You Belong To Me (2 page)

“Hey, hey now you’re getting ahead of yourself there girl, I haven’t even met the guy yet!

“Oh I know but I've got a good feeling about this Danielle I really do, and you know what the best part is? Guess who else one of Vic and Joe’s loyal customers is?” Shayla smirked. 

“No… Jason? You guys are going to the party too? I'd thought about asking, but when you
never mentioned it, I just assumed that you guys weren’t going. That Victoria, she never even mentioned it. Shayla that's wonderful and it takes such a load off my mind. I won't be half as nervous if you guys are there. Some best friend I am, I completely forgot to ask if you guys were going, of course you're going," she giggled. 

"Maybe you can help me not blow it?”
 

Shayla gave her friend a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry Danielle; you'll do fine, just fine. Now let's get to shopping.”

While clearing up the dinner dishes, Victoria Johnson had a wonderful idea.

“Hey Joe, what do you say you give Mitch a call, just to confirm that he's coming tomorrow huh?”

“Oh there you go again woman, playing match maker. I’m sure he’s coming.”

“Well I just want to
make sure. Here, I've already got his number out. Just a quick call and you might want to mention about our lovely Danielle attending, just to make sure he doesn't bring a date.”  Kissing his lovely wife on the cheek, Joe dialed Mitch's number.

“Hello Mitc
h? Hey Mitch its Joe. Good, good, yeah she's great. Listen, I was calling to make sure you were coming tomorrow. Yes? Oh that's great, that's great.  Hey listen, my busybody wife wanted me to tell you that she's got someone coming that she wants you to meet. Huh? A client? No, no nothing like that, this here… this is more personal. Well damn, I don't know what to say,” Joe stammered. Upon hearing that, Victoria took the phone away from her husband.

“Hi Mitch. Yes, I have decided to introduce you to one of
our employees, her name is Danielle and she is a lovely young woman. Well it seems to me like you could use a little match making and besides it's not going to hurt. Either you’re going to hit it off or you’re not. Although I can't imagine why you two wouldn't hit it off because she is quite stunning.” Victoria turned and gave her husband the thumbs up sign.

“We look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Five thirty, yes that's great. Goodnight Mitch.”

After hanging up the phone, Victoria turned and looked at her husband.

“Now honey was that so difficult?”

“Yes it was woman. Next time you make the call from start to finish!” Joe pretended to be annoyed. He too was glad that his wife had decided to play cupid.
They’ll make the perfect couple,
he thought to himself.

“Yes dear,” Victoria said with a smile.

After her fifth trip to the fitting room, Danielle began to get frustrated.

“Hey how come when I need to find something, I can never find it and when I don't want a thing, I see something that I like? Why Shayla, why?” Danielle whined.

“Oh don't get your panties all up in a bunch, we'll find you something. Stop looking at the frumpy old lady clothes and come over here to where the dresses and skirts are, geez.”

“Look, it's been a very long time since I've had to wear a dress or even dress up for that matter so bear with me girl, just bear with me.”

“Okay, okay, let's have a look around here and see what catches your eye shall we?”

“I'm doubtful but let's do it,” Danielle said. She was determined to find the perfect outfit.

Searching through racks and racks of dresses and skirts at Tjmaxx, seemed like a dauntless task for Danielle as she rarely went shopping and when she did it was to pick up a pair of sweats or a
pair of jeans, never anything fancy. Until now of course, when she wanted to find something sexy yet subtle, if that made any sense. Just as all the dresses seemed to merge into one big blob of color, one dress caught her eye. It was a simple eggplant colored cap sleeve wrap dress. Picking it up and holding it against herself she couldn't help but smile as Shayla had picked out the exact same dress for her to try on.

“Shayla I hope this looks as good on me as it does on the hanger because I'm getting tired
of looking,” Danielle frowned.

“I'm sure it will look great Danielle.”

As she slid the dress over her body, Danielle noticed how it flowed and draped. The dress looked great on and accentuated her figure in all the right places, chest, hips, and legs.

“Gir
l you look good, that dress looks fantastic on you. Mitch won't want to keep you in it for long,” Shayla winked.

“Shayla!” Danielle said, stunned and flattered at the same time. “Let's not forget I haven't met him yet.”

“I know but just you wait, soon he'll be putty in your hands.”

“We shall see, we shall see. Now let's go get some shoes to match.”

“Oh hey Danielle?”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe we should get you some sexy underwear as well. Hey you never know,” Shayla said with a grin.

“We can go browse, but that's al
l Shayla.” Danielle winked at her friend.

“Okay maybe a little something.”

“Ha! I knew it; there is a sex kitten inside of you just waiting to be let out.”

“Oh she's there alright Shayla, she just needs the right man to bring her out and maybe that will
be Mitch,” Danielle said with a giggle.

After finishing his conversation with Victoria and Joe, Mitch's thoughts began to wander.
I can't believe Joe’s trying to set me up with one of his workers! I'm not desperate, lonely is more like it
. He missed the love and touch of a woman; it had been almost eight years since he'd even been involved in a relationship. At thirty five years old he was beginning to think that it was time to get involved with someone again.  Sure there was the occasional one night stand here and there, but it didn't mean anything because he didn't want it to.

No, it had been purely for sexual gratification.
  He so much as told the women that just so he could avoid any drama that might have arisen had he lied. Sure some were upset but, “It is what it is,” he’d told them. Mitch didn’t want a relationship. "So take it or leave it," he said and most of them took it. But now, he was more than ready for a relationship and this stranger that Joe and Vic wanted him to meet, well… it was a lot different than meeting a stranger out at a bar for instance. This was a friend of a friend. Mitch admitted to himself that he missed the companionship of a girlfriend and having someone to lie next to him in bed all night. 
Well, wait
, he thought,
I'm jumping the gun here she may not even like me.

Over drinks at the local pub Danielle and Shayla talked excitedly about the dinner party that was going to happen the next day.

“Dee I can't wait to meet this guy.
You know he's gonna fall head over heels for you and the rest as they say will be history.”

“Shayla you’re such a positive person, a dreamer too. But my dear friend, he may not even show up, let alone fall head over heels. Silly woman.”

“Come on Dee, deep down you've gotta want this. I mean besides the occasional internet dating disaster, you've been single ever since you and your long distance guy broke up.  Now honey that’s a long time to go without,” Shayla joked.

“Hey I'm just saying, even you need som
e love in your life, and some great sex wouldn't be too bad either.”

“Ugh Shayla your absolutely right. I mean ever since Brian and I split up it seems like things have been going downhill. And you’re right; I haven’t been having any luck meeting guys onli
ne. I just want this guy to be a good and decent guy,” Danielle grinned.

“Oh and if he has all of his teeth and drives a car? Well than that’s just an extra bonus isn’t it?” She and Shayla burst out laughing.

“Well finally she agrees with me; now let's enjoy these Pina Coladas.”

Danielle awoke from a long, deep sleep mid-morning on Saturday. Well today’s the day! Let's hope all goes well. Once out of bed, and on her way to the kitchen to make breakfast, she thought to herself, I'm gonna pamper myself today, take a long hot leisurely bath, do my hair and nails. I want to sparkle for tonight. After her morning coffee, Danielle set about cleaning her house, there was vacuuming to be done, dishes to be washed and finally a damp mop to run over the hardwood floors.

When she finished tidying up the house, it was time to start getting ready. After a nice relaxing bath, Danielle applied a creamy, lightly scented lotion all over her body. Now I'll do my nails. After not being able to decide on a color
, she opted for a simple clear top coat.
There, that will do.
While waiting for her nails to dry she decided to give Shayla a call.

“Hey, you guys getting ready?”

“Yes we are but that's not important, how are you? Are you nervous? Are you dressed yet? Have a glass of wine, it'll settle your nerves,” Shayla said, sounding more excited than Danielle.

Laughing, Danielle said, “Gosh, you’d think I was a giddy teenager going on my first date Shay.”

“I just can't help but be excited for you Danielle. Listen I gotta go finish getting ready, we'll pick you up shortly."

“Okay, I'll see you then.”

By the time she hung up the phone, Danielle was ready to finish applying her makeup. Don't want to overdo it, she thought to herself and applied a minimal amount of makeup. After curling her hair, she let it fall long and loose around her face. When she slipped into her dress and looked in the mirror, she was taken aback at how gorgeous she looked. Wow, this dress suits me and I look put together without looking like I tried! Mental note, do more shopping, lots more shopping! Smiling to herself, she slipped into her heels, grabbed her purse and went into the living room to have a glass of wine and wait for Shayla and Jason to pick her up.

"Jason I am so happy for Dee, she deserves some happiness in her life.”

“Yes she does Shay; she's a good person, and a good friend. I've heard about this Mitch guy around the job sites, sounds like a pretty upstanding guy. I probably met him before but you know that I have a terrible m
emory. But I do remember trying to set her up with one of my buddies, but that didn’t turn out to good,” Jason smiled sarcastically.

“Um no I should say it didn't. I mean come on Jason, the guy was a beer guzzling, couch potato who was just looking to get
laid, how could you?"

“Hey I never said I was any good at this match making stuff hun.

"I know. Leave that to me and Victoria.” Shayla gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Well I've got to say one thing, if
this guy ever hurts her in any way; he'll have to answer to me and Joe.”

“Don’t forget about me hun, I think we can all agree on that.”

“You ready? Let's go get your friend."

Danielle climbed into the car to the sound of wolf whistles from both Jason and Shayla.

“Oh you guys, do you think I look alright? I mean I hope he'll like me. I hope I'll like him, I hope we'll like each other. I think I need some more wine!” Danielle said. She sounded more like a nervous teen than a grown woman.

“Why Danielle, I have never seen you this nervous, calm down! You can have some wine once we get there. Everything is going to work out fine, trust me.”

“Shay, Jason, I don’t know what I'd do without you guys, thank you.”

"Don't thank us, thank Vic and Joe, this was their idea.”

“Oh you know I'll be thanking them for a very long time, especially if Mitch and I hit it off.”

“We're here. Let's go meet your future Dee.”

 
“I'm ready, let's do this,” she said, sounding as if she were headed out to battle.

While tucking his shirt into his dress pants, Mitch wondered if it was all going to work out.
I mean I don’t know this woman, never met her. Even though I'm in the store almost every day, picking up this and that. But since she works in the back office I guess that’s why I've never seen her; maybe I have and just didn’t pay her any mind. But if she's as stunning as Vic says she is then I'm sure I would have noticed her. Might as well forget all that. I'm meeting her tonight, and that's all that matters. This time though if things work out and there is a mutual attraction, I'm gonna give it my all.

H
e looked incredibly handsome in his white button down shirt and khaki pants. Mitch was six foot two inches tall with forest green eyes and jet black hair that he liked to keep stylish yet practical.  Although he was extremely attractive, he didn't think he had the body of a Greek god, but being a contractor certainly kept him in shape and he had no complaints about his body.
You are more than ready for this
, he told himself as he slipped into his shoes and headed out the door.

“Danielle you look positively stunning,” Victoria said. “Mitch's heart is going to skip a beat.”

“I know mine just did,” said Joe as he entered the kitchen planting kisses on each of th
e ladies. “You all look gorgeous this evening, even you Jason.”

“Yeah, thanks Joe,” Jason grinned.
 

“Hey can I get anybody a drink?”

“Oh yes please Joe, I’d like a glass of wine and I think Danielle here needs the whole bottle.”

“I’m just a tad nervous; a
simple glass will suffice Joe.” Danielle shot her friend a look.

“Danielle you’re nervous for no reason. If I know Mitch like I think I do, you've got nothing to worry about. He's a very lucky man,” Joe beamed. “While us girls finish up in the kitchen, Jo
e dear would you mind taking Jason and getting the extra chairs from the basement? We might need them.”

“Sure honey. Come on Jason that's code for you guys get out of our way.”

As the men left the kitchen, Danielle, Victoria, and Shayla started putting the finishing touches on the appetizers and meal. There was still some slicing and arranging to be done but the main courses were finished. The meats were carved and arranged on platters.

Chips and dips were set out, and the shrimp cocktail arranged. There w
as also a variety of rolls and condiments that were put out, and a large assortment of salads and vegetables completed the meal. The ample supply of wines and beverages was sure to please everyone's tastes.

“Well girls I think that about does it, thank yo
u so much for your help.”

“Vic, you know we'd do anything for you.”

“You two are like daughters to me and don’t ever forget it." Victoria hugged them both.

“Aw, we won't Vic, we won't,” both women chimed in

The chime of the doorbell interrupted their girl talk.

“Oh my god it's him, I'm so nervous! Oh my god, I think I need to use the bathroom. Is it hot in here? It’s really hot in here.”

Danielle nervously fanned herself. Victoria couldn’t help but laugh. “Come on now, pull yourself together. I'll go get the door and you wait right here in the kitchen, act like your chopping something.”

Once Victoria left to answer the door, both Shayla and Danielle grabbed the nearest utensil and went to work on a piece of cheese and some bread.

Curiosity got the better of them and they tiptoed to the kitchen door to eavesdrop. Danielle and Shayla felt like children spying on their parents when a stranger comes to the door.

“Well hello Mitch. My, don’t you look handsome. Here let me take that. You didn't have to bring an
ything honey, this dinner is for you.” Victoria couldn’t stop grinning; she knew that Danielle was waiting anxiously in the next room.

“Well now Victoria, I couldn't show up empty handed,” he smiled back.

“He's got a hot voice,” whispered Shayla.

“Shush, he might here you,” Danielle quieted her friend.

“Well this wine will certainly go well with dinner. Come in, come in. We're just in the kitchen doing some last minute touches. Joe and Jason are in the basement getting some extra chairs.”

“Do they
need a hand? Want me to go help?”

“Of course, of course. But first, let me introduce you to my girls.”

Hearing that, Danielle and Shayla ran to the other side of the kitchen and tried to look busy.

“Danielle, Shayla, girls I want to introduce you to our d
ear friend Mitch Conway. Mitch this is Shayla, Jason's girlfriend and this lovely woman here is Danielle.”

Danielle felt a surge of butterflies racing from her throat to her toes and everywhere in between when she shook his hand.
This man is exquisite
, she thought to herself.

As he took her hand in his, Mitch felt his heart skip a beat.
  “It's nice to meet you Danielle, I've heard so much about you.”

And just like that, he and Danielle were inseparable the rest of the evening. Victoria said she could almos
t see the sparks fly across the room when they gazed at one another.

“Shayla, can I pick ‘em or what?”

“Vic you've done good, you've done real, real good! I am so happy for our Danielle.”

“Mitch, can I just say that I am having the most enjoyable evening
with you. I'll admit I was a bit skeptical about meeting someone new and the thought of being set up even though it's by a dear friend, can still be a little scary. But I'm so very glad I came.”

“Danielle the same goes for me. I feel so comfortable around
you, it's as if we've known each other for years and we’re just catching up. This is great; I really am enjoying your company,” he gave her an encouraging smile.

Shayla and Victoria weren't the only ones admiring the attractive couple; sitting in the corner of the dining room was loyal customer Ethan Tillitson. Ethan stood at six foot three and weighed two hundred seventy pounds. His dark brown hair and bright blue eyes made his large stature seem somewhat less intimidating. But it was only on the outside, Ethan Tillitson was a quiet man who rarely spoke and when he did it was in as short a sentence as possible. Behind his charming blue eyes, Ethan was hiding something very dark and sinister.

Ethan not only shopped in the store practically every day, bu
t he watched every day. For over five years now he’s been watching Danielle. He watches her when she arrives for work in the morning, he watches when she makes the daily bank deposits, and he watches her every evening when she gets home from work. Sometimes he even tries to spy on her by looking through her windows, but the curtains are always drawn so he can only crouch in the bushes and imagine all of the things that she might be doing.

Just last night after she got dropped off by her friend Shayla, he w
atched as she got out of the car, dug her keys out of her purse and opened the door to her house. One day, he thought to himself. One day I'll be inside waiting for her.

When the time came for introductions, Joe introduced Ethan to Danielle.

“Danielle this is Mr. Ethan Tillitson, he's a local plumber and has been coming in for years now and it's about time we showed our appreciation,” Joe said before excusing himself.

“Well it's nice to meet you Mr. Tillitson.”

“Ethan, call me Ethan and the pleasure is all mine Danielle. But a plumber who is on unemployment is more like it,” he said with a fake frown. “But I'm still lucky.”

“How so Ethan?" Danielle asked, hoping that she sounded more interested than she looked.

Although Ethan wasn’t a bad looking man, there was something about his eyes that bore into her in such a way that it made her want to get as far away from him as possible.

“Well I'm lucky because being out of work allows me plenty of extra time to take care of the things that I need to take care o
f Danielle. Surely you must know what it’s like to have a hobby; you know something that you live and die for?” He said gripping her hand tighter.

Mitch watched as Ethan held onto Danielle's hand, he was holding on longer than necessary and Mitch began to
get a bad feeling. He thought to himself, something is not right with this guy. I'm gonna have to keep my eye on him. Danielle tried to wiggle her hand out of Ethan's firm grasp, she wished that Mitch would steal her away. No sooner had she thought it when Mitch took hold of her arm and guided her away under the ruse of having to introduce her to other contractors.