Unspoken Pleasure

Scottie said, "No Uber needed. I'm parked over there." We walked together, silently and awkwardly, not having seen each other since that fateful lunch at La Tour. When we reached his car, as is Scottie, he opened the passenger door for me. This time however his eyes didn't linger on my legs.

As we drove I asked, "How is school going?" He replied, "School is school. I added some more courses so that I could graduate early. Didn't want to have any free time so I just led a vanilla life."

I said, "Oh wow Scottie congratulations. What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know Andrea. I have a job offer from the firm that I interviewed with last summer in NYC or I could go to work for dad. But enough about me Andrea. What have you been up to?"

I cringed. What do I say? Back to vanilla. I replied, "Well tonight was a good example of what I've been up to. I'm back to Vanilla and assholes like George but I'm okay as Ginny and I have mended fences and become closer." Scottie said, "I'm glad to hear about you and Ginny. That's what's most important. Sorry about the rest. Here you go Andrea. You are home."

I asked, "Would you like to come in and catch up some more?" Yikes Andrea! Seriously!

Scottie said, "I don't think that's a good idea Andrea. It was good to see you. Merry Christmas."

I opened my own door and walked into my house to continue my vanilla existence. Merry Fucking Christmas Andrea! I can't believe I had the nerve to ask him to come inside after the hurt I put him through! Oh well as the old saying goes, you made your bed and now you lie in it.

Christmas came and went without much fanfare. I can tell that Ginny is worried about my state of mind, as is of course my dear friend Emma. In the spirit of open and honest communication with my daughter, I did tell Ginny about the incident outside The Clubhouse restaurant. I also mentioned how Scottie by pure happenstance came to the rescue.

Prior to Christmas we had made reservations at the club for New Year's Eve. It was now December 30th and I was regretting making that commitment. Ginny made it sound like a fun evening but my mind was elsewhere. I was dreading tomorrow especially since I had been set up with another date.

I'm sounding like a broken record, I know! Frank is a nice man. He is a little older than me, try 15 years older, and like me recently divorced. He is a nice man but again my heart felt empty.

As I was coming back from the health club I drove by Scottie's house and saw Ginny and Scottie talking on the sidewalk. I didn't stop and made no mention of it later that evening. New Years Eve came and I felt really sad. How had I made such a mess of my life in a little over six months. The sad part is, I don't even know what to do about it.

I told myself that I needed to put a brave front for Ginny. She has been through so much these last six months. I saw she was excited about getting dressed up and having fun at the club so I told myself to suck it up your daughter needs you. I admonished myself to make sure I had fun tonight as I knew Ginny would be worried about me.

As I got ready for our night at the club, Ginny walked in and gave me a hug. She said, "Mom this is going to be so much fun. I'm really excited. Aren't you?" I looked up and said, "Oh honey tonight is going to be so much fun. I can't wait." Ginny looked at me with as the song says "Suspicious Eyes" and said, "Mom, you need to have some fun tonight. Let yourself go. Okay? Promise me?"

I glanced back and said, "If you don't let me get ready we aren't going to have any fun. Go. I'll be down shortly and honey, I love you. Happy New Years baby."

Ginny smiled and gave me a hug and said, "Hurry up mom I'm ready to go."

I laughed as she went downstairs. I finished with my makeup and looked at myself in the mirror. Not bad I thought. I had on a nice little black dress. Conservative and classy. It showed some cleavage and stopped maybe 2 to 3 inches above my knees. I had let my hair grow out so that it was now shoulder length. After all these years I thought I still looked good.

When we got to the club, Frank was already there waiting for us. He led us to our table which consisted of Becky and her parents, me, Ginny and Frank. How cozy I thought. Our waiter came over and we ordered our drinks. Dinner was preordered as it was a large group. It consisted of Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, followed by an Arugula Peach salad, and the main entree. I had ordered Sea Bass but others had their choice of Filet Mignon, Rack of Lamb, or a Vegan Lasagna. The dinner was great and soon the band started to play. Frank of course was at the bar with his cronies so I danced a couple of songs with Becky and Ginny. Before long I found myself sitting alone at our table. I saw Ginny dancing with a handsome boy, obviously enjoying herself. I told myself again that I needed to make sure Ginny wasn't worried about me having fun.

Just as I got done admonishing myself I found Ginny standing over me. She said, "Mom why are you sitting here by yourself? It's 11:30. You should be out on the dance floor. Come dance with us! Please."

I smiled and said, "Virginia Elizabeth Walker! I'm fine go have fun. Don't worry about me."

She said, "Okay mom but will you please be on the dance floor with us when the clock strikes midnight!?

I nodded yes and she said, "Promise?"

I nodded my head yes and said, "Go on and enjoy yourself. I'll be up there shortly."

I took a sip of my wine and looked back at this past year. I thought I could never have imagined how this year turned out. Such a wild roller coaster ride of emotions. Some good, some very bad. I took one last gulp from my wine glass when my phone pinged.

I looked at it and it read, "Hello Gorgeous! Whatcha doing?"

Oh my. My heart started racing. It was Scottie. I took a deep breath and texted, "At the club celebrating the New Year. You?"

My phone quickly pinged, "Hard to be celebrating anything when you are sitting by yourself at an empty table!"

My breathing started to get ragged as my head snapped around looking to see where he was at. Oh Andrea you can't do this I said to myself. But just then my phone pinged again, "You really are so vanilla!" I laughed and felt a warmth spread through me that had been missing for so long!

I got up and started to search for him. As I neared the lobby my phone pinged, "Oh Andie I've missed you so much baby."

My legs weakened and my heart raced. Where is he? I kept looking for him and couldn't find him when suddenly I felt two arms engulf me, lips on my neck, I heard, "Oh Andie I've longed so much for this moment."

My body, my heart, and my mind exploded with a torrent of happiness. I said, "Oh Scottie I'm so sorry. I've missed you so much."noveldrama

He spun me around and his lips found mine. I thrust my tongue into his mouth as I melded my body into his. My god what was I doing? I panicked and pulled away. I said, "Scottie we can't do this. I promised."

It was a feeble attempt to deny my true feelings. Scottie cupped my face and said, "Andie, why do you think I'm here tonight?"

I shook my head not knowing why as he said, "Look over there."pointing to the corner of the room where my daughter, Ginny, was watching with a big smile.

Scottie continued, "Andie, this was all Ginny's idea. Baby she made this happen for us."

I looked at Scottie, then Ginny, then back at Scottie. He just shook his head yes as he continued to tenderly cup my face.

I screamed, "Oh yes. Really?"