Page 39 of First Impressions
Grabbing the plate with the turkey sandwich, she went into the living room and sat down on the piano bench so she could look out the windows while she ate; the view of central park was breathtaking. It was no wonder this was where Darcy had chosen to stay while he was in the city.
She called Char while she ate, telling her that she had just ordered lunch to her hotel room and then was going to head home; Char seemed convinced, either that or preoccupied; it turned out to be preoccupied with some news that she’d been waiting to tell Beth.
“So, I’m sure you’re wondering what I’m all excited about,” Char began, allowing Beth to mumble her agreement. “Well, I don’t know if you saw or heard, but I was dancing with Bill last night. Now, before you say anything, I know this is Bill Collins we are talking about. Don’t judge me, but we had such a good time together. I mean we’ve been talking a lot recently at some of the major functions and I didn’t want to say anything to you because it’s Bill Collins, but last night he told me he wanted to be in a committed relationship with me; basically that he wanted to date me but you know how he’s so awkward about everything. He even asked me out on our first official date.”
What was the world coming to?!First, she slept with and gave her virginity to, Mr. Intolerable and now Char was falling for BillfreakingCollins.
“I ahh don’t know what to say.”
“I know, I know. He has a temper and is weird but he’s really nice to me and funny and who knows where it will go, but I think we both want something serious.” She started to sound like Jane did when she talked about Charles.
“I mean, I’m happy for you Char, really. I want you to be happy, even if it is with Bill. I’m sure he’s a good guy. I just don’t know him that well, and only from a work perspective and then with the whole transfer of the firm to Charles Bingley; which he definitely wasn’t happy about but that doesn’t matter as long as he treats you right.”
“He really does. I just want this to work so badly. I mean, even my mother was pleased with the prospect, which is saying a lot because she never approves of anyone I date.”
Beth wasn’t sure that her mother’s approval was something Char should really be striving for but she didn’t say anything. She knew how much her friend wanted to please her parents, but even more than that, how much she wanted to be in a serious relationship with someone who appreciated her.
“I’m truly happy for you Char even if it still comes as a shock. So what did he say last night? Did he kiss you?” Beth prompted her to share her story of the night so that Beth could finish eating her lunch.
As she got to the end of her story where they left for the night, Char stopped and exclaimed, “Oh my God! I was totally distracted. What the hell happened between Mr. Darcy and George Wickham?”
Beth choked on the last bite of her sandwich, not sure what to tell her friend.
“I don’t know, really. George came up to me, very drunk, and said something inappropriate and Darcy punched him.”
“OH MY GOD BETH! I knew the man had the hots for you. Darcy, I mean, not George. George I think has the hots for anyone. I knew there was no way he would treat you like he did if he di—”
Beth’s other line started ringing and she saw that it was Jane. Knowing that she needed to talk to her sister and sort everything out, not to mention the added benefit of avoiding a conversation about Darcy at the moment, she cut Char off, “Hey Jane is calling me so I gotta run. I’ll call you later. Thanks, bye!” She hung up and switched lines before giving Char a chance to respond.
“Hello?”
“Hey.”
“I was just about to call you actually.” Not quite the truth but she had been thinking about it.
“Oh, are you still at Char’s?” Beth winced, reminded of her lie.
“No, I’m actually back at the hotel. I had to finish up a couple of things after last night.” Her response not far from the truth. “Are you home?”
“Yeah, I slept late and then Lydia called to talk to me about George. I guess something happened after we left. I’m not sure exactly.”
“Oh, interesting. Well, I’m on my way home now; if you’re going to be home when I get there we can talk. I want to hear all about your night!” Beth steered the conversation away from any discussion about what had happened with Wickham and Darcy.
“Yeah, I’ll be here. I have some stuff to tell you too.” Even though she was trying to hide it, Beth could hear the muffled excitement in her voice.
“Ok, I’ll be there soon. Bye.” Beth hung up and sat back on the couch for a minute.What was she going to do?
Should she leave Darcy a note? He clearly expected her to still be here when he returned but now, she had to go see Jane. Plus, she wasn’t some little play thing that just needed to be provided with clothes and food and she would just stay put and accommodate him.Although it felt really good accommodating him.
Shaking off that thought, she got up from the couch and went into the kitchen to wash off her plate. She had to admit that she didn’t want to leave, and not just because she was wondering what other sexual fantasies he would fulfill, but because they still really hadn’t had a chance to talk about anything. Granted, she felt a little more secure in how he felt about her, but that didn’t change anything that he had said or done in the past and she needed an explanation.
However, she was determined that she wouldn’t regret what happened last night. Or this morning. Both times.Ugh.She wasn’t going to wait around for him to show back up, no matter how much she wanted to talk to him. She had a life and other people that she had obligations to. Not to mention that he could have, at least, left his cell phone number. What if she hadn’t gotten that note? What if she needed to get ahold of him, for an emergency?
Whatever.She needed to leave and he was just going to have to deal with it. Deciding to leave him a note in return, she grabbed a sheet of the hotel stationery off the desk in the office and left him a note in return.
Darcy,
I’m sorry for leaving, but you didn’t give me any other way to reach you and I had to go meet Jane.
