Chapter
17: Surprises
Chance and Darren came home around four that afternoon. After sitting
in the chair at the tattoo parlor for nearly three hours, she was in an immense
amount of pain. Her hands hurt from digging her nails into the seat of the leather
chair every time the needle pierced her skin. Her muscles were sore from being
cramped into a confined area for so long. The one thing that was giving her
the most trouble was the skin of her back where her tattoo was. Every time she
moved it felt as if something was scratching her, making her want to itch the
bandage over the spot. Darren slapped her hand away every time he saw her reach
for it, saying that it would only make it worse.
Finally, after a few hours, Chance had adjusted to her tattooed skin.
She went upstairs to her room, took off her shirt, and carefully peeled the
bandage off. She looked at the tattoo in the mirror, admiring the great job
the old fat man had done. This had been the right choice after all.
Darren walked past her room to see her staring at the mirror in only
a bra. He ran into the doorframe still in disbelief at what he was seeing. Upon
hearing the thud, Chance quickly turned to see Darren rubbing his forehead in
front of her door. Her first impulse
was to grab her shirt and cover herself with it.
“Darren!” she yelled.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t know you were up here,” he replied, shielding
his eyes so not to stare at her. He left the room before Chance had a shot at
yelling at him. He went back downstairs to the kitchen and pulled out his cell
phone to call Dan at the hotel.
“Hello?” Dan asked from the other end after a few rings.
“Hey, it’s me,” Darren said quietly, trying hard to stay out of earshot.
“I was just about to call you,” Dan replied.
“It’s better that I called you first. If Chance found out that you were
in New York, we’d be in deep shit. Anyway, is everything ready for tonight?”
“Yeah. The limos are reserved and should be arriving at around seven.
That gives you two hours to convince Chance to go out with you tonight.”
“Did you get the gift I asked you to get?”
“Yes, it’s in the limo that’s picking you two up from the house.”
“Good. Then we’re all set.”
“Just one question. Where have you guys been all day? I’ve been trying
to get a hold of you to ask you about a few things, but your cell was off, and
no one was home.”
“I was out getting Chance the perfect present.”
“Which was what? I thought you already got her something.”
“You’ll see when we get to the restaurant.”
“Can’t you just give me one little clue about what it is?”
Darren thought for a moment. He wasn’t sure how to put everything so
that Dan wouldn’t be able to get it. Finally, he figured it out. “It’ll shock
you.”
“Darren, what did you do to her?” Dan asked sounding concerned.
“Like I said, you’ll just have to wait and see. Bye.”
“Fine. Bye.” Dan and Darren hung up just as Chance was making her way
downstairs with a new shirt and pair of pants on.
“Hey, who were you talking to?” she asked when she saw the phone in Darren’s
hand.
“Just Dan,” he replied.
“Oh, you should have stayed on a little longer so I could talk to him.
I miss him and I wanted to tell him all about today,” Chance said as she headed
for the fridge and took out a carton of orange juice.
“I would have, but he had to leave,” Darren lied.
“That sucks. Well, if he calls again, tell him I want to talk to him.”
Chance took a swig out of the juice and put it back into the fridge.
“Ew, that’s disgusting,” Darren complained as he watched her.
“This is my house, remember,” she retorted. “I can do whatever I want.”
“Okay, I think we established that a long time ago.” Darren began to
head out of the room when he remembered what he was supposed to do. “Hey, do
you want to go out tonight?”
“You know, I was hoping to stay home tonight and just take a long, hot
bath and relax. Besides, there’s no good reason to go out tonight. Yeah, it’s
my birthday, but I really want some quality time with myself,” Chance explained.
“You can do that tomorrow. Just come with me tonight. I have the perfect
place in mind,” he tried again.
“No, you already spent enough money on me today for that tattoo. By the
way, thank you so much.”
“Come on, Chance. Please?” Darren begged. “Please?” He got down on his
knees in front of her feet and gave her the sweetest sad puppy look he could
pull off without it looking stupid.
Chance couldn’t help but laugh. She had never had a guy get down on his
knees and beg. “Okay, if it means that much to you, I’ll come,” she said, still
giggling.
Darren stood up and kissed her on the cheek then ran out of the room.
Chance was left standing in the middle of the kitchen wondering why he had kissed
her. Shrugging it off, she walked upstairs and went to her room to watch some
TV. There was nothing on, so she dozed off in front of the television set.
An hour and a half went by before Chance was woken from her restful slumber.
Darren was tapping her shoulder trying to get her to wake up. As her eyes focused,
Chance could see that he was dressed in a black tux and wearing a tie.
“Did I miss something?” she asked cautiously.
“No, just get up and come with me. I have something for you,” Darren
replied as he took her hand and dragged her down the stairs. In the parlor on
the couch was a large white box with a silvery bow wrapped around it. Chance
looked at Darren then at the box. She sat down beside it and carefully unwrapped
the package. Taking the lid off, she discovered a beautiful white dress. Chance
gently took it out of the box and held it to her body, its length reaching the
floor well past her feet. It was plain white without any fancy designs. The
straps were spaghetti thin and the back was wide open. Chance looked down at
the box again to find the matching shoes, purse, and gloves.
“Oh, Darren,” she nearly burst into tears.
“I was taking a shot at what size you was. I hope everything fits,” he
quietly replied.
“Darren, this is so beautiful.” Chance’s voice was already cracking as
she tried to speak.
“Well, you’re beautiful. I just thought that you should have something
that would compliment it. Go upstairs and try it on.”
Chance started to run towards her room, but turned back to Darren. She
leaned in and kissed him without the guilt she usually felt when she did this
kind of thing. As their lips met, her heart’s pace quickened as she felt Darren
wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her close. They lingered there
a few more moments then Chance decided to head upstairs and put on the dress.
Darren waited for her in the parlor, still dizzy from the kiss. That
was the first time he hadn’t initiated the first move of the night. Chance was
showing she cared more about him, and he felt more comforted by it. He moved
towards the stairs to wait for her.
After a few minutes of standing around, Darren could hear Chance’s footsteps
coming down the marble. He looked up to see her, the dress perfectly fitting
her body’s curves. At that moment, she was at the height of her happiness. Her
smile was brighter that the light that came from the sun. She was absolutely
beautiful. There was no other girl in the world that could look this way. Darren
could feel his heart beating so fast that he thought he’d pass out. Her hair
was up in a ponytail with two long, curly strands hanging just in front of her
face.
Chance reached the bottom step of the stairs and looked at him with soft
eyes. “How do I look?” she asked, seeing the expression on his face.
It took a few moments for Darren’s mind to start processing information
again. He managed to reply, “There’s not another creature on this earth that
could compare to you.”
Chance stared at him for a long time before saying anything. “Thank you,”
she finally returned. “For everything.”
“You still haven’t seen what I’ve planned for tonight,” Darren said.
He took her gloved arm and led her outside to the limo. As they waited for the
driver to open the door for them, Darren started at the tattoo on her back.
With her hair in the ponytail and the dress being so open, there was nothing
hiding it from plain view. He was so attracted to it, his eyes wouldn’t move
away. The driver finally opened the door for them, and Chance stepped in first,
followed by Darren.
The trip to the restaurant was long and slow. Chance looked out the window
to pass the time, every second feeling as if it took an eternity to complete.
She wanted so badly to know where Darren was taking her, but every time she
tried to ask him, nothing came out of her mouth. She was still shocked about
the dress and speechless that he had gone to some much trouble for her that
day.
Upon entering New York City, Darren moved closer to Chance and pulled
a white bandana from his pocket. He wrapped it around her eyes to prevent her
from seeing anything when they reached Primavera. When the limo stopped, he
took her hand and carefully led her outside. Silence enveloped them as the walked
into the restaurant, Darren holding onto Chance’s hand and leading her towards
the beautiful wood-paneled dining room.