12
Kelly
I was always grateful for Monday mornings because it meant a little more sleep than usual, so I was more than a bit annoyed when I heard a knock at the door and saw it was only seven-thirty in the morning. Even Alice didn’t have the energy to jump out of my bed to go see who was knocking, and I let the knocking continue until it got louder and more frantic.
I stormed out of bed, not even bothering to grab my robe to cover myself up and just answered the door wearing nothing by a white t-shirt and the black boyshort panties I had on. I threw the door open hastily, getting ready to yell at whoever I found on the other side. There was Jodie, grinning at me and holding two cups of coffee in her hands.
“Why are you here so early?” I complained. “I just want to sleep some more.”
I marched myself over to my couch and plopped down on it, laying my face on the nearest throw pillow.
“I wanted to see how your date went yesterday,” Jodie answered.
I didn’t say anything and continued to just lay on the couch, hoping she might just leave so I could get another hour of sleep in.
“Can I do more than look at your ass while I’m here?” Jodie yelled. “Roll over and talk to me, Kelly! I want to know how it went.”
I exhaled deeply and flipped myself over, keeping an arm over my eyes in the hopes of blocking the sunlight out of them.
“We had dinner and talked and had a very nice time,” I told her. “Can you leave now?”
“Really? That’s all you’re going to say about it? You had a nice time? Come on, Kelly, you were gone long enough where I had to come over and let Alice out and feed her, and you didn’t answer any texts or anything. I don’t even know what time you got home. And your scooter is still locked up at the boardwalk.”
“Shit, I forgot about the scooter. Did you bring it?” I asked.
“No, I didn’t bring it. I don’t have the combination to your lock. But if you give me the combination, and some details, I will gladly go get it for you.”
I sat up on the couch and looked over at Jodie through my peering, barely-open eyes. She held out the travel cup of coffee for me, and I grabbed it, taking a slow sip at first to see how hot it was. I could tell right away it was something she made at home and not something she got from the Wah Wah down the street. I felt the slow jolt from the coffee perk me up a bit and looked up at Jodie.
“38-32-12,” I said to her, giving her the combination. “The keys are by the door. Bring my scooter back, and I’ll gladly give you details.”
“Back in ten minutes,” Jodie said as she hopped out of the chair. “Put some shorts on at least in case someone else comes to the door,” she said with a laugh. I sneered back at her and sat drinking my coffee as she walked out the door.
Jodie was back in under ten minutes, during which time I did throw a pair of Terry shorts on and let Alice out in the back. I sat myself down at the small table on the patio while Alice sniffed around the yard. I heard the wooden gate to the backyard open and close as Jodie came back and sat with me.
“Scooter is delivered,” she said, dropping the keys on the table. “So, let’s have it. Start at the beginning.”
I slowly went over the details of my evening with Damian, lingering over the details of the house so that Jodie could soak in just how the place looked and how decadent it all seemed. After telling her about each floor, the giant kitchen, and the amazing view, I told her how I tried to make my points to him, and how Damian used his charm, good manners, and personality to refute everything from me perfectly. I talked about the lovely dinner, how he cooked, and we drank and talked and about how idyllic the evening was.
“And that’s it? You ate dinner and came home?” Jodie said in disbelief. “I’m not buying it.”
I pulled my knees up, so they were close to my body and sipped my coffee. I could just barely see Jodie’s face over my kneecaps as I talked.
“Okay, so there was a little more. We might have made out for a little while, down by the pool,” I said quickly.
Jodie bolted up in her seat so she could see my face smiling back at her. She smacked my knee playfully.
“What the hell, Kelly? Why did you wait so long to mention that?”
“It happened right at the end of the night,” I told her. “We were talking, and having wine, and the mood was right, and he just leaned in and started kissing me. Before I knew it, we just kept at it.”
“So how was it? Never mind, I can tell already it was amazing with the way you are blushing.”
“It was amazing,” I admitted. “His lips were… well, they were perfect. The best kisses I have had in many years.”
“Then what happened?” Jodie asked, anticipating much more.
“Nothing,” I told her. “James showed up and interrupted our kissing, and that was it. I said I needed to leave, Damian walked me to the car, we kissed some more, and James drove me home.”
“Well, that’s disappointing.”
“No, it was very nice,” I said to her. “Damian is going to call me this morning so we can go out today.”
“Where are you going to go? What will you do? Do you think he’ll take you somewhere fancy? Maybe you can helicopter out to his yacht or ride up to Dover and take his private plane somewhere,” Jodie said, fantasizing about what might happen.
“What makes you think he has a helicopter, yacht and private plane around here?”
“Come on, Kelly, the guy’s a billionaire. Of course, he has that stuff.” Jodie looked at me like I was crazy for thinking otherwise.
“I think you’ve read too many romance books,” I said rolling my eyes at her.
“What, do you think he’s just going to want to go over to Ocean City, play mini golf and get some fried clams? I’m sure he expects more than that.”
“You don’t know Damian at all, Jodie. You talked to him for two minutes in the bar. I spent hours with him last night. He’s nothing like what you think he is. He’s not hung up on how much money he has or anything like that. He’s a regular guy who is nice, and funny, and caring…”
“And has a mansion, expensive toys and more money in his wallet than I have in the bank,” Jodie added. “That’s not a regular guy, Kelly. He may come across that way to you, but he’s not regular. We’re regular.”
I stood up from my chair and looked down at Jodie.
“You’re starting to piss me off,” I said to her as I walked back inside the house.
“Why?” she yelled after me as she followed me in.
I sat down at the kitchen table and grabbed a banana from the bowl in front of me, quickly peeling it and taking a bite.
“Because you’re making assumptions about him based on how much money he has, and you’re doing the same thing about us. Just because we earn different amounts of money doesn’t mean we’re so different, or that he’s better than us or even thinks he is better than us. Damian and I have a lot in common, I think, and I don’t think he has expectations of me because I don’t have a lot of money in the bank.”
“Okay, you’re right, “Jodie admitted. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. I guess I’m just excited for you, and maybe a little jealous, that he’s interested in you. Stuff like that doesn’t happen to people around here every day, you know.”
I could hear my cell phone ringing off in the distance. Jodie and I looked at each other, and I jumped up from the table, stubbing my foot on the chair she was sitting on along the way. I hopped and hobbled down the hallway, rushing to get to the phone before it stopped ringing. I grabbed the phone and pressed answer, sitting down on the bed to rub my aching toes.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Kelly?” the voice on the other end asked. “Hi, it’s Damian. I hope it’s not too early to call and I didn’t wake you.”
Jodie appeared in the doorway to look at me.
“No, it’s not too early,” I told Damian. “I was up already.” I shot Jodie a glare as I said this.
“Oh, good. I was just wondering if you might like to get together this morning. I could swing by and pick you up in a few minutes, and we could plan out our day.”
A sense of panic came over me as I looked at the time on my phone and saw it was 8:15.
“Well, I’m not quite ready to start the day just yet,” I told him, trying to buy myself some time. “Do you think you could pick me up around nine instead?”
“Sure thing,” Damian said. “I’ll see you at nine. What’s your address?”
“It’s 14 Sapphire Pointe. I’ll see you in a bit.” I hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed.
“He’s going to be here in 45 minutes,” I said to Jodie, suddenly feeling panicked. “I need to shower, and get something to wear for the day, pack a bag in case we go to the beach, take care of Alice…”
“Kelly, relax,” Jodie said as she came up and put her hands on my shoulders. “I will take Alice for the day. Go take your shower, and I’ll pack a bag for you. You have plenty of time.”
“Okay thanks,” I said to Jodie as I went into the bathroom and turned the shower on. I stripped off my clothes, tossing them in the hamper, and the peeked my head out the bathroom back into the bedroom to see Jodie going through my closet. “Jodie,” I said to her seriously, “Be nice about what you pack, okay?”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about it,” Jodie said to me as she flipped hanger after hanger of clothing. “There’s nothing but nice in here anyway.”
I closed the bathroom door, and the room immediately started getting steamy from the shower. I tried to work my way through the shower as quickly as I could, knowing I didn’t have a lot of time before Damian was knocking on the door. I wanted to be sure I had time to dry my hair at least before he got here.
Once I got out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around myself and open the door, letting the steam spew out into the bedroom. I saw Jodie packing some things into a bag for me, and she turned and looked at me standing in the doorway.
“That was fast,” she commented as she looked at my choice of shoes and tossed a pair of heels into my bag.
“I’m never going to wear those,” I said to her, walking over and pulling the heels out of the bag.
“Why not?” Jodie asked. “They’ll make you a little taller, so he doesn’t have to bend so far to kiss you.” Jodie grinned at me as I tossed the heels back into my closet.
“I’ll wear my sandals,” I told her. “Besides, Damian had no problem kissing me last night,” I told her as I tossed my hair back and went back into the bathroom.
I pulled out my hair dryer and went through the routine of drying my hair, something I rarely did these days, mainly because I just didn’t have time to do it. I brushed my hair out as I dried it, giving it some nice waves and a little bit of curl that cascaded around my shoulders.
I bounded out of the bathroom again and saw Jodie sitting on my bed, looking at her phone. She took a quick look at me, giving me the once-over.
“Let me do your toenails,” Jodie said to me, pointing for me to sit on the bed.
“Jodie, I never do my nails. It’s not worth it.”
“I’m not talking about your fingernails. The way we work, I wouldn’t waste my time. But you can at least have nice-looking toes if you’re wearing sandals all day.” Jodie walked over and grabbed a nail kit and nail polish off my dresser.
“Fine,” I sighed, “but make it fast. I still need to get dressed, and Damian’s going to be here in like twenty minutes.”
“If you stop fidgeting around, I can get started.” Jodie grabbed my feet and pulled them up onto her lap.
“Remember when we used to do this when we were in high school?” Jodie said as she sculpted my toenails and got them ready for painting. I giggled a little as she gripped the sensitive sole of my left foot.
“I do,” I told her. “You were always helping me get ready for dates. You know I was never good at this stuff. Thank God I had you around; I don’t think I would have ever gotten any second dates without your help. I was the older sister and should have been the one helping you.”
Jodie was deftly putting a coat of nail polish on my toes.
“You did help me,” Jodie said to me. “Just in different ways. I would never have made it through school without your help. And remember who the one was crying to you on the phone when you were in New York, and I was back here, trying to find my way and what to do with my life? If it hadn’t been for you, I probably would have run off with Ben and gone out to Oregon. Who knows what would have happened then. Then you came back here, and you gave me some direction and a career. I don’t know if I have ever told you this, but I am so grateful for all you have done for me. I couldn’t ask for a better big sister.”
“Don’t get me all misty-eyed, Jodie,” I said to her as I choked up. “I have a date coming in about five minutes.”
“Sorry,” she replied, wiping her own eyes and laughing. “Your toes are done. You better get dressed.” Jodie handed me some clothes, and I saw she had given me a thin-strapped yellow dress.
“Jodie, I’m not wearing a dress,” I said to her, handing it back to her. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of white shorts and a purple tank top to wear instead.
“What’s wrong with the dress?” she asked me as she held it up. I had already put on my panties and was just fastening my bra as quickly as I could.
“There’s nothing wrong with it, I just don’t want to wear a dress all day and worry about it flying up if we’re walking on the beach. Not to mention that I don’t want to flash all the teenage boys that hang out under the boardwalk hoping to look up skirts. I’m wearing shorts.”
“Okay,” Jodie said in a huff, “but I am packing this dress for you in case you want something to wear tonight.” Jodie stuffed the dress into my bag and closed it up. Just as she finished, I heard a knock on the door.
“Shit, he’s here already,” I said as I zipped up my shorts. “Jodie, get the door please so I can finish getting dressed. And be nice to him. No prying.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, waving her hand at me. I knew she wasn’t going to pay attention to what I said as she closed my bedroom door.
I snatched up my tank top and put it on, adjusting the straps, and then I slipped into my sandals. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and was happy with what I saw. I looked like I wanted to: no makeup, no fancy hairstyle, just me.
This is how I want him to like me, I thought to myself as I smiled.
I picked up my sunglasses from my dresser, grabbed my keys and purse and the bag Jodie had packed, took a deep breath, and opened the bedroom door. I walked down the short hall into the living room, where I saw Damian sitting on the couch, with Jodie sitting in the chair across from him, and Alice firmly planted in front of Damian as he scratched her head and her tail wagged happily.
“So how many limos do you own?” I heard Jodie ask as I came closer.
Damian stood up as I stood next to Jodie, bumping her chair with my hip to get her to keep quiet. I could see Damian looking at the bag I was carrying.
“I packed a few things because I wasn’t sure what we were doing today,” I said, hoping to temper any expectations he might have about how the day or night might go. “I hope that’s okay.”
“That’s perfect,” Damian said to me. I felt his eyes scanning over me, looking at my less-than-tan legs in my shorts. His gaze worked its way up to meet mine, and we stood staring at each other for a moment.
“Well, I guess I’ll take Alice and go,” Jodie said, breaking the spell between us. She stood up and grabbed Alice’s leash, and Alice rushed over to her, bouncing up and down, knowing she was going out or in the car.
“You two have a great time today,” Jodie told us. “Call me or text me and let me know when you want Alice back, Kelly.” Jodie shot a big grin while she looked at Damian from behind him, taking notice of his strong legs in his own pair of shorts.
“Shall we go?” Damian asked me, offering to take my bag for me.
I nodded and handed him the small duffle bag as he led the way out the front door. I saw a big white pick-up truck in the driveway waiting for us.
“No Mustang today?” I asked Damian as we got to the truck.
“No, I told James he could use it today. I thought the truck might be good for us.”
Damian opened the passenger door for me so I could climb in, and I had to climb, bracing myself on the door frame with my right hand while Damian held my left to help me get a boost up.
“I think I need a ladder to get in and out of this thing,” I said, looking over my shoulder at Damian. I could see that he had taken a quick peek at my backside as I was getting in, and he looked a little sheepish that I had seen him looking, but I said nothing about it and just enjoyed it.
Damian came around to the driver’s side and got in and started up the truck with a roar. He backed out of the driveway, and I glanced out the window and felt like we were towering over anything and everything outside.
“Ready to start our adventure for the day?” Damian asked me, smiling at me.
“You bet,” I answered, smiling back. I wondered just what the day was going to hold for us, and the butterflies in my stomach started to ease a bit as Damian slid his hand over and took mine in his as he started to drive.