Trust Me (16 page)

“I promise, Damien.”

He leans in and kisses me good-bye. It’s more reverent and reserved but filled with all the emotions we are both too scared to voice aloud right now. At least, that’s how I feel.

I get into the car, and he softly closes the door behind me. He puts his hand to the window, and I smile and mirror his action as I put the car into drive. Even with a window separating us, the connection between us zings to life.

When Damien steps back from the window, my heart feels heavy. As I drive off and see him in the rearview mirror, standing there and watching me, I realize my life will never be the same.

My mom always said,
Where there is a high, there is a low.
I hope she’s wrong. If she happens to be right, I hope the low has nothing to do with Damien and me.

It’s Tuesday morning, and I am headed back to Waleska from Homerville. Finally, the day has arrived. Damien and I get to see each other this evening. It’s felt like an eternity has passed. With all that has happened, my mind is a chaotic mess. Thoughts regarding this weekend’s events and my relationship with Damien are swirling around. I’m working on cataloging and processing all the decisions I’ve made. I think I appear calm on the outside, but my inside feels like I have consumed twelve cups of coffee in less than two hours. Yeah, mind jitters don’t even begin to describe it. Having nervous energy to expel, I pick up the phone and call Sam.

“Hey, girl. How’s it going?” I ask.

“It’s like a circus around here.” She pulls the phone away. “Those go over by the podium.” She comes back on the line. “Hey, sorry. What’s up?”

“Do you need any help?”

“Girl, if I had any more help, I’d go nuts. Thanks though. I appreciate it. Go get ready for your man. We’re bound for Vegas tonight.” Something crashes in the background. “Gotta go. See ya later.”

“See ya.”

She hangs up the phone, and I smile because I know she’s in her element right now.

The miles tick away as I think about the last couple of days. When two people are forced to interact solely over the phone without sex getting in the way, it’s amazing how much they learn about one another. I grin, thinking about my phone conversation with Damien last night.

“Hey, baby. How was your day?”

The soft purr in his voice has me instantly missing him, just like every night when we have talked.

I jump a little on the bed as I energetically tell him, “It was good. I have some exciting news to tell you tomorrow.”

He chuckles at my enthusiasm. “I can’t wait to hear about it. I’ll be in early, so we can spend some time together before Sam’s event. Did you see the announcement today about us?”

He sounds so pleased, but my stomach immediately bottoms out, like it always does before a presentation in front of one of my college classes.

Damien’s publicist put out the word that Damien is off the market and is in an “extremely serious” relationship. It made national news.

“Yeah, it’s a little overwhelming to see my name in the paper and to hear it mentioned on TV.”

The worry in my voice must have been discernible.

“Fuck, I knew I should have waited until we were together. Has anyone bothered you?”

“No, no. I didn’t mean it like that. You were right with how it was handled. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the media finds our dating status newsworthy. As a simple country girl, I’m acclimating to your lifestyle. I’m fine.”

“Alli, I need you to promise to tell me if my lifestyle gets to be too much. Don’t leave.”

“I promise.” We need a subject change. “So last night, we talked all about my parents. I want to hear about your childhood tonight.”

“I’d rather talk about you.”

He’s trying to sound seductive to sway me, but it’s not happening tonight. I’m a girl on a mission.

“We talked about me the last three nights. Your turn to spill, buddy.”

I hear a small sigh of frustration on the other end of the phone. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to talk about his family.

“Let’s see. My parents live in North Carolina. My father is a lawyer, and my mom stays home. They traveled a lot to climb their little social circles. They weren’t present for most of my childhood unless I was deemed useful in getting them to a higher social status. I see them occasionally, but we’re not close.”

Geez, that must have been rough.
My parents were the exact opposite. Having no idea what to say, I respond in the lamest way, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine. I had my grandparents while I was growing up. Besides the football team in North Carolina, they also had a ranch in Texas. I spent my summers there as a kid. My grandfather got his money from being an oil tycoon. They taught me everything important in life. When I was a junior in college my grandmother died of a heart attack, and my grandfather followed within a month. The doctors couldn’t determine his cause of death. I personally think it was due to a broken heart. He loved her with everything he had. He fell in love with her when she was fourteen, and on her sixteenth birthday, he took her to this ridge on his property and proposed. The night they got engaged, they carved their initials on this tree, and it’s still there to this day.”

Sniffing from the heartfelt story, I respond, “That’s a beautiful love story. My grandparents died before I knew them.” To have a true love like that is every person’s dream.

“Don’t cry, baby. They had a lifetime of love. I’ll take you to the ranch in Texas sometime.”

“I’d love that.”

I hear a beeping noise in the background.

“Baby, I’ve got another conference call, but I cannot wait to have you in my arms tomorrow.”

“Me either.”

There’s an awkward silence, like the last few nights, as neither one of us knows how to end the call.

He sighs. “Bye, baby. Sleep tight. Text me when you make it home.”

“I will. Bye.”

After I hang up my phone, it beeps with a text message flashing across the screen.

He’s not good enough for you.

Ugh.
I knew there would be some jealous person out there after everyone learned about my relationship with Damien. How the hell did someone get my number?

Pulling into my apartment, I stop thinking about the text from last night. After sleeping on it, I think the person was probably trying to get me riled up for some reason or another. I’m just going to ignore it for now since Damien tends to overreact about things.

It feels good to be home. I walk through the apartment door, and before I do anything else, I text Damien.

Me: Home safe. Are you about to take off?

Damien: It’s been a fucking nightmare of a day. I’m running behind. I swear that I’ll be there before the event.

Me: It’s okay. If you can’t make it, Sam and I can catch a flight to Vegas on our own and just meet you there.

Damien: I’ll be there.

Me: Okay. Muah. Miss you.

Damien: You have no idea. Heading into a meeting. Wait for me.

Me: Yes, sir.

It’s silly for Damien to fly all the way here just to fly back out to Vegas. As my mom always said,
Allison, you live and learn. Choose all your battles wisely. Not everything is worth fighting for.

Listening to my mom’s wise words, I choose not to say anything more about it to Damien.
If he wants to fly back and forth across the U.S., that’s up to him.

Nothing but unpacking, washing, cleaning, and repacking are in my near future.

Since Sam’s sorority ribbon-cutting ceremony is a semi-dressy event tonight, I decide on an emerald green baby doll dress with spaghetti straps. The fabric is a soft silk-like flowing material that wisps as I walk. I pair it with some ridiculously tall black high heels and add classically styled gold jewelry. I leave my hair down, but I add a few curls for volume. It’s fun dressing up for Damien, knowing how he reacts to me even if it is over the top.

Looking in the mirror, I straighten my necklace.
I hope Damien likes what he sees.
To keep from getting too nervous, I turn my attention back to the task of packing. The last thing I have to pack is my makeup. After getting my cosmetic bag from the bathroom, I place it in my suitcase and zip it up. It’s almost time to leave, so I send Damien a text.

Me: Hey, are you close? I can meet you there if you need me to. I need to be there on time for Sam.

Damien: I’ll be there. We will make it on time. I’m less than five minutes away.

Me: Okay, I’ll meet you outside.

Damien: No, I’ll come get you at your door.

Good grief.
I don’t respond. We are barely going to make it on time as it is. Grabbing my bags, I lock up and head downstairs as a black town car pulls up to the curb. When Damien jumps out of the backseat, he looks a little agitated, but he continues his stride forward to give me a kiss barely suitable for the public.

“It feels like it took a lifetime to get to you today. I wanted to come to the door and greet you like a gentleman.”

My heart beats faster at having him here in front of me. I missed him so much. The driver quickly takes my bags as Damien ushers me into the car. Once we’re in the backseat, he pulls me in next to him.

“You look beautiful tonight. I’m sorry that I’m so late. Inexplicable fucking delays kept occurring for various reasons, and then we ran into more at the airport.”

Poor guy looks stressed beyond belief.

He appears to be still dressed from his business day, wearing his dark-colored suit and light blue shirt. I’m itching to strip his clothes from him and run my fingers through his hair. It’s been too long. The energy pulsing through the car is almost intolerable.

“Thank you.” I lean into him, needing as much contact as possible. “I’ve missed you. You’re here, and that’s what’s important. Are you okay? You look really tense.”

He kisses the top of my head and starts rubbing those soothing circles on my hand. I think he likes the constant contact, and the motion calms him as much as it does me.

He drops his voice as he starts talking. “I don’t like running behind schedule, and I was hoping to have some alone time with you before the event. I’m aching for you. Today has been an endless day of problematic delays.”

“Hey, at least now, we can do those pesky delays together.”

He gives my head another kiss. “We better be through with them. I should have been here at least two hours ago. When do I get to hear your news from the weekend?”

Looking to the front of the car, I respond in a low voice, “I would prefer to wait for when we have complete privacy.”

He nods in agreement after his eyes shift for a millisecond to Ben and the driver.

He lowers his voice. “Did it go as expected?”

I beam back at him because, try as I might, I cannot contain my excitement. “It went even better than I had expected. I’m really ecstatic about it.”

He brings my hand up to his mouth to kiss it. “Good. I’m relieved to hear that.” He leans in closer and drops his voice to a whisper. “If I had known you were going to wear those fuck-me heels, I would have had a limo pick us up, so we could make better use of our time.”

My eyes snap up to his. “That was an option? Regardless of my shoe choice, you should have definitely gone with the limo.”

What was he thinking?
After almost five days without him, my body is a crazy, craving mess. His very words cause my libido to jump into hyperdrive.
Who would have thought that I’d abstained for over twenty-one years?

Chuckling, he replies, “Well, I didn’t think you’d want the extra attention from arriving to the sorority that way. I won’t make that mistake again.” He leans down and kisses my neck. “It’s good to know that you want me just as badly. I’m dying to get inside you.”

My panties just caught on fire with that statement. Needing a deeper connection, I lean up to give him another kiss. The moment our lips unite, our kiss instantly intensifies. I have missed this, and I am so sexually frustrated right now.

Ben’s voice, coming from the front of the car, makes me jump, effectively breaking the kiss.

“We have arrived, sir.”

Damn it.
I keep forgetting we have a constant audience. I blush with how I was about to practically mount Damien. Damien’s impatient breathing tells me he’s right there with me.