Slap.
The girls heard a faint noise from outside the room. They exchanged a glance and went to investigate, slowly opening the door. In the living room, they saw Leon, his cheek red as he kept his head tilted down, Zeke standing in front of him.
“That was from your father, not me,” Zeke said.
“As if you didn’t enjoy that.” Leon rolled his eyes and flopped back on the couch.
“Did you just slap him?” Ella asked, pushing her door fully open while Alice hid behind her, peeking over her shoulder.
Zeke raised an eyebrow as he turned to her. “Technically, yes, but it wasn’t from me, it was from his father.”
“For what?”
“For choosing his wife to the point of no return for him without letting his parents meet you first.”
“I thought they’d be happy since he chose someone…”
“It’s also because he still hasn’t had you meet them, despite knowing they wanted to. I should also inform you, you are required to come to dinner with them tonight.”
“Isn’t that a bit short notice?”
“I would’ve informed you earlier, but Leon didn’t answer any calls or texts from me once you left on your date, like the little brat he is.”
“I’m not sure that makes him a brat… but o-okay…” Ella swallowed hard. I’m going to meet his parents…
“On that note, I’d like to meet your mom sometime,” Leon spoke up. “Have you told her about me yet?” his eyes sparkled as he asked.
“No…”
“I told her,” Alice said.
“You what?” Ella turned to her.
“I was freaking out when we had that fight, and I wanted to make it up to you, and we ended up talking… Sorry… it slipped out.”
Surprised she hasn’t contacted me about it yet. Although, maybe it’s not that much of a surprise; she likes to let me come to her about things first.
“Don’t worry about it.” Ella sighed.
“You’re not hiding me from her, are you?” Leon asked, popping up behind her.
She jumped a bit, surprised by his voice beside her ear. “No, but to be fair, I didn’t talk to her about Nathan either.” She only knew of his existence in my life…
“Weren’t you together for years?”
“Yes…”
“Okay then…” Leon backed away. “I won’t take it personally, but seeing as she does know about me, I should meet her soon.”
Ella shrugged. “Eventually.”
“You know your parents won’t want to wait long before having the wedding, right?” Zeke asked.
“Of course, they won’t want to wait…” Leon rolled his eyes and stretched out his neck. “They’ve been pushing me to get married since I was twenty. Heck, they mentioned it right after I turned eighteen, so I knew this would happen.”
“Could’ve warned me,” Ella mumbled.
“I didn’t say I’d let them force it to happen quickly. I kinda wanted to get closer to you first.”
“You’ve gotten plenty close more than once.” Alice laughed, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “Oops…” She backed away into Ella’s room.
“And while I love that closeness, it wasn’t what I was talking about.”
“Right…” Alice grumbled, pouting as she stayed hidden.
“So, I’ll come to pick you two up and drive you to their house for dinner, okay?” Zeke asked, his hand gripping Leon’s shoulder.
Leon looked at Ella, who nodded. “Seems so.”
“Seems like she’s the boss, not you.” Zeke smirked. “Good, he could use direction, and he actually listens to you. I’ll see you later.”
“Where are you going?” Leon asked.
“Unlike you, slacker, my work never ends.” Zeke took off, his phone in his hand as he left the suite.
“Your assistant is a bit pushy,” Alice said, inching around Ella. “Handsome, though…”
“I don’t suggest dating him unless you like someone controlling who’s always busy.” Leon ruffled her hair. Something about her made her feel like a little sister, even though she was older than him.
“Hey.” She pushed his hand away. “I never said I wanted to date him. In case you forgot, I’ve already gotten into a fight with him. I can tell how he is, and I’ll leave it as a fling isn’t out of the question. Ella, I’ll let the girls know I’ve confirmed you’re okay. Enjoy your dinner tonight and tell me about it at work. Leon… good luck with tonight.” Alice waved with both hands and skipped off.
“She’s an interesting little woman, isn’t she?” Leon watched her for a moment before turning back to Ella.
“Interesting is one way to put it.” Alice is a lot of things and is hard to pin down…
“I’m glad you two seem to have made up.” Leon pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
“So am I… So, we’re going to their house for dinner? Where is it, anyway?”
“About a half-hour drive from here, and with them, this isn’t just a dinner between the four of us; it’ll be a dinner party of some sort with who knows how many people. Maybe not even really a dinner…”
“That doesn’t sound good for getting to know someone on a personal level.”
“It isn’t. They do it for connections, business connections.”
“I don’t think I should be going to a business party…” Definitely wouldn’t fit in there.
“Are you abandoning me tonight?” He pouted. “I’ll get a lot of flak from them if I don’t bring you with me… and my father is a hard man to deal with even when he’s in a good mood, never mind when—”
“Fine, fine… What am I supposed to wear to something like this?” Maybe if I only answer questions simply and try not to talk too much, I can get through this.
“Ah… I guess it’s time to reveal it…”
“Reveal what?”
“Come with me.” He led her to his room.
“Why are you bringing me in here?” She tensed up.
“Really? I thought after last night…” He sighed. “Never mind.” He let go of her hand, went to the other side of his bedroom, and opened a pair of double doors leading to a walk-in closet. He stepped out of the way and pointed to the right side where there were a slew of dresses, blouses, skirts, and jewellery. “I may have gone a bit overboard after our first night together…”
“You bought all of this for me?” Damn… Sounds like he bought more clothes for me in one day than what I already own. This thing is packed to the brim. Ella lightly touched the clothes as she walked by in awe, the fabric so soft she had to resist the urge to cuddle up against it. “I… don’t know what to say, or where to start.”
“I was going to wait and let you fill it at first, but that quickly changed, and I couldn’t seem to help myself as I imagined you in all of this. I don’t know your tastes yet, but hopefully, there’re at least a few things in there to your liking.” He had thought about giving her an unlimited credit card and encouraging her to use it, but was afraid she’d freak out over it.
“Are you kidding? These look amazing. Too good even…”
“Too good? They’re just clothes; I can’t imagine they’d care who wears them so long as they’re worn with enjoyment. Besides, nothing is too good for you.” He gave her a gentle smile.
I think Alice left too early; she’d love to see this. She’d love to wear all this. Damn, she’s going to be constantly borrowing clothes when she finds out, even if they’d be a little baggy on her. Wait… he knew my size after one night together? No… He must’ve just guessed…
“I don’t know what to choose… What would your parents like?” Ella asked.
“Don’t worry about them. What do you like?”
“I don’t know… All of it?”
“Ella… Look again and choose what stands out to you. You can go in sneakers and joggers if you really want, so long as it’s something you want to wear.”
“It’s a fancy business party; I want to at least match that…”
Leon waved his hand towards the closet. “It’s your choice, Ella, chose whatever you want; they’re all yours, anyway.” He moved to his side of the closet and pulled out a sleek black suit. “I’ll be wearing this, in case you want to match me. I’ll change in the living room; you can use this room.” He walked away before she could say anything.
“Ha… So much clothes… Seriously, how’d he end up buying this much? Not like I can reject them either, since he bought it all already,” she mumbled to herself as she browsed through the dresses again.
She stopped by an elegant, long black dress and thought of Leon’s suit. Can I pull this off? She held it up to herself in front of a mirror. I like it, but is it me? Ella changed into the dress and stood in front of the mirror once again. Damn, it really does hug ‘every’ curve. She cringed, poking at the bit of extra on the side.
Knock, knock. “Did you pick something?” Leon asked through the door.
“Kinda… Sorta… I don’t know. Maybe I should find something else to wear.” Ella sighed, her shoulders slouching as she stared at herself in the mirror.
“I take it you’ve changed then?” He peeked inside before opening the door fully and sauntering up to her. “Why would you change out of that? You look gorgeous!” He rested a hand on her bare shoulder as he stood beside her with the top buttons of his shirt undone and tie hanging loose.
Ella hugged herself, trying to hide her body. “I don’t think it suits me.”
“Nonsense; you look so sexy I’m finding it hard to keep my eyes off of you.” At her mere visage, he felt himself heating up.
She glanced up, and sure enough, he was smiling at her in the mirror, his eyes lidded. I know that look from him already… “How about something a little less…” she trailed off, not wanting to admit to her insecurities. “Um…”
He leaned in close, his grip on her shoulder tightening. “Wear it with confidence, Ella; it suits you. I’d love to be able to take it off you later, too.” His warm breath blew past her ear and she quivered.
“W-what?” She pushed him away.
Leon sighed. “I thought we were at that point, but I guess I was wrong?”
“Uh…” He’s not wrong; I did sleep with him again. One drunken mistake is one thing, but I don’t think you can call a second time a mistake, too…
“I understand. I won’t push it, but know I’m here either way, pining after my fiancée.”
She could see him pouting in the mirror and covered her eyes.
“Should we head out now?” Leon asked.
“Isn’t it a bit early? Unless the ride there will take that long…”
“No, but it’s unlikely we’ll get to eat much at this dinner, so I figured we’d stop by a restaurant before heading there. Besides, my parents have a way of… decreasing my appetite substantially.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
Leon sighed and laced his fingers through hers. “It isn’t good, but for once, I’ll have someone there with me, right?”
Her grip on his hand tightened, and he smiled. “Yes.” Sounds like he needs me. Someone actually needs me…
“Let’s go grab a bite first.”
Continued in chapter 17.
Christina Maharaj 