Into The Fire - E. L. Todd Page 0,23
it’s worth, he did seem sorry.”
I was particularly sensitive when it came to this subject. I wasn’t a call girl or a prostitute. I was an actress more than anything else. I told him how ashamed I was for stripping, so he knew perfectly well this was difficult for me to deal with.
Instead of dwelling on it, I decided to go through my paperwork and wait around for any phone calls I might receive. I had a few clients to juggle and I never knew when they might need me.
***
“Alessandra!” Ash burst through the door, sweaty and out of breath. His eyes landed on Shelly and he immediately marched to her with a mission in his eyes. “Where is she? I need to speak to her.”
“Uh, right here.” I was at the desk right next to her. I guess he was too upset to really look around.
“Good.” He dashed to me and forgot about Shelly altogether. “I’m sorry about what I said. It was a joke. I swear.”
I was still too irritated to forgive him.
“I thought you knew I was joking around. I’m sorry I took it too far.” Sincerity shined in his eyes, and his hands formed into fists like he wanted to punch himself in the chest. “I apologize.” He stared at me with hope written all over his face. “I apologized,” he repeated.
“And that automatically means I should forgive you?” I asked incredulously.
“Well, I am sorry. So yes, you should forgive me. Isn’t that how this works?” He pointed at me then himself with a confused look on his face. “I never apologize for anything unless I really mean it. You should know that about me.”
“Awe…” Shelly sighed as she watched us.
I turned to her. “Do you mind?”
“Sorry.” She grabbed her purse and walked out of the office.
“I take it back, okay?” Ash pressed forward just the way he did when he insisted on walking me home.
It was clear his comment wasn’t malicious so I dropped the attitude. “I forgive you.”
His shoulders visibly relaxed. “Thank you. I have a problem when it comes to stuff like this. I say stupid shit and it gets me in trouble. By the time I realize what I’ve done, it’s too late.”
“Just watch it next time.”
“I will.” He stood in front of my desk and moved his hands to his pockets. Now that I accepted his apology, he didn’t know what else to say. He even seemed awkward. He wore jeans with a hole near the pocket and a t-shirt, like always. “So…can I still come over for dinner?”
“Is that all you care about?” I asked. “The free food?”
“Actually, I care more about the beautiful woman cooking it—not wearing lingerie.”
He was such a smooth talker. I tried not to smile but it was hopeless. “Where did you come from?”
“I was born in Connecticut.”
I rolled my eyes. “No, I meant ten minutes ago. Were you at home?”
“No. I was at work.”
“You just left work at the drop of a hat?”
“It’s pretty laid back there. My client canceled their appointment so I wasn’t skipping out on anything.”
“Well, you didn’t need to stop by.”
“I would have called but you told me not to.”
“I was just mad.”
He shifted his weight. “You want me to bring anything?”
“Just yourself.”
“Cool,” he said. “No flowers or something?”
“Why would you bring flowers?”
He shrugged. “Isn’t that a custom?”
“When you’re going on a date.”
“Oh, okay.” He snapped his fingers. “Gotcha. I guess I’ll see you then.”
“Yeah.”
He headed to the door. “Since I know where you live, can I just have your number? I feel ridiculous calling you at the office all the time.”
“We’ll see…”
He rolled his eyes. “I’ll be there at seven unless specified otherwise.”
***
There was a knock on the door at seven sharp.
I was finishing everything in the kitchen so I called out. “It’s open.”
Ash walked inside, an arrangement of flowers in his hand. “Dude, I could have been a serial killer and you just let me walk inside? You won’t let me walk you home but you’re chill over this?”
“I knew you were coming.” I turned off the oven.
“What does that matter? I still could have been a weirdo.” He walked around the kitchen table and approached me, the sunflowers in hand. “I got you these.”
I eyed them in his hand and felt my stomach tie up in knots. I’d been given flowers before but it didn’t mean as much. “What are these for?”
“Well, two reasons…” He held up one finger. “I was a dick to you earlier today so