on the door startled him for a moment until he heard the sweet voice of a woman.
“Service de chambre.”
He reached down through his towel and pushed the palm of his hand into his cock trying to control it before getting up and walking to the door. With his cock in control, he opened the door with just his towel on and looked the pretty maid directly in the eyes.
“Entrez,” he said, deepening his voice.
The door opened and she looked into the room, seeing Edward standing at the open window, bare chested and gorgeous. The pink in her cheeks darkened as she pushed a small cart with his breakfast into his room. As she uncovered the dishes for his inspection, he stood very close behind her, wanting to touch her and seduce her the way he did when he wanted a woman. He raised his hands to her arms, hovering them over her, hesitating and wishing the woman in front of him was Eva. His heart ached for her.
Just as the maid turned toward him, he stepped back and put his hands down, locking them behind his back.
“Monsieur?”
“Everything looks wonderful. Merci.” He forced a smile and turned away from her, grabbing his robe and slipping it on over his towel. It felt odd to turn away from a sure thing, but something in him didn’t want casual sex with a stranger any longer.
He hadn’t turned down another woman in years and after the maid had left, he did another act that he hadn’t done since his adolescent days. He walked back to the open doors, leaned his head against the wall and pulled his towel from his body. With thoughts of Eva invading his mind again, he fantasized what it would have been like to make love to her while masturbating beneath his robe that hung loosely around him.
Walking into the Pub Kleber, he looked around the bar that seemed to be dated back to the 1930s and looked for a familiar face. As soon as he saw Brian, he knew it was him. Brian was hovered over an attractive woman and trying unsuccessfully to get her phone number.
“Brian,” he said, leaning in briefly before stepping back.
Brian turned around and let out a hearty laugh. “Ha ha! Look at you!” He stepped forward and gave Edward a bear hug, slapping him on the back. “You haven’t changed a bit, well, except for the threads. Very nice, by the way.” He was being overly dramatic and boisterous as he had always been in college. Brian was not the most attractive guy in the group, but because of the guys he hung with, he was popular by association. He still looked the same except for an early receding hair line and a larger size in the pants, possibly two larger sizes.
“It’s nice to see you, Brian. It’s been a long time.”
“Yes it has. Holy shit.” He led Edward to a nearby table with drinks already waiting for them. “Hey, sit down. I got you the old and faithful.” He picked up his shot glass and held it up, waiting for Edward to do the same.
Edward smiled, almost embarrassed that he remembered. “Crown Royal?”
“You bet. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get this stuff in Paris?”
He picked up his drink and clinked it together with Brian’s. Downing it quickly, the memories of their crazy days together came flooding back.
“So, you still picking up the ladies like you did?”
“I get my fair share, I guess.”
“So modest. You were always so humbly modest and such a ladies man. I love it!” He turned toward the bar and put his hand up. “Excusez-moi. Barman. Deux autres s'il vous plaît?”
“I thought we were just going to have a few beers?”
“You getting soft on me, Eddie?”
“No, but…. I have a lot to get done.”
“That never stopped you in college. Ha ha! You drank everything under the God damned sun and still did all the honeys.”
“Things are quite different now. I have a business to run and responsibilities to oversee.”
“Wow, I guess you did a lot of growing up.”
“I did. But it paid off.”
“Remember the frat party we crashed? What frat was it? The Alpha Pi Deltas. Ha ha! Those guys were so pissed when we became the center of their party.”
“Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday.” Edward tried to play it off but wasn’t interested in talking about his old college days. “Things were pretty crazy back then. So tell me. How is Alco? Are you still a big wig there?”
“Yep. In fact, they want me to fly out to Italy and start negotiations on opening another factory out there.”
“Hey, wow, Brian! That’s amazing!”
“Yeah, I do love it. Would be nice to share it with someone, but hey. You can’t always get what you want, right?”
“I’m sure it will happen for you.”
“Well, it hasn’t so far.”
“Never?”
“Nope. Not one relationship, not one girlfriend, not even a good fuck. Sure isn’t like it was in college.”
Edward had the idea that Brian wouldn’t succeed once he graduated. He was afraid that Brian had latched himself onto guys like himself, Joseph and a few others who were attractive, success driven and socially active. He was afraid that once they all went their separate ways Brian wouldn’t have the stability to make it on his own. At least he was wrong on the business side of things, but so right when it came to settling down and finding someone.
By the end of the night, they had finished off the bottle of Crown Royal and added several beers to the bill before realizing they needed to call it a night.
“What the hell time is it anyway?”
Edward looked at his watch and squinted to see the time. “Looks like ten thirty.”
“That’s it? Hell, we should have one more then.”
“No, no.” Edward waved his hands. “I’m out. But listen. Thanks for the business tips and the stories. It was fun catching up.” He stood up, feeling a little clumsy. “Brian,” he said, holding his hand out. “It was good seeing you, man.”
Brian grabbed his hand and pulled him to him as he stood up. He hugged him tightly and slapped him on the back much like he did when they first met up. “You too, Eddie. This was great.”
“Next time I’m in town I’ll give you a call.”
“You better! Hey, I got the bill. You go on home.”
“Thanks, man.”
Just as Edward got to the front door, he heard Brian call out his name.
“Eddie!”
He turned and looked back.
“Don’t be such a fucking stranger, huh?”
Edward nodded and smiled as he turned back toward the door. He almost collided with a young pretty woman who was holding the door open for him.
“Oh, excuse me.” As his eyes adjusted, she looked familiar to him. He stepped back and pointed to her. “I know you.”
“Monica. I am Eva’s friend.”
He felt his heart surge when he heard her name and he took a deep breath. “Yes. I remember. How is Eva?”
“She is good. I haven’t seen her all week, but she seems to be doing well.” Her smirk told him she knew why Eva hadn’t been in her best friend’s life for the last few days.
“She was an amazing hostess. Tell her I’ll miss her when she goes back to Cambridge.” He looked at her in hopes of getting a bit more information from her.
“I will, and its Oxford, not Cambridge.”
“Oh, yes. I’m sorry. I knew it was one of the better schools. I was so proud of her when she told me.”
She smiled smugly and waited for him to make the next move.
“I should be going. Tell her I said hello, and thank you for an amazing few days.”
“I’ll do that. Nice suit,” she said, glancing down at his chest.
“Thanks.”
As she walked by him, he looked down at his expensive Armani suit and wondered what she must have thought about him.