Chapter Twenty
June – Friday
As far as Mike was concerned, I was still trying my damn hardest to get an interview with Roy, so I decided not to go into the office on Friday under the pretence of that, while I spent the day with Hailey. We’d been doing our best to get together ever since I missed her at the Hangout on Tuesday, but it hadn't managed to come together until now.
“I’ve booked us in for a manicure,” she told me with a smile on her face. “Plus, the hairdresser is going to finally attack those locks of yours. Now, I know you told me that you aren’t bothered how your hair looks, which normally is fine, but now you have a very hot man on the go – you need to look your best for him.”
She loved doing all this girly stuff, whereas I’d never been very interested in it, so I knew this day was more about her than me, so I agreed with a big smile on my face. “Sure, sounds good.” Plus, there was no denying that I actually did want to look my best for Roy, especially as we hadn't seen one another for a few days now. The anticipation had been building for a long while, and I hoped and prayed the payoff would be as awesome as I was expecting it to be.
I decided on a traditional manicure, which was the opposite of Hailey, who had gone for an over-the-top, sparkly number. As the girls who worked at the salon worked on our nails, she started grilling me about Roy all over again.
“So, have you spoken to lover boy since he went to St. Louis?”
“I have,” I grinned to myself. “He’s been messaging me the entire time.”
“Filthy messages, I hope.” I glanced at the women working on our nails, with shock in my eyes. “Oh, don’t worry about them,” she reassured me. “They’ve heard much worse, I’m sure.”
“You wouldn’t believe what we hear in here,” one of them joked. “I could write a book on the stories we get.”
“Okay…” I drawled slowly, still unsure. “Well, no, not really. He’s been mostly sending me some really sweet stuff.” I blushed brightly as I remembered some of the lovely things he’d said to me while he’d been away, things that confirmed how much he really did like me, as unbelievable as that was. “He keeps telling me all the things that he likes about me.”
“Pass me the bucket, I’m going to be sick,” Hailey joked before regarding me curiously. “You really do like this one, don’t you? I mean, more than just physically because that much is obvious.”
“I do.” It scared me to admit as much aloud because it added some realness to my emotions, but at the same time, I couldn’t hide it from my best friend, however much I wanted to – she knew me too well. “I like him a lot. It worries me. I’m scared that I’m going to get hurt.”
“Girl, if he’s telling you what he likes about you, then I think you’re safe. I’ve never had anyone do that for me. So, what is your plan for Sunday?”
“I don’t really have a plan,” I confessed. “I told him that I would take the article over for him to read…”
“Which he’s going to love, by the way,” my friend smiled at me, confirming what she’d already told me. I gave it her to read over this morning, and she’d raved about it ever since.
“And, that’s it. I don’t really have any plan other than that.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you have me then,” she nudged me lightly, causing the nail polish to spread a little over my finger. “I can help you plan.”
I held my nails at an awkward angle, waiting for them to dry as Hailey barked orders at the hairdresser, leaving me no control over my hair whatsoever. I wasn’t really bothered about that, Hailey could probably do a better job with the way I looked, than me anyway. I heard the words “auburn” and “razor cut” thrown about, but I decided to keep my trust in her regardless, just because I didn’t know what else I would do instead.
While they talked over my head like I wasn’t there and set about to work on me, I allowed my mind to wander, to really think of a plan for Sunday. Maybe Hailey was right and I did need to decide what was going to happen, after all. One time of hooking up was one thing, but if it happened again, with all these complicated feelings flowing through me, I really did risk getting hurt.
Then again, how was I going to be around Roy with nothing happening? I just wasn’t sure that I could.
***
“Oh my God, my hair looks incredible,” I laughed joyfully as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. “I can’t believe it.”
The auburn color somehow managed to highlight my brown eyes, making their light shade much more appealing. It also brought out some cheekbones that I didn’t even know where there. It turned out that the razor cut didn’t so much take anything off the length of my hair, but it did make it look a little more styled. I’d always looked a little like a country girl, so this was kind of cool.
“What did I tell you? Aren’t you glad you trusted me now?” Hailey extended her arms and cocked her eyebrows at me, making me laugh. “Now, all of that commanding has made me hungry. Shall we go and get something to eat?”
As we sat in the café, eating our sandwiches and gossiping, my phone rang out loudly, making me jump.
“Oh my God, it’s him!” Hailey exclaimed as she saw his name plastered across the screen. “Can I answer it? Can I speak to him?”
“God, no!” I laughed at her. “There’s no way I want him to have the Hailey Third Degree just yet. Let’s not put him off right away, shall we?”
Hailey mock pouted, but she didn’t resist as I answered with a beaming grin on my face. My heart was already thundering excitedly, and I hadn't even heard his voice yet. Just the thought of him taking the time out of his day in St. Louis to call me had me far happier than I probably should have been.
“Hi, Roy; how are you?” I could already hear the coyness in my voice, and from the smirk Hailey just sent me, so could she.
“I’m good,” he sighed wearily. “Just sick of all this. I’ve been in meetings all day. Honestly, it isn’t just me I don’t like in suits: it’s everyone. It seems to make people boring.”
“Well, it won’t be for much longer, will it?” On the outside, it sounded like I was just talking about the trip with him, but of course, I was referring to all of it. He wanted out of the business, and from the way he was speaking to me, it seemed like it would be the best thing for him. “You’ll be home soon.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait. And, not just because I’ll be seeing you!”
My pulse kicked up a notch and I found myself speechless. Every time we spoke, any self doubt I had just flew out the window, and I found myself craving him – his body, his company, his lips…everything about him. He really was incredible. “But, that most of all, right?” I finally managed to stammer out, chuckling.
“Oh, of course; anyway what are you up to? It has to be more fun than my day is.”
“I’m out with Hailey, having lunch,” I told him, leaving most of the details out. I wanted my makeover to be a surprise for him.
“I better leave you to it, then. I have all sorts going on this afternoon anyway, so I’ll talk to you later?”
“Sounds great.”
As we hung up the phone, Hailey was already sending me a playful smile. It was as if she could already tell that I’d been playing down my feelings a little, even to her, and she wanted to discuss that.
“Don’t,” I warned her right away. “I’m nervous enough about seeing him. Don’t make it any worse. Let’s talk about something else.”
“Okay, sure,” she agreed far too quickly. “Let’s talk about something else. How about you talk to me about Ali. She absolutely adores you. She keeps asking when you’re going to come in again. What did you do?”
“I don’t know, but she truly is an awesome kid,” I spoke excitedly, glad to have something else to talk about, a topic I could talk about for hours and hours, given half the chance.
***
As I got into bed later that evening, I thought about sending some sort of goodnight text to Roy, but before I could start the agonizing process of crafting the perfect message, he sent a picture through to me.
It was an image of him in what looked like a very comfy, large bed. The sheets were the stark white of what could have only been a hotel room, and I felt a pang of longing. I half wished I’d gone with him to keep him company when he was there. That desire was made even worse by the fact that he had no shirt on in the picture, showing me his rippling muscles, and he had the duvet held down, as if he was inviting someone in…me, judging by the caption.
‘Wish you were here xxx’
I felt a little cheeky as I read his words, which made me act in a way that I might not have done otherwise. I slid a see-through camisole over my head and climbed into my own bed. There I took a selection of photographs, unhappy with every one. My face looked weird when I tried to pout, my eyes looked strange when I took it from above, so in the end I decided to take an image that was just natural, hitting send before I could change my mind.
My phone pinged with a reply only moments later; ‘Wow, your hair looks incredible…so do you xxx’
Oh, of course, my hair! I touched it inadvertently, having almost forgotten about the change in the heat of the moment. With an element of tease in my mind, I zoomed the camera in on my breasts, and took a photograph of those.
‘You were looking at my hair, ignoring these?! xxx’
The reply I got was a picture of Roy, totally naked, the covers pulled over him just enough to have him covered. My heart raced like crazy as heat spread through my body. Just looking at the picture reminded me of those rough workman hands all over me, turning me on all over again. My breaths were already slightly ragged. If I allowed this to keep going, then I might just end up losing my freaking mind.
‘Wow…that really is a nice hotel room xxx’ I sent back, teasing him. While I waited for him to message again, my head flopped back on the pillow and I did my best to calm down my racing heart.
Not long now, I reminded myself. Not long until I’m in his arms again. All I need to do is be patient, and wait… Even if that isn’t my strongest point.
When my phone bleeped again, I dreaded picking it up, just in case he’d sent me something that would take this past the point of no return, but thankfully, he hadn't; ‘That’s another thing I like about you right there: you aren’t afraid to tease me. Goodnight, beautiful xxx’ I sighed with relief, preferring to keep this thing between us in the real world. What we had was special, and I felt like it deserved to be treated as such.