Secrets
RENEE
‘Please accept my apologies, Renee. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind then, and…’
As I thought of Dylan’s apologies from last night, bubbles of laughter rose in my throat.
I lay back and stared at the ceiling of my room dreamily. My eyes fluttered open and closed as I tried to stop thinking about Dylan and the rowdy conversation we’d had the day before, but I couldn’t.
His demeanor, audacity, and the way he casually guilt-tripped me with his story made me suspect he was up to no good. I never found out his true intentions though and dare say I felt a bit relieved. I didn’t want to know, or did I? Oh well.
Again, I remembered the useless bouquet of roses he’d brought, and I couldn’t keep the mocking giggle that escaped my lips.
What the hell? Dylan thought he could apologize and bring me flowers, and everything would be alright. Why would he do that all of a sudden?
He was so pitiful for someone who’d broken up with me without thinking twice. Just thinking about him irritated me and made my skin crawl. Good riddance!
“I hate you so much, Dylan. I fucking hate you…” I trailed off, muttering loudly. I glanced at my bedside. Nicole was still fast asleep.
She’d have scolded me for thinking about that douchebag if she were awake. She wouldn’t have liked the conversation going on in my head, that was certain.
My shoulders sagging, and my eyes started darting around, I noticed some pillows on the floor.
Nicole’s pillows, of course, which she’d kicked aside, most likely during the night. I laughed.
She did this every night. She was always a restless sleeper.
I grabbed one of the pillows and sitting on top of it, facing the room’s only window, I began to watch the thick clouds hovering outside.
I remained focused on the windows as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the glass and danced around the edges.
The sun’s rays had begun their daily journey across the horizon, as expected.
The view of the city, the sky, and the sea-everything I could see from my bed, was painted in gold and it was so lovely that my eyelids fluttered shut dreamily.
Although I didn’t fall asleep again despite my brain being exhausted. Instead I sat, lids closed and hummed absentmindedly in neutral satisfaction.
The pinging sound of the apartment’s doorbell reverberated through the room, jolting me out of my trance. I opened my eyes when I heard a knocking sound.
Nicole groaned, turning and tossing on the bed because she’d heard the loud buzzing noise, and it had most likely disrupted her sleep.
I ignored the knock at first because I thought it wasn’t coming from our door. But the knock sounded again, this time loudly, and I realized I was wrong.
Who could it possibly be?
I wasn’t expecting anyone, and Nicole would never have anyone this early too.
The knocking continued, becoming louder with each passing second, and I got up to walk out into the living room, slowly sliding off the pillow on the bed, and dragging my blanket with me.
I didn’t get very far when I heard some shuffling behind me. I turned around to see Nicole already awake, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Nicole, I’m going to get the door. You can go back to sleep.” I told her, and she nodded at me.
I walked from the bedroom and straight to the door, turning the handle sharply and pulling open the door to reveal… A delivery man?
“A hearty morning to you, Miss Renee.” The young man politely smiled as he greeted me, and the corner of my eyes twitched.
What exactly was he doing here? Who sent this? How did he know my name?
‘He got your name from the delivery package note, of course, Renee.’
My eyes narrowed, and I looked at him suspiciously. “It’s too early for a delivery, mister. Who sent you and-” I stopped as something dawned upon me, and my eyes widened in horror.
My thoughts wandered back to the first time I’d received a mysterious package right here. It was delivered by this same guy standing in front of me, and-
This was Robert’s doing.
“Oh, my goodness!” I exclaimed, a smile on my face and I began to rub my creased forehead.
How did I not connect the dots so quickly? I was so busy being upset with Dylan that I forgot about Robert, our canceled date, and the fact that he hadn’t even called this morning, despite the endless streams of texts and calls I’d left him last night.
Of course, this was from him. I asked the delivery man, “This is from Mr. Clarke, right?”
“It is, indeed. Here…” The delivery man handed me a bouquet and a white box, which I eagerly accepted.
“Ma’am, please sign here.” He extended a clipboard and pen, and I quickly signed and returned them to him.
“Thank you very much, ma’am. That will be all.”
“Alright. Thank you, too.” I replied quickly, juggling the gifts and closing the door behind me.
As I began to make my way into the bedroom, I glanced at Nicole’s side of the bed to see if she was awake or still sleeping, but lo and behold, her eyes were wide open, and she was sitting upright, staring at me in surprise.
“What is it?” She pointed to the package I was holding.
“Nothing much.” I replied, shrugging as I tried to hide the blush on my cheeks. “It was just a delivery from Robert.”
“Nothing much, huh?” She countered and I giggled.
She began to get up from the bed, with a determined look on her face.
“I thought you were asleep a few minutes ago.”
“I’m wide awake now, as you can see. You received a delivery from your sugar daddy, and it’s not even 7 a. m. yet. Wow!”
“It’s well past 7 a. m. and-”
“Let me see!” She interrupted in excitement, reaching for the package and grabbing it, she flunged it on the bed.
“Nicole!” I exclaimed, trying to stop her from tearing into the delivery, but it was too late.
She’d already opened the white box filled with chocolates and other yummy goodies.
“Oh, chocolates! I haven’t eaten one of those in years.” She said, and I just rolled my eyes because I could see right through her lies. She had a Snickers bar last week.
As I sat on the bed, reaching for the flower bouquet, I noticed a small white envelope peeking out.
Robert had left me a note.
Instead of reading it though, I deeply inhaled the flowers, savoring the sweet scent of the roses and lilies mixed together.
All of my rage and mixed feelings toward him quickly vanished. If this gift was his way of apologizing to me for the canceled date, he’d done a pretty good job.
I looked at the room’s wall clock with a small smile. It was almost eight o’clock, and time was flying by.
“I hope you realize I’m not making breakfast for you, Nicole. I have to get ready for work, and you aren’t leaving until this evening.”
“No issues, Renee. I’ve got some chocolates here. For now, it’ll suffice.” She said, pushing a bonbon into her mouth.
“Don’t finish them all!” I chuckled as I stood up to go to the bathroom.
“I won’t!” She replied and I smiled in response as I walked away.
Approaching the bathroom door, I shut the door sharply behind me and turned on the shower, intent on taking a quick bath before getting ready for the day ahead.
~~
“Hello, baby girl.”
My lips stretched into a wide smile when I heard Robert’s deep voice on the other end of the phone, and my heart warmed instantly as my stomach fluttered with excitement.
My work shift had just ended, and I was on my way home. I was planning to hail a cab when my phone vibrated in my bag.
A call from Robert! Excitement zinged through me as I picked it up.
Ever since this morning when I’d received the gifts, and his sweet noote, which I’d read on my way to work, I could only think of him, and now he was calling.
He’d been thinking about me, too, I could tell.
“Hello, Daddy.” I said as I continued hailing cab after cab.
“How is my baby girl doing today?” I felt my smile grow wider as he called me ‘baby girl’.
“I’m doing fine.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“I know, right? Surprisingly, none of my coworkers asked about you when I came in at work today, and I suspect you had a hand in that, Robert.” He laughed heartily, confirming my suspicions.
“Robert, what did you do? Did you speak with my boss or-”
“Perhaps, maybe not.”
“Robert, you have to stop this!” I grumbled, but he just kept laughing.
“How did your day go? Tell me about it.”
I could tell he was diverting the conversation to avoid answering my questions, so I went with it.
“My day flew by, as it always does. Nothing special, just serving customers, collecting tips, and cleaning up after them. My usual routine.”
“I see…” He paused. “You sound a little down. Is there a problem?” He asked, and I simply shrugged even though he couldn’t see me.
“Not much at all. I’m just tired, that’s all and add to the frustration of endlessly hailing cabs. No one seems to be going my way.” I grumbled, my flailing hands dismissing yet another taxi.
“Are you finished with your shift for the day?”
“I am. On my way home now.”
“Should I send someone to pick you up and-” He began to ask, but I cut him off before he could finish.
“No, Robert, I’m perfectly fine.”
“I should buy you a car and get you a personal driver too. It would save you the stress of-”
“Robert!” I yelled, and he just laughed deeply from the other end.
He knew how to get me riled and was doing it very well at the moment.
Hands going to my forehead and rubbing, I searched around the busy street, looking for a place to rest for a second so that I could gather my thoughts.
Fortunately, I noticed a bench nearby. After ensuring there were no distractions, I walked over and plopped myself down on the wooden surface.
I rested my head against the sturdy frame of the bench, closed my eyes briefly, and took a deep calming breath before letting go and opening my eyes.
“Are you there, Renee?” Robert asked, his voice cutting through my mundane thoughts, and I sighed.
“Yes, I am here.”
“Did you get my apology gifts? I’m sorry I couldn’t get them to you personally as much as I wanted to. I-”
“It’s okay, Robert.” I cut in.”You explained why you couldn’t in your note, and I don’t have any problems with that.”
“Alright, love.”
Love.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
That word from Robert always made my heart race, and I couldn’t wait to tell him how much I adored him as well.
“Did you happen to see the specifics of our non-negotiable date?” He asked and recalling the content of the note he’d sent, I giggled and hummed in the affirmative.
“Yes, I did.” I singsonged; my belly fluttering with warmth again, as a blush rose on my cheeks.
I had a date with Robert Clarke this Saturday evening and wouldn’t be coming home until Monday morning.
My thighs clenched blissfully at the prospect of spending the weekend with him, and I giggled.
“My driver will come to pick you up on Saturday afternoon. How does that sound?”
“That’s fine with me. I’ll use today to prepare and revel in anticipation since I didn’t see you yesterday for reasons only known to you.” I pouted and could hear his curse from the other end of the line.
“You know you have some serious explaining to do, Robert. I’ve forgiven you for canceling on me so suddenly, but who is this person who forced you to do it?”
“Renee…” He trailed off, and I could hear the frustration in his voice, but I wasn’t letting this issue slide.
“It had to be that woman, right? The woman who called you on-”
“Can we talk when you come over on Saturday?” He said, his words rushing out. I suspected he was trying to change the subject.
He didn’t want to talk about this, whatever it was, but I was determined to find out.
“Alright.” I complied with his request, letting this argument die until further notice.
“Bye, sweetheart. See you on Saturday.” He softly added before I could say something else.
“Bye, Robert.” I said, then hung up, dropping my phone in my small bag.
Still sitting on the bench and dropping my head on the backrest, I closed my eyes, letting the cool evening wind brush through my hair.
What would Saturday evening bring? Would it be lust filled? Would it be nice? Or would it be tense?
But most importantly, what was Robert hiding from me?