Undoubtedly Yours

Chapter 11

Dean

"What are you doing here Dean?", I hear Hope asking me, but I am too angry to answer. I was so mad when I saw that fucker put his hands on Hope. I look at her and I think she sees what I am feeling, because before I say anything she comes to me and rubs my arm up and down and tells me, "Calm down. He is gone. I was going to call the bouncer if you hadn't showed up. Please try to relax." My anger deflates little by little, and I realize the effect Hope has on me still. One word, one touch, and it calms me down like no other. Why does she have such a hold on me? Why do I crave this connection with her after all this time?

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before I turn to her and say, "Hi stranger, fancy meeting you here. I am sorry that i***t tried to ruin your night. This is where you're partying?" She takes a look at me and gives me a small smile, then shakes her head and says, "Yes, this is me. Now, care to tell me what you are doing here?" "Well, I am following you of course.", I tell her but quickly put my hands up when she squints at me. "Kidding, just kidding. I came here with Mark for a drink. We come here sometimes on our days off. I didn't know you would be here too. We can leave if it's an issue."

"Shut up! Why would it be an issue of any kind? I was just surprised to see you is all, and thank you for getting rid of that guy for me. I really appreciate it.", Hope says looking at me. "Not an issue, Williams. I am happy to chase guys away as and when needed. That is the only reason I work out, you know." , I say winking at her. Just then, I see a woman walking towards us who I recognize from the meeting. She comes next to Hope and linking her arm with hers she says, "There you are. I was wondering where you ran off to. Next time, give the girl a heads-up. I don't know if you have been in clubs and all before. Don't worry me like that."

Then she looks at me and gasps, "Mr. Hoffman, I am so sorry, I did not see you there. I didn't realize you were coming to the party." I am unable to stop the little laugh that escapes me at this woman's change in tone, "Well, I am not. I was just here with a friend and saw some nitwit trying to bother Ms. Williams so I came over to make sure she is okay." She looks from me to Hope and asks her, "Are you okay? What happened?" Hope looks at her and answers smiling, "Nothing Katie. Everything is fine. There was just a drunk guy which Mr. Hoffman so happily chased away. All good. Nothing to worry about."

Katie nods her head and looks at me and says, "Since you are here, why don't you and your friend join us? It will be more fun hanging out together unless you plan to just be the two of you." I smile and say, "Oh, I don't want to interrupt. I don't want to impose. You guys have fun. Besides, Ms Williams will be working with us soon, so I don't want to be in the middle." Katie smiles and says, "That is fine. I am sure we will have some things to work for with Hope. You should join us, so we can get to know you also. Come on, call your friend over, so we can get this party on the road."

Before I can say anything, Mark is by my side and says, "What the hell is taking so long, man? I have been waiting for ages. Oh, hey Hope and Katie, what are you guys doing here?" He goes to shake hands with the ladies. How he remembers her name, I don't know. Before Hope or I can say anything, Katie asks him to join them and he says yes and starts walking with her. We look at each other and I say, "I am sorry! I did not mean to intrude. I can tell Mark, and we can maybe go to another place." She frowns and says, "What is wrong with you? Why are you being weird? It's like Katie said, your team is going to be working with our team, so you should know a few people. It's just a party, Dean, you can come. It will be fun. And, stop asking stupid questions."

"By the way, before I forgot to tell you, you look absolutely stunning tonight. I am glad I will be by your side to avoid any future altercations.", I say smirking. Her cheeks turn a little pink as I knew they would. The girl cannot stand compliments. Rolling her eyes, she puts her hands to her chest and says, "Thank you! I don't know what this damsel in distress would do without her knight." I can't stop the laugh that comes as we approach everybody else and Katie starts introducing us to the people. Some of them look unsure about how to handle this intrusion. Making it easy, I say, "Carry on as you were guys. I will be here enjoying a few drinks myself. Work does not start before Monday, so have fun."

I take a seat at one of the tables with Mark when he says, "Tell me something, was this a coincidence, or you planned to crash her party?" I punch his shoulder and say, "What is wrong with you? How was I supposed to know she will be partying here? I did know she was getting together with colleagues, but she never mentioned the place, and you are the one who decided to come here jackass. I never suggest this place, in case you haven't noticed." He opens his mouth to say something but knowing I am right, he shuts up and just mumbles a whatever.

I see Hope and Katie and a couple of guys walking towards our table with a waiter carrying the drinks. "Well boys, I would like you guys to have a shot with us and, with Hope's help, we also brought you both a double Macallan on ice. Now, if you don't like the drink, one of us will sure take it." Hope smiles at us and Mark barks out a laugh and says, "Oh my God! No way! You remember what we used to talk about in college." Katie looks confused and looks over at Hope, who smiles and answers, "Don't look so confused, Mark, Dean and I used to study at the same college. That's how I knew what to order. Thanks, Mark, for putting me on the spot. I hadn't told anyone I knew you guys."

I am aware what this stepping stone would look like for Hope if people knew she knew us, so I jump in, "Yeah! I was surprised to see her at the meeting. It turns out to work perfectly in our favor though. We were trying to figure out how we would adjust with the person we would call on board to work with us, but knowing Hope has certainly put us all at ease. Right Mark?" I cork an eyebrow at Mark, and he frowns a little before agreeing, "Yeah, that's right. It's amazing how small the world seems sometimes. Anyway, let's do shots guys." I nod at Mark to let him know he perfectly understood my cue. When I look at Hope, she is looking at me and smiling one of those full smiles, letting me know she understood why I said what I said.

The waiter puts a shot in front of each of us, and we all stand around the table and cheer and take the shot with lime, most of us coughing as it goes down. Katie and Hope start laughing, making us all laugh. "Boy! It does not go down as smoothly as it used to." Hope says. "No, it definitely does not. I don't think I have had a shot in years.", I say, looking around the table, and some of them agree with me. Just then, the DJ changes the songs to some older tunes and Mark gets up and asks Katie to dance, making sure she knows he is married and to keep her hands to herself, making her laugh. I look at Hope and extend my hand, and she corks her eyebrows, squints at me and then takes my hand.

Dragging her to the dance floor, I forget about everything. The only thing on my mind is having my arms around Hope and us dancing to the same songs as we used to. I have one hand around her waist and the other still holds the hand I dragged her here with, and we start dancing. Mark and Katie, and a few others join us, and we all break out into an idiotic dance laughing along. It feels like old times, and I am happy to be in a place like this after a long time. A romantic number comes on and everyone breaks out into couples and I step towards Hope, wrapping my arms around Hope's waist, and maybe I am mistaken, but I hear her gasp a little, letting me know how she is affected by this making me smile. Oh baby! This is going to be fun.