Chapter
28: The Tables Turn
Billie
continued to sit in her office mulling over the day’s events, her mind
spinning out of control. It seemed like everything went to hell the second she
left. She began to wonder how things would get back to normal, even though there
had never been such a thing as normal at the Candy Store. Rubbing her temples,
Billie let out an exasperated sigh. She was fed up with everyone and everything,
and all she wanted to do was take it out on an inanimate object, preferably a
punching bag.
Billie
stood up and headed for the door only to find herself bumping into Sara and her
friend, her body slamming against his and stepping back a couple of feet to
survey the stranger. He was tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome. His caramel
brown eyes studied her the way her own baby blues studied him.
“
“Please,
call me Ian,” he replied as politely as he could. She held out her hand and he
took it, but instead of shaking it like she was used to, he kissed it.
Billie’s
cheeks immediately turned a bright shade of red as she pulled her hand out of
his grasp and smiled. It was strange to be treated like a lady for once,
especially by someone so absolutely adorable. Where did this guy come from,
anyway, the middle ages? She turned away, waiting for her cheeks to cool before
turning in his direction once more.
“I’m
pleased to finally meet you. Sara’s told me a lot about how you managed to
save the Gallo case,” Billie said, even though she thought, ‘But she
didn’t tell me how cute you were. Hot DAMN!’ She mentally shook the thought
out of her head as he gave her a little bow.
“It was
my pleasure,” Ian replied. “Anything to help a friend in need.”
‘You can
help us any time,’ Billie almost said, but kept her mouth shut. Why the hell
would Sara let go of such a prize? Oh, well, too bad, he’s free for the
taking, might as well. “So, Ian, how long are you planning to stay in LA?”
she finally asked even though she knew she’d get hell for it from the guys and
Sara.
“Not
much longer, I’m afraid,” he answered.
“Ian’s
staying until I leave for
“My
Lady…” Ian began, but was quickly subdued.
“You’re
staying until I leave for
“If it
pleases you, my Lady, I shall stay,” Ian said, his head falling below her eye
line.
‘Damn,
she’s got him eating out of the palm of her hand,’ Billie thought, surprised
to see a grown man bend to someone’s will like Ian did for Sara. She knew
there had be something between them that made him act that way, and when she had
the chance, she’s get it out of him. For now, Billie was content with just
knowing Ian and Sara weren’t together and she’d get her shot with him.
“So,
Ian, now that we all know you’re staying, would you like to join me for dinner
tonight?” she asked. Billie couldn’t believe what she was saying, but for
some reason, it felt like the right thing to do. ‘Come on, he’s so fine.
I’d like to see if he’ll eat out of my hand by the time I’m through with
him, and I mean in both terms.’ A smirk appeared on her face, but quickly
disappeared when she noticed Ian looking at her strangely. “What, never been
asked out by a girl before?”
“No,”
he replied, but the look in his eyes remained the same, confused and appalled.
Sara could
see the trouble this presented to Ian. He had absolutely no experience with
women, and it was about time that she stepped in to help him. She pulled him
back a little and whispered into his ear, “Social lesson number two: its okay
for a girl to ask you out. The times have changed, and Billie is one of those
straight forward women who know what they want and how to get it. Be nice and
tell her that you’d love to have dinner with her tonight.”
Ian pulled
away from Sara then turned to Billie and said, “I’d love to accompany you to
dinner.”
She smiled
and replied, “Great. I’ll see you at seven tonight. You can pick me up
here.” Ian nodded his head in agreement. A heavy silence settled between them
that told Billie he had no idea what he was going to do now. She decided to end
their conversation with, “I’ll see you at seven,” then walked into her
office.
Ian
breathed in a sigh of relief when he saw Billie retreat, then turned to Sara
and, with a hint of malice, said, “You are one cunning woman, Sara Pezzini. I
hope you enjoyed setting me up with your boss.”
Sara
smiled at him sarcastically and replied, “You really needed it. How the hell
are you supposed to go around on this earth with no clue as to what women
want?”
“I know
what you want, and that’s all I should know,” Ian answered.
Sara
rolled her eyes. “God, Ian! How many times do we have to have this
conversation? Live for yourself, not for me. I don’t want you to be my puppy
dog, as much as you’d like to. And that brings me to social lesson number
three: Whatever you talk about with Billie tonight, DO NOT mention anything
about me. It’ll screw up the entire date and piss her off. I don’t care if
Van and Deaq told you that the only to get to her is to piss her off. This is
one principle that all men should have grasped by now. Never talk about another
woman during a date. Maybe to bitch and moan about her, but nothing else.
Understand?” Ian nodded his head. “Now please, have a good time with her.
Loosen that boot in her ass.” A small smile appeared on his face at her
comment. Sara smiled back, happy to have made him see things her way. They
parted ways and she headed back to the lounge where Van and Deaq were staring at
her with utter curiosity.
“How the
hell did you do that?” Van questioned, his blue eyes wide with amazement. He
had never seen Billie react that way to someone she had just met who wasn’t a
threat to her existence.
“I have
my ways, and apparently so does Ian,” Sara answered as she sat down in his
lap, her hands cupping his face. “How about we get the hell out of here and
spend whatever time we have left together in my bed?”
“Wait,
wait, wait!” Deaq quickly protested, making them pull apart. “I’ve noticed
Ian’s wardrobe doesn’t consist of much else than black. If Billie sees him
like that tonight, everything is going to hell.”
“What
are you suggesting?” Sara questioned, a little pissed that he had interrupted
what would have been a good kiss with Van.
“I’m
suggesting we give the man a little help. After all, you said he doesn’t have
many social skills. Apparently his shopping skills have suffered because of
that,” Deaq answered.
“He’s
right,” Van interjected. “Ian needs some wardrobe help.”
Sara
rolled her eyes as she reluctantly stood from Van’s lap. “You’re
impossible,” she mumbled, then turned to yell, “IAN!” He almost
materialized in front of her. Sara jumped back and scolded, “SHIT! Don’t do
that!”
“I’m
sorry,” he sincerely replied. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She let it
slide. “The guys wanna take you shopping. Van and Deaq think you need a
wardrobe change, and I couldn’t agree with them more. Maybe black helps you
with the everyday stuff, but you’re going out tonight. Wearing black is a very
bad idea if you’re trying to impress a girl,” Sara explained.
“Well,
what do you suggest?” Ian questioned, looking at her a bit bemused.
Sara
looked at her two partners with a smile then answered, “Shopping spree!”
*~*~*
“Isn’t
shopping on Rodeo fun?” Sara asked as she looped her arm around Ian’s and
gazed into his soft caramel brown eyes, the smile on her face ever widening when
she realized he hated this with a passion. “Social lesson number four: start
getting comfortable about being around hordes of people. It’ll make your life
a lot simpler, and not to mention, ease the tension between you and Billie.”
“What if
she doesn’t like me?” Ian almost pouted as they walked past the many pricey
stores lining the street, Van and Deaq following behind them in deep discussion
about God knew what.
“Social
lesson number five: if she didn’t like you, she wouldn’t have asked you out.
And if you start thinking that before your date with Billie tonight, rest
assure, you’ll fuck everything up within a matter of seconds. Relax and have a
good time. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you before you get it
through that thick head of yours,” Sara replied. She felt someone tap her
shoulder and looked behind her to see Van, his hand quickly retreating.
“In
here, sweetheart,” he practically sang as he put his hands on her shoulders
and manually turned her to her right.
“Express
Men? When the hell did this happen?” Sara asked in amusement as she stepped
into the store. Before she knew it, Ian was quickly pulled away from her and
taken towards the suits. She was left to ponder whether or not he’d make it
through this experience alive. But when she saw Van and Deaq fussing over what
Ian would wear, Sara let out a heartfelt laugh. ‘This should be very
interesting,’ she thought, sitting down at one of the benches in front of the
fitting room.
After
about an hour of fighting over what went with what, Van and Deaq finally decided
on several possible outfits for Ian. He was quickly ushered into the fitting
room, the first two outfits turning out to be duds. Sara was getting sick of
sitting and waiting for them to find the perfect suit and decided to get in on
the action. As she walked into the fitting room, Ian was walking out wearing
probably the most gorgeous outfit she had ever seen on a guy, a medium gray
jacket and matching pants with a blue polo shirt. She could feel her jaw drop,
but nothing she did would make it clamp shut again.
“Sara,
would you like a napkin? I think you’re drooling,” Van quipped when he
noticed the way she was staring at Ian. When she didn’t turn to slap him, he
waved his hand in front of her face and added, “Earth to Sara, come in
Sara.”
“W-w-what?”
she stuttered, finally realizing what she had just done. Sara shut her mouth and
looked away, her cheeks flaming. She turned back around, this time giving Ian a
more critical eye even though she really didn’t need to. ‘My, God, he’s
gorgeous,’ she though, feeling a pang of jealousy towards Billie. Sara quickly
suppressed it, feeling a bit stupid. She had Van, what more could she want?
“Who are
you and what have you done to the deadly assassin in black I used to know?”
Sara finally commented. Ian smiled at her. “You look so good! I wish you’d
wear something like this everyday. You have eye candy written all over you. Soon
you’ll be fighting off the girls. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone tried
to hit on you while we walked out of here.” She turned to Van and Deaq and
added, “And I thought only gay men had good taste, unless you two are keeping
a really big secret from me…”
“I can
reassure you that I don’t swing that way,” Van answered as he pulled Sara
into a tight embrace. “And to prove it…” He trailed off when his lips met
hers in a deep, sensual kiss.
“Whoa,
hot lips,” Sara panted, pulling away and gathering in a few well deserved
breaths. “Save some of that for tonight.”
“Believe
me, what I have planned for you tonight involves chocolate, hot oil, and
bananas,” he replied.
“Ooh…
kinky!” she exclaimed. Two throats cleared around them when they realized they
had yet again given Ian and Deaq more ammunition for insults and innuendos in
the future.
“We’re
getting hell for this tomorrow,” Van whispered into Sara’s ear before they
pulled apart from each other. She nodded her head in agreement.
“Um…
We’d better get going,” Sara said once she looked at watch and realized that
time had really flown. “It’s nearly
The four
of them exited the store as soon as everything was paid for and went in their
separate directions. Ian soon found himself feeling a bit anxious about seeing
Billie that evening. Had he made the right decision in letting Sara set him up
with her? He just didn’t know and decided not to think about it any longer.
As
“Hey,”
Billie said in the most seductive voice she could muster. Her eyes never left
his body. ‘Damn, Ian. I thought you looked good in black, but DAMN! Gray has
got to be your color,’ her mind swooned. She shut the door behind her and
locked it. “So, you ready to go or are we just gonna stand here and stare at
each other all night?” she asked, regaining his attention and her composure.
“Of
course,” Ian replied, then pulled the roses out from behind his back. “These
are for you.”
“Aw!” Billie cooed. “That’s so sweet. Thank you.” Ian led her to the car, opening the door for her like a gentleman. ‘Holy shit, he’s giving me the royal treatment!’ she thought, remembering that none of her previous boyfriends had ever been so gracious. ‘Oh, this is definitely gonna be a night to remember.'