He knew the question was coming as the night progressed but he still looked surprised.
“I came up with an idea and you might not be entirely happy with it.” He said after a few seconds.
“I think I’d be fine as long as you give me a chance.”
“I’ll give you three dates. These dates aren’t just any normal dates. In these three dates you have to prove to me that you are sincere about your feelings. I don’t know how you’re going to do this but I know that what you’ll have in mind for us will tell me how much thought and heart you put into it. You can take your time planning them.”
“Sounds like a business deal.”
“Sorry about that. As you already know, I’m a businessman. We don’t involve emotions when there is something we can lose or gain. These are my efforts to protect my heart.”
“But feelings aren’t something you should treat with a business approach.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“What happens after these three dates?”
“I score you. And if it’s higher than seventy-five percent, I’ll be the one to ask you out, properly.”
“You’re enjoying this a little too much. I feel like I’m giving a college test. And what if I don’t get higher than seventy-five?”
“I’ll think about that later. Oh, and there is a rule.”
I looked at him in anticipation.
“You can’t kiss me on any of those dates. No intimate bodily contact of any kind.”
I scoffed. “As if. You were the one who always jumped me.”
“Did you perhaps forget the kisses you stole from me whenever I showed up late at night in your room when you thought I was drunk enough to not remember it the next day?”
My cheeks turned so hot, I could have roasted some beef tenderloin on it.
It completely escaped my mind that he had admitted to been drunk only for the first few nights. I was embarrassed. I had stolen kisses and murmured my apologies to him, but to my great relief, I hadn’t said anything about my secret. I felt like a sex offender. No, I was a sex offender.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Its fine but I don’t want you to kiss me when I’m not conscious, not aware of what is happening to me or under the influence of alcohol.”
I nodded. “I really am sorry for taking advantage of you all those nights.”
“Hmm… it wasn’t exactly taking advantage because I was sober and I didn’t push you away. But then again it was because you didn’t know that.”
“I’m really, really sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
I was still a lot embarrassed. I shuddered every time I thought about it.
“We should go to bed.” And then I rephrased my sentence because it sounded like I was implying something else as well. “To our respective beds… in our respective rooms.”
I heard him snicker behind me as I got up to gather the blankets and pillows.
***
I wasn’t going to rush the dates. The next day, I sat down with a pen and a paper and jotted down good ideas for dates. I didn’t want to be superficial. I knew Ethan wasn’t after something extravagant.
Last night’s dinner proved that. Even something as simple as cooking together could make him happy.
I spent the whole day thinking about what I could do. Even when I was doing something else, the three dates looming ahead were always in the back of my mind.
I thought about his life. He was an ideal college student. He told me that he never had a girlfriend in college, never did anything fun or went to parties. Although I had been on numerous parties with Olivia, it was something that Ethan did not get to experience.
So it was a little hasty decision but I knew where I was taking him on our first date. A wild college party. To show him something he hadn’t seen before. I was sure he would like to try something new.
I searched up nearby colleges and with Amelia’s help located Daphne’s house. She was a student in a nearby college and had a party at her house this weekend. She was Amelia’s friend’s little sister. She told us we could join them although I knew that even if we weren’t invited and had barged in there no one would’ve noticed.
When the weekend arrived, I told Ethan to dress up casually and to have his schedule free for the evening. I chose to wear a wine red dress which ended just above my knees with a halter neckline.
When we arrived, Ethan was stunned to say the least. He really hadn’t expected me to bring him to a party.
“Did you seriously just bring me to a high school party for our date?”
“I know it’s weird and you probably hate it right now but I just thought about how you told me that you didn’t go to parties during your college days and I didn’t want you to miss out on that. Even though I’m not a big fan of it myself, but still I think it’s important you experience this.? And? it’s not a high school party, the host is a college student.”
“This is not what I had expected.” He said. “You surprise me.”
“Come on, don’t judge it just yet.”
We entered the house and it was pretty packed. Ethan had never been around crowded places much and I hoped he wasn’t feeling claustrophobic.
“Are you okay?” I yelled over the music.
He nodded. “Where are we going?”
“Let’s just get some drinks first.”
I led him to the bar which had a lot of cans of alcohol. I handed him one and we sat on the stools. I looked at him to analyze his reaction.
“It’s so loud in here!” He said, eyeing the crowd dancing.
The air was a mixture of hot sweat and I hoped he didn’t hate it.
“I’ve never been to such a party before.”
“Yeah, I figured that much. The only parties you must have attended are boring business parties.”
“This is different.”
“Did you not even go to a club?”
He pressed his lips together. “Not my scene.”
“How do you know that when you didn’t go to one?”
“I just thought it wouldn’t suit me.”
“Let’s dance?”
“There?” He asked, looking at the packed crowd with practically no space to squeeze in through.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun.” I hopped off the stool and held out my hand for him.
He placed his empty can on the table and placed his hand in mine. I led him in the middle of the room and he looked around, a little panicked.
“How to dance… I-”
I smiled and leaned up to his ear. “It’s okay. Relax. I know you’re probably worried how you’d look to other people but trust me, no one’s going to remember even if you did the worst dance in history.”
“I just know calm ballroom dancing. Nothing like this.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
I pulled him close and guided his hands to my waist and rested mine around his neck.
“So… how do you feel?”
“A little uncomfortable.” He admitted, still a little self conscious.
“Shit. You told me no intimate physical contact.” I was about to step away from him but he tightened his arms around me.
“No, it’s not because of you. Actually you’re the only thing making me slightly less uncomfortable. And no, this does not fall under the category of intimate physical contact.” He leaned a little closer until the side of my head was grazing his cheek. “I’ve never been in this environment. It’s a little overwhelming but I’ll be okay.”
I nodded, suddenly finding myself incapable of words as my nose touched his neck. We were hugging, kind of, but awkwardly shuffling to the music.
After some time I felt him loosen up slightly as the crowd somewhat receded. He pulled away and started to dance. Although his movements were a little stiff, I laughed and joined him too.
We were having a pretty good time. As the night progressed and we had a couple of drinks and Ethan was a bit tipsy, he became a lot more comfortable. We danced beyond the point of being intimate. We spent some time outside at the pool area to get some fresh air while eating pastries we found in the refrigerator. I hoped Daphne wouldn’t mind to see two absolutely delicious pastries gone.
By the time I decided that we needed to get home, it was past one in the morning. I called the driver because Ethan was a little too drunk to operate his phone. He leaned on me heavily as we sat on the front porch steps. I should’ve known when it was too much alcohol for him. I hadn’t drank as much as he did. Now he had his head on my shoulder and his eyes closed while I put my arm around his waist to ensure he wouldn’t fall.
Every now and then he would murmur something against the skin on my collarbone and I had to suck in a breath. He still wasn’t out of his dancing phase because he asked if I wanted to dance with him again a few times.
Once the car arrived, I hauled him inside with some help from the driver. He was sleepy, I noticed rather than being wasted. I guess him working late at night all those days finally caught up to him.
When we reached the mansion, I put him to bed after taking off his shoes and making sure he was in a comfortable position to sleep.
With a kiss to his head, because although he told me I couldn’t kiss him, it was on the? forehead. Forehead kisses were harmless. I whispered good night to him and left the room.