Modern Arrangements: Complete Trilogy (Modern Arrangements #1-3) (5 page)

"Why don’t you just let me drive
you back to your apartment?" I already saw the argument on her face.
"It will make me feel less guilty about leaving you standing in the dark
alone."

To emphasize my point, two young men
staggered down the opposite side of the street.  The minute they laid eyes on
Lilli I saw their grins.  I stepped further into the lamps light.  Catching a
glimpse of me, they decided to keep walking.

"I’ve got Crazy Joe," she
giggled.

"Yeah, but it doesn’t look like
Crazy Joe is up to being a hero tonight," I grinned.

"Fine, but quit following me."
She teased, her eyes narrowing playfully, her lips upturned revealing her
dimple.

Opening the car door she paused, looking
over the car.

"What kind of car is this?"
She slid into the brown leather seat.

"The Audi E Tron." Closing the
door, I hurried to my door and slipped behind the wheel.

"So, what's that?" She looked
over the car's brown, white and gray interior.

"It's one of their electric concept
cars." Starting up the car, I put it in gear and gently backed down from
the curb.

Lilli snorted.

"What?" I stole a quick glance
at her shaking her head and then turned back to the road.

"I didn't picture you as the
environmentally cautious type."

Even with my eyes focused on the road
and traffic in front of us, I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Are you laughing at me?" I
faked hurt.

"No. Not at all.  In fact, it's
quite refreshing to see a guy not trying to make up for lacking in other areas
for a change."

I hit the break a bit too roughly at the
stoplight. "I don't know if I should be insulted or thank you for the
compliment."

She nodded. "Compliment."
Though, it sounded more like a question than a confirmation of her meaning.

The stoplight changed to green. The rest
of the drive was full of pleasant conversation before we reached her and
Dixon's apartment building.

"Thanks for the ride." She
grabbed the handle and opened the door.

"Lilli?" I blurted.

"Yeah?" One of her long, dark
wash jean covered legs stretched out of the car, but she turned to look back at
me.

My mind went blank.  I didn't have
anything to say. I just didn't like the idea of her getting out of the car.

"Sleep well.  I mean, good
night."

"You too." With a smile she
was out of the car, door closing behind her.

Grumbling at my idiotic prepubescent boy
behavior, I pulled away from the building and into the throng of traffic back
to my apartment.

Chapter Four
Family Dinner's and Discussions
Aidan

Tonight was my date with Jackie,
courtesy of Oscar. Choosing an upscale Italian restaurant downtown, I figured a
good impression may help my cause. Having arrived first, I sat at the table
taking in the Tuscan feel of the restaurant. The real grape vines growing up
the wall next to the bar, the stone walls and white trim all provided for
atmosphere.

Jackie arrived on the heels of the
hostess. Her light brown hair hung in loose waves to her shoulders.  Her large
eyes were a soft caramel color. Standing, I introduced myself. On closer
inspection, her features were long and thin. Not severely so, but, with her
large eyes, it was a bit odd looking. Regardless of appearance, her personality
was pleasant. She was polite, listened and didn't shy away from the
conversation.  I made a couple of attempts at humor but it seemed lost on her. 
After twenty minutes, I found myself distracted and comparing her to the qualities
I believed I wanted. She wasn’t quite fitting the checklist I wasn't even aware
I'd made.

When Jackie smiled, there was something
missing for me.  Our hands brushed when we both reached for the bottle of wine
and, again, something was lacking. Jackie was nice and sweet, almost flawless. 
Somewhere deep inside, I yearned for her to call me a Loser or tease me. 
What
the hell was wrong with me?

After the second bottle of wine, I found
a flaw. Jackie drank one too many glasses and became another woman. She excused
herself for the ladies room and upon return moved her chair next to mine. She
sat so close, leaning into my side, whispering dirty things in my ear.

"I'm not wearing any panties."
Spittle landed on my cheek as she whisp-slurred.

"Well, that's good to know."
Reaching for my water, I put the glass to my lips.

"They're right here." Black
lace dangled from her finger in my face.

I choked on my water, snatching the
panties from her finger. "Jackie, I think we should probably get
going."

"Why?" She pouted. "I'm a
big fan of public displays." She leaned into the side of my face, her hot
breath washing over my ear. "I could slip under the long white table cloth
and no one would notice." She palmed my crotch. 

Startling me, my knee banged against the
table.  Jackie giggled and started sliding down in her seat under the table. 
As I was about to reach for her, she smacked her head of the wooden table. 

"Ow, damn it!" Grabbing her
forehead, she groaned.

The wine bottle fell over, silverware
and plates rattled. The entire restaurant turned their attention towards the
commotion. In shock, I apologized and quickly paid the bill. Once out of the restaurant,
I gave my ticket to one valet and asked the other to hail a taxi.

"Don't you want to ask me back to
your place?" Her arms slid over my shoulders.  She licked her thin lips and
leaned forward, bringing her face close to mine.

"Perhaps, another night." A
taxi pulled up next to us and I helped Jackie climb into the back. After the
taxi pulled away, I stared at the taillights.
What the hell was wrong with
me?  She was prime material to get laid and I sent her home. These conditions
are messing with me.

The valet arrived with my car.  After
giving them both a large tip, I headed for the sanctuary of home.  But not
before I made a call.

"Speak to me," Oscar answered.

"What the fuck was that Oz?"

He couldn't hold in his laughter. He
couldn't even speak.

"Oh, is this a joke to you?"
My anger boiled, causing my voice to rise.

"Did you get her drunk?" he snorted.

"I hate you!" Hanging up on
him, I ignored his attempts to call me back.

Halfway home my phone rang again. Before
I could silence it, I saw Viola's name on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Hey, honey. How are you
doing?" Aunt Vi asked, concern filled her voice.

"I’m good. What’s up?"

"I can’t just call you to see how
you are?"

"At 9 o'clock at night, Viola?"

"Listen, family and friends are
coming to dinner tomorrow night. I would like for you to come," she said.

"Who’s coming?" Suspicion
crept over me.

"Oh, you know…the McConnell’s."
She said their name so quick, I almost laughed.

"I see."

Turning into the parking garage, I let silence
work on Vi, waiting for her to reveal her plot. It didn't take long. I was
parking in my reserved space when she finally cracked.

"Aidan, I think it would be nice
for you to come and see Elora. You two haven’t seen each other since you were
kids." Now she was getting to the point.

"Viola, Elora is a socialite snob.
You and I both know that." I sighed, dropping my head back against the
cushion of the driver's seat. Elora was always attractive, but was a prudish
and I hadn’t had time for that over the past years. She was also a huge
socialite and concerned with everything
status
.

"Be polite Aidan. Besides you
haven’t seen her in years. She could be different and you know it," Viola argued.

With a mini montage of my past dating
attempts, I dejectedly accepted this plan.

"What time?"

"Seven. Thank you, Aidan!" She
almost sang.

"I’ll see you tomorrow.
Goodnight."

Shutting off the car engine, I climbed
out and made my way for the elevator.

Finally home, I vegetated in front of
the TV with a glass of bourbon before passing out on the couch.

My cell phone woke me the next morning—Dixon.

"Hey man," I groaned as I
tried to stretch the kinks out of my body.

"Time to get up, dude!"

"You are way too happy. I guess you
finally got some." Still half-asleep, I sat up and rubbed my face.

"A gentleman doesn’t kiss and
tell."

"Ah, so that means you're going to
tell me all the details. I bet she’s a screamer." Standing, I walked
toward the kitchen.
Coffee, I need coffee.

"You're a sick man, my friend, but I
like it! I like it a lot!" He laughed.

"So, why are you calling and waking
me up so early?"

"Oh shit, yeah, come over for the
game. I already called Oz and he’s heading over in a few."

"Alright let me get caffeinated and
dressed. I'll have to leave to have dinner with my aunt and uncle tonight, so I
can’t stay all afternoon."

"Sure, sure…get your ass in
gear."

"Hey, you care if I call
James?"

"Nah, call that bastard too,"
he chuckled.

"Later." I tossed my phone
onto the kitchen counter and prayed there was coffee in the cabinet.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After an afternoon of sports, beer,
chips and subs at Dixon’s place, I took off to my aunt and uncles house. Arriving
around six, so I could clean up before dinner, I found my cousin Maggie sitting
in the living room.

"Hey, little lady." Leaning
in, I kissed her cheek.

"Aidan," she wrapped her hands
around my neck and squeezed. "Mom said you would be here for dinner, but I
figured you would bail since it's the McConnell’s." She wrinkled her nose.

"Nah, Aunt Vi knows, I can’t say no
to her."

I ruffled her bright red hair.

"Hey! I was having an awesome hair
day, jerk!" Laughing, I headed upstairs to clean up before dinner.

Once showered and dressed, I descended
back downstairs. Maggie wasn’t in the living room any longer; female voices
filtered from the kitchen, so I headed in that direction.

Maggie was propped up on one of the
stools at the breakfast bar. I could remember when her legs wouldn’t even reach
the first bar on those stools. It was hard to believe she was going to be
fifteen soon.

Shit. Mental note, buy her a present
.

"Mom," she whined. "Why
do you insist on inviting them over? They're so snobby. Yeck!"

I snorted at Maggie’s rant about the
McConnell’s. Viola and Maggie both looked in my direction.

"Oh, I’m so glad that you came."
Viola pulled me into a tight hug.

"I told you I would." I
squeezed back. "What’s on the menu?" Leaning toward the food, I
inhaled deeply. "It smells delicious."

"Wedding soup, filet, roasted
potatoes and asparagus, Greek salad and bread," she beamed proudly. She
had to have spent the past couple of day preparing the menu.

"Don’t forget the Tiramisu."
Maggie added with a large smile. "Yum."

"Viola, it's your homemade wedding
soup, right?"

"Of course," she looked
insulted that I would think any different.

"Then I think I should test it."

Laughing, she swatted my hand away from the
large spoon in the pot.

The echo of guests rang throughout the
house with the sound of the bell.

"Oh shit!" I spun around,
surprised Viola cursed. "Sorry," she blushed. Maggie and I laughed.
"Shut it you two," she giggled. "I’m not quite finished up
here."

"I’ll greet them." With a
shrug, I headed to the door.

"Oh thank you, Aidan!" Viola
called after me.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I yelled
back with a wave.

Liam met me at the door with a smile. He
opened the door, revealing the McConnell’s. There was no mistaking the
McConnell's Irish heritage. Both Mr. and Mrs. McConnell had fiery red hair,
fair skin and upturned knobby noses.  However, Elora seemed to have blossomed
over the years. Her features were similar but not nearly as severe.  They,
along with her strawberry blonde hair, complimented the roundness of her face
and fair, lightly freckled complexion.

"Welcome, Albert." He shook
Mr. McConnell’s hand.

"Always a pleasure, Ahnya." He
kissed Mrs. McConnell’s hand.

"Dear, Elora, you have become such
a beautiful woman." Liam nodded to her.

Following suit, I greeted in the same
manner as Liam. However, I kissed Elora’s hand and nodded to her mother. Viola
appeared from the kitchen with Maggie close behind to offer their welcome.

Taking a moment, I let my eyes linger
over Elora a minute longer.  When I finally moved back up her body, we caught
each other’s eye.  She smiled. By the look in her eyes, she wanted to be
polite, but the smile was forced. 
Like me, she must realize this is an
attempt to set us up. She must be as uncomfortable as I am
.

“May I?” Offering Elora my arm, hoping
to relieve some of the tension, she smiled genuinely and placed her long
fingers on my arm.

Leading her to the dining room, I could
already hear the whispers behind us. 
No doubt their discussing the names
for our children.

Ms. York, Viola and Liam’s maid, began
bringing out the food and setting a plate before each guest. Liam sat at one
end of the table, while Viola sat at the other.  Maggie sat at her mother’s
right with Mrs. McConnell on her left.  Mr. McConnell had been sure to take a
spot next to my Uncle Liam, not minding that Elora separated him and his wife. 
The extra chair on our of the table had been removed, leaving a wider space
between Maggie and I.

 Dinner went smoothly and the
conversation was of the normal subjects; small gossip, business trends,
upcoming social events. It was all stale. Finally, the families got to the
point of this meeting.

"Aidan, Elora here has been
studying abroad in Europe for the past two years," Mrs. McConnell boasted
and I nodded with a smile. Elora shifted in her seat, a grimace on her face.

Viola cleared her throat and looked at
me. I rolled my eyes.

"So what have you been studying,
Elora?"

"Art," she bit her bottom lip.

"Really? Do you have any
preferences?"

As Elora discussed the art galleries,
street artists and exhibitions she’d visited in Europe, passion bloomed beneath
her surface. She was pleasant and smart. Maybe Viola had the right idea about
dinner tonight. Engaging Elora in conversation the rest of the night became
easier. When the night came to an end, I could honestly say the evening had
been enjoyable.  Elora is a genuinely nice, attractive woman and so unlike her
parents.

“Elora, how would you feel about seeing
me on Saturday?” She tensed next to me as I walked with her to the front door.
“We could go to dinner?”

“Oh…”  She gave another forced smile. 
Before she could speak, Mrs. McConnell slid next to Elora, wrapping her arm
around her daughter’s waist.

“Of course she would love to see you
again.  We’ll have her all ready for you to retrieve at…say, six o’clock?” 
Mrs. McConnell’s cheeks flushed with excitement.

Elora looked mortified.

“Is that okay with you?” Pointedly
addressing the question to Elora, I didn’t want her forced into anything she
didn’t want to do.