2X The Heat (2X The Pleasure 1)

“Yeah, all the fucking time. Never met a woman like you before.” I admitted. Her eyes glinted as her cheeks flushed, I don’t think she gets complimented often.

“I thought about you too.” She smiled timidly. How can she be so wild when we fuck and then so timid at lunch?

We ate our pasta salads in relative silence, but it was nice sharing a meal with a female other than my sister or mom.

“I should apologize, for accusing you of being engaged.” We had finished up, and she had been regarding me warily for a while.

“It’s okay,” I shrugged, “it’s just funny because I can’t stand the bride. But my best friend loves her, so I tolerate her.”

She giggled softly. I turned serious, speaking of.

“Look, I really need your help. With the wedding. It’s in two weeks so I know it’s short notice. But I’m desperate.” I pleaded. She stared back at me.

“I could never turn down a chance to build my portfolio. I’ll do it.”

“Thank you,” I could let out a breath of relief. I did not know how tense I was about it. “Gabriella is a real handful though. She will probably be the worst bride you ever work with.” I smirked, but her smile did not quite reach her ears.

“I can handle it, but…if I take the job we can’t do whatever we’re doing anymore. I was already so unprofessional this morning, I have to put my career first. So, no more, um…what we’ve done.”

I was disappointed, and in awe at the same time. I barely know her an I respected her. I don’t know if I ever respected Vivian. But Emilia had earned it in seconds. It sucked, but I wouldn’t force her. Not literally, anyway.

“I understand.”

Her smile was tight. I knew she did not want to do it. But she still did. She was strong, determined, even despite this morning—professional. She reminded me of myself. This project wouldn’t take forever. We can hold off until the wedding. At least, I think I could.

~

We went back to the floral shop and Gabriella met us there. She was nice in the beginning. Kindly introducing herself and what not. I hadn’t seen her in a while so I did hug her, I’m not a total asshole.

“You look good, how are you?” I asked her. She was in her scrubs, so obviously busy with work. We went to a private room in the back. Emilia sat across from us, making it feel more like we were in fact engaged.

“Good, my fellowship is rough, but good. What about Vivian, did she finally sign?” my eyes fleeted to Emilia, who looked on as I expected her to. In confusion.

“Yeah, she did. It’s over.” My voice was tight. It still got to me, what she did.

“I’m glad…so, Emilia. I have so many ideas.”

I sat back as Gabriella chattered away. Emilia took her through the catalog, but then took out blank paper instead and sketched stuff out. Gabriella changed everything three times. We were there for hours before she decided on a base design, not even the flowers yet.

I did warn her.

Chapter Twenty: Emilia

I wondered who Vivian was the entire time during the meeting. I assumed a girlfriend, but since Gabrielle said sign, I leaned towards marriage.

Was he married?

Maybe that was the hurt he did not want to talk about. I could not ask him about it. I already said we could not do things anymore. We could be friends. I knew that would never go well. So, I pushed it aside and got to work.

Gabriella was a real…piece of work. She was excited to get married, though it seemed like she didn’t even want to because she changed everything. And then Tristan. He was such a tease. His knee kept brushing over mine, the table was so close his thigh touched mine too, and he made use of the advantage. My whole body was on fire the whole time.

I

should have known he wouldn’t make it easy to resist him. I knew he wouldn’t force me, but his teasing was getting to be something I could not handle. By the time we left, I was flushed and I felt the familiar wetness between my legs.

He walked us out, and Gabriella took off in her flashy car.

“Told you she was a handful.” He smirked. I just shrugged.