Forever Black (6 page)

I
laughed as I turned my back to him and started walking away, “Suit yourself Mr.
Black, but I’m going to get me a hot dog from the hot dog stand.” I heard him
mumble something under his breath, and before I knew it, he was walking beside
me.

“Do
you ever listen to anyone?”

“No,
I do what I want.”

“I
can tell,” he mumbled under his breath thinking I didn’t hear him, but I did. I
casually smiled and kept walking. We reached the hot dog vendor, and I looked
at Connor.

“Are
you getting one?”

He
frowned at me and growled at the vendor, “Give me two hotdogs.”

I
grabbed my hot dog and apologized to the vendor and whispered, “He’s mad because
I’m forcing him to eat a hot dog when he wanted a fancy lunch.”

The
vendor and I laughed as Connor walked over to a wooden table. I walked over to
the condiment stand and topped my hot dog with relish, onions, ketchup and
mustard. I grabbed a bunch of napkins and sat down next to Connor at the small
picnic table. He looked over at my hot dog and then at me with disgust in his
eyes.

“That
is gross,” he said as he took a bite of his plain hot dog.

“Gross,
no way man, this is heaven,” I took a large bite and watched him stare at me as
I chewed.

“You
do realize how bad that is for you, right?”

I
put my finger up, “You only live once, make the best of it.”

He
tried to hold back a smile, but I saw it and it made me smile back. I shoved my
hot dog at him.

“Here
take a bite.”

“No,
get that thing out of my face,” he frowned.

“Not
until you take a bite Connor, then you can judge if it’s gross.”

I
kept moving the hot dog closer to his mouth as he rolled his eyes and finally
took a bite. He chewed it, and I laughed at the glob of ketchup he had in the
corner of his mouth. I took a napkin and wiped it. Instantly, he put his hand
on mine like he wanted to jerk it away, but he didn’t and he stared at me with
fear in his eyes. I took the napkin away and smiled as if I didn’t notice his
reaction.

“You
had ketchup right there, and I didn’t want it to get on your shirt.”

He
nodded his head, “Thanks.”

The
afternoon in Central Park was beautiful. The sun was shining down keeping a bit
of warmth in the air. The tips of the leaves were starting to change letting
everyone know that fall is approaching. The birds were chirping, and the
squirrels were running around gathering up supplies to make their nests for the
winter.

“I
want to ask you something,” Connor said as he looked at me. I took the last
bite of my hot dog and wiped my mouth.

“Go
ahead.”

“I
gave some thought to our recent outing, and I was wondering if you would be
interested in being?” he stopped.

“Being?”
I motioned for him to proceed.

He
cleared his throat and took in a sharp breath, “Would you be interested in
being a companion?”

I
narrowed my eyes, “What? I don’t get it.” He heavily sighed at the fact that I
did not get what he was trying to say.

“Would
you be interested in being a person who would accompany me to certain
functions, no strings attached, and I would pay you of course?” I was in the
middle of drinking my water when I spit it out.

“What?
You mean like an escort or call girl,” I yelled.

“NO,
NO, that is not what I meant Ellery,” he tried to explain. “I mean like a
friend.” I lightly smiled at him because that was so hard for him to say.

“You
mean go out as friends, like me and Peyton?” He ran his hands through his
luxurious hair. I lightly touched his arm.

“Connor,
if you want to be friends then all you had to do was ask. Actually, I already
considered us friends, and there will be no money involved either.” He pursed
his lips and a small smile escaped them.

“There’s
a benefit I need to attend tomorrow night. It is a charity function, and I need
to be there to represent my company, would you like to go?”

I
bit my lip as I sweetly smiled at him, “I would love to go.” He smiled back as
we got up from the table and started making our way out of Central Park.

“I
will pick you up at 6pm sharp,” he said looking straight ahead. I silently
smiled because I felt different when I was with him. I liked the feeling, but
then I hated it to because nothing can happen between us, and I needed to be extremely
careful that nothing did.

Just
as we were leaving I heard someone call my name, “Elle?” I looked to the side
and time stopped as I saw Kyle walking towards me. Connor stopped walking when
I did and looked at me; he knew something was wrong.

“Elle,
how are you?” Kyle asked in a confused tone. I took in a deep breath.

“I’m
great Kyle how are you?” I managed to smile.

A
few feet behind him stood a woman with jet black hair and boobs so fake, I bet
they would pop if I poked them with my finger. I looked over at her as she was
eye fucking Connor.

“I’m
fine, who is this?” he asked, pointing to Connor.

“Oh,
I’m sorry; this is my friend Connor Black.” Connor extended his hand, and the
two of them shook. My stomach was in knots and so desperately wanted to throw
up.

“Elle,
you look good,” he smiled as he looked me up and down.

I
faked a smile as Kyle’s little plastic bimbo came walking up and introduced
herself.

“Hi,
I’m Angela; you must be Kyle’s ex?”

I
rolled my eyes. “Yep that’s me; Kyle’s ex.”

She
would not stop looking at Connor and seducing him with her eyes. It was making
me uncomfortable. She was practically salivating. I pulled Kyle over to the
side.

“Tame
your dog Kyle; she is embarrassing you.”

He
glared at me, “Angela, let’s go.”

I
looked over at Connor who was steadily smiling at me.

“What?”

“Nothing,
you are just…”

“Just
what Connor?” I asked.  

“You’re
just full of life, let’s put it that way,” he laughed. I shook my head as we
left Central Park.

Denny
had the Limo parked and was waiting for Connor. “Are you getting in?” Connor
asked as he pointed to the car.

“No,
I’m walking,” I said as I started down the street.

“Elle,
get in the car,” he demanded. I smiled because for the first time he called me
Elle, which was his way of letting me know we were friends. My back was turned
as I walked away and waved.

“Bye
Connor, see ya tomorrow.”

I
heard him sigh, and the car door shut. I walked a majority of the way with
Connor’s Limo following me. I finally turned the corner and stopped. He rolled
down the window.

“Are
you ready to get in now?” he smiled.

I
rolled my eyes and opened the door. I smacked him on the arm and told him to
move over. Denny was watching me through the rear view mirror and he was
lightly laughing. We reached my apartment, and as I was getting out of the Limo,
Connor surprised me by lightly grabbing my hand.

“Thank
you for going tomorrow.”

I
crinkled my nose and smiled, “That’s what friends are for.”

I
walked in the door and leaned up against it sliding down till I was on the
floor. I cupped my face in my hands and thought about the fire that ignited in
my body when he touched me. I was headed for trouble, and I already knew it.

I
awoke the next morning to a text message from Peyton saying she was on her way
over with coffee and bagels. I rolled out of bed just as Peyton was ready to
break down the door.

“Some
friend you are,” she spouted as she flew past me to set the coffee and bag on
the table.

“What
did I do?” I yawned.

“I
waited all night for you to call me and tell me about your day with Connor and
you never did,” she pouted. Peyton loved to pout, and she was such a natural at
it. She once told me that she could make a guy do anything just by pouting.

“How
did you know about yesterday?”

She
looked down and took a sip of her coffee. “Kyle told me,” she said as if it was
no big deal.

“WHAT?”
I scowled. Peyton pulled a bagel out of the bag and handed it to me.

“He
called me and said he saw the two of you in Central Park and wanted to know how
long you have been seeing each other; I could tell he was jealous.”

“Who
the hell does Kyle think he is? Did he forget he is the one who left me and he
is the one moving on by dating a plastic bitch?”

She
leaned over table, “I told him Connor was your fuck buddy and to get over it.”

I
lightly grabbed her arm, “You did not.”

Peyton
held up two fingers; I swear to God I did.”

I
rolled my eyes as I held my coffee cup in my hands. “Who does he think he is?”

She
looked at me as she got up to get a knife from the drawer. “He’s a douchebag
Elle, nothing more.”

I
laughed and was startled by a knock at the door. I strangely looked over at
Peyton and got up to see who it was. I looked out the peep-hole and saw a tall
attractive woman standing there. I opened the door as I was still in my pajama
pants and tank top.

“Miss
Ellery Lane?” The woman asked.

“Yes,
I’m Ellery Lane.” She pushed her way through the door.

“Very
good,” she said as she waved her hand and 3 other women with garment bags
followed behind her.

“Umm,
what’s going on?” I looked over at Peyton as she sat at the table with her
mouth open.

“Miss
Lane, I’m Camille, and we’re from Saks Fifth Avenue. Mr. Black sent us to have
you pick a dress for tonight’s event. He described you, so we chose which
dresses we felt would suit you.”

“Holy
shit Elle,” Peyton said.

I
stood there as the women unpacked the garment bags pulling out the most
beautiful and expensive dresses I’ve ever seen. I tried on each one feeling like
Cinderella. Peyton was giving me thumbs up at the dresses she liked. The tall
woman applauded as I tried on each dress. The last dress I put on was a Badgley
Mischka black strapless lace gown. I gasped when I looked in the mirror because
I had never worn anything more beautiful. Peyton had a tear in her eye as she
took my hands in hers and looked me over.

“You
look absolutely stunning Elle.”

“It’s
too much, I can’t accept this or let Connor do this for me.”

Camille
walked over and handed me a pair of Jimmy Choo strappy heels. “Put these on
dear and let the man buy you a new dress; trust me, if he did not think you
were worth it, he would not have done this.” I looked at Peyton and took the
shoes from Camille.

“Connors
not a douchebag let him buy you a dress and definitely those shoes,” Peyton
smiled.

I
rolled my eyes as I stood in a designer dress and Jimmy Choos. I felt incredible.
I grabbed my phone and sent Connor a quick text.

“Hi
it’s me Ellery, thank you for the beautiful dress, but it is too much and I do
not feel right accepting it.”
Seconds later he
replied.

“You’re
welcome and it is not too much, see you at 6pm sharp.”

I
smiled at Camille, “I like this one,” I said as I ran my hands down my body.
She snapped her fingers signaling the other women to pack up the other dresses.

“Mr.
Black will be immensely pleased you chose his favorite,” Camille smiled as she
walked out the door. I stood in the middle of the room trying to figure out
what Camille meant by his favorite dress. Did he go to the store himself and
pick a bunch out for her to bring to me? Then I wondered if this was a habit of
his for all his women.

“You’re
overthinking Elle,” Peyton said as she unzipped the back of my dress. “Go put
your other clothes back on; you do not want to ruin this before tonight. I’m
going to call Roger and see if he’s available to do your hair and makeup, he
owes me a big favor.”

I
went to the bedroom and put on a pair of jeans and a tank top with a sick feeling
in my stomach. My phone rang, and that familiar number was calling again, I
ignored it and sent them to voicemail.

Peyton
and I took a cab to Color Me Beautiful, a hair salon our friend Roger owns. We
walked through the doors of the luxury salon as Roger spotted us instantly. He
walked over and embraced me tightly.

“Oh
girl, I heard about you and Kyle and I think he’s an asshole.”

“Thanks
Roger I think he is to,” I lightly smiled. He turned to Peyton and gave her a
warm hug.

“Now,
tell me where you are going tonight and with whom.”