Page 13 of Tell Me the Truth

Dude, this is the perfect time to come clean. My guilt is burrowing deeper and deeper into the pits of everything I do, everything I think about.She’s going to find out sooner than later. It’s better coming from you.

Finally, she leans forward, as if she doesn’t want anyone else to hear. “There’s this company…they’re trying to buy a stake in mine,” she confides. “But I know they’re just trying to shelf my research.”

“What you do is important work, Alexandra,” wholly believing what I’m saying. “No one should be allowed to do that.”

“I know,” she says. “I’m doing everything in my power to make sure this deal doesn’t happen.”

“So don’t sell,” I tell her as if it is as simple as that. I can imagine a cartoon image of Richard in my mind. He is holding a box with TNT written on it over his head, which then explodes.Tell her now that the company she’s talking about is yours. This whole thing will explode if you don’t tell her now!

“I’m not,” she says. “That’s not entirely the issue.” I feel like she’s looking at me and searching my eyes for something, though I’m not sure what. “You know what? I don’t want to put all my problems on you. Let’s talk about something else. What is it that you do anyway? Your company.”

I had prepared something to say, knowing that she would eventually ask me this very question. But my entire body hesitates for a moment, scrambling to organize what I am supposed to say. I can’t stop thinking,just tell her the truth.

She’s about to say something because I’ve taken a bit too long to answer her. But I rush to tell her the lines I’ve been rehearsing. “A lot of what we do has to do with real estate investments and other endeavors.”

As soon as these words come out of my mouth, I kind of hate myself. I’ve sort of told the truth. Since last year it’s true that we did purchase all the land needed to expand one of our major facilities. We also bought two other plots of land, but they so happened to have small drug companies on top of them. So, all in all, still lies.Ugh, I’m such an idiot.

“Not nearly as interesting as what you do.” I tack on. So ready to have the topic changed.

I’m relieved when she asks me if I like animals and have any pets. It’s so easy to be around her. It helps me temporarily forget the pressure I’m putting on myself to have to tell her the truth now, at this very moment.

Talking with Alexandra is fun and easy. She has such an appreciation for life and helping others and it shows in what she likes to talk about. I can’t help but fall for her when I see how she lights up as she shares how she enjoys the work that she does. And what her vision is for helping those with various diseases live longer and pain-free lives -- free from the dependence on drugs.

The more time we spend together, the more I know that I don’t want to leave. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to leave. And I can tell when she smiles at me that she doesn’t want to leave either.

Chapter Four

Alexandra

Tuesday

After running into him at the diner, Ellis and I have decided to keep our date going and catch a movie. So, I’m back at my place to get ready and I have until 4:45 p.m. when he’s picking me up.

While I’m getting ready, I dreamily recall the events of the past 24 hours. Starting with the coffee shop, then our date last night at Notre Terre.Oh my, I’ve only known him for 24 hours. I’ve never felt this excited about anyone like this before!

While I want to remember every last detail about our date at Notre Terre, much of it is lost in a blur. Probably because I was nervous. Maybe because I felt so much excitement about the possibility that I already felt in our new connection. I had just met Ellis, but what he made me feel (what he makes me feel) was intense and I’d already developed a tower of expectations and hope for what there might be between us.

When I arrived at the restaurant, the amber-gold lighting that surrounded the building acted like a backdrop to my dream-like state. Notre Terre is one of just a handful of Michelin Star restaurants in Sacramento, but I had never been there before. I expected something elegant and it did not disappoint.

As soon as I walked into where Ellis was waiting for me, I felt his eyes hot on mine, trailing down my curves to the slit on my dress. It was a look from him that I had been craving since we first met. It was the reason why I picked that red dress out. I noticed the longing in his eyes and reveled in the fact that he appreciated the dress on me and wanted it off me.

Ellis had reserved an entire room in the restaurant for just the two of us. A lone table was arranged in the center of the room and when I walked in, Ellis stood up from his seat.

The saying that “he took my breath away”, is 100% true in this case. I breathed in and then out. When I saw him I am pretty sure that I had to take in two breaths because there was barely enough oxygen in the room to prevent me from passing out. He was impossibly even more handsome than that morning. Wearing a grey suit without a tie, he had left the top button of his shirt unbuttoned. I didn’t doubt that we were undressing one another, not caring that the restaurant staff was in the room with us.

Over the next hour, we shared the most amazing meal I’ve ever eaten, I laughed harder than I have ever laughed, and the sexual tension between us quite possibly could have blown the roof off the place.

I was surprised at my ability to maintain my composure, because I remember that it took all my strength to not crawl across the table, pull that man by the collar, and suck his tongue right out of his mouth.

When we were finished with dinner and it was time to leave, I tried to perform a body scan to determine how much wine I drank, and what my level of sobriety was. I wondered how I could make sure this night wasn’t over.Am I holding myself up, or is Ellis the only one keeping me steady?

My body scan informed me that I wasn’t drunk, just happily buzzed. But he said that he’d drive me home and have my car brought to me by the morning.

He drove me to my home on Winding Creek Road in the Arden Oaks area. His sandalwood scent was all over his car, sending my nerves firing. As we were walking up to my front door, my mind was racing. I kept thinking that I didn’t want the night to end.He’s giving me signs like he feels the same things I am. What should I do to make sure this night continues?

I turned around to face him when we got to my door. My eyes investigated his, trying to hold them and find the signs I was searching for. The ones that could help guide us to whatever would happen next.

“Good night, Alexandra. Our date is the best I’ve ever had. I had an incredible time meeting you today.” He waited for my response.Is this pause a sign? Does it mean he’s hoping I’ll reach up to kiss him? Do I just ask him to stay?

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