Page 21 of First Impressions
Why would he insinuate that I misjudge people?He was one to talk about being judge-y, number one. Number two, he was an open book when it came to how he treated others. She was pretty sure she thought of him just like everyone else did, and that it was what he wanted everyone to think. He couldn’t act so aloof and disengaged and NOT expect everyone to consider him proud and full of himself; he was so prejudiced against everyone he met that it was pretty much impossible not to judge him for it.
What could he possibly have meant?Maybe she had misjudged his attraction. Considering how his mouth had ravished hers, how he implied he wanted to spank and then fuck her, how his hands had explored her ass and breasts; she didn’t feel it was too much of a stretch to assume that he was attracted to her. But maybe that’s just how he reacted sexually to women, not just her, and that she had misread too much into the encounter.
The fact is she didn’t know very much for certain. What she did know was that he clearly had no emotional attachment to her and was not shy about letting her know it. Beth decided that maybe option one was a better idea. It would be hard for the next few weeks until the transition of the firm was complete, but really, after the announcement at the Charity Ball, he would basically be out of her life and she could forget these few weeks of her lapse in judgment. She knew this was the way it had to be; for some reason, when it came to Darcy, she was completely consumed by him and she didn’t know how she would handle another rejection. It was time to put Mr. Intolerable out of her mind for good and get back to focusing on herself.
With that concluding thought, she ran the last few blocks past Bryant Park to Saks, her mind blissfully blank. She made it a few minutes before noon, just enough time to catch her breath before her mom and sisters arrived. She was surprisingly grateful that her mom and younger sisters were the first to show up because, for what might be the first time, she didn’t feel like talking to Jane about what she was going through.
Once the whole party was assembled, they walked into Saks with their mission in mind. Beth was not a big shopper, especially in the stores; she preferred to just order things online to make her life easier. She quietly trailed along, trying to ignore Jane’s concerned and inquisitive stares by pretending to be interested in whatever purse or scarf or jewelry that Lydia tried to show her.
As they got sidetracked in the jewelry section of the store, two young men approached Lydia and began to chat with her. It was clear that she knew at least one of them, as she hugged him and then shook the hand of the better-looking gentleman.
“Beth, do you know who that is?” her mother asked.
“No, probably just someone from school.” She watched as her mother intently stared at the pair, critiquing them from head to toe. Before she could ask more questions that Beth didn’t know the answer to, Lydia turned and motioned for the gentlemen to follow her.
“Mom, this is Ben Cole, we are in marketing class together, and his friend George Wickham.”
Ben, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, was cute but not cute enough to interest Lydia, which was clear as she promptly forgot about him and only had eyes for George. George Wickham, on the other hand, was very good looking, with an alluring smile and charming eyes; he had wavy, blond hair and was stylishly dressed in shorts and a colorful button-down t-shirt.
“A pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” said George as he extended his hand with a warm smile.
“Very nice to meet you boys.” She shook both their hands and began her interrogation. “So, are you a student at NYU as well, George?”
“No, ma’am,” he chuckled. “I’m flattered but I graduated from Boston University almost ten years ago and I’ve been in Europe for the last five years. I’m in town about to start a new job and Benny let me stay with him while I get on my feet.”
“Oh, well, we actually are helping a close friend from Boston acclimate to the city as well,” Mrs. Bennet said with pride and a quick glance to Jane.
“Oh yes!” exclaimed Lydia, “Do you know Charles Bingley?”
“Ahh, Charles. I actually do. He was a little older than I am but we went to the same high school for a while – very successful lawyer now I hear.”
“Oh yes,very. And what luck that he and my Jane have just recently started dating,” Irene exclaimed excitedly. She always felt obligated to share any sort of good news with everyone that she met, especially when it connected them to very rich and very important people. Beth tried to contain her eye roll as Jane lost the battle with the blush that was slowing staining her cheeks. “Now if only his friend Mr. Darcy had been more charming, we might have seen love blossom in two couples.”
Sometimes, Beth just wanted to hit her head against the wall.
At that last statement, George seemed to become more interested in their family, His eyes lighting up inquisitively. “You don’t say? That’s actually who I’m in town to see; what a coincidence. I’m taking over a management position at the NY branch of Fitz Corp.”
“Mom, can we move on? I want to look at the dresses,” Kitty whined, clearly bored by the conversation and not caring that she was interrupting.
“Would you like to keep us company while we shop?” Lydia asked, beaming up at George.
“I think Ben was about to leave to go to work, but I would love to,” he responded, looking at Lydia and the rest of the group eagerly.
Everyone said their goodbyes to Ben and headed up the escalator to the women’s dress department. Beth was intrigued by George Wickham. He had a warm and inviting personality and he looked like an Abercrombie & Fitch model, but there was just something a little off about him. It could have been the fact that he knew and was going to work for Mr. Darcy, who was not her favorite person at the moment; or it couldjust have been that he seemed to enjoy Lydia’s shameless flirting.
Lydia, Kat, and George meandered off on their own into the sea of formal wear while their mother trapped Jane in a conversation about Charles and how to “reel him in.” Beth pretended to see something she liked and snuck away from the group, already needing a break from her mother’s scheming. She wandered along among the sequins and tulle, not really seeing any of the dresses, letting her mind start to daydream. Deciding to punish herself later for it, she thought of Darcy and his kisses; how when he touched her, her whole body had come alive - every cell saturated with yearning, every pore effusing passion. She couldn’t deny how much she wanted him; it had been an ache since the day they’d met, constantly preoccupying her mind. Even now, after she spent the whole morning thinking about him, here he was again, the first thing that her mind latched on to. She wondered if he ever thought about her or if he even cared about how he had treated her.
“Excuse me, Beth, is it?” A strange voice drifted into her thoughts as she realized that someone was talking to her. She turned around to see George Wickham behind her holding up a pink dress against himself. “Sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but I was wondering if you think this dress is really my color?”
He looked so serious that Beth couldn’t help herself from laughing out loud, her emotions looking for any outlet at this point.
“Yeah, I think pink goes very nicely with your skin tone,” she joked back.
He smiled back at her as he hung the dress back up. “Well, you looked like you could use a laugh.”
“Thank you, I appreciate the thought.” She gave him a grateful smile as they continued to walk along together.
“Care to share what had you running away from the group? Not literally, even though you do have your running clothes on.”
