Dream Lover (12 page)

It was clear she'd been crying and that was his undoing. “Liz, I know you were there and what you thought you heard. You've got it all wrong.”

“Leave me alone John.”

“No, you need to hear me.”

“I heard you loud and clear at your office. You telling that woman how you had waited for her to come back to you! Well now you've got her so go!”

“You need to come with me.”

“No, I don't want to talk to you right now. The minute that snake of a woman came crawling back she stuck her fangs in you and you were a goner.” She laughed a frightful hysterical laugh. “I was a fool! I was a fool to think this could work!”

“No!” he shouted. She jumped at the sound of his voice.

“If you'd just stayed and listened a little longer, you would have heard me tell her that I was with you now.”

Liz stared at him speechless. He held out his hand. “I need to show you something Elizabeth.” She was reluctant, but she took his hand. He pulled her in the direction of his apartment. As they rode the elevator, she turned to look at him. “John,” she whispered.

“Don't say anything yet, Peaches.” He gave her a sensual smile. “You can apologize to me later.” How could she, when she was feeling so much turmoil, be feeling aroused by him merely smiling at her?

They entered his apartment and he took her to one of the guest rooms. He didn't really use the room, it was more for storage. He opened the door and flicked on the light. Liz gasped.

Taking a step back she felt herself hit his solid chest.

“It's...it's my painting from the charity ball auction!”

He nodded, kissing her on the top of her head and wrapping an arm around her waist.

She turned around and glared at him. “You spent
five thousand
dollars on this painting? Why? Was it because you knew how important it was for my shot at my own art show? I could have done it without your help John!”

She was getting angry again.

He turned her back around to face the picture.

“Calm down. Look at that picture, Lizzie. Do you see that?”

“Of course I see it! It's a couple, John.
I
painted it.”

“No you need to look again. That is not just any couple.”

She walked forward and looked at the painting again.

“I knew the minute I saw this picture, I could not let anyone else have a portrait of you and me hanging on their walls.”

She turned her head to the side to look at the painting as if someone else painted it. Her eyes grew wide with realization. It wasn't exact, but the characteristics were very similar to her and John.

She shut her eyes tightly trying to recall when she painted the picture. It was before the ball. How did she not realize before? The night of their fight, after he'd almost kissed her the very first time. “I dreamed about us,” she whispered as she remembered. Her dream was so vivid, so erotic, that she woke up drenched in sweat. Afraid to go back to sleep, she got up, went to her studio and began to work on the painting for the ball. She didn't even
realize she'd subconsciously painted themselves together.

He smiled at her. “I've dreamed about you for years Liz.”

She turned to look at him. “What are you talking about?”

“I use to have these dreams of a woman standing in a field of black orchids. I could never see the woman's face and I thought the woman was Susan. I would chase after her, calling out to her, but she would never answer my calls. Then she would just stop and stand there. But I could never get close to her.

“It bothered me that I would have these dreams of her when I knew I was over her. Then the morning after the ball it hit me. The black orchids. That is the scent you wear. I tried searching in my mind when I started having the dreams and I realized, they started right after you and I met.”

By now, tears were flowing down her cheeks. “You have been haunting my dreams for years, calling out to me trying to get me to realize that you were the one for me.”

He took a step towards her and leaned down to kiss her tears away. Then he pulled her close. “I must admit, since I came to the full realization that it was you in the dreams, they've changed quite a bit.”

“How so?” she managed to ask.

“Well in the dreams now, we make love in that field of black orchids.”

Her eyes grew wide and she tried to take a step back, but he gently grabbed her by the waist. “You know you have nothing to worry about, Peaches,” he whispered into her ear. “When we finally do make love for real, it will be momentous.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she exhaled, she looked up at him. “I'm so sorry, Johnny,” she said, her voice trembling.

“I shouldn't have given you any reason to doubt me.”

She shook her head. “No, I think I was still kind of scared, maybe even looking for another way out of whatever is happening.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “Let's just forget it ever happened.”

She laid her head on his chest as he gathered her in an embrace. “It's forgotten.”

Suddenly she leaned back and looked up at him. “Wait, you never left my side the night of the ball. How did you buy the painting?”

He gave her a cryptic smile before revealing himself. “Don't you remember Marnee was there?”

Marnee had come to the ball as the date of some lawyer. They'd only spoken briefly.

“While you were dancing with Mr. Too Perfect, I sent Marnee a text telling her to purchase the painting and take it the restaurant until I could pick it up and take it home. There was quite a bidding war. Apparently someone else wanted the picture pretty badly, but not as bad as I did. I told Marnee to keep bidding until I won. Needless to say she got a hefty bonus on her following check.”

For the first time since she'd seen Randi earlier that day, she smiled.

He leaned down and kissed her again, then looked at his watch.

“Well baby, I'd better walk you home so you can start getting ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“Don't think you're about to get out of our date because of some misunderstanding that has since been forgotten.”

She laughed at him. She felt like a complete idiot for assuming the worst of him, when he'd never, in the five years they'd know each other, given her cause to before. “I should have just stayed a minute longer.”

“Hey,” he said giving her a serious look. “It's forgotten remember?”

She nodded, “Right, forgotten.”

“Good, let's get you home.”

Liz could not keep still. She keep rearranging books, flicking invisible lint. She was nervous. After John returned her to her apartment, earlier he suggested she take a nap. She fell right to sleep after being emotionally spent.

Then she woke up in a panic.
What am I going to wear?
she thought. She'd hopped up and went through her closet.

Not knowing where they were going or what they were doing, she didn't want to over,
or under dress. She'd settled on a black sweater dress with a plunging cowl neckline that stopped right above her knees and paired them with four-inch ankle boots.

Now she was waiting. She sat back down on the couch wringing her hands the way she often did when she was nervous. She didn't date often and even though this was someone she'd known for years, she felt like they'd only met for the first time days ago.

She needed to know what to do.

She picked up her cell phone and dialed her sister's number. “Hey Lizzie!” She could feel her sister's warm smile through the phone.

“I need help.”

“What is it?” Leigh asked, her voice full of concern.

“I have a date.”

“Oh is that all?”

“You know I don't regularly date. I'm in a panic. I don't know what to do or say.”

“Lizzie, you're amazing. Just relax, be yourself and let things flow. Stop pacing.”

Her sister knew her too well. The moment she'd answered the phone, Liz was up moving around. She stopped.

“Now close your eyes.” Liz did what her sister told her.

“And take a deep breath.” Liz inhaled until it felt like all of the air was gone from her lungs.

“Slowly, exhale.” Leigh listened as the phone filled with the sound of Liz's breath through the phone.

“How do you feel now?”             

“Better.”

“Good. Now, tell me quickly about the guy before he shows up.”

She hesitated for a moment. That was all the time Leigh needed to zone in.
             

“What's his name?”

“It's John.”

“Well, it's about time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on Lizzie, every one has been waiting for you two to get together. Mama's gonna be thrilled.”

Liz was speechless, how did
everyone
know that this was inevitable. Everyone, except for her.

“Look Lizzie,” Leigh continued when she said nothing, “This is John we're talking about. He adores you. You two already act like an old married couple. Just do what you've always done, you'll be fine.”
             

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

“I think that's him, I'll call you later,” she whispered on the phone.

“I want details! Love you!”

“Love you too.”

She stood, smoothed her dress and went to the door. Her breath caught when she opened the door to see the magnificent man standing in front of her. He'd worn dress slacks with a white button down collared shirt.

He was leaning against the door panel, with his hand behind his back and a lazy grin on his face.

“Good evening, Ms. Wheeler.”

She blinked, then smiled. “Mr. Parker.”

He took his time openly admiring her. She was absolutely mouthwatering. After his eyes had gotten their fill, he pushed off the door panel with his shoulder and revealed a bouquet of flowers.

“These are for you.”

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He stared back at her. “What?”

She chuckled. “What's with the flowers?”

He looked annoyed at her. “It's a date isn't it? I thought I'd bring you something nice.”

She took the flowers and rose up to kiss him on the cheek. “They're beautiful.” She looked down at them, then back up at him. “Going all out are you?”

“Of course I am woman. I'm trying to properly court you.”

“Court me!” she croaked out. “So we're courting now? John that's so old fashioned.”

“Well, I'm an old fashioned kind of guy. Now hurry up woman before we miss our reservation.”

She headed for the kitchen to grab a vase. “Reservations?”

“Of course. I do eat at other restaurants you know.”

“I know. I just expected, with you going all out and such, that you'd show off and shut your restaurant down or something and cook for me.”

“That's nothing new Peaches, we've been doing that for years.”

“True,” she agreed, putting the flowers in the vase after filling it with water. She put them in the center of the bar and stepped back smiling. She turned to John and walked into his arms. “They really are beautiful flowers.”

He dipped his head to kiss her quickly. “I knew you'd love them.”

He gave her a gentle pat on the bottom, then cupped her elbow. “Come on we've got a date to start.”

The Paradise Lounge was an underground jazz club that paid homage to the clubs of the Harlem Renaissance era. The owners had done an outstanding job recreating the look and feel of the jazz clubs of the past, even down to the alleyway entrance. The neon sign flashed above the stairs that led down to the door that took you back into time.

The crisply pressed linen table clothes covered tables, topped with small intimate lamps, surrounded the wooden checkered dance floor, where patrons could groove to the full live band on the massive stage.

John sat back and watched Liz, whose eyes were closed, sway to the music. He was grateful that everything had worked out between the two of them and his plans were back on track.

“Are you guys ready to order?”

Liz stopped swaying and opened her eyes. She smiled up at the waitress. “Can we have another minute?”

The waitress nodded returning the smile. “Take your time.”

Liz picked up her menu and perused the selection. She stopped searching when she glanced over her menu and noticed that John hadn't moved. He just kept staring at her.

“What?” she asked.

He shook his head slowly. “Nothing. You're just stunning.”

Liz looked down at her menu to hide her burning cheeks.

“I'm serious Lizzie.”

She glanced over her menu again and gave him a sensual grin. “You are pretty stunning yourself, Mr. Parker.”

He nodded his head gracefully. “Why thank you Ms. Wheeler.”