14. Herpes?
1437 Words
If someone had told Chloe weeks ago that she would have many opportunities to step outside the mansion during her mission, she would have called the person a liar. But there she was, planning for another date, neglecting an expensive gown for a much more comfortable denim shirt and jean trousers, which she conveniently paired with block heels.
As she checked herself in the mirror, she reminded herself not to get carried away by the date, her senses needed to be up and running throughout.
After what happened in the library, she found herself falling asleep to the memory of Nathaniel’s voice. She especially felt her heart stir at the recall of the words ‘craving my touch’. So, she wished deeply that she truly wouldn’t get carried away.
With a quick cough, she chased away those thoughts and focused.
In no time, she was downstairs.
The house was as silent as an abandoned church. This made Chloe wonder if she was the only one in the mansion. Indeed, Nathaniel had sent a message about their date from wherever he had gone to, but at that time, Lucille was still around, Amir was getting dressed, and Gabriel was looking like a house husband.
“Oh, stop it,” Chloe scolded herself. She was thinking too much when she should be outside in time for Nathaniel’s arrival. “Stop wondering and keep yourself together,” she warned again to ensure the irritating wandering of her thoughts would stop.
As she checked her phone for the time, she took more steps and waited at the spot Nathaniel mentioned. True to his word, he arrived at exactly 8:10 pm, and she appreciated his punctuality.
Coming down, a short frown on his face, his delightful accent asked, “Why? You didn’t like the dress I sent you?”
“Err. It was nice. But a little uncomfortable.”
“Oh, I see.”
“But I’m wearing the shoes you sent.”
“And they complement your gorgeous legs perfectly,” he replied as he opened the door.
Once she was in, he shut the door and walked back to the driver's seat, she said, “My legs are barely gorgeous.”
He leaned and observed her feet. “No. They’re very pretty. Long and pretty. And tempting.” Chloe coughed, and he looked up to catch the subtle uneasiness in her eyes. “We should get going. Or we’ll be late.”
Chloe managed to smile. “Yes. Yes, we should.”
Then, a nervous chuckle slipped out as she recalled how he assessed her legs and used his words to rouse her heart all over again.
“So, how did today go?” he asked as the car began moving.
Chloe pulled herself out of her disarrayed thoughts. “Uh… It was actually good. There wasn’t much to do, so I was able to rest a lot.”
“That’s great. You know, I’ve been thinking…” The air fell silent for many seconds. “Never mind.”
“Alright?” Her frown was brief. “So, where are we going for this date?”
“You must be curious.”
“I guess? I have to be.”
He glanced at her. “Very curious?”
“I guess so.”
“You seem to guess a lot.” Chloe faked a smile. While her body could tend to react to his handsome presence and stirring words, her mind was starting to find his company boring. And that was not a good sign. They had not even gotten to the date venue. “I see you also think a lot.”
“Uh?” God… She groaned within her.
“And you zone out a lot.”
“I… I… It just happens.”
He took a right turn. “Thinking is good. It helps with sorting out issues you can’t say out loud.”
“You must have a lot of issues,” she commented before she could find herself confessing that he was boring her.
“Darling,” he smirked, “being a human is enough of a problem.”
“That’s a good point. Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. As long as it’s answerable.”
“Do you ever consider that Amir and Gabriel could betray you?”
“Of course.” He didn’t take a second to ponder the question. “We are all humans. Regardless of our tight bond, things could go wrong.”
“Oh. But if that happens-”
“I also have a question,” he interjected. “Would you resign from your job if I asked you to be my girlfriend?”
“What?”
“I’d rather not repeat myself.”
Chloe scratched her hair. Not only was the man quite boring in conversations, but he was also weird.
“I won’t resign. It’s my only source of income. And it’s pretty gutsy of you to speak about dating each other.”
“I see.” He nodded. “Well, we’re here.”
She stopped herself from scoffing at how he ignored the latter part of her response.
With her eyes fixed on the building in front of which the car stopped, she listened as the man asked, “Do you hate it?”
She turned and was quite shocked that he had leaned closer, close enough for his lips to meet hers.
As she froze, she whispered, “Hate what?”
“The thought of being with me,” he whispered back.
She wanted to nod her head or just do anything, something. But all she could do was stare at the beauty of his face like a fool.
Then, with a chuckle, he retreated and got out of the car. Seconds later, he was leading her out of the car.
His arm snaked around her waist, and she came back from her trance.
“Let’s enjoy this evening,” he said, and as they moved, Chloe was surprised that her feet were easily flowing alongside his.
The distraction his presence brought was too mighty, she even found herself wondering what his hands would feel like against her bare skin.
With an inner groan, Chloe warned herself again. She was doing that thing again. The one thing she wasn’t supposed to do.
“There’s no one else here?” she asked moments later after noticing that they had been walking past very quiet corridors and were now in a room occupied by a dressed table and two fancy chairs. Also welcoming them were orangey lights that made the scenery quite romantic.
Nathaniel replied, “No one else. Just you, me and the chef.”
“That sounds… good.” The lack of the usual restaurant crowd gladdened her.
“Shall we? The night is ours.”
As he led her to the chairs, Chloe took back her earlier thoughts about him being boring. She was too hasty with that judgment, she needed to know him a bit better.
Once they were seated, the chef appeared and welcomed them with a fine-looking bottle of champagne.
Afterwards, as Chloe observed the silky tablecloth, she asked, “Did you rent this place?”
"Sort of." His sparkling eyes were watching her like he was a scientist and she was an interesting specimen.
"Sort of?"
"Amir established this place in honour of his pa-" He cleared his throat. "His pa... His par-"
"His parents?” Chloe didn’t think that word was so hard to pronounce.
"Yes. That word. Do you have them?"
'Them what? Herpes?' She wanted to ask, but didn’t.
"No. I do not have them,” she said instead.
"I guess we have that in common." Chloe smiled, then the smile dropped. “Did I ever tell you about my parents?” She was certain Gabriel was the only one she had told so far.
"Found you." A tough voice interrupted the moment. It belonged to the burly man whom she needed to be careful around, the one who found her suspicious. “There’s trouble.” He rushed to their table. “At the clubhouse.”
Nathaniel frowned. “What’s wrong?”
"It’s Amir."
Nathaniel was nearly rising from his chair. "Did something happen to him?”
"Well, he..." The man glanced at Chloe, who was also waiting for him to tell them what happened to Amir.
"Say what you have to say. She’s with us,” Nathaniel assured.
The man nodded, adjusted his suit jacket, and said, "Amir has just been accused of rape..."
Nathaniel got up abruptly. "What?"
"... again."
Chloe's jaw dropped.
- Writer
