Chapter Three
Elena had been avoiding him at work, and he didn’t like it. The past three days, whenever he’d passed her, she’d walked the other way. She’d not taken the time to say hey, and she hadn’t brought in any baked goods either. Arriving outside of her apartment, Cole paused as he saw Vincent was there as well.
“What is this?” Cole asked.
“I asked Juliet out on a date, and seeing as she’s worried about her friend, she said yes.”
“Why is she worried about Elena?”
“You and her date. She thinks it’s going to upset her in some way. From what I’ve been told, Elena doesn’t know why you asked her out on a date.”
“Oh.” Okay, now he felt like the world’s biggest asshole. Was that why she was avoiding him? Crap.
They both entered the building and headed toward the apartment. Vincent got there first, knocking on the door. Juliet answered with a smile.
“You made it just in time.” She kissed Vincent’s cheek, and smiled at him. “Hey, Cole. Elena, your date is here.”
“Come on, beautiful, we’re going to head out.”
“Sure thing.” Juliet stared at him. “Be nice.”
“Nice? I’m always nice.”
“Not all the time.” Juliet smiled and rolled her eyes.
“Tell me about it, right? He’s so blind,” Vincent said, and Cole didn’t have a clue what was going on. Elena came out, and smiled at him. She looked nervous, but when he caught sight of the red, figure hugging dress, he was mesmerized. Her brown hair was in curls, and it fell around her waist. She looked beautiful, and his cock started to harden at the mere sight of her. Then when he glanced down her body and saw those killer heels, he was in love. There had to be a way of him watching her naked in those heels. It did something to her nice round ass, and he would have happily died and gone to heaven.
“Are you ready to go?” she asked.
“Yes, yes, I’m ready.”
“Did you know Vincent and Juliet were like secret friends?”
“Nope. I tend to not get involved with my friends’ decisions. It always ends badly for me,” he said, trying to make a joke.
She grabbed her purse, and he took it from her, tossing it back into the room. “Hey, what the hell are you doing?”
“Tonight is my treat, and you don’t need to worry about paying for anything.”
“What if I want to pay?”
“You’re not paying today. End of story.”
“You’re being really bossy,” she said.
He reached out, touching a curl, and winding it around his finger. “Maybe you should take a hint and do as you’re told for one night?”
Did he hear a whimper?
“I like this side of you,” she said.
He offered his arm, always the perfect gentleman, even though he was thinking anything but gentlemanly thoughts. All he wanted to do was press her up against the wall, and fuck her so that the only cock she ever remembered was his. Instead, he led her out to his truck, helping her inside.
“These heels could be a problem.”
Cole took her hand, and helped her up into the truck. “Not a problem at all.” He rested his hand on her thigh, feeling the size of it, imagining them wrapped around his waist as he drove deep inside her. “They look amazing on you.”
Her nipples were tight, pressing against the front of her dress. Damn it!
Pulling away, when all he wanted to do was take her back to her place and fuck her, he closed the door. Climbing into the driver’s seat, he started up his truck, and drove to the only bar in town. It was already busy for a Friday night, and Connie’s was always known for good food, good beer, and great music.
He parked his truck as close to the entrance as he could get without getting parked in, and climbed out. Rushing toward her side of the car, he helped her out, and she thanked him. Once again, he had an unmistakable urge to kiss her, but he held back as behind him he heard some shouting. This wasn’t the place to do what he wanted. With her hand inside his, they both made their way toward the bar.
Neither of them spoke, and Cole couldn’t think of a single thing to say to her, or to make her feel relaxed. What was the matter with him? This had been what he was wanting for a long time now. Longer than he liked to think about.
“There’s Juliet, and your friends,” she said, pointing toward a booth near the main dancefloor. It was already thriving with life, and completely loud. Pulling Elena in front of him, he began to lead her toward his friends.
“Cole, I thought you were skipping out on your friends there,” Danny said.
“Of course not.” He waited for Elena to take a seat, and Juliet was there, smiling at her.
“Everyone, this is Tiffany,” Danny said. “My date.”
Tiffany was one of the ex-cheerleaders from their high school.
“They already know me, right, Vincent?” Tiffany asked, with a wink.
This was going to be one long ass night.
“How about I go and get drinks?” Cole asked.
“I’ll have a beer,” Elena said.
“Me, too,” Juliet said.
“Ew, girls, do you know how many calories are in beer? I mean, it’s like eating an entire loaf of bread,” Tiffany said. “I’ll take a small white wine.”
She named a brand that Cole would never remember. “You still want a beer?” he asked.
“Yes.” Juliet and Elena answered together.
Leaving the table, he made his way toward the bar, and gave a wave at Connie.
“Be right there, honey.”
“So, what do you think?” Danny asked. “She’s mighty fine.”
“Vincent is here on a date with another woman, and you think it’s funny bringing an old fuck buddy?”
“Come on, it’s hilarious. You should have seen his face. It was so funny.”
Cole shook his head. “Your biggest problem is you never take anything seriously.”
“You think I should take Vincent and Juliet seriously? I mean come on. Look at them.”
He glanced toward their table, and he watched as their friend kept trying to ignore Tiffany, and join in with Juliet and Elena.
“Go and save our friend. I’ll get the drinks.”
“If you insist.”
Life for Danny was just one long joke, but when Cole looked at Vincent, he saw that he was in fact interested in Juliet. Danny made it to the table, and Vincent left to come and help.
“I think I want to kill Danny,” Vincent said.
“Join the queue.”
“Doesn’t he have a long line of women who hate him?”
“Yes.”
“Great. I’ll get them, and they can do our dirty work for us.” Vincent pulled out his wallet.
“Why did you bring Juliet?” Cole asked.
“I saw her at the store. I think she’s pretty, and I asked her to go out with me. End of story.”
“Look, this thing with Elena. I want it. I want it to be real, and for that to happen, I need you to not hurt her best friend. I don’t want to have to deal with that kind of drama.”
“There’s not going to be any drama, Cole. Stop worrying about everything, and just enjoy your night out.” Vincent paid for the drinks, and Cole carried them on the tray. Making their way back toward the table, Cole saw Elena smiling at him.
She took the bottle of beer from the tray, and waited.
“To first dates,” she said.
“Wait, wait, wait, you’re on a first date?” Tiffany asked.
“Yes.” Cole placed his arm across Elena’s shoulders and pulled her in close. She didn’t fight him, which he liked.
“This is totally crazy. Holy crap, do you remember what they used to call you in high school?”
Cole saw the laughter die in Danny’s eyes.
“Yeah, Tiffany, let’s go for a dance.”
“No. I don’t want to dance. This is just so good.” Suddenly she had a cell phone in her hand and she was typing away. “I just got to totally put this as a status update. Chubby Chaser and Fatty are going together.”
He felt Elena instantly recoil, and even Danny looked disgusted.
“I need to use the bathroom,” Elena said.
“Yeah, me, too.” Juliet followed her out, and Cole gritted his teeth. This was not going the way he wanted it, not at all.
He watched Elena walk away, and Vincent was chasing after Juliet.
“You deal with this shit right now,” he said, pointing a finger at Danny. He didn’t wait around to see what his friend did.
Vincent and Juliet were outside of the bathroom arguing when he approached.
“Where is she?”
“Is that what they called you?” Juliet asked.
“Where is she?” Cole asked again.
“She’s in the bathroom.”
He didn’t wait around and marched into the toilet. She was washing her hands in the sink. When he looked at Elena, he saw her eyes were red, but no tears seemed to be present.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.”
“Is what she said the truth?”
Cole ran fingers through his hair, trying to find the right words. “Yes, I was called that, but I didn’t care about that. It was just a name.”
“Oh. I guess being called fatty is not new to me.” She shrugged. “I wish it didn’t hurt.”
He saw the pain in her eyes, and he hated that he didn’t have the words to take it away. “It doesn’t matter.”
She didn’t say anything. They were just words. When he looked at Elena he didn’t see a fat girl. He’d always seen a beautiful woman. Her life, her sparkle, he’d loved watching her for so long, that he’d gotten used to doing just that. Watching her. He couldn’t wait anymore, and he was done playing by gentlemanly rules. “All that matters is this.”
****
Before Elena could even act, Cole had grabbed her face, and slammed his lips down on hers. She held onto his arms, and then slowly closed her eyes as his kiss went on. His lips were firm, and one of his hands sank into her hair, holding her in front of him. The other kept on cupping her face. It was so soft, so gentle. She didn’t want it to stop.
When she opened her mouth, he plunged his tongue inside, and the kiss deepened. They only pulled away as the door opened, distracting them.
“I want to go out there, and I want to dance with you. I invited you here tonight because I wanted to spend time with you. Not because I’m your boss, but because I just want to be around you.”
She licked her lips, and he groaned, running his thumb across her lip.
“What do you say?” he asked.
“I don’t want to be near Tiffany. I didn’t like her in high school, and I don’t need her around me right now.”
“Danny’s going to get rid of her. Come and dance with me. Tiffany doesn’t matter. No one else matters but me and you.”
He held his hand out, and she took it without even hesitating. They left the bathroom, and she smiled at Juliet, who caught her arm. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It has been a long time since I felt like that. It was hard.”
She didn’t linger with her friend, even though she wanted to. Cole took her straight onto the dance-floor. He pulled her close, cupping her hips so that their chests were touching.
Staring into his eyes, she couldn’t help but be mesmerized. They were so dark, and sometimes he seemed to see everything. He watched. He waited.
“I don’t want you to ever run like that away from me again,” he said.
“I wasn’t running from you.”
“What she said, it upset you?”
She snorted. “Of course it did. Someone calling me fatty upsets me, Cole. I can live with a lot of things. I’m on a date. I tried to look pretty, and sometimes words can get to me.” He squeezed her hip, and she glanced down, unable to help herself.
“I think you’re beautiful.”
Elena loved his words more than she thought possible. After Tiffany, she felt ugly, like she shouldn’t be on this date with him. The problem now was the fact he was still her boss.
“This is crossing a line, don’t you think? You think I’m beautiful, and you’re my boss.”
“Bosses have eyes as well. We’re not blind. I said you’re beautiful, and I mean it.” He leaned in close, and kissed her lips once again. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”
“This is so weird,” she said.
He chuckled. “Tell me about it. I had this great romance planned out. I was going to take you out dancing tonight, show you my moves. Then more dates were to follow.”
“More dates? This isn’t a one time thing?”
“No. It’s not.” The hand on her hip moved up, and he sank his hand into her hair, and she couldn’t look away, nor did she want to. She wanted his kiss once again. “Tell me, Elena, do you want me to stop?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Good, because I don’t want to.”
Chubby Chaser. That was his name in high school. Whenever he was around, she’d always looked toward him, and he’d always been staring at her. Was she the reason he was called that? Tiffany had said as much. Cole didn’t seem to mind though. Elena didn’t like it, as it was just another way of calling her fat, and now she didn’t want to even think about it. Would being a bigger girl follow her everywhere? Big, fat, chubby, large, pie-face—they were all things she’d been called.
No! She wasn’t going to dwell on those names. They were not important to her. Not now, not ever.
Even as she thought it, she knew she was lying to herself. Those words would haunt her for the rest of her life. But for tonight, she was going to try to not think about them again.
They danced, and Elena couldn’t get rid that stomach twisting feeling. “I need some air,” she said, pulling away from him.
She didn’t wait around, or stop. Instead, she kept on going, leaving the bar, and moving as far away from anyone as was possible. Rounding the building, she was near the trash bins, but the noise was slightly less. Leaning against the wall, she released several breaths and closed her eyes. This was not what she expected. She hated how Tiffany could get into her head, and make her feel things that she had longed to forget.
“Did I scare you?” Cole asked, and she opened her eyes to find him standing, watching her.
“No. You didn’t.”
“You’re looking a little out of it.”
“I want to go home.”
“Is it too hard for you to think that I wanted you here just because I did? This wasn’t for anyone else but for myself. Tiffany’s a fucking bitch. Always has been. Don’t let what she said affect this, hurt us.” He stepped toward her, so close that it was next to impossible to look away. Cole trapped her between his hard body and the wall, his arms resting on either side of her head. “Look at me, Elena.”
She did. “Why were you called that?”
“You know why I was.” He reached out to stroke a curl from her face. “Because no matter what, I was always enthralled by you. They saw that I wanted you, but I kept my distance. That is what I’ve always done. I’ve always kept my distance.”
“You’ve never said anything.”
“There was never a right time to say something, Elena. You were behind me in school. Then there was college, and then you were dating, or I was dating.”
“I had no idea you even looked at me,” she said.
“Always. I’ll always look at you.”
“Did you hate me?”
“How could I hate you?” he asked.
“For being called that name?” Shaking her head, she tried to leave, but he wouldn’t let her. “No. I’m not even going to think about this. I thought I was the bigger person, but it hurts.”
This wasn’t just about him being called chubby chaser. This was about her, and what she’d been called just because she had a little more weight than everyone else.
Cole cupped her face, and slammed his lips against hers. He moved forward, kicking her legs open, and moving so that his cock was pressed against her pussy. The way he moved, the command of his body, had her aching for more. One of his hands left her face, and he cupped her thigh, drawing her leg up. The dress stopped her from lifting her thigh too high, and Cole growled in frustration as he moved down, shoving her dress up until it was at her waist. She was neither fighting nor helping. In fact, she was in a little shock, and incredibly aroused at how he was acting. She wanted him to, and there was no fight from her. The last thing she wanted to do was fight.
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do this?” he asked, breaking the kiss, and moving down to her neck.
“I don’t know.”
“A long time, Elena. Over ten years now. I didn’t care about that name, and I still don’t. I want you, and only you. I don’t want to waste any more years.”
There were only three years difference between them, and he’d been one of the most popular guys in school. He was still the hottest man in town, and he wanted her.
“You never said anything.”
“We’ve always been close, and yet far apart. Then you worked for me. I didn’t want you to think I was taking advantage of my position.”
“I wouldn’t think that.” She gasped as he slid his hand underneath her dress, and cupped her ass. He squeezed it hard, and took her kiss once again.
“I want you, Elena. I want to take you home, fuck you hard, and make you forget everyone else.”
Her pussy grew slick. It had been a long time since she’d been with anyone else, over a year in fact.
“Then take me home,” she said.
“You don’t want to stay and dance more?”
“There’s no way I’m going to be able to dance.” She glanced down at his hips pressed between her thighs. “And I don’t think you’ll be able to do much dancing.” His cock was long, thick, and hard, pressed against her stomach.
“Then I’m taking you home.” He pulled away, taking her hand, and before she knew what was happening, they were in his truck, heading toward his place. He handed her a cell phone. “Call Juliet. Let her know you’re coming home with me.”
She was all fingers and thumbs, but she sent the text to her friend.
“Here, I’ve done it,” she said.
He took the cell phone and tossed it onto the dashboard. She watched as the screen started to fade until it was black. It was so dark outside that she couldn’t make anything out. She knew that Cole lived in a nice neighborhood, and had a garden. Time passed, she didn’t know how much, before they were pulling onto his drive.
Climbing out of his car, Elena looked up at his home.
Cole took her hand, leading her inside. There was no turning back after this. She never went home with a guy, never. This was a complete first for her, and she didn’t have any money, or any way of getting home, unless she did the walk of shame.
He wasn’t much of a talker, so they entered his home, and he flicked on the light. His home was beautiful.
“I’ve never brought anyone else back here,” he said.
“Are you sure?”
A laugh came from him, and she turned to find him locking the door. “Of course I’m sure. I bought this after I got the store. It was a complete mess.”
“I remember.” His home was at the end of the street, and had a garage to the back of the house. It had also been empty for the past twenty-plus years. Growing up, some kids liked to tell stories of it being haunted. She didn’t believe in ghosts and had always laughed at them. “Was it ever haunted?”
“Totally, with mold, and bad wiring work. There were leaks all over the place, and the roof was a mess. This was my very own personal project. I love working with my hands. It’s why I knew I wouldn’t be any good at a desk job.”
That made her look at his hands, and her own arousal went through the roof. She wanted those hands on her body, now.