Disastrous (Disastrous Series) (8 page)

“Ah, hi Melanie, I’m here with a friend. Marcus, this is Melanie; we had a few classes together in undergrad.” Marcus politely shook her hand; she flushed when she noticed him. She stuttered and mumbled something, but it wasn’t clear enough for me to understand. She took our drink order and hurried away uneasily.

I looked back at Marcus once she was gone. “So you were saying?” He leaned into the table, folding his hands before him patiently waiting.

“Okay, I’m going to just get to the point. What is your connection with the Sorrento family?”

“It’s strictly an attorney-client relationship,” he stated nonchalantly and a little too quickly—maybe even a little too rehearsed.

My stare grew narrow as I studied him. “So all the allegations about you and your brother being involved in illegal acts with the Sorrentos are false?”

His face turned serious. “If I tell you that, then I’ll have to kill you.” My mouth dropped open in horror. “
Jesus
, Mia, lighten up; it was a joke. Yes, all of it is false.” He laughed. I didn’t find it funny.

Mmmh
, the questioning began. “Why do you want to date me? I mean you can obviously snap your fingers and have any woman you want. I just don’t get it.”

Melanie came over with our drinks and placed them before us with shaky hands. Marcus had ordered water and I’d ordered wine. He had known me for three days, and each day I’d been drinking. Surely he must have thought I was an alcoholic by then. We quickly chose something from the menu, and she hurried off.

“I like you,” he simply answered while taking a sip of his water.

“You don’t
know
me, what could you possibly
like
?”

He leaned in closer and his smile faded. His eyebrows creased together, and his eyes grew serious. “That night in the club when I saw you sitting there alone, I knew you were out of your element. You looked so innocent and pure. Then when I walked over and saw you up close and you looked up at me with those long lashes and beautiful eyes, it was like a breath of fresh air. You’re something I’ve needed for a very long time. You seemed honest and humble.”

He reached over, placing the palm of his hand on top of mine. “You see, Mia, for a long time I haven’t had anything like that: honesty, innocence, and pureness. After seeing it through your eyes, I never wanted or needed it more in my life. Then when I took you home that night, after placing the covers over you, you looked up at me and said something like you were used to being alone. Then your eyes watered, but you held back the tears. Your eyes were filled with sorrow, sadness, and emptiness. I thought to myself,
how could she be this sad
? I wanted to lie down next to you, hold you, and take away all your pain.”

My mind was scrambling to find the right thing to say, but I couldn’t think of anything. I was breathless, unable to think or speak. What do you say to that? He held my hand a moment longer, and then I retrieved it and put it in my lap, but he didn’t move. “Marcus, I am an honest person, yes, but I am not innocent or pure. I’m
emotionally
messed up. Do you understand that?”

“Please just give me a chance. I don’t know what it’s like to date, but I want to try.”

Looking away for a moment, I tried to focus on anything but those eyes. “My heart is telling me to give you a chance, but my head is telling me that you’re dangerous and I’ll end up hurt.” I finally met his eyes again.

He momentarily looked down as if there were some truth to what I said. “I wouldn’t hurt you, Mia.” Then his sincere eyes stared back into mine. It took me a few minutes to process those words. I thought of how I’d felt with him the night before. This could work. I just couldn’t get emotionally involved, so if it didn’t work out, I could just simply walk away.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded my head. “Okay, I’ll give whatever this is a shot.” A relieved grin spread across his face.

Melanie brought out our hot meals, and we dug right in. The more I thought of Marcus and me as a potential item, the better I felt. I didn’t know where it would go, but for the last few years, I’d held back and sacrificed so much. Maybe I should do this for me. I deserved to have a little fun even if it was just a summer fling. I would just have to stay emotionally shut down. I couldn’t fall for him, or I’d never be able to live it down.

Marcus interrupted my thoughts, “What are you doing this weekend?”

“Ah, I really don’t have any plans. Why?”

“Come away with me for the weekend. I have a shore house in the Bahamas. It’s on a private beach. We can have the entire weekend to spend time with each other—get to know each other better. We can leave tomorrow morning.”

Surprised by his boldness, I took a minute to let what he said sink in. “Marcus, I don’t know; isn’t it too soon to go away somewhere with each other?”

“No, I have a six-bedroom shore house. You can sleep in a room on a different floor from me with the doors locked if that will make you feel better.” He joked.

“I can’t. I have my interview tomorrow.” I shrugged apologetically.

His smile returned. “It’s done, I told Lisa that I met you at Club21 and that I gave you the interview already. She was shocked, of course, but you start Monday morning.” He reached for my hand. “Come on, Mia, the moment you feel uncomfortable I will drive you to the airport myself.” He gave me a reassuring smile, flashing that adorable dimple.

I couldn’t believe I was considering this. “Okay, what time should I be ready?”

He sat back in his chair with his shoulders straight and a sign of triumph in his eyes. “The plane leaves at 10 a.m. I’ll pick you up at 9 a.m.”

“Don’t we have to be at the airport two hours before the plane departs and go through baggage claim and security?”

He slightly tilted his head amused. “My firm has a private plane; we don’t have to go through all that hassle.”

Of course he had a private plane! I wanted to roll my eyes but refrained from doing so. Instead I settled for a simple nod. The rest of the lunch ended pretty well. I tried to pay for it, but he refused. I didn’t argue with him; he was too aggressive about it and shoved his credit card at Melanie before I could reach for my bag.

Before we went our separate ways, he embraced me in a hug; this time I hugged back and kissed him on the cheek. I figured I should play with him and have a little fun. “I’m off to do some shopping. After all I have to make myself simply irresistible for this weekend.” I blew him a kiss and walked away.

I didn’t turn when I heard him yell. “You’re killing me, Mia!” I giggled.

I had an hour to spare and went to a few shops. I purchased a couple bikinis, dresses, and lingerie. Even though I wasn’t sure if I’d be using any of them, I thought having a few sexy undies wouldn’t hurt.
Right?
Reaching my car with seconds to spare before the meter ran out, I jumped in and noticed an officer a foot away. I quickly pulled out and decided to go to the spa. I was in a desperate need of a manicure, pedicure, and wax.

****

Feeling the massage chair vibrate against my back and thighs was very soothing. Every girl should always enjoy a spa day at least twice a month. I rested my head back as my feet were scrubbed and massaged and my toenails polished with a bright pink color. After my nails were done, I walked back to the waxing station. Embarrassed by my lack of grooming, I lay there.

Susi lifted her head from between my legs; her eyes were filled with fear
or
shock. I’m not sure of which one. “When you last time wax?” I shrugged apologetically. She waved her finger. “Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, you no let grow like this, understand?” I nodded and threw my head back humiliated. Okay, so I’d neglected my sacred place, but no one had seen it in over two months.

****

Jeremy skeptically watched as I slowly walked across the living room with my legs spread opened. “What happened to you?”

“I got a wax.” I grumbled passing by him; he was by the kitchen island.

“Oooh, can I see?” He dropped the grin when I snapped an evil glare.

Lying in bed, I wondered if the pain would go away by morning. How red faced and embarrassed would I be to have Marcus staring at me while I walked like I’d been horseback riding? I heard my phone go off, so I reached for it.

Marcus (4:25pm): Thank you, Mia.

Me (4:26pm): For what?

Marcus (4:26pm): For today, for this weekend. I promise I won’t let you down.

Me (4:27pm): I hope you don’t, Marcus.

Marcus (4:27pm): Did you purchase anything good ;)

Me (4:28pm): Oh you’ll have to just have wait and see, DeLuca.

Marcus (4:29): I look forward to it! ;)

A nice cold shower soothed the soreness from my wax. The redness went down a lot, and I was walking normally by nine o’clock. Thank God! I decided to pack my bag for the weekend, only leaving out what I’d be wearing in the morning.

Feeling guilty that I hadn’t worked out in three days, I set my alarm to go off early so that I could fit in a good run in the morning. I threw on my yoga pants and a spandex sleeveless shirt so that I could jump right out of bed and just brush my teeth before my run.

I stepped out of my bedroom, and Jeremy was still playing his stupid game. I noticed he ordered pizza. Great, I should really cut back on the carbs. The past three days, I’d consumed more calories with alcohol and pasta than I had in months.

Then I remembered I needed to tell Jeremy about my weekend trip. I was nervous about saying anything, afraid of how he would react. I grabbed a slice of pizza and headed over to the couch. To my surprise, he didn’t seem shocked at all and even mentioned that he hoped I’d have a great time.

A half an hour later, I was in bed.

Jogging cleared my mind and relieved all my tension. I had a mixed variety of music on my iPod, and as soon as the shuffle switched from Lady Gaga’s
“
Marry the Night
”
to Limp Bizkit’s
“
Rollin
,”
I picked up the pace. The wind was the perfect temperature against my damp skin. I felt like I was in control, and it was just me and the road.

Passing the
university
, I stopped near a tree to catch my breath before lying on the grass. I did a few sets of sit ups along with lunges and squats. Then I stretched against a bench and began the jog back to my apartment at an easier pace.

I ran in place while waiting for the red light to change when I noticed Romano’s restaurant. I smiled to myself. Marcus was every girl’s dream: he was successful, a gentleman, and absolutely, ridiculously
HOT!

I’d known men like that…
well
not as handsome as Marcus, but they were all confident assholes. Although spending that one night with him at Romano’s made me truly believe that he might just be different.

He wanted to spend time with me, and who was I to not let him? It couldn’t hurt to give it a shot, could it? By agreeing to this weekend trip, I knew that something more than just getting to know each other would occur. I couldn’t resist his smile and his scent. Just thinking of him without his clothes on boggled my mind. A man brushed past me and ran across the street. I dismissed the thoughts of Marcus and continued with my run.

I was a couple blocks away from my building, so I sprinted. Stopping in front of the stairs, I took ten long minutes for a good stretch. My face was dripping with sweat, and I could feel the heat and blood rushing through my veins. It felt good.

Using the tree for support, I placed my right leg behind me and slowly bent my left. I repeated this, stretching on the other side. I sidestepped away from the tree, lifted my hands over my head, and reached for the sky very slowly, stretching my arms over to the right side and left side of my body.

I rolled my neck then bent over, reaching for my toes and aligning my back and legs. Slightly spreading my legs apart, I caught a glimpse of the bottom part of jeans and men’s white sneakers directly behind me.

The legs bent, and a set of big, brown eyes met mine. “Well good morning. You’ll have to let me in on your running schedule, so I can make it in time for your stretching.” That now-familiar smile peeped through my legs. I jerked up and quickly brushed a few loose strands of damp hair away from my face. Then I turned to face him.

“You’re early.” I stumbled back a few steps.

He eyed me up and down with an entertained, crooked grin. “And you’re sweaty. I
love
it.” He winked.

My eyes traced every inch of him; the casualwear suited him very well. This was the first time I was able to witness his firm biceps through his fitted, white, short-sleeved shirt. His loose, straight jeans flattered his waistline. He shoved his hands in his front jean pockets causing the muscles of his forearms to flex. His platinum Rolex was wrapped comfortably around his wrist. “I hope you don’t mind that I’ve arrived a little early; I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t bail on me.” He chuckled.

Bringing my attention back to his eyes, I blinked a few times. “Um, no, it’s fine; I just went for a quick run. I hope you don’t mind waiting while I take a shower and get ready. I can make you some coffee if you like?”

“Please lead the way.” His smile widened. We entered the building and walked up to the second floor. I was sticking the key in the lock when Trevor from the fourth floor approached me. He’s a very good-looking guy. He’d also tried on numerous occasions to ask me out, but I never dated anyone in my building. That was my number-one rule. Trevor handed me an envelope with a huge smile. “Good morning, sexy, my month’s rent,” he said.