Page 37 of Sizzle
I pop my head back around the kitchen corner and let Anna know I’m taking my break so I can head outside to make the call with at least a little bit of privacy. Elliot’s around here somewhere and I don’t fancy the idea of him hearing what I’m about to say, even if I’m doing it on his behalf.
There’s a deep chill to the air now. Winter’s definitely coming. I rub a hand over my arm to keep the cold at bay as I pull up Alex’s number and hit send. He answers almost immediately.
“Hello?” His voice is deep, brisk.
“Alex,” I say.
“Joelle.” His voice gets warmer by about a thousand degrees. “I’m glad you called. How are you?”
“I’m good. I just wanted to thank you for the flowers. They’re absolutely perfect.”
“You’re welcome,” he says. “They made me think of you. Not that I needed any help with that lately. I’ve been thinking about you a lot.”
Somehow the heat in his voice travels through the phone and warms me right up. Another minute of this and I’ll be steaming.
“Alex, I appreciate the gesture,” I start. I want to gush about how much it means to me, about how I’m never going to forget him for even just this one single gesture. Not to mention the other firsts he gave me. Orgasm with an audience comes to mind. But I can’t drag this out any longer. “Listen, I—”
“Joelle, you’re not going to dump me over the phone,” he says. Is he smiling? Because he doesn’t sound upset.
“I’m—what?”
“Can I give you a ride home from work today? We can talk then,” says Alex. He makes ‘talk’ sound like a promise for something else and I close my eyes against the yearning.
“Yes, all right,” I say. It’s the opposite of all right. This is obviously a huge mistake. I’m never going to be able to say goodbye to his face, and I know it.
I think he knows it too.
“When should I be there?”
“I’m off in two hours.” That should give me enough time to get myself together.
Right.
“Can’t wait to see you,” he says, then hangs up. I’m left standing with phone in hand and the profound conviction that my plans are in the process of being totally upended.
By the time my shift is done, I’m even more of a mess. It didn’t help that I got to witness the moment Elliot went up to ask Suzanne about the flowers on the counter. I couldn’t hear what was said, but Elliot’s face went red. He’s been locked in his office ever since.
Letting Alex give me a ride—hah! Oh my God—is an even bigger mistake than I thought.
But he’s waiting out front, right on time, which means it’s too late to back out now. I just have to stick to the plan.
He’s smiling as he opens the car door, leaning down to kiss my cheek and taking the vase from me. He secures my gift in the back seat and by the time his long legs and tight ass make it back around to the front of the car to open the driver’s side door, I’m squirming with need.
The plan, stick to the plan.
“How was work?” he asks, pulling out of the lot.
“Fine. I appreciate you coming out all this way,” I say.
Alex laughs. “It’s not exactly out of my way. That’s part of why Elliot moved into my place, you know. Cut his commute by half.”
I swallow hard. Here’s my chance.
“Speaking of Elliot…”
Alex glances over at me.
“Alex, I think you’re wonderful.”