Chapter 18: Hurricane Ian

There were very few things that scared me more than the opposite sex. I’ve never really been very good with handling guys. Other than Rick, I never seemed to have a good handle on how they worked and even he was proving to be a mystery. But, Ian was just a steamroller. Being with him was like being on a collision course with an oncoming Mack truck. I had no idea if I would ram right into or be able to swerve and miss the pain just in the nick of time. He had one gear: fast. I was used to taking my time and weaving through traffic slowly. I liked to feel my way through a relationship first, but this was just too fast. He’d been hounding me for the past few days like nobody’s business. A part of me felt uncomfortable with his intense pursuit of me. I wasn’t used to it. I was more comfortable with having a crush on a guy and than slowly convincing him that I was cool. But, this was different. It was exciting. He made me do things that I never cared about before like primp. I was still fussing with my hair when he showed up at my door looking fabulous.

Ian held out a bouquet of wildflowers and handed them to her and said, “For my lady.”

I tried my best to hide the blush and said, “Thanks.”

“Thanks that’s all I get? No kiss. No hug. No playful banter?”Ian teased as he closed the door.

He leaned against the wall and smiled that disarming smile of his that had my stomach doing flips.

“You haven’t earned it yet,”I said as I grabbed my keys and my purse.

“Ooh so you are going to make me work for it?” he quipped as he followed me out the door.

“Of course,” I said with a devilish smile.

I fiddled with my hair nervously as he backed out of the driveway. I tried not to make eye contact because there was just something about his gaze that unsettled me. It was like he was trying to assess me and I hated when people did that. He was definitely easy on the eyes, but there was something else about him that made me feel like a giddy seventh grader. He was all lean muscle and long limbs. There was something about him that reminded her of a cat. He didn’t have a tense bone in his body.

“You’ll like what you see babe?”He said.

I blushed and said, “what? “

“You were just checking me out. I don’t mind. You’re hot. I like being checked out by hot uptight girls.”

I was seething. Who was he to call me uptight? He didn’t know anything about me. I hated when people made snap judgements about me. It was something I went thorugh daily but it still pissed me off. I crossed my arms across my chest and lookedout the window.

“You’re mad. What did I say?”

I looked at him and returned to glancing out the window.

“Come on tell me. What did I say? Was it the hot comment? You don’t like people stating the obvious,” he said with a devilish glint in his eyes.

It was in that moment when he looked at me that I knew that he had played me. He was trying to rile me up to see how I’d react. It was all part of his master plan. What exactly that plan entailed was beyond me.

“You did that on purpose?”

“Did what on purpose?” he asked innocently.

“You got me all mad. You were testing me, weren’t you?”I asked inquisitively.

Ian shrugged and pulled into the parking lot of a small restaurant. “We’re here,”he said as he hopped out of the corvette and rushed around to open the door for me.

“A pig and a gentleman how original?”I remarked.

He grabbed my hand and said, “I resent that. I’m no gentleman.”

The restaurant was gorgeous. It was classier than anything I’d become accustomed to. The table were covered in crisp white linen and in the center of the room was adorned with four elaborate chandeliers that dipped quite low. The backs of the chair were made from a shiny brass that almost looked like gold. Ian went up to the girl at the front of the room and approached the girl behind the glass podium. The dark-haired girl eyed her with suspicion. I suddenly felt grossly under-dressed and plain. Here I was in this shiny place and I felt like a used toy that Ian insisted on carting around. I had no idea where he was taking me, but I certainly didn’t expect this.

When the waiter led us to our table which was at a small table in the corner of the room, I found myself glaring at him.

“You could have at least warned me. Look at me. I look lie a 12 year old. I am not dressed for a place like this,” I said.

“I think you look hott. I love girls who wear miniskirts.”

“I look like a skank.”

“I love skanks,”he retorted.

“I hate you right now,”I mumbled and picked up the menu.

The truth of the matter was I loved fighting with him. It was fun. I really wasn’t all that mad once I let it out. I was so used to frustrating fights that led nowhere, but this thing we had going was light-hearted. There was no malice or hidden meaning behind our words. It was a breath of fresh air. I sorta wanted him to scream so I held the menu in front of my face scanning it for longer than I really needed to. It was mostly just to annoy him which was turning into a sort of hobby.

“Come on. You can’t still be mad.”

I put the menu down and slid it across the table and said, “No, not angry just hungry.”

He eyed me for a second. “Do you have ADD or something?”

“What?”I responded aghast.

“just HD then?”

“What’s HD?”I asked in confusion.

“Hyperactivity Disorder.”

“I’m the least hyperactive person I know. What is your problem? Do you just love being an ass or are you always this, this…

“Rude. Yes, always,”he said before snapping open his menu and mimicking my earlier action.

“You’re insufferable,”I said.

“I know.”

I tried not to let my smile peak out, but he caught and it sat back with a matching one of his own. He summoned the waiter and soon we were eating our food and I found myself picking at his food. It was a habit that I picked up years ago and hadn’t quite broken myself of. I did it with Nate and Rick all the time. It was just something natural to me.

“Stop eating my food babe. I need to work up my energy for later.”

“Later? Whats later?”

“You’ll see. It’s a surprise,”he answered nonchalantly. I took a sip of my wine an was surprised to find him taking a bite of my chicken.

“Didn’t you just tell me to stop eating your food.”

“Yeah, so?”he said between mouthfuls.

“Isn’t that a little hypocritical.”

“Babe, look at my plate. There’s barely any food left. Has anyone told you that you eat like a truck driver.”

I was aghast. A truck driver? I knew that I had a healthy appetite, but no one had ever compared me to a truck driver before. He had to be messing with my mind again, so I chose to shrug it off. I smiled and said, “No.”

“You are full of suprises,”he said out of the blue.

“Whats that supposed to mean?”

“Its just that won minute you are totally chill and the next you are wound up like an uptight tickle me elmo. Its like you have mulitiple personality disorder.

“Have you ever heard the word overshare.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t share everything that pops into that pretty little head of yours, Ian”

He smiled that sickenly beautiful smile and said, “you think my head is beautiful.”

“Shutup”

Later that evening we were in a pub downtown. The benches were made from a deep oak and a rock band was playing. They were an odd mix of brit pop and punk rock. They reminded me of those horribly pretentious british bands from the late nineties.

“I hate this band,”I remarked.

“They’re not that bad,”Ian said.

“You say that cause you’re drunk.”

“Ha, I’m not nearly drunk enough. What are you a teatotaler?”

“No, just hate beer,”I replied. I had only taken a few sips of noxious liquid. It was disgusting. I still didn’t know why people drank the stuff. I was strictly a cocktail and wine type of girl.

“Why didn’t you say so, babe?”he asked.

“I told you to stop calling me babe.”

“Okay, sure thing. What do you want to drink babe?”

I rolled my eyes and said, “red wine.”

He came back with two glasses and a large bottle of Chilean wine. I smiled brightly at him. Ian definitely had good instincts. It was my favourite kind of wine and I hadn’t even told him. Its like he instinctively got it. I wanted to jump into his arms and give him a big hug, but I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. I was determined to not sleep with him tonight even though booze often made me a horny mother fucker. I was liking the bar. There was something about the place with its bad music and uncomfortable furniture that made me feel more at ease than the posh restaurant.

“I like this place,”I replied as I took a sip of my wine.

“if you love this place. You’ll love the next place.”

“Ian, I can’t stay out all night. I have to hand in this article and meet with my editor,”I replied.

“When is your meeting?”

“it’s a lunch meeting.”

“Come on relax. Its not even 11. You’re only young once. Relax have fun. Plus I you’ll love this place. I promise,”he said with a wink.

He had a point. I needed to just relax and stop focusing on the negative. I was having a blast and it was still pretty early. Its not like I never went out. Its just that I hadn’t done any partying since I came back from Japan. My life had been cloaked in darkness for months. It was one drama after another and it was like I forgot what it was like too simply be 24. I suppose I was lucky. When Shiva was my age she was pregnant and helping to take care of me and dad. Although my sister pissed me off, I kinda felt bad for her. Its like she never had a chance just to sit back and relax. I put my sister out of my mind and listened to Ian’s story of traveling around South America. He was hilarious and smart too boot.

“So, what do you do other than travel in exotic places?”

“A little of that and a little of this.”

“Not even a hint.”

“I haven’t found anything that I’m passionate about yet,” he said with an odd expression on his face.

We finished off our drinks and walked up the street. There was a huge line of people waiting to get into some club. Ian walked past them all high fived the bouncer and we were let in. The people in line were pissed off, but I can’t say I blame them.

“How did you do that? Are you like in the mafia or something?”

“Or something,”he replied.

“So, whats your pleasure my lady?”

“Sex on the beach!”I said with an unusual enthusiasm.

He raised his eyebrows and said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

I rolled my eyes and waited for him as he brought back our drinks. He motioned for me to follow him up the staircase. We joined a bunch of people in a booth. There was a tall lanky guy with large glasses who was like his nerdy doppleganger.

“Samira meet my geeky older brother Matt and his friend Sanjay.”

I shook both of their hands and was introduced to two pretty brunettes who didn’t seem overly interested in either guy, but they seemed pretty cool. Ian pointed to the one to my left and said, “Samira this is Evelyn and the other stunning brunette is my cousin Cassie”

“Nice to meet you all,” I said.

I hated meeting new people. They made me uncomfortable and I especially hated meeting random people on dates. I sat back and tried to smile. The boys were chatting about something having to do with films.

“Is Scott coming dude?”asked Ian.

“I don’t know. He said he was, but you know what he’s like,”Sanjay replied.

Ian and Matt looked at each other conspiratorially and laughed. It was like some secret guy code. I looked at the other girls and shrugged my shoulders.

“Guy code sucks,”she said with a laugh.

“Totally. I hate being left out of convos,”I replied.

The other girl just stared at us blankly like she was trying hard to think of something to say, but the words just weren’t forming. She looked like an idiot to me. She had that sort of blank stare that signified an empty-head.

“Is she always like that?”I asked Cassie.

“Oh you mean Evelyn. I don’t know. We just met. She’s one of Sanjays girls.”

“You make him sound like a pimp.”

The other girl started cracking up laughing. “I like you. You’re funny.”

“Ugh thanks,”I replied awkwardly. I’d done it again. I wasn’t always the best with social graces and especially when I wasn’t expecting to charm a room full of people I didn’t know. I took a big gulp of my drink and leaned back. Ian scooted closer to me and wrapped his arm around me. Normally, I hated girls that got clung to their dates, but I was out of my element and he was like my air raft.

“You having a good time,”he whispered into my eyes.

“Yeah, sorta.”

“Whats wrong?”

“I just am not good with new people.”

“Don’t worry they’re cool,”he said and planted a kiss on my cheek that sent shivers running through my body. His lips were so soft, but his scent was intoxicating. I just wanted to lay my head on his shoulders and to stay nestled in his arms, but my pride made me extract myself and attempt to get to know the other people. They were actually a funny bunch. I really liked Sanjay he was a trip and real manwhore. Matt was sort of quiet and aloof and Cassie was exactly the kind of person that I would befriend. She was smart and quippy with an edge.

“I’m bored I wanna dance. Samira come with me. These boys are boring,”Cassie said.

We headed towards the dancefloor and soon we were bopping along to really bad hip hop music, but it was fun. All the alcohol that I had drank was finally starting to take effect. We were out there for a good ten minutes before I felt a hand snake around my waist. I was startled at first till I recognized that the husky voice belonged to Ian.

“Hey, you scared me.”

“You thought some random guy was trying to rub against you? You should know that I’d pummel him if he tried.”

“Ahh there’s nothing like neathandral speak to get my blood boiling,”I replied sarcastically.

“Come on lets get some air,”he said as he led me thorugh the club and out a back door. I had a feeling he wanted to just make out and I wasn’t completely opposed to the idea. When we stepped out into the fresh air he leaned up against the wall and pulled me into him. I could feel the little butterflies in my stomachs fluttering again. He took a strand of my hair and held it between his fingertips and said, “you have gorgeous hair.”

“You brought me out here to talk about my hair?”

“No, stupid I did not,”he said before he dipped his head and kissed me till I couldn’t think any longer. I didn’t know if it was the wine or the fact that I found him sexy, but my defenses were down and I let myself get carried. He’d managed to turn around so that I was pressed up against the wall with his hand rubbing my thing as he kissed me senseless. We were so caught up in the moment that neither of us noticed the door opening. A vaguely familiar laugh broke us apart. Standing right there was Speedy with a cigarette in one hand and lighter in another.

“Hey, how’s going?”he said.

I hated being laughed at and hated being caught in compromising positions. This whole meeting your celebrity crush was getting a little weird. I was so caught up in my own embarrassment that I didn’t notice Ian going up to him and hugging him.

“So, you finally dragged your ass down here man.”

“Yeah, I had some press shit to do,”Speedy replied as he took a drag of his cigarette.

This was fucking unbelievable. They knew each other. I didn’t know what was worse beign busted making out against a brickwall behind a club or being discovered by him. He must have been the Scott that they were referring to. It dawned on me exactly how awkward the rest of the night was bound to be.

TBC