Great, now she has me laughing. The way she says things with a saccharine sweetness, that are complete putdowns. Aside from my sister, there’s never been another woman willing to go toe to toe with me verbally. It’s really fucking annoying that I find it appealing instead of irritating.
Chapter Thirteen
Hearing him laugh makes my stomach flip-flop. The waiter comes back with an enormous piece of cheesecake. How does he know my weakness is cheesecake? I watch Ethan pick up a fork and take a bite. Holy crap, the look of pleasure on his face is hot enough to make my nipples hard. He doesn’t play fair. Picking up the other fork I give in and fight not to swear out loud. This is the best piece of cheesecake I’ve ever eaten, that I didn’t make myself. I let out a sigh at how good it is.
“Can’t you be wrong just once?” I moan.
His smile is pure sin. “No, you don’t get to where I am by bein
g wrong.”
“There’s being right and there’s being an asshole about it. Would it kill you to be polite about some things when you deal with people?”
“In my field, nice puts you at the bottom of the pack. Polite makes you look weak. Weakness is never shown, not even to people who are supposed to be your friends. I’ve had associates I came up with try to cut me out of deals we worked on together. I look out for me, no one else will.”
“Is it worth it?”
He shrugs. “I have what I want. Sooner than I thought I would get it.”
I look down to see we’ve managed to finish the cheesecake. The waiter appears with the check. Considering there weren’t any prices on the menu I don’t even want to guess at the cost of our meal. Even though I hadn’t wanted to go out with Ethan, I’m glad I have. Learning more about him, I understand him better. It doesn’t excuse his asshole behavior, but now I get why he is the way he is.
As we leave, his arm goes around me. His hand is at the small of my back, guiding me out. My body tingles at his touch, making me want to press my entire body against him. When we get out of the restaurant, I notice Ethan is quick to open my door before Ricky gets to it.
“Have you been to the observation deck, yet?”
“At the Willis Tower? I keep meaning to, but no.”
“Ahh... you’re showing your newly-arrived-to-the-city status. For Chicagoans it will always be the Sears Tower, just like the Cloud Gate will always be The Bean.”
I laugh at his serious expression. “Whatever, you aren’t a native either. Okay, what’s the deal with the Sears Tower versus the Willis Tower?”
He tells Ricky to take us to the Sears Tower. “I’ve been here more than ten years, and I know I never want to live anywhere else. The Sears Tower has been the name since it was built. Then the naming rights expired in two thousand nine and the Willis Group Holdings leased a large portion of the building, thereby gaining the right to call it the Willis Tower. However, Chicagoans don’t like change very much. For years after Macy’s bought it, people still referred to it as Marshall Field’s. Only recently has it become Macy’s to the natives.”
“That’s one of the things I love about this city, the history and the old beautiful architecture. Sometimes I take walks for the sheer fun of it. It makes the locals crazy when I walk slow, taking in the sights.”
“Slow-walkers.” Shaking his head, he mutters. “Have you been on a water sightseeing tour?”
“Yes, it was great. I really enjoyed it.”
Ethan tells Ricky we’ll be about a half hour and to go ahead and park. Getting out, he comes around and opens my door. I take the hand he offers to help me up. I hope it’s dark enough he doesn’t see my dress slide almost all the way up. Once again, his hand goes to the small of my back as he guides me into the building. He pays for us to go up to the observation deck. We get into the elevator and his arm settles on my waist.
“Hold on, you’ll feel the pressure change.”
His warning doesn’t really prepare me. I grasp at him as the only solid thing, and he chuckles and tightens his arm around me. The fear fades fast as the feel of him burns into me, my whole body feels electrified. Fighting not to moan, I’m saved by the opening of the elevator doors. Embarrassed, I laugh nervously, hoping he doesn’t see how my body has reacted to being against him. “Sorry, I grabbed you. You warned me.”
His jaw is tight, yet he smiles. “It’s okay, same thing happened when I brought Amelia here the first time. Come on, I want you to see this.”
There’s a line for it, there are around twenty people roaming the deck, but a line of five people waiting for a glass box protruding from the building. Immediately, I hang back. “Ethan, I don’t want to go in there.”
“Don’t tell me you’re scared of heights.”
“No, not really, but it’s different when you’re standing on glass.” I’m defensive. The line moves.
An arm goes around my waist, moving me along in the line. “You aren’t wimping out on me. Two seconds, one look down. I promise you won’t regret it. Until our turn, go check out the windows, to prepare yourself.”
He gives me a push and I go, pouting at his words about wimping out. Wow, the city looked beautiful from this high up all laid out below us. I’m fascinated, barely tuned into the others in the room, yet I feel his eyes on me the entire time. All too soon, his deep voice is calling me. I go, hesitantly. What if my fat ass breaks the glass or something?
His arm is around my waist, pulling me close. “I’ve got you, come on.”