Throwing Love #4 (Throwing Love #4) (3 page)

When Connie finished putting the finishing touches on my
makeup, I turned to look in the mirror. I had smoky-eyed makeup with red
lipstick. I was astounded with how well it all looked with my blonde hair.

“My God, you should do this professionally.” I couldn't
believe how great I looked – I was like some model out of a magazine.

“Don't be silly, you're a knockout. You just don't use what
has been given to women to emphasize what we already have. Believe me, Bennett
is going to go nuts looking at you.”

“He's certainly in for a surprise...”

“Emmi, you are going to knock his socks off and if you're
lucky, you can get him back on track with you.”

“Well, I appreciate your help here. I would have been lost
without you. So what am I going to wear?”

“Well, I dug something out of my closet, and I don't want
any arguments.”

When I walked out of the bathroom Connie gasped, “Oh my God,
girl, you look so hot.”

“Yes, but I can barely breathe.”

“That is the torturous life of a female, after all. I'm
afraid you will have to deal with it. Don't act like you have never been in a
dress before.”

“Well I have, but you don't think this is a little too
short?”

“Look, I think you have been living life in the sporty world
for too long. No, it's a cocktail dress, not club wear. You will be fine. You
want that to get Bennett's attention, don't you? Remind him what a hottie you
are.”

 
“Don't start,
okay? God, Connie, I miss him so much. I feel like it's all falling apart.”

“Yes, I know. I don't know what's going on with that boy,
but you are going to stoke his fire in that dress.”

I laughed. “Oh, hell yeah.”

“Come on, Emmi. As soon as you open the door, his mouth is
going to drop. Don't sell yourself short. Just because you have brains doesn't
mean you can't look hot, too.”

I beamed at her. “Now you better get out of here before my
date arrives.”

We hugged and she left. I finished my wine while I waited
for Bennett.

It wasn't long before I heard a knock on the door and I let
Bennett in. He produced a dozen yellow roses that lit me up inside. Wow, how
long had it been since I received roses from him? And yellow, how unusual. I
couldn't help but grin, the gesture alone sent chills up my spine.

“Wow, these are lovely, Bennett. Thank you so much.”

He looked me over with a searing look. “No, Emmi, you are
lovely. Wow, that dress, you look fantastic. You should wear that all the
time.”

I laughed. “That's what Connie said, but thank you.”

He surprised me with a kiss on the cheek and I took the
roses and headed into the kitchen to find a vase.

“I miss you, babe.”

I turned around to look at him. “I missed you, too.”

I was dying to talk to Bennett about what had been going on
for the past few weeks, but I didn't know how to bring it up. He was being so
sweet that I didn't want to ruin our night.

“Hopefully we can see more of each other now.”

“Well, I have a lot of practice to get in, Emmi. I need to
make sure I'm focused.” He had that look on his face again that aggravated me.

My blood pressure was starting to slowly rise as I filled a
vase full of water. After cutting the ends of the stems, I placed them gently
in the water. I bent forward, taking in the lovely scent coming off of the
roses. Well, so far so good. Maybe I should continue smelling them until I
calmed down. Practice? Come on. “Thank you again,” I said once I noticed he had
entered the kitchen behind me.

“Would you like a drink?” I wasn't sure I had any more wine,
but I thought it would be rude not to offer.

“No, I'm good for now. Are you ready to go? You certainly
look fantastic.” He walked over to me and kissed me again.

“Yes, I'm ready.”

We left my apartment and headed to the best restaurant in
town. It was known for its lavish decor and was a regular hot spot for
celebrities in the area. Bennett liked it because it had the best lobster in
town. He was a big fan of seafood, and he planned on ordering some surf and
turf. That was all he talked about on the drive over. I thought about bringing
up the fact that he was distant with me lately, but I didn't want to ruin his
good mood. It was the best date we had been on in awhile. I just wanted there
to be more of them.

We were seated immediately, despite not having a
reservation. Bennett had been getting a lot of exposure lately, and it was
clearly making a difference. A waiter approached our table and asked us if we
would like some wine.

“That sounds fabulous tonight, sir! In
fact why don't you bring us two?
” He
winked at me, and I wasn't sure how I felt about getting drunk with him. He was
still acting weird, and it really bothered me.

“Now, Bennett, you're not trying to get me drunk tonight,
are you?”

He chuckled. “Of course not, my dear. I know you aren't a
light weight.”

I just smiled softly. I was starting to get into a bad mood
and I didn't really want to. The more I thought about the fact that he kept
pushing me away, the madder I got. I deserved better than that. I was beginning
to get angry and annoyed and the fact that I wasn't talking to him about it was
causing it all to fester inside of me.

The waiter quickly returned with a bucket of ice with wine
sitting proudly on top. He poured two glasses and handed one to me first and
then Bennett.

“What should we toast to?” I asked.

“How about the future? May we both get everything we want.”

I was startled by his toast and wondered what he meant. Was
he talking about his career or our relationship? It seemed an odd to toast,
considering I had barely seen him lately.

I allowed him take the lead when it came to ordering dinner,
mainly because I was annoyed, and when the lobster arrived I couldn't have been
happier. It just melted in my mouth with a taste of garlic and butter. It was
absolutely delicious. I almost wanted to order another, but my tummy was packed
full.

“You were right, Bennett. The lobster is delicious.”

“I'm glad you like it. I've been here a few times and it
never disappoints.”

A few times? With other women?

We spent the entire dinner laughing and getting a little
drunk – both of which I was surprised about. I couldn't have asked for a
better evening out. Bennett had been a complete joy to be around and I hoped
that it meant that things would get better between us.

I took a sip of my wine and smiled as he filled it again.
“If you will excuse me, I have to use the ladies room.”

“Absolutely.”

I got up from the table and made my way to the bathroom. As
I was walking by tables, I glimpsed Gwen Stefani having dinner with a couple of
girls. My mouth fell open and I desperately longed to go and talk to her, but I
was sure that it would make me look like a dimwit in from of Bennett. I
continued to the bathroom without incident.

Connie had informed me to keep tabs on my beauty and to
apply lipstick when I could. I quickly went to the bathroom before heading to
the mirror to check my face. I was still shocked by h
ow well she did with my makeup.
I
t
was astonishing actually. I reapplied my makeup and blotted my lips before
returning to the table.

I had expected Bennett to stay over after our date, but he
made up some excuse that he needed more sleep. We hadn't had sex in over a
week, and I was starting to get concerned. Maybe I should have suggested we
stay in and then I could have seduced him. That would have been much better
than lobster. Or maybe I was still overreacting; he may just need some more
time. We had a great date, so there was no reason to get freaked out over
nothing. I hoped...

Chapter Six

Lying in my bed, I was looking through some school notes to
prepare for a test coming up. I couldn't have been more bored at that point,
but the test was a big one and I really needed to ace it.

Things between Bennett and I were trailing off once again.
Since the night of the lobster date, I had seen very little of him the
following week. It was starting to seem like I didn't have a boyfriend at all,
which was a little depressing. Not only had we barely seen each other, we had
hardly talked, as well. There had been many text messages sent by me that went
unanswered. Guys don't seem to get how much something like that can hurt a
girl.

I had talked Connie's ear off and we both had no idea what
to do at that point. I knew I would have to talk to Bennett about it sooner
rather than later because it was getting to the point where a breakup would be
inevitable. We couldn't possibly continue to carry on in this manner and have
it leave no mark on our relationship. We had to make a move, but I wasn't even
sure if Bennett was interested in saving the relationship.

I closed my textbooks and lay back on my pillows. I had to
figure out a way to get things done. I sat up quickly in bed. I wasn't sure why
I hadn't thought about that idea, but I was beginning to think it was time to
go to the source. If anyone knew what was going on with Bennett's career, it
would be my father, and maybe he could also shine a light on what was going
through Bennett's mind in regards to me.

I wanted to know how the process with Bennett was going and
whether my dad was still considering hiring him. After all, if Bennett was
going to ignore me and ruin our relationship, I would like to hope there was a
payoff for it. If we weren't going to be together, I hoped it was for a damn
good reason.

I picked up my phone and dialed my father. He picked up
right away.

“Hello, darling. How are you today?”

“I'm good, Dad, How's business going?”

“Same old thing. Ya know. Busy as always. I wanted to
apologize to you again for not getting in touch with you he last time I was in
town. Things were crazy, and I had to see Bennett's team play and there
were
a few
hiccups in regards to it that I needed to deal with quickly. By the time it was
over, I was back on the jet to home. But I am sorry, I would have liked to have
had dinner with you.”

That had been the closest by father had come to saying
anything about visiting Bennett. I thought he would have told me the whole
story sooner, but he clearly didn't think it was any of my business. It didn't
seem to matter that I was the one that brought him Bennett in the first place.

“Don't worry about it, Dad. I get that you are busy.”

“So, how is school?”

I sighed. “School is great. Just getting ready for an exam,
but everything is going well.”

“That's good, my dear. That's what I like to hear.”

“The reason I'm calling is that I was a little curious about
Bennett and how he is doing. You and I really haven't discussed him a whole lot
since the first time we met with him.”

“Oh, I see. Well, Bennett is doing very well. As I'm sure
you have noticed with his games, he has a lot of talent and he definitely puts
on a good show for the crowd. I don't see any reason he wouldn't be going to
the major leagues.”

“Well, that's good to know.” But it was all information that
I already knew.

“Yes, of course. If he keeps going along this path he should
be in the majors very soon.”

On my dad's team? What path was he talking about? Was he
impressed with all the extra practices? He probably loved the dedication and
didn't care what it might be doing to my relationship.

“Is that all you can tell me, Dad,” I asked laughing. “I
kinda know all that stuff, I was hoping for something on the inside track.”

He chuckled. “Yes, I guess you are. Sometimes I forget that
you know all this stuff already. I think you know as well as I do that I'm
seriously considering taking on Bennett, I would do well to have him on my
team.”

“Yeah, I thought you would.”

“Can you keep a secret from Bennett if I asked you to?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“How is your relationship going with him?”

So he did know. I decided to play it off lightly. “We are
still spending time with each other, but here's no rush.”

“That's good. There is no need to get serious with Bennett
right now.”

“And why is that?”

“I think the best thing for you to do right now is to leave
him be. I don't think it's necessary for you guys to be dating while he's
trying to get on a team. It's very distracting.”

“You have to be joking?”

“No, I'm not, and I don't want you to tell Bennett I said
so. Trust me on this – you need to back off.”

I was pissed off at what my father had to say about the
situation and I certainly didn't like being warned away from Bennett. I wanted
to be with him, and I was being told to basically breakup with him. But there
was no point in arguing with him, so I just told him I understood.