Angel Falling (Falling #1)(36)
Alone.
She barely pecked me on the lips as she left. Thinking back, that may have been the first morning we hadn’t made love since I moved in. Had I really moved in, or was I just staying here? I thought things were progressing nicely between us. When I wasn’t with her, I wanted to be. But maybe she didn’t feel that way.
Something was off. When she left this morning, it felt like she was stepping back from me. All I knew is that she held my heart in a vice and my balls in her grip. All she had to do was bat those pretty eyelashes and I was damn near putty in her tiny hands. Whatever it was, I was gettin’ to the bottom of it tonight.
A knock sounded on my bedroom door. Technically I hadn’t actually slept in the room yet, but it held all my clothes and things. It was probably the therapist. That girl was a looker, but nothin’ like my girl. One thing they had in common though was the over achieving. She was set on pushing me just to my breaking point every day with my treatments and Aspen encouraged her. I didn’t look forward to it, but if I was honest with myself, the progress I was making did give me something to smile about.
“Come in,” I hollered, a smile plastered across my face. Thinking about my girl did that.
“Hello, Hank.” Oliver strode in, a fierce set to his thin lips. He went straight to my closet without a word and swung the hangers on the rod from left to right with a quick, practiced hand.
Such a strange fella. He’d pause a moment on one piece or another, then continue smacking the hangers around. He was Aspen’s best man-friend, not mine. I was making an effort, though. Seemed as if the guy was happy, my woman was happy. So, I did what any hot-blooded American man who wanted to keep getting laid would do: I decided to befriended the guy. Well, sort of.
“Mind telling me what you’re doing there Buddy? Aspen’s already at work. Shouldn’t you know that?” He smiled secretively. I didn’t particularly like his face, especially not when he was hiding something.
“Well, cowboy, our Aspen tells me you are going to the Bright-Reynolds estate to attend a social gathering. Everyone who’s anyone will be in attendance, including yours truly.” He pulled at my clothes, a deep frown set to his pinched features. “You don’t have anything suitable. Just as I thought. We’re going shopping. I’m rescheduling your therapy for this afternoon.”
“Shopping’s pretty much the last thing I want to do today.” I crossed my arms over my chest as best as I could with a busted shoulder and tried to look menacing.
“Too bad.” His eyes turned to look me up and down. “What, pray tell, do you plan on wearing to a formal social event? Aspen will be dressed in Versace. You can’t be a prince going to the ball dressed in Wranglers.”
“And why the hell not?” Who was this guy anyway? Just because he dressed my girl didn’t mean that rolled down the chain of command to dressing me now.
“Because you’ll embarrass her. Is that what you want?” His words ripped right through my heart. That was the absolute last thing I wanted to happen. I was certain that when I met her family I’d win them over with my Southern charm and chest full of party jokes. I had a good one planned for the evening, too. Either way, it was important that I impress her family tonight. Being from different worlds was hard on any relationship, but more so on women because they tended to have the innate need to please. Boy, did I want to please my angel.
“No, I don’t. Lead the way, Buddy.”
“Thank you.” He seemed to relax. Then he sized me up with a bright white smile. I wondered if he used those toothpaste strips that were meant to make your teeth so bright they could glow in the dark. “Now, I know exactly what designer we can have tailored to fit that broad chest and those massive biceps in a jam. Jeez, how much do you work out, anyway?”
I laughed aloud as he led me out of the apartment and into the elevator. Before long, we were pulling up to a store smack dab in the middle of Fifth Avenue, the heart of New York City. I looked over the building. Oliver was grinning so much I worried that his face would stick that way.
The building was gray stone with bars running down the first stories. Golden letters popped out of the building’s side, prominently displaying “ARMANI / 5TH AVENUE” in big block letters.
“Looks like a jail,” I said. Oliver looked like he’d forgotten I was with him.
“If that’s jail, then lock me up, honey, and throw away the key!” He grabbed onto my forearm and tugged me toward the entrance. He was obviously excited. Reminded me of when Butch was about to get a meaty bone. He’d wag his tail and turn around in furious circles landing in a heap at my feet when his excitement ebbed. Oliver was kind of like Butch but I feared I was the meaty bone in this scenario.
After trying on six suits, I’d about had it. I was at my boiling point. Aspen was going to pay dearly for this—preferably on her back with her thighs around my ears.
“Oh, Hank, this is the one. This is it!” Oliver screeched.
I stood on a raised circle facing three large mirrors. They were tilted so that one could see the clothes from every angle. A small, hairy looking fella was standing in front of me measuring my inseam. He gripped my balls and shoved them to the side.
“What the heck, partner?” I jumped back, covering my crown jewels. “This ain’t no doctor’s office. Touch me again and I’ll punch your teeth out!” The man rattled off something in a foreign language. Oliver went over and appeased the man.