My Christmas Stalker (11 page)

      “David would be glad to hear that.” Jeff nodded his head and smiled at Nora. They continued to gaze into each other’s eyes, but Whitley wasn’t finished.

      “So, then…you think he would…be open to talking with me?” Jeff’s attention returned to Whitley.

     “Oh, most definitely! The man has had it rough.” Jeff sat up straighter and leaned his elbows on his knee. Nora’s hand settled on his back. “I want you to know that Dave is topnotch! He is a one-in-a-million kind of guy. When he was introduced to the gospel, he was one of those ‘member but didn’t know it’ kind of guys.”

     Whitley smiled. “Yeah, I really could tell he was a good guy. So…is he home tonight, do you know?” She held her breath waiting for his answers.

       “No. He’s in Paris right now.” Jeff sat back, pulling Nora close to him again.

        “Paris?” Both of the girls spoke at once.

        Nora laughed drily, “I thought you said he was sitting in his office broken hearted?” Whitley didn’t know how she felt about hearing he was in Paris!

      “He was. Don’t go thinking he is off partying or something. He sat in his office for three days not eating or showering, and he failed to get the signed contracts to a designer dude from France. The guy went back home steaming mad at Bella Noche`. David had to fly over to kiss butt in hope that he could get the contract signed or else they will be without a main designer for the store this next year.”

      “Oh,” was all Whitley could think of to say. Just then Whitley’s phone tweeted. She excused herself and walked to the window.

     “Hello?”

      “Hey, baby! How are you doing? You finally feeling better?” Shawn Paterson’s voice echoed into the room.

      “What? Oh, yeah. I’m better, thank you,” she answered.

     “Well, ah, you didn’t call me by Friday, so…I, uh, went ahead and found a new date for the Christmas Ball.” Then his voice sped up. “But hey! If you are feeling better tonight we could get together for some quality time at my place, if you’re up for it?”

     “You have a new date for the Ball?” Whitley’s heart rate took off, her mind was whirling.

     “Well, I told you to call, remember?” Shawn’s voice sounded defensive.

     “Oh, that’s fine, actually!” Her voice barely suppressed its excitement. “That works for me.”

     “What does that mean?” His voice change again, sounding a little bit angry. “You don’t mind
not
going with me?”

     “In all honesty, Shawn, I am kind of involved with someone else now.”
Or I hope to be!

      “What do you mean? Are you dumping me? Have you been dating someone behind my back?” His voice was full of anger now.

     “Why are you getting all cranky at me?
You
asked someone else to go to the Ball!” Her voice softened. “We weren’t going out, Shawn. We were just dating and open to date anyone we wanted.”

      “But I thought we were exclusive!”

      “Oh, I see. I can’t date other people, but you can?” Whitley felt more than a little steamed now.

     “I just didn’t think you would mind since you were sick. I didn’t want to miss the big dance of the year! What was I supposed do, stay home?” He snapped at her through the phone.

     Whitley took a deep breath. “Listen, you are free to take anyone you want to the dance. I am not going to argue about this anymore. Oh, and no, I am not up for coming over to your place.”

     “Oh, come on, baby! Don’t get mad. I had something special planned for us. Let me come pick you up tonight. We can work this out!”

      “No, thank you, Shawn. I have to go now.”

      “Please, Whitley. Fine! I will cancel the other date for the Ball and take you.” His tone was still tense and unpleasant.

      “No. Good-bye.” Whitley flipped her phone shut and hung up on him.

     She stood staring out the window lost in thought. No date to the Christmas Ball. No place to wear the gorgeous blue dress now. The dress that caused all the wonderful, painful chaos over the last few days. She expelled a breath and turned from the window. Nora and Jeff were standing behind her with ridiculous grins on their face.

     “What?” She looked confused from one face to the other. “What?” she repeated with her hands in the air.

      “You don’t have a date for the Christmas Ball!” Nora said happily. She stared at her friend.

     “So? Overlooking the fact that you were eavesdropping, why does that make you so happy?”

      Jeff crossed his arms and continued to smile broadly. “You don’t have a date and…David doesn’t have a date.” He uncrossed his arms and Nora gave him a high-five in the air.

      “No…no!” Whitley pushed past them and sat down in the middle of the couch. They walked over and sat on each side of her.

      “Dave will be back on Saturday morning. That gives him time to get some sleep to get over his jet lag and then be wide awake for the Ball. He already owns his own Tux. This is a great idea!” Jeff laid his hand on her arm.

      “You have that gorgeous dress that is begging to go to the Ball. I can help you with your hair!” Nora got a dreamy expression on her face. “Jeff will get David to go to the Ball. You will be there waiting. He will glance across the room and see you in all your beauty.” Her hand swept across the air in front of them all. “Your eyes will lock and slowly…slowly, you will both walk across the room and then throw yourselves into each other’s arms!” Nora sighed. “It will be so romantic, don’t you think so, Jeff?” She looked to him for support.

    “Oh, yeah, definitely romantic.” Jeff winked at Nora.

      “I don’t know, you guys. What if he is angry at me for making him lose his contract? Or for being mad at him in the first place? What if he doesn’t ever want to see me again? What if he met some beautiful European girl and decides to never come back? What if he
never
wants to see me again?!”

    “Wow! You really are a bit paranoid!” Jeff laughed then straightened his face when Nora glared at him. “Sorry,” he muttered.

      “This will work, Whitley. You have to have faith! You two have suffered enough, and it is time you two made up and worked things out.” Nora’s voice dropped. “I know you, Whitley. You have never felt this way about anyone else. You love that man.” Nora scooted forward. “Look at Shawn. You have gone out with him for how long? And from what I could tell, he asked someone else out and you don’t care. But the thought of David meeting someone in Paris is messing with your brain like crazy!
You
are crazy about David, so admit it and go after him. Take the step, girl! Go after your man! I would!”

     “Okay, but what if it doesn’t work?” She buried her face in her hands. Then flung her hands down and looked at her friends. “Tell me what to do!”

      “Ya-whoo! Okay, this is what we need to do….”

      Nora was the mastermind and Jeff and Whitley agreed to the whole thing. Now…if only it would work!

    
D
avid stepped into his penthouse apartment Saturday night.  He set his suitcase and garment bag by the door and walked into his living room, he rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. Jeff lay sprawled with his feet propped up on the coffee table, his head back on the sofa as he snored. David laughed at his friend then kicked his foot. Jeff snorted then jerked upright.

     “Hey, dude! You’re home!” He wiped the sleep from his eyes. “I have been waiting for hours for you, man!” David moved into the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge.

     “What are you doing here?” He sat down opposite of Jeff in an overstuffed chair.

     “I have been waiting for you to get back.” He looked around at the clock. “Oh, crap!”

      “What?” David asked then took a long swig of his water.

      “You are late!”

      “No, time delay from Paris. Got in at 10:00 just like I said I would.” David explained for some reason.

     “I thought you said 10:00 a.m.!” Jeff leaped to his feet. He check his phone as it went off. A text from Nora.

    
“Where R U? Dance started an hour ago.”

    
“Package was just delivered.”
He texted back
.

     “R U kidding me! Throw his tux on before Whit leaves!”

    “
Alright dude, I know you are probably dead from your trip, but you gotta get up and get into your tux. You and I have a Ball to attend!” Jeff insisted.

     David shook his head. “No way, man. I am staying home and sleeping for ten hours.” He got up and started heading toward his bedroom. “Let yourself out, will ya. I will talk to you later.”

     “Come on, Dave. This is important! You gotta get dressed ASAP. We gotta book it to that dance!”

      “You go on ahead. Nora is probably waiting for you, is my guess, more power to you, dude. I am heading to my bed.” He waved randomly in the air and stepped into the room and started to shut the door.

    “Whitley is going to be there—without a date!” His raised voice finally had the effect he was hoping for earlier.

     “What?” David stepped back into the room with him. “What happen to her date with Shawn Paterson?”

      “He dumped her for someone else for the dance, then she dumped him for real. Heard her say that she was involved with someone else now.”

     “Someone else? She already found another guy?!” He turned to head back to his room. “Great!” He growled to himself. That was just what he needed to hear the second he got home.

     “She was talking about you, smart guy!” Jeff spoke with a happy lilt to his voice. David stopped.

     “Me? Why would she tell him she was involved with me? She won’t even talk to me!” He leaned on the wall and ran a hand through his hair.

     “She has had a change of heart. In fact, last Sunday she asked if I knew where you were because she was hoping to talk to you. I told her you were in Paris, and she got pretty upset.  She was worried you would find yourself some woman from Europe, and she wouldn’t have a chance to patch things up with you.”

    “Why didn’t she call me? Or text me?”

     “She said she sent you a message saying, ‘Thanks for the dress’, two days ago but you ignored it.”

    “No! No! She didn’t!” He pulled out his phone and started looking through his phone. “I would have answered her. She didn’t text me! She was just saying that to—Man! There it is! She text me!”

    
“Thank U for the dress. I’m sorry. Can we talk?”

      “No way! How did I miss it? Crap!” He flew into his room and slammed the door. “Wait for me!” He hollered through the door.

     
T
wenty minutes later two handsome men, sporting black tuxedos, walked into the decorated Ballroom/gym of a ward building of the LDS Church. Their eyes took a second to adjust to the darkened room.

    The large room had been transformed to a magical, sparkling ballroom, but the men never noticed the beauty of the gym. They were both searching for their individual woman of interest. Jeff chuckled low in his chest, a pleased sort of sound.

    “I found my beauty. See ya around, dude.” He moved off across the floor with his hands in the pockets of rented tux.

     David followed his friend’s line of sight and saw Nora in her short, modest red dress combined with red high heeled pumps. Whitley wasn’t with her. He continued to peruse the perimeter of the room, but couldn’t find her. Worry nibbled at his insides. The music stopped, and then there she was. The other couples had left the dance floor, and she stood in the center staring at him.

    He stared back. She was wearing the blue sequined dress. Her hair was swept up on one side of her head and curls cascaded down the other side. She was breathtaking! She took a small step toward him and paused. Then another. Her hands were gripped together in front of her. David took a slow step out onto the dance floor, and another, and then another. They met four steps later. The music started up, and they smiled as they recognized the song he had hummed into her ear as they had danced under the street light that first and only date they had together.

     David held his hand out. “Will you dance with me?”

     “I would love to dance with you, David,” she said shyly. He took her in his arms and they began to waltz. They swirled around the room, he dipped her and twirled her, and then brought her up close to lay his cheek against hers.

    “You dance divinely,” she whispered to him.

     “So do you, Darling.” He pulled her closer and slowed their steps.

     “I was saving all my dances for you,” she glanced at him to gauge his reaction, “but I wasn’t sure you were coming, so I gave a few away.”

     “Well, I am here now, and there will be no more giving away my dances, pastry girl.”

     He danced her to a door and he whisked her out into the hall. He held tightly to her hand as he walked them up the hall. He opened the door to the chapel, stuck his head in, and then pulled her in with him.

      He turned and pulled her close so they could see each other in the glow of the emergency exit light.

     “Whitley, I am so sorry. I was such a stooge. I should have handled this all differently.” She placed her hand over his mouth

     “It is all in the past. I am sorry for blowing up and saying all those crazy things. Please forgive me?” David stared into her beautiful, pleading eyes for a moment and then crushed her to him, his mouth covered hers in a kiss full of love, edged with deep passion. She answered it back with her own fervent response.

      “I have gone crazy thinking you were lost to me.” He spoke softly with his cheek pressed against hers. “I know it has only been a short time, but I love you, Whitley Spencer. My heart is yours.” He kissed her again and then pulled away to look into her face again as he continued to plead his case.

    “Call me crazy or a stalker…or whatever! Just know this, I have never felt this way about anyone before. I have finally understood the meaning of the spirit speaking to me. I know without a doubt that you and I belong together.” His hand came up to touch her cheek reverently. “The spirit has told me that you are the one God wants me to be with for eternity. I’ll understand if you feel it is too soon, but that’s okay. I can be patient.” He kissed her temple.