The VIP Room(101)

Derek silently reprimanded himself. Little head, shut up!

"I guess that means your business must be doing well if you can afford so many vehicles," Lauren said.

Derek jerked his head to look at her. Was she counting his money already?

"I do all right," he said. His tone didn't invite further discussion, which apparently wasn't lost on Lauren.

"I meant it as a compliment. Being an accountant, things like that occur to me. I didn't mean to pry."

"Of course." Derek glanced over at her. "Sorry," he mumbled.

A long silence followed and he was desperate to change the subject.

"Before heading over to the nurseries, would you mind if I took you on a tour of some jobs I've done? You might see something you like and get an idea of how it would look in a yard like yours."

Lauren nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love that."

Derek drove around the city for about thirty minutes, weaving in and out of modest neighborhoods. He showed her the homes of some of the first jobs he landed when he started his business. He briefly considered taking her across town to the estate homes where most of his newer clients lived, but decided that might intimidate her because the properties were so much larger than in the community where she lived. And, of course, she didn't need to know about how big his business was. Being an accountant, she could be adding up those dollar signs in a heartbeat.

Lauren appeared pleased with what he showed her. She asked a lot of smart questions and seemed to have a good eye for proportion and placement.

"You know, even though you keep saying you kill houseplants," he joked, "you've got the instincts of a landscape architect. Sure you've never had any training?"

"Hardly," she said and laughed.

Derek pulled up to a small home with attractive foliage. "It's getting near closing time for those nurseries, so this will be the last stop. I wanted you to see this house because it's one of my favorites."

"It is pretty," Lauren said. "But, I'm curious. What is it about this house that makes it so special for you?"

"It's my house, and the first one I ever landscaped."

It was true. He did own this house, but it wasn't ever his residence. He bought the home as a rental property and used it to hone his skills before he opened a commercial business. If Lauren thought this was his home and was still interested in him, he'd know she was for real.

Her face lit up. "This is your house? It's lovely! And I love the foliage around the edges of the property. Was that there when you bought the place, or did you plant it?"

Derek was convinced she was sincere. She looked truly excited that this was his home.

"There were trees in the back, but almost nothing in the front. I added the trees, shrubs, and flower beds myself."

"I love it! Will any of these work in my yard?"

"We could plant oaks in your backyard. You wouldn't want them in front because eventually they'd overshadow the whole yard. The red maples are nice, and I'd like to see at least one flowering tree."

"Now I'm excited to get to the nursery and pick some out. Derek, thanks for stopping here. It's my favorite of all the ones you've shown me, too."

Derek noticed that when Lauren got animated, her blue eyes shone and the little dimple on her right cheek flashed when she spoke. He wondered what she looked like when aroused. Would those blue eyes heat up with passion? He wanted to trace her cheek with his finger and circle that cute dimple, but he instead he started the engine, hoping she wouldn't notice the growing bulge in his shorts.

"All right, then. Let's get going and see what we can find today."

The first nursery was closed on Saturday.

"Damn, I should've called first." Derek looked over at Lauren. "Sorry for my language."

Lauren brushed it off. "In my profession, I mostly work with men, so I hear far worse than that. They must think me hard of hearing or perhaps I'm invisible to them, because sometimes they get pretty raunchy when gathered around that water cooler."

Derek felt a flash of anger. "They have no right to talk like that in front of you."

Lauren smiled, but seemed surprised. "That's sweet of you to say. Mostly I pretend not hear, but once in a while it's so crude, that I'll clear my throat and then they'll stop."

"I know what I'd do to stop them," Derek muttered. If Lauren heard, she didn't respond.

The second nursery was not far away, and they had plenty of time to look around before closing. Derek helped Lauren out of the car, and they started to walk through the rows of trees. He got carried away as he led her around, pointing out the different varieties and explaining how he made his selections.

Aside from the greenery, all he noticed was the faint scent of her perfume and the swish of her skirt as they walked. It was hard to keep focused on his explanations, and he lost track of what he was saying more than a few times.

He didn't realize how far they had walked from the car or that the summer sky had clouded up and darkened until he heard the first clap of thunder, followed by a flash of lightning moments later.

"Hey, we'd better get back the car quickly." He grabbed her hand, turning around to see where they had wandered.

"I don't even see the car. Do you remember which way we came?"