Date (Part 1)
Leo POV
Cassius’ phone call was exciting. He said he had planned a special date for us, and I felt as if I was walking on clouds. My stomach tightened just at the sound of his voice, and I grew weak in my knees thinking of his plump, gentle lips, his chiseled jaw, and body the Gods themselves would be jealous of. My favorite thing about him was his smile. When he smiled at me, I felt like the only person in the world. That smile reached into the depths of my soul and touched my heart. Every time I heard his voice, my stomach and chest would both flutter as if dozens of butterflies danced around it. Timing worked out great - with Mr. Locke rescheduled the dinner. I had time to have my date with Cassius.
Emma’s words and files I read weighed heavily on me. However, somehow, I was willing to give Mr. Locke the benefit of the doubt. Somehow, the timing of all this seemed too perfect, and too coincidental, and I was not a man that believed in coincidence. Moreover, the voice, my inner voice that I grew accustomed to and looked to for advice and guidance ever since I heard it for the very first time, told me that Mr. Locke was a good man. A misunderstood, famous, wealthy, sometimes bossy and arrogant man, but not a monster. I believed that voice but did not want to dismiss my sister’s concerns and her genuine fears based simply on that. I was true to my word – I was going to broach this topic with Cassius, as I figured that, given his place in life, he might be more acquainted with somebody like Mr. Locke. After all, they were both wealthy and likely mingled in similar circles or knew of one another. I firmly believed that rich people, or at least most of them, all had their secrets and stories of how they became wealthy, and how they worked towards their goals and opportunities. Even though we never had much, money did not impress me. But Mr. Locke did for many different reasons, which was probably why I found random stories from third-party accounts and conjecture hardly credible evidence.
Cassius picked me up in one of his awesome cars – a Mercedes G63 in fact, and I was stunned, and for the first time little self-conscious. Albert’s garage catered to super rich clients, but this was my dream car, something I would likely never be able to afford, but something I drooled over and was simply mesmerized by. Wearing black slacks and a crisp, light blue shirt that matched his blue-purple eyes, his hair styled impeccably, he looked more like a GQ model than my boyfriend. Just seeing him flash his signature smile at me made my knees buckle. I quickly jumped in, admiring the soft, tan leather interior, and plush seats while his intoxicating scent hit me. He was irresistible, and I pulled him into a kiss. I was looking forward to our date.
“I see you brought out the fancy beast of a car”, I teased him, resulting in his melodic gregarious laughter. “Well, truth be told, I brought myself too.. Many have said I too could be a fancy beast”, he winked at me, making my mouth go dry. I was falling for him, and hard. The sheer power of our connection, the electricity of simply holding his large warm hand, his scent, his eyes, and the way he cared, the way I could tell that he genuinely wanted the best for Emma and me… I often thought of all these things, wondering how I got so lucky and what I did to deserve him. “Leo…”, I heard his husky voice… “I know we have not know each other for a long time, but I wanted tonight to be special. I wanted us to have a nice dinner and talk, maybe watch a movie if you want??? I booked us private dining…. And…” he said sheepishly, almost embarrassed… “And… if you would like… perhaps you could stay the night… I .. I… I booked a hotel suite”, he said stuttering, rushing through the LA traffic.
I had never been with anybody before, never intimate, never stayed the night, but I understood what his words implied, and truth be told, not only did I find it the most natural thing in the world, but I was also getting very excited to spend some one-on-one time with him. Ever since we met, life has thrown us various curveballs and we really did not have many dates or opportunities to get to know one another better. Thinking that tonight might lead to something more intimate got my cock twitching at the mere thought of it. “Charm me….Do you think you could do that???” I laughed and winked back and giggled at his surprised expression. “I promise to try my hardest…” he replied emphasizing the last word, making me blush, especially when I noticed that the large bulge between his legs was getting bigger. Our drive continued in similar banter, teasing each other, although he did wonder about Emma’s progress and we made small talk in general, until he pulled up to the incredibly gorgeous looking hotel, not very far from Emma’s hospital. Valet hurried over as we got out and I could see, based on the reaction of the staff, that they knew who he was. “Mr. Rawly, welcome back”, a petite blonde woman with a tag that read Manager approached us beaming at him. “Ah, Katie, how are you? How is your family??? Thank you for the warm welcome as usual. I have arranged the private dinner for tonight in the suite”, he explained, holding my hand in his large palm.
She glanced at us kindly, her eyes knowing and understanding, briefly glancing at our hands joined together and a big beaming smile followed. “Thank you Mr. Rawly, everybody is doing great. My son in particular loved that car model you sent for Christmas and my daughter is obsessed with the dolls you sent her. We are very grateful, both my husband and I, so very generous of you”, she beamed. “Marcel has prepared the menu for you personally… for you and… er…I mean...” she blushed confused, not wanting to say anything wrong. He beamed back at her and introduced me.. “Apologies Katie, my manners. This is my boyfriend Leo”, to which she graced us with an even bigger smile, and in turn led us to the private elevators. I had never been in a place like this, so I let Cassius guide me, amazed at the luxury and service of this place, but mainly happy to have him next to me, to have him hold my hand.
The elevator quickly took us to the 73rd floor – the top floor of the hotel. The moment I stepped in, I was speechless. The view of downtown Los Angeles, the sprawling skyscrapers, the city lights of a bustling metropolis were around us. The sun was setting, and colors of dark blue, purple, orange and pink hues adorned the sky. The whole place was lit by hundreds of candles and white roses and hydrangeas were all over, artfully and skillfully decorated and placed in strategic spots. Cassius guided me to the adjacent dining room area, where a chef and couple of waiters were already waiting for us, the aroma of delicious dishes filling the air, candles, and white roses on the table itself, accented with crystal glasses and crisp white napkins with pearl beads on their ends. This was the most gorgeous dining room table setting I have ever seen, and the fact that he had arranged all this for our date … I did not know what to say.
Seeing I was stunned, he simply came over, pulled me to him and crashed his lips on mine. “I did not know if this would be OK...I hope you like it.. Little birdie told me that white roses were your favorite…. And she helped with the dinner menu too”, and I laughed into his kiss as he was mumbling the words in between. Of course, Emma would tell him such things – she would tell him everything. My heart swelled at the consideration and obvious effort he put into it. I did not even know what his favorite flower was, and made a mental note to learn more about him. Our love was young, and there was a lot we could learn from one another and about one another. Despite all that, I knew one thing for sure. This man was my first love. And while I was not naïve and gathered that he likely had loved before, I intended to be his last.