Uncorked (19 page)

“I just wanted to thank you for
the laptop. You’ve done so much.”

“No problem. I know you must be
having a hard time without one,” he replied with his arms folded, leaning against
the doorframe.

“That was sweet of you. You
really didn’t have to do that, but thanks. I’m not sure how you got my files on
there, but thanks for that, too.”

“You’re welcome”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Can I make you some tea or a
sandwich? Anything?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“Well, I’ll leave you alone. I’ll
be in my room. On my new laptop.”

He smiled at her but said nothing
as he quietly closed the door between them.

That was awkward. Something’s up
with him, but I’ll give him his space.

Seeing Mitch so reserved was not
something Chella was used to. She wanted do something to make him smile and
cheer him up, but because of the distance that she had put between them she was
towing a very fine line between cute and coming on too strong.

She was finding it hard to keep
track of her own rules, and she didn’t want to lead him on. She wasn’t even
sure what the dos and don’ts were for this thing they shared. This living
arrangement and the on-again-off-again relationship was starting to take its
toll, and after thinking about it for five minutes, it frustrated her.  She
realized that none of this was fair to him, and she felt guilty. Really guilty.
And because of the living arrangement they were in, any decision she made had
the potential to make things worse between them. She needed to make a decision
so they both knew where they stood. She wanted to be careful not to hurt him.
He deserved more.

She needed help to make a
decision, but Kacy and Vicky were clueless when it came to the circumstances of
her life. That left Mitch and Craig, and Mitch couldn’t be trusted to help her
make an unbiased decision. She called Craig.

“Hey, Chella, how are you?”

“I have a bit of a dilemma, and I
really didn’t know who else to call. I was hoping you could help me see things
from a new perspective.”

“What is it?”

“From the first time I met Mitch
I was attracted to him, but I’m so afraid to get involved. We’ve been seeing
each other on and off for that past few months, but that’s because I’m scared
of him getting hurt. His involvement with me is dangerous.”

“Does he know this?”

“Yes, I’ve explained that to him.
I think he sees my lack of commitment as a lack of trust in him. I think that
bothers him.”

“Chella, I hate to tell you this,
but he’s right.”

“We were hoping an arrest would have
been made by now, but Aaron is still out there. And if he’s out there, Mitch
and his family are a target. He has a five-year-old daughter. I could never
forgive myself if something happened to her dad because of me.”

“Chella, I understand how you
feel, but after you told me about this, I realized what you’d been doing for
years. Darling, you can’t continue to ignore your emotional needs forever.
You’ve shut everyone near and dear to you out of this for years. You’ve allowed
this idiot to invade every aspect of your personal life. You’ve given him too
much control for too long.”

“In a space of a few weeks, Aaron
has cost Mitch almost seventy-thousand dollars in damage. How could I, in good
conscience, date Mitch when I know his life would be in danger because of me?
It hurts so much more when Aaron attacks those I care about.”

“This psycho is in your head. He
knows how to push your buttons and do what he wants you to do. You’re playing
right into his hands.”

“How do I change things?”

“You can’t live the rest of your
life in fear, and that’s exactly what you’ve been doing from the day your
parents died. From what I’ve seen, and from what you tell me, Mitch has gone
out of his way to be there for you. Darling, at some point you have to be there
for him, and if you’re not careful, this on-again-off-again relationship is
going to complicate things further. I know you do not intend to hurt him, but
that’s exactly what you might end up doing. He’s becoming more and more
emotionally invested in you with no clue of what the outcome is going to be.
That’s treading on very dangerous ground, Chella.”

“But I have these feeling for
him, too.”

“I know you’re torn, but you have
to make a decision and stick to it. Either you’re in or you’re out. My
instincts tell me you like him more than you’re willing to admit. The decision
is yours, but I think you’d be making a huge mistake if you let him go.”

“Thanks for telling me how you
feel.”

“When you make your decision,
remember that you’ve been doing things this way for years. Look where it’s
gotten you. Perhaps it’s time you try something different.”

“I’ll remember that. Thanks for
everything.”

“No worries. I love you,
Darling.”

“Love you, too. Send my love to
Maggie.” As Chella ended the call, Mitch knocked on her door.

“Chella, there’s a gas leak in
the building. Toss a few things into a bag, quickly. We need to get out of
here.”

Mitch and Chella
headed to a resort nearby. By
the time they had left the penthouse, the streets were already closed-off and
the gas, fire and police departments were on the scene. Neither of them were
comfortable walking the streets due to the circumstances, but after a quick
walk, they arrived safely at the hotel.

The only available room had a
king-size bed. While it may not have been the ideal situation, they quickly
grabbed the thirty-third floor room. There were enough restaurants and
amenities located on the property that they would be set for the short time
they expected to be there.

They got up to the beautiful
corner room with panoramic views of the ocean. Chella was eager to get into the
shower after the sweaty workout they had walking down the street. She rummaged
through her bag to find a short tank dress, but after completely emptying the
bag, she realized she had forgotten the small bag with her undergarments at the
penthouse.

“What’s wrong?” asked Mitch.

“Nothing. I forgot something on
the bed at the penthouse.”   

“Anything I can help you with?”

“I doubt it. Don’t worry. I’ll be
okay. I’m going to get a shower.”

“If you need me to get you anything,
I’m sure there’s a gift shop around here.”

Right… even if you knew it was
underwear?

“I’ll think about it. Thanks.”

After she showered, she slipped
on the navy tank dress and hoped like hell that he wouldn’t notice that she
wasn’t wearing underwear. She washed the panties she had been wearing, laid
them flat on the granite countertop then used the blow dryer to dry them. Five
minutes into her chores, Mitch knocked on the door.

“Chell, how much longer are you
going to be? I need to get in there.”

“Just a sec…”

She quickly tidied her things on
the counter and switched off the blow dryer. Panties crumpled in her hand, she
left the bathroom.

“Chella?”

“Yes?” she replied as she brushed
past him in the bathroom doorway.

“Why is your hair still wet?”

“What do you mean? I just
showered.”

“Yes, but the blow dryer was
going in there forever.”

“Why don’t you do whatever it is
you need to do in there and stop asking questions?” She casually slipped her
hand to her side, hoping he wouldn’t notice her closed fist.

“What’s that you’re hiding in
your hand?”

She tried to keep a straight
face, but she felt her cheeks warm and could no longer contain a smile. “Just
leave me alone. Mind your own business. Will you help me dress my hand when
you’re done, please?”

“Changing the subject? I’ll think
about it.”

As he turned around, she sighed,
relieved.

Embarrassing…

Her back turned to the bathroom
door, Mitch’s arms engulfed her in a bear hug.

She giggled hysterically. “Mitch
let me go,” she exclaimed as he carried her over to the bed.

 “Tell me what you’re hiding and
I will be more than happy to,” he replied, pinning her hands down, as she lay
face down on the bed.

“No.”

“No, huh? Maybe a tickle will
inspire you to tell me.”

“Don’t,” she laughed. “Let me
turn over, and I’ll tell you.”

“I don’t believe you. Open your
hand.”

“No,” she said.

He tickled her.

She giggled hysterically, still
managing to keep her panties hidden in her left fist.

“Until you tell me what’s in your
hand, I’m going to tickle you.”

“Please, don’t,” she laughed.
“I’m not wearing any panties.”

Mitch froze. “What?”

She turned over to face him. “I
forgot the bag with my underwear on the bed, so I washed the one I was wearing
and tried to dry it with the hair dryer. That is, until I was rudely
interrupted and accosted.”

Now it was his turn to be
embarrassed. His face turned rosy red.

“Wow… Look who’s at a loss for
words now. Cat got your tongue?” she said, smiling and easing her way off the
bed.

“That’s the last thing I was
expecting you to tell me.”

“What did you think I was hiding?
Candy?”

“I had no clue.”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need
to get back to the task at hand.”

“I can get you some underwear.
I’m sure the gift shop carries some.”

“You’d do that?”

“In case you hadn’t realized by
now, there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you.”

“I’m starting to realize, that,
yes.”

He picked up his wallet off the
bedside table. “I’ll be right back.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me my
size?”

“I’ve committed your body to
memory. I got this.” He responded, shutting the door behind him.

Ten minutes later, he returned
with a huge bag.

“Did you buy the whole store?”

“There’s some extra stuff in
there. I was thinking we could go to dinner at one of the restaurants over
here. We both could use a change of scenery.”

“That sounds great. What did you
get?”

“Hats and sunglasses and some
really
interesting panties.”

“Interesting panties?”
she asked, reaching into the
bag. She pulled out a thong and boy shorts emblazoned with
I Love San Diego
logos.

“They’re perfect.” She laughed.
“I’ll be a real tourist.”

“If we hurry, we can grab an
early dinner and watch one of those sunsets you love so much.”

Sexy new underwear in place, she
finished her disguise make-up, threw on a pair of thong sandals and the
enormous wide brimmed hat and sunglasses from the gift shop.

Mitch removed the polo shirt he
was wearing and slipped into a linen-white shirt with khaki trousers along with
his hat and sunglasses. After dressing Chella’s hand, they headed out to
dinner.

They found a lovely outdoor
restaurant right on the waterfront. Beautiful yachts and sailboats lined up
along the water’s edge in front of them. The waiter took their order and
returned with two glasses of white wine and bread.

“Feel better?” Chella asked,
tearing apart one of the rolls and buttering it lightly.

“I do. I needed a change of
scenery.”

“You seemed down. I was really
worried about you.”

“You worry about me?”

“Of course I do,” she said,
smiling. “Was it just because you were stuck in the penthouse?”

“Partly. I had a nasty fight with
my mother.”

“It was about me, wasn’t it?”

He nodded.

“Mitch, I’m sorry. I never meant
to cause problems between you and your mother.”

“She forced me to choose between
you and her, and I didn’t like being put in that position. Truthfully, this
really isn’t about you. She’s always been this way. She’s always caused or
tried to cause problems in my relationships, and it’s time it stopped. I don’t
think she was expecting me to choose you.”

He chose me over his mother? He’s
making it really hard for me not to fall for him.

“Maybe I should call. Reason with
her.”

“Don’t. She’d only blame you and
somehow make this your fault.”

“Do you really want your mother
out of your life?”

“Of course not, but she forced me
to make that decision. She knows my number if she changes her mind.”

“I get the feeling something
brought this on. What was it?”

“What makes you think that?”
Mitch asked as the waiter brought their meal.