Elsie Jackson

“Hey, Bee. I just got out of dinner with my family.” Nick sounded exhausted over the phone. “Have you eaten yet?” The nickname he had become accustomed to calling me rolled off his tongue and caused butterflies to invade my stomach.

I was always busy with my thoughts, he had said. Busy like a honeybee.

“No, not yet.” My brow furrowed as I set down my keys, Leo meowing at my ankles.

“Would you like to accompany me on a date tonight?” Hopeful.

“Absolutely.” I smiled, even though he could not see it, I knew he would be able to hear it just from the change in my voice.

“I’ll be there in just a bit. Go ahead and get ready. I want to take you out.”

“But haven’t you already eaten with your family?” I questioned, confused.

“No.” He chuckled. “I’m only there so my father doesn’t cause a scene. I’d rather eat with you any day of the week.”

My cheeks flushed. “Alright. I’ll see you soon then.”

“I’ll be there soon, love. I’ll text you as soon as I get there.”

“Okay. Be safe.”

“Always.” And then the line went dead.

I honestly didn’t know what Nick saw in me that any other guy refused to see for themselves. I set down the bags I had collected over the past couple of hours while shopping. The girls would be relieved knowing I already bought our Halloween costumes, so really, they only needed to show up.

I bent forward and picked up Leo, receiving a loud meow and then the instant engine of his purr as he rubbed his head against my cheek.

“Yes, I’m home.” I giggled, rubbing behind his ears. “I missed you too.”

I entered my room and flipped on the light, heading straight for my closet to find something suitable to wear. It was our first real date, and I did not want to make a fool of myself by dressing down like I normally did.

I scanned through my usual choices and then fell on the one dress that I had yet to wear. I pulled it from the depths of my closet and gave it a hefty shake. It was a dress meant for the cool fall weather that I just never had an occasion for.

It had a tight fit at the top with long sleeves and a low cleavage, in a dark grey. While the attached skirt hung just below my knees, plaid in grey, black, and white. It really was gorgeous, and warm enough to wear on crisper nights.

I threw it on as quickly as I could manage, rushing into the bathroom to check my reflection. It hugged my waist perfectly and complimented my shape. I gave my curls a good shake and a new coat of hairspray to give it a bit more volume. I fixed the smudges of my make-up from rushing around at the mall and sighed when I finished.

It really would have to do.

I stepped into the hallway of my apartment just as my phone dinged, alerting me that Nick was downstairs waiting for me.

I smiled as I dawned on my knee-high black velvet boots. Hopefully, he would like the way I looked. I had never tried so hard in my life for a man to look at me with even a hint of admiration. The boots were like a second skin and instantly my feet were warm as I stood up. I bent forward and gave Leo a small head pat and grabbed my black peacoat from its hook. It was perfect for dresses, and I honestly did not care to be cold. I added my black scarf and headed downstairs as quickly as I could manage.

When I stepped outside, Nick was leaned up against a limousine and I had to keep my mouth from dropping. He had a casual business look about him; only wearing dress pants, a long sleeve dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black suspenders, and perfectly glinting dress shoes. He looked like he came out of a magazine. His arms and neck were laced with tattoos that I had spent hours tracing while he slept against me. His jet-black hair slicked back, exactly the way I had told him I liked best.

I was not sure who was trying to impress who, but it seemed we were both trying hard to please one another. My stomach filled with butterflies when his attention turned from off in the distance towards me upon hearing my heels clacking against the concrete. There was a fire burning in their golden depths, the normal hazel blue-green giving way to the warm caramel.

His expression darkened as I walked forward and for a split moment, I wondered if I really knew anything about the man in front of me looking at me like he might devour my entire being in one big gulp. He was the big bad wolf that we read about in fairytales, that much was for certain. He towered over me by at least five inches, the size comparison between us ridiculously large.

His lips turned upwards on one side in a lopsided grin as I stopped in front of him.

“What?” My face flushed again and looked down quickly to inspect my clothes, trying to smooth out the wrinkles in my coat.

His hands shot forward to steady my own. “Stop.”

I stopped fussing instantly.

“Fuck me…” He hissed under his breath as he lifted one of my arms and circled it above my head, causing me to do a slow spin in place. “You look absolutely stunning, Bee.”

The butterflies resumed their spread amidst my stomach and up to my throat.

“Thank you.” I smiled and stretched on the tip of my toes to place a feather-light kiss at the corner of his chin. “You look dashing as well.”

“Let’s get out of here.” He chuckled, opening the door of the limo, and motioning for me to get inside.

“Nick, this seems like a bit much, don’t you think?” I tried to keep the nervous giggle from bubbling on my lips.

“No.” He stated simply, and I obliged by taking a seat and sliding into the darkness.

He slid in next to me with ease, closed the door, and the vehicle departed.

“Does the driver know where we are going?” I asked curiously.

“It’s all taken care of, don’t worry.”

“So, where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Alright.”

The car ride was quiet as I sat next to him, practically curled up in his lap as I watched the streetlights go by. Nick had one leg crossed over the opposite knee at the ankle and was busy on his phone but had swept me under one arm and kept a firm grip on my leg closest to where his hand could reach and would give me a tight squeeze every now and then, reassuring me that he was not, in fact, ignoring me. I internally sighed. He was always so busy because of his father, not that Nick wanted to talk about it much.

He had a strange way of deflecting the conversation away from anything too personal, and it only bothered me slightly. I tried not to linger on it too much, but with everything going on, it was hard to not say something. Jay had been almost non-existent for the past couple of weeks, always spending time with Abraham.

It was confusing.

She didn’t even like him all that much.

I could not shake the feeling that there was something happening behind the scenes that no one wanted to clue me in on.

“Come back to me…” Nick’s tone was low, and instead of the usual squeeze on my upper thigh, he had traded that for swirling circular patterns against my skin, never looking away from the screen that rested on his knee.

He always knew when I was lost in thought.

“Sorry.” I murmured and rested my head against his shoulder. “It’s just been a weird couple of days.” I melted into his side, trying to relax with the heat radiating from his chest.

“There’s no need to be apologetic.” He soothed, flipping through files on his device.

“Nick, can I ask a question?” I picked a couple of lights on the roof of the car to stare at.

“Of course, you can.”

“Will it always be like this?” It came out little above a whisper.

“Like what?”

“So busy?” I asked.

“Busy?”

I turned a bit to look at him fully, his eyes still lingering on the screen. “Yes, busy. I don’t want to come off as needy or temperamental, but everyone has been so busy lately. Including you.” My voice cracked at the end and Nick flinched, instantly looking up to meet my gaze with his piercing one.

“I’m never too busy for you.” He insisted, resting his lips against my forehead. “I happen to enjoy your neediness and all of your tempers.” He chuckled.

I sighed. “You know what I mean.”

“Then it’s I who should apologize.” He stated against my ear, his breath tickling my curls that were tucked there. “Please, forgive me, Bee.” He whispered before nibbling a trail down the curve of my neck, phone forgotten.

I sucked in a deep breath as I felt the blood rush partly to my chest and face, divided down to the junction between my legs. He continued his tortuous path, gently pulling away my scarf to gain better access. The hand that had been so busy with work slid smoothly up my thigh without hindrance.

When he reached the lace of my panties, he murmured his approval in my ear, humming against my throat, and my stomach panged with desire.

“Nick…” I gripped his wrist to prevent him from exploring farther than he had intended. “The driver will see you.”

“Heath?” He asked loudly, lips still against the nape of my neck.

“Sir?” The man asked from the driver’s seat.

“Can you close the windows? Miss Jackson and I require a little privacy.” The way he said it caused a flush to rush up to my cheeks, still holding firm against his wrist.

“Of course, sir.” And just like that, the windows rolled upwards, blacking out everything but us.

“Will he be able to drive and see like that?” I asked, cautious.

“Cameras, Bee.” He chuckled. “Not internal. External, love.”

“Oh.” It seemed odd that it had never occurred to me how limousines got around.

“Come back to me, Bee.” Nick chuckled against my skin as his fingers broke through the barrier between his fingertips and the most sensitive parts of my body.

I moaned, trying to hide the sound by biting down on my bottom lip. He nipped gently at my throat, applying more pressure with each nibble, causing my breathing to labor as his rough fingertips teased my clit by circling the sensitive nub painstakingly slow.

“Nick, please…” I tried to clench my thighs together, to prevent the slow torture from taking over my body.

“Tell me what you want, Bee.” His voice had lowered a couple of octaves, enjoying watching what he was doing to me as much as I enjoyed it.

“I…” I paused as the coherent thought I had left me.

“Tell me…” He said sharply as two of his fingers swirled in the dampness that he had created and then slid into my body, his traitorous thumb still rubbing circles against my clit, a bit firmer than when he started.

“Please…” I pleaded, and he answered with his deep chuckle.

“You have to tell me what you want, Bee. Be a good girl.” He coaxed, biting at my collarbone, his fingers finding the perfect rhythm to bring my body so close to the edge and keep me there, lingering between the dark and the light.

“Please make me come.” I whispered, hardly catching my breath as my hips thrust forward of their own accord, trying to find release.

“Hmm?” He murmured. “What was that?” I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Please…” I whimpered, as my body tried so hard to push itself over the edge that Nick refused to let it happen. “Please let me come.” I switched tactics.

Nick picked up his rhythm and firmly rotated his thumb in just the right spot and my body seized as my orgasm wracked through my body with an almost violent force. He slowed but continued his relentless assault, my hypersensitive clit throbbing against his hand as he forced another orgasm to build in my post-orgasm bliss.

I cried out as he brought me over the edge a second time in only a few mere seconds after the first. Pleasure came over my body in waves as Nick slowed again, only releasing his hold on me when he was sure the last of the shivers had left my body. He smiled and kissed the top of my head at the hairline and then lifted his hand to his lips and my eyes widened as his tongue darted out to clean the remnants of my orgasm from his fingers.

I came down from the high Nick had wrung from my body as the limousine came to a full stop. I knew my hair was a mess, and my dress was askew, but it did not bother him the slightest. He lightly planted another firm kiss against my lips and waited patiently for me to right myself before he stepped out of the car and held his hand out.

I took it and stepped out, a little wobbly at first which caused him to chuckle lightly.

“It’s not polite to make fun.” I pouted as I finished putting my coat in place.

He pulled me closer to him, lined up against his chest.

“Of course, it isn’t. I would never make light of you.” He lowered himself and buried his face in the side of my neck, inhaling my hair. “I love the way you look after I…”

“Nick…” I interrupted him before he could continue.

He chuckled again. “Alright. Alright.”

I sighed, trying not to shake my head. “So, where are we?”

“Somewhere.”

I frowned. “That’s not fair.”

“Just trust me.” He closed the door and held out his arm for me to take and began to walk us forward.

It looked to be some sort of park, but with Nick’s sudden distraction in the limousine, I didn’t have a clue where we had ended up. He raised up my hand that was roped under his arm and brought my fingers to his lips. I watched as he doted his affection on me, my heart warming that this glacier of a man had a singular flame left in his heart for me.

“You spoil me too much, you know that?” I accused playfully.

“I would disagree. I spoil you precisely the correct amount.”

I sighed. “I’m not used to it.”

“You will be. Give it time. I will always show you exactly how important and how much you mean to me.” He stated firmly.

“Will you tell me about your family then?” I looked up at him.

“You know my family.” He said, not meeting my eyes.

“Nick, please.” I pleaded quietly, squeezing my eyes closed. “I’ve told you everything. Gave you every detail of my life for the past twenty-one years. Can you budge just this once?”

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Not tonight, love.” He paused when I frowned again. “But soon.”

“Really?” I perked.

“Yes, really.” He chuckled. “You know how to worm anything out of me, you little minx.”

“I don’t try to. I just want to know your life.” I looked up and realized the path we were walking was now lit along the pathways with hundreds of strands of fairy lights. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s for you.” He watched as the light danced over us.

“What do you mean?” I asked curiously, reaching my free arm out to let my fingers drift along leaves and branches.

“I had the park decorated for you.” Simple explanation.

“Mr. Black, this is entirely too much.” I cooed.

“It will never be enough.” He smiled as we emptied out at a clearing.

In the middle there was a pond, lit up by floating lights. Along the edge was a weather worn gazebo that had been overtaken by luscious vines of ivy, the banisters covered in candles that flickered in the light breeze. My eyes widened when they came to rest on the gigantic air balloon just yards opposite of the beautiful oasis; a man was readily tending to it, giving us no notice.

“Nick…this…” I turned to look at him and fought the growing tears that threatened to brim my eyes. “This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“You deserve good things, Elsie.” He smiled as we approached the gazebo and a wonderful smell wafted in the air. “Come on an adventure with me.”

He turned to me and began to undo the buttons of my coat slowly; instead of being a chore, he cherished each and every button until it fell open.

“Nick, it's cold outside.” I gave him a confused look.

“It won’t matter.” He chuckled as he pulled the coat from my shoulders and motioned for me to go up the stairs.

I knew my face was the epitome of confusion, but I really didn’t know what he was getting at until I stepped upwards and onto the platform. Instantly, I was covered in warmth, the slight chill shivering down my spine until it was gone.

I looked around for the source of the heat, until I stopped when I looked up, noticing the fans above that sported red coils, blowing heat directly downward.

Well then.

Nick’s hand came down and rested against my lower back as I took it all in. There was a table in the middle, large enough to seat six people. It was filled over with various foods; meats, cheeses, crackers, fruits, and two glasses next to a couple different bottles of wine.

“This is really nice, Nick, but you really didn’t have to go through these lengths just for me.” I sighed, looking up at him. “Why does it feel like there’s something wrong?”

“It’s nothing, Bee. And I absolutely do.” He argued gently. “For the first time in a long time, Elsie, I have a reason to wake up in the mornings. I know I have a bit of a reputation, but I am trying my best to prove the gossip wrong. I care about you. I’m not sure how much, not at this moment. But I do know that I look forward to the days we spend together.”

He took both of my hands in his larger ones and squeezed them tightly. “I want to know everything there is to know about you. I want to be able to share my world, my life with you. I want you to come to know and love the monster underneath the skin, and I hope even then that you will not walk away. It’s just not easy, Elsie. It’s not easy to be so open like you have been with me. My world tends to chew people up and either spit them out or swallow them whole. I don’t want that to tarnish your light. You’re so much better than the people I am forced to surround myself with.”

“Nick, I’m not some saint that you can just put on a pedestal to worship. I am human, and I am not perfect.” My cheeks burned. “Tell me about your world.” I pleaded quietly. “Tell me what it is you do when you aren’t with me.”

“I can’t.” He kissed the top of my head and lingered there a little longer than normal. “But soon.”

“Is something happening soon?” I asked, his words had stirred a bit of worry in the pit of my stomach.

“Nothing that you need to worry about.” He sighed.

“Nick…” I argued.

“I promised soon, didn’t I?” He cooed, trying to calm my nerves.

“You did.” I released the breath I had started to hold.

“I won’t break it.” He reassured me.

“Alright…”

He stepped away, but kept his hold on one of my hands, pulling me forward to inspect the large amount of food in front of us. I was not hungry anymore; the hunger had given way to the worry that still lingered in my stomach. He had not necessarily lied to me, but something was going to happen, and by the way he was acting, it might not end well.

The extravagance now made sense. It was our first date, and whatever was coming could very well mean that this could possibly be our last.

I tried to swallow down the food that Nick offered out to me, but it tasted like sawdust in my mouth. The wine had no flavor, but I still planted a small fake smile on my face, while my mind raced a million miles a minute.

He made every attempt to make it a wonderful date, and had it been sooner than today, my mind might not have been reacting the way it was.

I smiled when Nick exited the limousine and held his hand out for me in front of Jay’s dorm, at my request. I needed to see her, so I could tell her about Halloween tomorrow. How I had taken care of everything. I even had a solid argument planned, in case her stubbornness tried to refuse. Maybe even get some information out of her about what the hell was going on.

Nick’s attention was on me, and then suddenly it wasn’t.

I emptied out of the limo and yelling pierced my ears from the side. I turned my head to where Nick openly stared, and he wrapped a protective arm around me, encasing me against the car. My eyes widened at the sight of Ryker standing toe to toe with Abraham, Jaylyn standing beside them, angry and annoyed.

“Don’t put your fucking hands on her again, Abe.” Ryker hissed.

“Would you two fucking stop?” She growled.

Abraham seemed amused. “Last I checked, Ryker, Jay is an adult that can make her own fucking decisions. You don’t need to act like you’re her family.”

“You’re only fucking playing with her to get at me.” Ryker rumbled lower.

“Who says? You?” Abraham’s eyes glinted with growing anger, even though his face remained calm. “The guy who has a fucking fiancé back home, but chose to fuck someone else anyways?”

Ryker’s eyes widened.

“What?” Abraham crossed his arms. “You think we all couldn’t figure it out with the way you pine over her? The way you constantly want to know where she is, or if she is with anyone? You would follow her around every day if given half the chance. That goes beyond just caring for your roommate's well-being. My advice to you would be what it always has been, back the fuck off.”

“Abraham, enough.” Jaylyn said, placing her hand against his chest.

Nick stepped closer to me, covering me completely, and I was unsure why until Ryker stared straight at her hand on Abe’s chest and then threw back his fist and flung it forward, hitting Abraham right in the nose.

“You son of a bitch.” Ryker spat.

“Ryker, stop.” Jaylyn yelled out, squeezing herself between the two of them, palms pushing them both away from each other. “Abraham, please. Just let it go.”

“You’ll pay for that one day, Davis.” Abraham spit blood to the side.

“No. No.” Jaylyn dragged Abraham away from Ryker’s heaving body, towards Abe’s truck.

“What’s going on?” I looked up at Nick, dubious to the scene that had just played out.

Nick stepped back only an inch. “I assume an altercation between Abraham and Ryker over Jay. Honestly, I’m not surprised.”

Ryker glared at them, shaking his head, and turning away, giving Nick a lasting look before he went inside.

“I need to see if Jay is okay.” I whispered, damn near into his chest as it swallowed me.

“In a moment.” Nick backed up and closed the door of the limo and it swept away, leaving us standing awkwardly in the aftermath.