The Decent Proposal (Trust In Me) (2 page)

Four

Ana was home from her shift at work by 4:00
Saturday, deliriously happy that her weekend could finally begin. Not only that,
but she had a date for the first time in almost three months. Okay, a blind
date, but it was a date nonetheless. Maybe she was allowing herself to get a
little too worked up over this guy. What did she really think was going to
happen? She stripped out of her work clothes, turned her window air
conditioning unit on high, and snuggled deeply under the covers to rest,
reflecting on her situation.

Ana spent her childhood growing up in foster
homes. She beat the odds against her by staying out of trouble, taking a vow
that she was going to make something of herself and, if nothing else, just be a
normal person in a normal relationship with a normal guy. Unfortunately, all of
the foster homes she had managed to survive left her with a very unclear and
dismal understanding of what a normal relationship looked like.

Despite having survived a rough and
unpredictable childhood, she knew that she wanted to get married someday and
have children of her own, but establishing a career and being independent was
her first priority. However, it was no surprise the sugar daddy fantasy had
crossed her mind more than once. She had no family to fall back on if she got
into a financial bind. But what about her vow to have a fulfilling career so
that she wouldn’t have to depend on a man for anything? Having a sugar daddy
was the complete opposite of the independent life she so desperately craved.

To top things off, her busy schedule left her
with so little extra time, yet simultaneously created this huge void in her
life. It was, ironically enough, because of work and school commitments that
she couldn’t find a man to fill that void. And having an on-campus job made it
that much harder. She worked at the school bookstore with mostly female
co-workers, and the few guys that did work there were not anywhere near her
type. She had always preferred older men, anyway. Ana drifted off to sleep,
thinking about the father figure that had always been missing from her life.

* * * * *

A little before six o’clock, Ana was ready to go
but feeling a little nervous, so she decided to pour a small glass of wine. She
turned on the radio and heard “First Time” by Lifehouse blaring through the
speakers. Singing along to the lyrics, she couldn’t help but think of all the
possibilities that lie ahead. Could this be their song? Just as the music was
ending, she heard a car pull into the driveway. When she looked out the window
to make sure it wasn’t one of the neighbors, what she saw took her breath away—a
beautiful, white stretch limo.

“Holy shit,” Ana muttered under her breath. She
suddenly felt intimidated and definitely out of his league.
Jesus, this is just great. Maybe I should
ask him if he wants to go for a spin in my Pinto before we take off.
Ana
cleared her voice. “Beautiful leather interior, fully reclining seats, fresh
smell of gasoline… envelop yourself in my four cylinder luxury with a smooth,
manual shift that makes any drive seem like an endless vacation—”

Her speech was interrupted by a quick knock
followed by Beth’s sudden entrance.

“Bathroom!” she barked, breezing past Ana. Rich
and his guest followed right behind her, pausing at the doorway.

Ana smiled nervously at the two and said, “We’re
a full-service station.” Her eyes were immediately drawn back to her mystery
date. Ana drew in a deep breath. She was stunned at how gorgeous he was.
Standing about six feet tall, he had a medium build with short, dark hair and
stunning, soulful green eyes—eyes that could easily take hold of her and possess
her if she wasn’t careful.
Oops… too late
.
His hair was dusted with a hint of gray.
Not much, but enough to say
I’ve been
places and done things.

“You look nice, Ana,” Rich said.

Her mystery man smiled. “Yes you do. I’m Rob,
pleasure to meet you.”

“You too. Come on in. Can I get anyone a drink?”

“No thanks. We had some beer at Rich’s,” Rob
replied. “There’s plenty in the limo if you want some.”

“Alright. Let me just grab my purse and we can
take off.” Ana pulled her bag from the chair, and once Beth came out of the
bathroom, they followed the men outside.

“So Rob,” Ana said. “Do you always drive this
thing around, or is your Jaguar in the shop?” Ana immediately regretted the
question. She always acted like a dork around men she felt were too good for
her. Maybe she should just keep her mouth shut the rest of the night.

Rob smiled. “No, it’s the company limo. I’m just
borrowing it. We do these banquets pretty often, and normally I just drive
myself, but I wanted to have a little fun tonight.” Rob opened the door and
everyone crawled inside. There was a hot tub nestled in the back, and she
wondered what kind of company would own a limousine with a hot tub.
Awkward, but potentially useful. I’ll take
it!

On the way to the banquet, they all made small
talk. On several occasions, she noticed Rob steal some glances at her bulging
cleavage, but he put a little too much distance between them in the seat. Giving
no other indication as to whether or not he found her as attractive as she did
him, he remained as mysterious in person as he had been in her mind over the
past few days.

The banquet was nice, filled with great food, free
drinks, and live music. When the band started playing the country song, “When
You Say Nothing at All,” Rob asked Ana if she wanted to dance. She was feeling
very relaxed from the wine and the company of good friends, and falling into
his arms came easily once they hit the dance floor.

“So,” Rob said. “Rich mentioned that you were in
school.”

“Yep, UCLA,” she responded, relieved that at least
he knew how to make conversation. “What about you?” Rob stared blankly at Ana,
and she quickly added, “I mean, where did you go to school?”
Dork patrol, stat!

“UC Berkeley,” Rob replied. “It was hard making
the decision to go. Most of my friends were headed to schools in Arizona, which
is where I’m from. But I really liked their business program.”

“You studied business? That’s my major.” Ana grinned.
At least they had something in common.

“No kidding? Ah, a woman after my own heart,” he
said, smiling.

“Yeah? Well don’t get too excited. I really
wanted to go to art school but my rational side got the better of me. So now I
just spend my down time painting.”

Rob nodded quickly. “Wise choice. But there’s
nothing wrong with following your heart, either. I have a cousin who owns an
art gallery in downtown San Diego. She’s definitely not rich, but she does
quite well, and she gets to be involved with a lot of fundraisers and benefits.
They really do a lot of good for the community there.”

“It’s nice to hear stories about successful
artists. Maybe someday I’ll be able to use my business management skills to do
something similar.” Ana laughed nervously. “So what do you do when you’re not
working?”

“Good question,” Rob grumbled. “I’m still
figuring that out. I just got out of a long-term relationship, so that’s taken
a little time to adjust to. But we used to do a lot of traveling, especially back
to Arizona. I love to hike, and they have some awesome trails in the Camelback
Mountain area.”

“Mm, that sounds nice. I’ve always wanted to
travel,” Ana stated dreamily. “Just never had the chance.”

“Maybe you’ll get that chance someday.”

Ana looked up at Rob and his green eyes blazed
right through her. She felt a stirring in her stomach, a telltale sign that she
was getting aroused. Disappointed when the slow music segued into a loud pop
song, she headed back to their seats while Rob made a beeline for the dessert
tray across the room. At their table, Beth and Rich were engrossed in
conversation with another couple.

“How are things going?” Beth whispered as Ana
sat down. “You two seem to be hitting it off.”

From her lap, Ana gave her two-thumbs up. “I don’t
know if Rich had intentions of setting us up, but I’d really like to see him
again.”

Rob returned to the table and stood next to Ana.
“Cheesecake or chocolate meringue pie?”

“You’re my hero! How did you know chocolate
meringue was my favorite dessert? Are you reading my diary?”

“I hope your diary is filled with more than what
you like to eat.” Rob laughed then quickly introduced Ana to the couple seated
across from them.

“Ana, this is Jack and his wife, Caroline. He
works at our satellite office with Rich.”
           
“Nice
to meet you both. Sorry you have to put up with Rich all day,” Ana joked.

“Well, somebody has to do it. Might as well be a
sharp-minded individual who knows how to keep him in line,” Jack replied.

“Hah! More like I have to put up with him
,”
Rich argued. “Of course when the boss
lady’s around, you won’t even see him. He’s in his office, feverishly cranking
out the latest assignment. It’s quite nice, actually.”

“With all the rumors here lately, we should all
be doing a little extra. Believe me, it’s not just for Stephanie’s benefit,”
Jack added.

Rob began shifting uncomfortably in his seat,
and Rich quickly put an end to the conversation. “Hey, let’s not talk about it.
That’s all it is, a bunch of rumors. Besides, I’m sure the ladies don’t want to
hear us go on about work all night.” Rich stood up, extending a hand to Beth
and pulling her to the dance floor. That was strange. As long as she had known
him, Rich had never showed an interest in dancing. Beth even complained about
it on more than one occasion. This so-called rumor must be a sore spot for him.
And Ana wasn’t about to contribute to the mounting tension by asking what it
was all about.

They spent the remainder of the evening talking
with some of the other guests. By the end of the night, Ana realized how
isolated she had been lately. Although she and Beth always made time for each
other, she hardly ever went out and socialized with other people. She missed it.

When it was time to go, they gathered their
things, said their goodbyes, and made their way to the limo. Once inside,
everyone seemed unusually quiet. She was probably the only one who didn’t want
the night to end.

“Okay lovebirds,” Rob said. “I suppose we’ll
drop you two off first, unless there’s somewhere you want to go?”

Without hesitation, Beth answered. “I, for one,
would like to go to paradise in the hot tub.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Ana said. “Paradise?
Really?”

Beth shrugged. Under entirely different
circumstances, Ana really wouldn’t have cared. But the thought of getting
undressed in front of the three of them made her want to crawl under a rock. She
was no Mother Theresa, but group nudity? Not her thing. Plus, she was anxious
to get Rob alone and see where things went.

“Go for it,” Rob replied. “Someone might as well
enjoy it. I doubt that thing ever gets used.” Ana noticed that Rob didn’t
extend the same offer to her. Why was that? Did he not want to see her strip
down to her birthday suit? Or was he sparing her the embarrassment of it all?
She had no way of knowing, and she wasn’t going to ask what his policy was on
first-date-naked-hot-tub-usage.

Beth peeled off her clothes, stopping at her
underwear, and Ana was grateful for that. She looked away as Beth stepped into
the tub and noticed that Rob was watching Beth. Then again, what man wouldn’t?
With a trim waistline, a firm but large, round ass, and perky, little breasts,
Beth was a pretty hot item. It didn’t take long for Rich to join his girlfriend,
and before Ana could say the words ‘indecent exposure,’ the two of them were
lip-locked.

As if snapping out of a trance, Rob cocked his
head toward Ana. “You know, I think I’ll have the driver stop somewhere, and we
can get out and walk around.”

Ana hadn’t realized she had been holding her
breath. “That’s a great idea,” she exhaled.

The nearest stop was Castaic Lake where Ana and
Rob got out and admired the view from a distance. The moon cast a soft glow on
the water as it rippled like a dancing sheet of glass. Leaning on the hood of
the limo, she tried to relax a bit. Feeling a little concerned at Rob’s silence,
she wasn’t entirely sure he was aware of her presence. Was he bored? Tired?
Both? Maybe she could spark his interest in something familiar.

“So, where do you go to hike around here?”

“I usually go to Solstice Canyon, but I like the
Griffith Park Trails, too. Have you been up there?” Rob asked.

“Yeah, a couple of years ago, I had a date that
took me up to Bronson Cave. I think we walked around some other areas, too. It
was nice.”

“Bronson Cave is cool, but there are so many
other great trails in the area. We should go sometime. And if you’re feeling
adventurous, I could take you off the beaten path. It’s something I like to do.
Not recommended unless you’re a skilled hiker, though.” Rob smiled as he talked
of going off-trail. The confidence with which he spoke excited Ana, and she
thought she would feel safe with him anywhere.