I dug in my closet
like a gopher, looking for the jeans I had hidden from Alice
Bingo! I picked the jeans and put them on. They were old and soft due to too many washes
and there was a rip near one of the knees. I had kept them cos they were comfy
and I was quite attached to them, I thought they could be nice to do some
gardening in the spring, but never in my life I had imagined myself wearing
them to have breakfast with one of Cosmo’s most eligible bachelors. Oh, the
mysteries of Life!
I paired them up with
a plain black turtleneck and an old grey tweed blazer. I donned my sneakers and even had enough time
to apply some mascara before the doorbell rang.
I rushed down the
stairs while fighting a hair bobble into submission. I had decided that styling my hair was the feat
that required the most time, so a ponytail would have to do.
Nothing could have
prepared me for the vision of Edward standing at my door…
Oh, boy! The man looked yummy in a suit, of that I was
already aware, but seeing him wearing ripped jeans, Doc Martens and a leather
jacket upgraded his level of edibleness several degrees.
OMFG! He looks like the
Bad-Boy poster child! I want to lick
him!
STFU, bitch! I’m still not
fighting with my conscience without my caffeine IV, but so we’re clear: I saw
him first! …MINE!
I
wanted to lick him too…badly
“Morning, sunshine”
He greeted, a lazy grin playing in his lips. Then he took my hand and led me to
his car.
His car…
“Sugar Honey Iced Tea! What the chuffin ell is that?”
He cracked up
laughing. “You certainly have the most
interesting vocabulary I’ve heard, love”
“Yeah, you laugh
it up. Have you ever tried cussing in
Grandma Higginbotham’s presence?”
“Not that I’m
aware of, but now that you mentioned it, I’m looking forward to the chance to
do it”
He grinned
mischievously and I was starting to doubt if Grandma would be able to resist
his charms.
“The car's a McLaren
MP4-12C . I thought that if we were going to stomp on
the Foundational Statement of the Pink Girls, we might as well do it with
style”
The beast was
something slick and aerodynamic, painted of a shade that varied between yellow,
orange, and red.
He moved towards
the passenger door to open it for me and he had to tell me to step back. Of
course Edward would never drive a conventional car with regular
doors…His friggin’ doors opened to the side and upwards.
I stared at him in
shock for a moment.
“Did you just open
the door like in Back to the future’s DeLorean?” I asked dumbfounded.
“Not exactly”, he
grimaced “DeLorean’s have gull-wings; they open upward cos they’re hinged to
the roof. These are butterfly doors, hinged
at the side instead of at top by the roof”
The expression in
my face while he ranted about car doors must have amused him, cos he chuckled
and motioned for me to get in the car shaking his head. I sat in and immediately looked out at the street. The way I was seeing the pavement didn’t seem
right. The car was low and with the door
up there was too many space you don’t usually get with a regular door.
“I promise they
won’t suddenly open and let you fall, love”, he said before shutting the darn
thing, going to his side and getting into the driver's seat.
He stared at me as
soon as he sat, examining my clothes.
“And that’s your
idea of ratty, Bella? The pink society
really did a number on you, uh?”
“What you were
expecting exactly?”
I felt absolutely out of place dressed like
this in his fancy car, how much worse could I have done to meet his approvement? I had failed again. I was pleased with my outfit of choice a
couple of minutes before. I was almost
expecting him to have a heart attack and refuse to take me for breakfast! Why did that man have to be so complicated?
“Oh, don’t put
that face, love! We were supposed to
have fun and you’re killing me with those lost puppy eyes. There’s nothing wrong with your clothes, but
I thought you were going to loosen up a little.
When I look at you, I still see a pink lady…”
“But I’m not
wearing pink! I even removed my nail
polish!” I whined
“It’s ok, love” he
soothed. “I don’t think my concept of
ratty and yours are the same thing”, he said chuckling.
“But at least tell
me what I did wrong!”
By that time, I
was already pouting, frustration making my eyes bright with angry tears.
“Not wrong, Bella,
different. The first thing you have to
understand is that there’s not really right or wrong in the way you dress. People likes different styles, it’s called
diversity. And you’re not better or
worse according what you wear. Perhaps
it was my fault; I thought you didn’t want to be a pink lady, so I challenged
you with this little game that seemed to have backfired on me. It’s ok if you want to be what you call a
‘pink lady’, I wouldn’t like you any less if you do, love”
“But I don’t want
to be like them! I hate being a pink
lady! I just need you to explain me why,
no matter what I do; I can seem to get rid of it!
I was being
childish, I was aware of that, but my disappointment was speaking for me.
“Edward, if you
were in front of my closet and you had to dress me “ratty”, what would you have
picked?”
“Bella, if I was
in your bedroom and you were undressed beside me, I doubt I’d have covered your
body with anything…We’d have had to order take out, cos there was no way in
hell we would be sitting here discussing ratty clothes.”
I gasped at his
bluntness. The way those green eyes were
staring at me made me squirm in my sit.
“I’m sorry, love. I wasn’t trying to harass you. I promise I’ll try to behave, but you have to
understand one thing: I think you’re extremely attractive, and I find it very
difficult to control myself around you.”
I didn’t know how
he did it, but he had a way to make me feel beautiful, desiderable. Maybe it was the
intensity in his gaze, maybe the edge in his tone, but It was hard not to
believe in his words.
Fortunately, he
decided to lighten up the mood again.
“Well, let’s see
what can do to un-pink you after breakfast, love. I don’t think it’s very wise to discuss such sensitive
matters before we both have our share of caffeine. Do you have any favourite coffee shop? You don’t strike me as a Starbucks kind of
girl”
“Starbucks is fine,
I guess, but I must warn you: I’m not big on fancy flavoured espressos, I just
want plain brewed black coffee and some pastries.”
“What? No Triple caramel soy espresso with raspberry
sprinkles?” he teased. “I always thought
those were on top in the Pink Book!”
“Naw, I actually
drew the line at the ‘Cinnamon Dolce Latte with caramel and chocolate mocha
syrup’, Edward!” I informed him in my
best ‘bitch, plweeease!’ tone.
“In that case”, he
said chuckling, “would you like to visit my fav coffee shop, my lady? I’m warning you that they don’t have any
concoctions with crazy names, and the place is not what you'd call elegant, but they have the
best coffee in AC”
“Lead the way,
fair knight. Right now I’d kill for a
cup of good ole java with no whipped crazy on top”
He started the car
and pulled away, heading to the less populated area of the pier.
The engine of his
car sounded full and powerful. I
pictured a caged wild beast inside, barely restrained. I had never felt something like that, but
then again, I guessed that wild animal of a car he was driving matched the
owner perfectly.
“At least you had
the decency to avoid the Caesars”, I told him relieved as soon as it was
clear that we were going in the opposite direction of the big casinos. “I knew not even you were so brave to go in
there dressed like this”
“You think I give
a rat’s ass of what they would think, Bella?”
He was smirking,
that dangerous demeanour that told me he was trouble the first time I saw him,
noticeable again.
“I won’t go to the
Caesars for two reasons: first, I said I wanted a good cup of coffee and second,
I’m supposed to be the competition, remember?”
I felt like an
idiot. Of course, he wouldn’t go
there. He owned two casinos! Why would he have breakfast at one of his
rival’s place? I wasn’t even sure which
hotels were his.
“Are we going to
one of your hotels?”
“Nah! They’re in the opposite direction; you could
say I’m actually running away from my hotels.
If I go in there, they will descend like vultures on me and I’d have to
work instead of having breakfast. We’re
going to a small coffee shop in the old pier; I always go there when I want to
be in peace.”
~ * ~
The coffee shop
looked old fashioned and cosy. The interior was gorgeous. It was vintage and atemporal at the same
time. High roofs with old fans hanging from the ceiling, ochre and black tiles
covered the floor, small wooden tables and Viennese chairs scattered through
the room. They even had a small upright piano against one of the lateral walls
and an old jukebox in the furthest corner.
I loved it!
The most
surprising thing was that Edward took my hand and strolled in as if he were at
home, heading directly to the counter. A
man in his sixties was placing pastries under a glass dome and smiled warmly when
he saw him.
“Edward! Always good to see you, kid! He greeted “And in such good company”, he
added looking appraisingly at me. I couldn’t help but smiling back at him.
Edward reached
across the counter and patted his shoulder grinning.
“Don’t try to steal
my lady, you old chap! You already have
your hands full with Eva”
The man nodded
with an amused look.
“Why are you still
standing there, half-pint? Go and do
your thing; God knows we only endure you cos you have an impeccable taste in
music.
Edward grinned
from ear to ear and it was very difficult to blend his bad boy appearance with
the childlike gesture in his face. He dragged me along the room to the jukebox,
his juvenile enthusiasm never leaving him.
“I’d offer you to
pick a song, but I doubt you know any of the ones inside this beauty”, he said
looking at the jukebox with appreciation.
He fumbled a little with the controls, as if he wasn’t sure which song
he wanted, and then something moved behind the glass front and the music
started.
“See the pyramids
along the Nile , watch the sun rise on a tropic
isle…” A lady sang.
“I know the song,”
I said excited. "Tory Amos covers that
one in Mona Lisa Smile!”
“This is actually
a cover too, but it's my favourite one, ‘GI Jo’ Stafford, recorded in 1952”
I stood there,
swaying to the music, feeling inside an old black & white movie, till Edward put his hand on
my shoulder and asked me to dance with him.
We dance slowly in
front of the jukebox, and for the first time in my life, I felt completely
happy. I didn’t care that we were
dancing in the morning, in the middle of a coffee shop, I didn’t care that
people could be staring at us, the only thing that mattered was the two of us. I felt safe.
When the song
ended, he quickly picked another one and then he led me to a nearby table.
“Well, well,
well…Look who decided to honour this fine establishment!” a mature woman with a strange accent said smilling, and Edward stood up and hugged her tenderly.
“Eva! I thought you weren’t here today! I haven’t seen you when we arrived”
“I doubt you'd
have seen me even if I was dancing a sevillana on the piano” She shook her head
in disbelief “You only seemed to have eyes for the beautiful young lady over
there”
She came to my
side of the table and extended her hand to me.
I was about to shake it but she used it to pull me up and give me a warm
hug.
After the
introductions, we finally ordered our coffee though it was more lunchtime than
breakfast. Eva asked us if she could
choose the pastries to bring us and when we accepted her offer, she disappeared
behind the counter.
I looked at Edward
who was staring at me too. I wondered
how many people knew that side of him. Was
that an image he was trying to sell to me?
“What are you
thinking, love?”
“Edward…how many
women have you brought here?”
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