Private Emotions – Promises (The Private Emotions Trilogy) (6 page)

The following day at work was the same as the day before but at least I would be meeting Ronnie later for our rescheduled Mexican meal and action film date. We decided to meet up tonight instead of our agreed weekend because other commitments had gotten in the way. We had a great time as we usually did when we got together. The meal was full of flavor and the movie was a blast. We chatted about our childhood, our families, our friends, and of course the men who tugged at our heart strings. It was great to have my best friend with me, my wonderful friend, Ronnie.

The next day at work was a slow one as I was ahead of schedule. One of the shop’s clients canceled an order so I could take my time and enjoy my coffee break. My phone was blinking, telling me that there were two voice messages waiting for me. I hadn’t seen Ethan in a week but we were talking on the phone in a more steady way since the night we shared our professional dreams with each other. It was one more thing that we could talk about and it seemed that we grew even closer because of it.

The first was from Ronnie who wanted to say how much she enjoyed our girly time together last night. It was great to forget about everything and have a nice meal then watch an action flick that had us both screaming at the screen.

The second message was from Ethan and he said, “Emily, you won’t believe who is coming to visit...Sophie. I think that I should get her something special for being a good friend and confidant. I was hoping that you could lend me your womanly expertise to find the perfect gift.” I knew that he didn’t need me to find what would make Sophie happy but I also knew that he wouldn’t have asked me if he didn’t want me to come along.

“Sure, I can give you a few hours this afternoon, so where should I meet you?”

“I’ll just swing by your work and pick you up, if that’s okay with you?” This was the first time that he ever asked me to do something without automatically thinking that I would jump at the chance to spend time with him.

“Sure, you could do that, or I could just meet you at the mall at 2:00 PM.” Taking back the control in my life was what I needed to do for him to see that he was not totally in control of the decisions in my life.

“Um, that should be okay, I’ll see you at 2:00 PM at the front entrance.” It was going to be fun to do some window-shopping and then find something that would be fitting for a lady like Sophie. It would be difficult because Sophie already had it all.

It was 2:15 PM when I drove in and found him looking at his watch. It was nice to know that he was a little perturbed at me for being fashionably late.

“Hey, I was beginning to think that you’d never get here.”

I took his arm in mine and said, “Stop worrying, I’m here and I’m ready to burn a hole in your credit card.” He grinned as we walked arm in arm into the mall. We made our way from shop to shop giving the eye to various items, but nothing screamed Sophie. We were standing outside a jewelry store when something caught his eyes. I followed the direction of where he was looking. He had found it. It was the perfect gift for someone who had everything.

We went inside and he said to the clerk behind the counter, “Excuse me, but I would like to take a closer look at that one right there, please.”

“You have great taste, sir, and I believe the lady will love it, or am I mistaken, miss?”

“Oh, it’s not for me, it’s for a lady friend of ours that will be visiting.”

“Oh, pardon me, I just thought that you two made a cute couple but tell me more about your friend.”

Ethan looked from him to me and said, “Well, I was hoping that we could adjust that solitaire diamond for a navel ring that Sophie wears all the time.”

The clerk said, “I can do that. I will bring it back to you in just a few minutes.” We watched as he retrieved the diamond and went into the back room where he was going to making the necessary adjustments.

“Ethan, I think that is the perfect gift for Sophie but you really didn’t need my assistance to pick it out so I have to ask myself, just what am I doing here?” He smiled at me and I was immediately drawn into his eyes. Damn, he knew that I found it hard to deny him anything. He knew how to use his twinkly-sparkly combination when the situation demanded it. Damn.

The clerk returned and showed us the diamond. Ethan was pleased beyond words, so much so that he paid the full price along with a little extra something for prompt and courteous service. Money wasn’t an issue for Ethan and he was showing his wealth in the most generous way possible.

“You’re right, Emily. I didn’t need you for this purchase but I wanted you here and now that you are here, I think a little shopping spree is in order.” He took my hand in his as he dragged me willingly from shop to shop, throwing cash at each item that I showed any interest in. A mountain of packages were tied up and sent back to my place. I forgot how many dresses, coats and shoes that we went through and I felt a little like Pretty Woman from that movie.

“Come with me, Emily. I think you will get a thrill out of the next place we go to, I know I will.” That mischievous smile was telling me that I should just go home now but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of scaring me off, so I grinned and bared it a little while longer. We walked past a few more shops until we were standing outside his place of choice.

I looked at him with an astonished expression on my face, “You could not be serious, Ethan.”

“What’s wrong with this shop?” He was grinning from ear to ear, waiting to see what my next reaction would be. I recognized that he was throwing out a challenge and I was not about to let him have one over me.

We were standing at the entrance of a sex shop that had all sorts of products for the pleasures of the flesh. The massive window display was tastefully decorated but was decorated to draw the customer in. “See, I told you that you’d be beside yourself but maybe it’s too much for a delicate flower like you. If you are too afraid to come in and browse I will completely support your feelings.”

He had thrown down the gauntlet and now it was up to me to take up the sword and show him that he didn’t know who he was dealing with. The fact that these toys shocked and awed me never showed on my face. I steeled myself and entered into the premises with my head held high.

I felt my cheeks begin to flush as I saw all the naughty attire and toys on display. I tried desperately to bring myself back under control so that Ethan wouldn’t see how unnerved and out of place I felt.

He whispered in my ear, “I guess this really isn’t a place that you would frequent on your own and I have to admit that I’m getting a kick seeing how uncomfortable you seem.” He walked ahead of me and began to finger the merchandise and looked back at me to see my reaction. Seeing that he was getting so much joy out of my discomfort, I wanted to show him that I could get past it, so I followed along just to get one up on him. “Humm, looks like someone has found a way to relax and actually enjoy her surroundings.”

He found a couple of toys and purposefully waved them in front of my face, probably thinking that he could get under my skin. Not taking the bait, I began to peruse the items on my own and even managed to steel myself enough to actually pick up a couple of unique and eye-popping items. I wasn’t sure what one of them was for but that didn’t matter. I would read the instructions later. I walked in a straight line past him and went up to the cash register to pay for my purchases before I had a chance to even think about it.

The clerk said under her breath, “Good for you and I hope you enjoy them in spite of that man with you. I can see that he is just playing mind games with you and the fact that you were able to turn the tables on him shows just how much nerve you really have.” It was nice to know that someone else was on my side, and I smiled at her to let her know that I appreciated her comments. Ethan came over and lay down a couple of items that almost took my breath away. One was a dildo that had to be at least twelve inches long and thicker than a beer can. There was no way that I could possibly accommodate that thing into my body and I doubted that any woman could accomplish such a feat.

I noticed that there were two ends to the object and on both sides there was a large bulbous head that looked like a real man’s mushroom tip. Looking at it, I just couldn’t see the purpose of it or how it would work in the bedroom but I wasn’t going to let on that he had me confused. The other one was a long string of balls that were connected together for some sort of purpose that was beyond me.

We left there and I proudly I carried my items in a brown paper bag. Although I knew that Ethan was curious to find out what I had purchased, I was not about to make it that easy for him. This was a new experience for me and even though I knew that Ronnie had been making regular trips to places like this, I had never bought something from this kind of shop before.

“I do love the items you got, Emily, and maybe you’d be so kind as to try them out for me.” So, he did notice what I had purchased after all. Damn, he doesn’t miss a trick, does he? I didn’t know quite what to say so I just sheepishly smiled at him. I was not about to give him any real answer to his question. Ethan was a man of the world and he was taking his expertise and laying it at my feet, even though I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with this knowledge.

“Sophie will love the diamond for her navel ring but I can’t say what her reaction will be to the other items that you bought at the sex shop.”

“I know her too well and those items, as you put it, will make her grin from ear to ear. Now that we have finished shopping, I think it will be best that we part company until this evening. I’ll see you in a couple of hours for dinner with Sophie.” As he hugged me, I felt the heat in his pants press against my body and it made me feel like I could easily lose control with him right there and then. I knew he felt the same because I could feel his penis starting to awaken.

I pulled away from him, took one last look at what was reaching for me, turned on my heels and went the other way. There was no doubt that he was burning a hole with his eyes into the back of me and it made me smile to know that I was making it difficult for him to walk without being noticed. I looked back at him one last time and I saw that he had placed his purchases in front of his midsection to mask the effect that I just had on him. I giggled under my breath as I went out of the mall and to my car.

I had some time to play with as there were still a couple of hours left before dinner but I wanted to go home immediately so that I could review what I had purchased in the sex shop. I got in, made myself a cup of coffee and sat down with my ‘toys’. I laid them out on the table before me but wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with them. Dinner for Sophie was going to be at my place this time and Ethan was going to pick up the necessary supplies from the grocery store to put on a dinner that was worthy of the graceful Sophie.

My closet was overflowing with the items that Ethan had bought for me early in the day. I saw the perfect outfit in one of the boxes that would surely make both of them take a double take. It was a purple number with crisscross straps along the back and tiny slits in the material at the front. Yes, this would be the dress of choice for the evening. My mirror told me everything that I needed to know and I grabbed a pair of shoes that had four inch spikes on them to finish the ensemble. My reflection showed a very sexy woman who had curves in all the right places. My ass couldn’t look any better, even if I wanted it to.

As I walked back into the living room, there was a knock on my door and when I opened it, I found both Ethan and Sophie standing there talking like old friends. Their eyes turned towards me and they couldn’t turn away...mission accomplished. They walked in and still kept looking at me. Sophie spoke first, “Wow. You look amazing, Emily.”

“As do you, my dear.” Sophie wore a black dress that left little to the imagination. Only Sophie could pull off a dress like that and still look sophisticated. As usual, Ethan looked flawless. His all-black ensemble made him look like quite the mystery. Just watching him go across the room was making me a little wet between the knees and I had to turn away and think random thoughts.

Ethan whispered in my ear as he walked past, “Emily, you are so hot tonight that I could eat you up with a spoon.” I smiled at his comment. Ethan was definitely undressing me with his eyes and then I turned to see Sophie smiling radiantly at me.

Sophie said, “You are full of surprises and I would say you got the desired reaction that you were looking for.” The food that Ethan brought with him was already prepared and just needed to be heated up. After I added some of my own spices and a finely chopped onion to go with the roast, we were ready to sit down and enjoy a fine feast.

“I just want to tell you how much I appreciate the lengths that you have both gone through to make this a very special evening. There is something I want to tell you both. I don’t want you to take it as our friendship ending, only that there is going to be a new dynamic added to the mix. I’ve recently found the woman of my dreams and we are to be married next month, which means that I will need a matron of honor and a best man. If you guys are not doing anything on the date in question, it would be my pleasure to have you both stand by my side.”