Cake Love: All Things Payne(42)

Matthew is married. How do I know this? He tells everyone. Points to his wedding band and tells anyone listening how wonderful his wife is. So, he obviously isn't secure in his marriage. I feel bad for the guy. I think he is a little afraid of her. I overheard a conversation they had once on the phone. He just nodded a lot with plenty of 'yes dear' and 'of course dear' peppering the conversation.

"Yeah and he knows it. If you are interested, I can let him know. He will be more than happy to tap your ass, as he so eloquently refers to sex...all the time." I roll my eyes as I play with my spoon but glance up and see Aria's eyes darting around the room nervously.

"Uh, that's okay. I am taking a break from the whole sleeping around thing. I just wanted to mention that I approve if you were interested in him. So, feel free to ‘tap his ass’ if you wish. Ha...ha...ha."

Aria's nervous giggle is weird. I have never seen her uncomfortable talking about sex, or men, or sex with men. Something is up with her.

"Is something going on Aria? Oh my God! Do you have VD?"

She frowns at me shaking her head.

"No! I don't have a disease. There is just a guy I like and I kind of want to only be with him. That's all."

"WHAT?!!" I shriek and my parents turn to see what is going on.

"Oh my God! Aria has a boyfriend! I never thought this day would come. How was I not aware of this? Is he a vampire or something, only coming out at night?" I laugh as I look back at her as she cringes.

"Wow. That is great news Aria. Here’s to Aria and her new love!" My dad announces picking up his glass again. He is in his element. There is nothing he loves more, other than baseball and old war movies, than making toasts. I remember in ninth grade I came home and told my dad I dissected a frog in science class. He grabbed a beer, gave me a root beer, and toasted to my dissected frog.

"Love is overrated!" My grandma blurts out while folding her arms over her chest. Which, I might add is looking pleasantly plumped up today. Her very low cut plum colored wrap dress makes her look much younger than her seventy some years. Her blue hair is up in an elegant French twist and long gold earrings dangle from her ears, accentuating her long neck. If I didn't know better, I would think my grandma is trying to get her groove on. She’s also eyeing every male in the room in the twenty-five and above age bracket as if they were a delectable dessert.

Grandma doesn’t look happy with Aria’s news. She likes to win and once she has her mind set to something she won't back down. She is going to have me and Aria marry each other if it's the last thing she does.

"Well, I think love is a beautiful thing Aria. I am very happy for you. I hope you bring him to the welcome home dinner I am having in two weeks when Morgana comes home. We would love to meet him."

My mom smiles over at Aria who appears to be having some sort of panic attack as her chest rises and falls rapidly.

"Uh, I need to get some fresh air for a few minutes. I'll be right back." Aria stumbles up and races toward the restrooms, her green swing dress shimmying as she goes.

She is just not used to dealing with relationships with men. I think she might be a little overwhelmed from all of the attention. I give her a few minutes and then excuse myself from the table to look for her. After finding the women's restroom, I push open the door to a brightly lit but darkly decorated room. The long room has brown subway tiles lining the walls, and dark beige granite counters with three steel sinks. The dark beige compliments the cream-colored stalls on the far side of the room. The first two stalls are wide open, but the last one, the handicapped stall, is firmly closed.

Looking under the door, I don't see feet but I hear ragged breathing.

"Come on Aria, we won't talk about your boyfriend anymore if you don't want us too. Everyone was just excited that you found someone. You have to let us have our moment." I giggle as I swing open the door.

My jaw almost hits the ground as my head begins to hum. I'm in shock.

"Hello Morgana," Henrik says as he hops down from the toilet.

He looks good, but when doesn’t the man look fantastic. I'm trying to find my voice and all I can do is squeak in response. My eyes sweep over his perfectly tailored, coffee colored linen suit. His blue and white polka dot tie brings out the color of his eyes, which I hate that I notice. Damn it, why does he still have to look so sexy hiding in a women’s restroom?

"What...what are you doing here Hen...Mr. Payne?" I catch myself just before I say his name, remembering distinctly his reaction the last time I said it to him.

He winces as I utter it, and I feel a small bit of satisfaction as he realizes what a jerk he was with that. Henrik runs his hand through his hair and lets out a sigh.

"I am following you." He straightens and clasps his hands in front of himself, as if his statement is the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay. That's not normal." I snort and roll my eyes.

"I..uh...wanted to make sure you were okay here, in New York."

"As you can see, I am just fine Mr. Payne. I am two weeks away from finishing the Executive Development Program, no thanks to you, so everything is a-ok!" I place my hands on my hips and let go of the door. It proceeds to swing into me and knock me a little inside the handicap stall.

Henrik is now only a few inches from me and I can smell his earthy spice scent emanating from him. My body reacts to his heat and images of our time together, specifically the intimate moments, flood my brain. I remember how firm his hand was as it grabbed my ass, and the thrill I would get to hear his deep voice explain what he was going to do to me.