Page 7 of Dirty Little Secret, Baby
"Mr. Rodgers, I must remind you that there are some important people waiting for you inside," Dilara interrupts the moment.
"Then go to them and put them off," I say. I know it's an obvious bluff. Right now, nothing is more important than this mysterious woman with the black, curly hair.
"I'll take care of this matter here," I say, looking at her and wondering if she feels what I'm feeling. There's something between us. Is this what people mean when they say the chemistry is right? I don't know. But I do know this: I want her. But before that, I want to find out why she's here.
"So, Miss Peterson. You can call me Alex. What brings you to me, and who wrote the silly text on the card?" I ask, trying to fix her with my gaze.
"That was you," says Miss Peterson.
"You can call me Alex," I repeat, wanting to make it clear that I can be her friend. If she wants to be.
"Okay, it was you. And now I'd like my four hundred dollars and then you can... you can give the flowers away and drink the nectar of your chosen one," she says, holding the flowers out to me.
"Do you have a first name, sassy Miss Peterson?" I ask, putting as much charm into my voice as I can.
"Beth." Her voice is barely a whisper.
"So, Beth. I didn't order anything. I'm sorry, but I don't intend to pay for the bouquet and... is that gold leaf?" I ask, noticing the glittery stuff in it.
"That's right. As per the order you don't want to pay for," Beth snaps, and I feel that energy, that heat emanating from her, practically jumping over to me. Most delivery people just give in. This woman is different. And I like that. I like her.
"Listen, Beth. Someone's been playing pranks on me lately. Ringing the doorbell, ordering food, and now even flowers. Understand?" I ask, tilting my head.
"All I understand is that some rich snob is cheating me out of four hundred dollars," Beth retorts, turns on her heel, and starts to leave.
"Hey, wait a minute," I say, putting my arm on her shoulder to turn her around. The touch sends a thousand volts through my fingers, and for a moment, it's like I'm seeing stars.
"What do you think you're doing," Beth says, turning around, and before I can react, she shoves me back with full force, so I stumble backward and land butt-first in a small puddle in my driveway.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...," Beth says, clapping a hand over her mouth in horror.
"It's fine, I shouldn't have grabbed you," I say, waving it off and turning to survey the full extent of the disaster.
"Oh God. I am so sorry," Beth says and starts brushing the dirt off with her hands.
"Are you spanking my ass after shoving me?" I ask, having to grin with amusement as I watch her.
"S-Sorry. I didn't mean to, I... should go now. I..."
"You think you're getting away that easily?" I ask, hardly recognizing my own voice and feeling my heart pound like crazy. This woman is so different from anyone I've ever met.
Then I pull the wad of hundred-dollar bills from my pocket, count out four of them, and hand them to her. "I'll pay for the bouquet if you believe me that I didn't order it and didn't commission the silly card."
"No, you don't have to. The dry cleaning for your pants will surely cost more. I really should..." she says, ignoring my outstretched hand.
"You should take the money and as compensation..." I pause. "Come inside with me and have a drink. Let the pants be my worry."
For a few seconds, she says nothing, just stares at me. I think she's wrestling with herself and is perhaps as taken aback by the whole thing as I am. Then she nods and takes the money from me.
"One drink," she says.
"That's all I want," I say with a grin, happy as a teenager that she's coming with me.
******
"So you're telling me you made the bouquet yourself and the delivery guy stood you up?" I ask again, having her tell me the story one more time.
"That's exactly what happened," Beth says, taking a sip of her now second caipirinha, the ordering of which felt like a small victory to me. The bouquet is on the bar next to us. It looks really nice, as far as I can tell, because I don't really have an eye for flowers and can't remember ever giving any away.
