Love and ego episode 11

Love and ego episode 11
When they were finally ready to go to bed, he was already under the sheets when she joined him. He turned his head to the window, towards the sound of a roaring train passing by. She smiled when she saw him cringed but said nothing. Slipping under the sheets, she laid on her back and heaved a sigh as she stared at the ceiling. He was lying on his back with his arm folded under his head while the other one laid across his a belly.
They remained that way in the dim room for a while in an awkward silence when unfortunately, a loud mo-n issued from the other room and soon the expected slamming began. He pursed his l-ips as he listened to the woman scre-ming out several Obscene words to urge her grunting partner.
“You go through this torture every night?” He asked her.
“Uhm-uhn…” She nodded in the affirmative. “I guess I kinda expect it now but since I’m used to it. Yelling at them to keep it down is no use.”
“Right…” He drawled then they slipped into another silence again. Soon, she drifted off to sleep that way and he joined her later only to wake up briefly in the middle of the night to find her snuggling closer and even entwining legs with his.
He lifted his head only a bit to stare down at her as she placed her head on his chest, wrapped an arm around his chest before she comfortably settled in her sleeo again. Slowly lowering his head down on the pillow, he decided not to wake her up. Pulling his arm slowly from under his head, he slowly wrapped it around her body and pulled her closer but with the intention to remove it before dawn. The last thing he wanted was she waking up and finding them in such a position.
When morning came, Claire slowly fluttered her eyes open and when it dawned on her that she was still in bed, instead of preparing to go to work, she suddenly jolted to a sitting position but then paused when heard the sound of her vacuuming machine.
“What are you doing?” She asked when she saw Rendell with the machine. Besides his boxers, he had no other clothes on.
“Good morning to you too.” He said sarcastically.
Placing her hand on her forehead, she exhaled and replied, taking correction. “Good morning. You vacuum?!” She asked in surprise.
“Yes, why?” He continued.
“I just believe every rich guy out there is a spoilt brat who can’t even tie their own shoe laces.” She told him.
He scoffed. “Right… But I beg to differ.”
She scooted to the edge of the bed and threw her feet on the floor. “I can’t believe that I’m almost late for work. You should have woken me up.”
“Well, you needed that sleep.” He told her.
“Yes, and it seems like I haven’t had such a good sleep in a long time.”
“Yea? I do have positive effects on people, especially when they snuggle up with me.”
She gave him a look. “Oh don’t get c*cky. If I had snuggled up with you, I must have mistaken you for my pillow, so please do not read any meaning into that.”
“Right…”
She exhaled again then walked to her closet as she said, “I really need to start preparing for work?”
“You have been granted permission to stay back today.”
She appeared with a puzzled frown. “What do you mean?” She asked.
“You are not going to work today, not after what happened to you last night.”
“Is that really necessary? As you can see, I’m very fine and I sustained no severe injuries.”
“It’s an order, so stand down, young lady.” He stated then switched off the vacuum cleaner. “I have also asked that my schedule for today be cancelled and have also taken the day off.”
“And you did this, why?”
“First, we need to change your locks and fix or replace whatever was damaged.”
“I’ve not even received my salary yet, how am I supposed to do that?”
“Worry not.” He simply told her and she simply smiled and shook her head before returning to her closet.
★
That morning, after she had her bath and brushed her teeth, she offered him a new brush and while he had his shower, she made a simple breakfast and they ate. When they were done, he drove her back to his place where he had a change of clothes before they drove out once again.
When they began to cruise the town and did not stop at any store to buy what they needed, she asked, “Why are we not stopping?”
“I already gave Gregory that task. He’s to call up and supervise the men who are going to fix the things in the room.” Rendell explained.
“And what am I supposed to be doing then?”
“You are stuck with me till all this is over. I wanna take you places. Just a little tour to while away time until the men are done.”
She smiled as she gazed at him now. She just couldn’t believe that this was the conceited man who had almost knocked her down several weeks back. He had changed so drastically or perhaps, was he warming up to her too like she was already warming up to him. Slipping into a daydream, she caught herself actually checking out his facial features and then her eyes lingered on his l-ips.
As if sensing the awkward silence in the car, he glanced at her and saw her glazed look fixed on him. “Claire?” He called softly but she was still lost in whatever she was daydreaming about with her eyes fixed on the lower part of his face. “Claire!” He called again, snapping his fingers in front of her face. When she jolted back to reality, he shook his head and smiled as he said, “Earth to Claire.”
Embarrassed, she nervously w-t her l-ips as she turned her gaze to focus on the road in front of her now. “I’m sorry…” She swallowed hærd then asked, “were you asking something?”
“No, I was restraining myself from k-ssing you from that look you were giving me.”
She flushed and her cheeks tinged but she quickly lowered her head to hide it with her hair. When she finally looked up, he slowed to a stop before a popular boutique and turned into the parking lot and killed the engine.
“Let’s go shopping for that dinner dress I promised and let’s hope that you have good taste too.” He said as he got down the car.
★
in,side the boutique, he sat down while she tried on dresses and anytime she stepped out of the change room, he made a disapproving face when he didn’t like it and she had to change a dozen times before he finally accepted one. It was a short gown which almost completely bared the back.
After picking the expensive dress, he also paid for the shoes and every other accessory she bought. Instead of going back to her apartment, he drove her around and stopped at various places where she never would have had the guts to go to, let alone enter the building.
They had lunch at a restaurant and throughout, she laughed so much that her belly hurt. She never knew that he was this fun and cool to be with but she guessed her encounter with Derek had to bring them this close. She was so happy being in his company like she had not been in a long time, although she felt guilty that she had not even sent a single chat to Salmon all day and even when she checked her phone, hoping that a message from him would also pop up, nothing happened and she presumed that he might also be busy.
After having the fun of her life that night, by the time he took her home, she was awed when she entered her apartment. Wondering if she was in the wrong room, she stepped out briefly to check the room number on her door and she realized that it was still very much the same which meant that she was in the right room.
He just stood behind her without a word as she slowly walked around her room checking it all. Her locks had been changed quite alright and Gregory had met them at the amusement park that night to hand the keys over to Rendell. Her interior was completely changed, from her wallpapers, her rug, her kitchen cabinets, her sink, by lamp, her shower curtain, her bathtub, her shower head her table, even to her bed itself. She just couldn’t believe her eyes at the complete makeover and she wondered how it had been possible that the men had finished fixing everything before she got back.
So overjoyed, she suddenly caught him off guard by dashing across the room to throw her arms around his neck as she happily thanked him. He hesitantly hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her wa-ist, pleased that she liked it but when she still won’t let him go, he said, “Um…Claire, this is the part where you let go.”
“Oh!” She quickly pulled away, feeling awkward but that was simply overshadowed when she turned her attention to the makeover again. That night, bidding her good night, she hugged him again at the door and he found himself placing a k-ss on her head before he could stop himself, even though what he really wanted was to k-ss her. He saw that she wanted the same thing anytime he searched her eyes but he didn’t want to act impulsively, should in case he had assumed wrong.
Reluctantly walking away, he left and she locked her door and leaned against it with a sigh. She had really wanted to beg him to spend another night with her but she concluded that, that would be asking for too much, not after everything he had done for her today. She leaned away from the wall and began to carefully observe her room again. That night, when she slept and her randy neighbours began their usual routine, she could hærdly hear them and only when she opened her window did she really hear the passing train and she gasped in surprise, then smiled when it dawned on her that he had made the room partially sound proof.
Before she went to bed, she chatted up Salmon and he apologized for not being online or sending her any messages all day, she did the same and they chatted for a few minutes before they both called it a night, each claiming to be exhausted and they both went to bed. That night, while Claire laid on her bed thinking of Rendell, he laid awake on his own bed too, replaying the events of the day in his mind. This feeling was rather unexpected and strange to him but when he delved deeper into his mind, he realized that somehow, way before today, she had always been on his mind since he had met her on the road but he had been ignoring all along until it had all floated to the surface and made itself known.
The next day being Friday, during the general meeting which was held with the staff, he could hærdly tear his eyes off her. No matter how hærd he tried to concentrate, he always found his eyes drifting on its own towards her direction even though she had deliberately used makeup to cover up some of the bruises on her face and had painted her l-ips blood red to hide the cut on it.
Sometimes, he caught her staring at him too but she would quickly tear her gaze away and hide a smile and he just couldn’t wait anymore to pick her up for the dinner later that evening.
To Be Continued…