“She loves wine. Red.”
“Perfect, I had a bottle of Pinot Noir ordered from the most expensive vineyard in Napa Valley. It only arrived yesterday, and I think your mom is going to love it because it’s seasonal and not available for retail. Members of the vineyard club are the only ones allowed to purchase it.”
“She drinks 10 dollar Yellow Tail. I highly doubt she can tell the difference.” She must have noticed the disappointment in my face, cause she immediately added, “I mean, she will most definitely appreciate the thought, though. I didn’t mean – that was very nice of you, Zayden.”
“It’s no big deal.” I waved my hand nonchalantly. “I just hope she likes it. I didn’t know what else to get her. I should have probably asked you. I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me. Perhaps I was a little nervous. I haven’t met a girlfriend’s parents in very long time, to be honest.”
For some reason, that made her blush and she looked away, not helping my nerves whatsoever.
“Everything okay?” I frowned.
She looked back at me. “Yeah, I just haven’t gotten used to you calling me your girlfriend yet. It feels nice.”
I pulled her into me in a tight embrace and lightly stroked her hair. “Well, you better get used to it.”
She let out a soft giggle. “Look how far you have come from being a womanizer. You are really sweet.”
“Shh,” I whispered. “We don’t need anyone to ever know that at the office.”
So we rode in a silent embrace all the way to her mother’s house. Meanwhile, I pondered upon what she had said and all the things that had happened this evening. I couldn’t quite believe I had so eagerly let Aria change me into a different set of clothes. Only a couple of months ago, if someone had so much as suggested such a thing I would have been completely outraged.
When Aria looked like she was about to laugh at me, I would have done just about anything to not embarrass her like that again.
When we finally got close to her mother’s house, I recognized it immediately because of the huge banner in front of house that read: “FORECLOSED PROPERTY. OWNED BY BANK. CALL 1-800-DEBT FOR MORE INFORMATION.”
I looked at Aria, but she pretended that we hadn’t just seen the sign. As Ned pulled over, she quietly hopped out of the limo.
“Park this as far away from her mom’s house as possible,” I instructed Ned. “Make sure there is no way she sees it. Feel free to drive it around town if you want.” I handed him 200 dollars. “For dinner. Thanks for making this long drive.”
“Don’t be silly, Zay, I’m literally just doing my job,” he said, taking the cash, probably because it was much easier than arguing with me that he was never in a million years going to spend 200 dollars on dinner. “But don’t worry, Aria’s mom will never see the limo. Just text me about where I should pick you guys up from. Maybe I will send a taxi to get you there. I don’t suppose you would like walking very far in the middle of nowhere.”
“We will see. I will keep you posted. You have a good evening, Ned.”
“You too,” he said and gave me a fatherly smile. “And don’t be nervous. She will have to be stupid not to love you.”
Ned was gone and I looked at Aria standing a few feet away from the house waiting for me. “Ready?” she asked and started walking away.
I ran after her and grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her towards me. Then, I planted a deep and passionate kiss on her mouth. Not sexual, as much as it was sweet. I opened her mouth only slightly and caressed her tongue softly while also stroking her hair with my right hand.
After a few seconds I pulled away and whispered softly into her ears, “Listen, Aria. I am not going to let anything bad happen to your family, okay? Your mother will be fine no matter what. I promise you that.”
Her eyes began tearing up and she kissed me back with fiery passion. She held on to my shoulder so tight I thought her nails were going to dig through my skin. When she pulled away, she gazed at me with amazing intensity and said something that shook the ground from underneath me.
“I love you, Zayden,” she whispered audibly. “I love you.”
I knew I was supposed to respond right away, more importantly, I was supposed to say it back, wasn’t I? But for some reason, I couldn’t move or speak or do anything whatsoever. She loved me? What did she mean, she loved me?
The back of my hand was shaking slightly in shock and I wasn’t quite sure what to do next. This was not something I was expecting, nor was I prepared for it in any way. I had gotten myself into a relationship without thinking too much about it, and I was only just realizing how deep I had managed to get myself in. She was most certainly waiting for me to respond to her confession with a very particular answer. I opened my mouth in an attempt to try to say it back, but felt physically incapable, so I closed it again.
Why was she choosing this particular moment to tell me she loved me above all else? She had so many other opportunities. Hell, if she really felt the way she said, perhaps that evening in my balcony when I had the whole place decorated for her would have been a more suitable opportunity. Yet, she had chosen now. Didn’t this mean it was entirely possible that she felt more gratitude than love, and she was
merely confusing two separate positive emotions?
Had I not been paying her mother’s hospital bills – and had I not said what I had said about not worrying about her mother’s finances just now – would she have still felt that she was in love with me? In fact, would she have ever even given me the time of the day if I wasn’t paying her mother’s medical bills? If it wasn’t for the contract?
I remembered when I used to hit on her before the contract came into play; she always casually laughed off my advances – something that frustrated me endlessly – never even coming close to so much as going on a date with me. There was no way I could be sure whether her love was genuine, and until such a time, I could not bring myself to say it back. Or until a time at least when I knew for sure that my words were genuine, too. Instead, I just kissed her softly on the mouth one more time, looked at her earnestly and said, “Let’s go inside, baby.”
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