Robin Alexander - Pitifully Ugly

sure we were talking about dinner anymore. I felt like we skipped

straight to dessert.

Hailey wiped her lipstick from my lips with the pad of her

thumb. “I’m sorry. I think I kissed away your lipstick and mine.”

“You’ll hear no complaints from me.”

Hailey slipped the toe of her shoe under the strap of her purse

and lifted it high enough for me to grab. After she plucked it from

my trembling fingers, she opened the door. “Let’s go,” she said

with a pleased smile.

I knew my face was flushed when we stepped into the elevator.

I smiled at two tenants I didn’t know very well and wondered if

they could sense the sexual tension flowing off of Hailey and me

in waves. No one said anything as we rode to the ground floor.

They followed us into the courtyard, and when I glanced over at

Hailey, she was grinning from ear to ear. “What’s so funny?” I

asked when we were alone.

Hailey took a tissue from her purse and wiped around my

lips. “I didn’t do a very good job of cleaning away the lipstick.

I think it was fairly obvious to our neighbors that we’d been

making out.”

I kissed her again, making her repeat the process with a

laugh. We were still standing on the step when the cabbie I’d

called honked the horn.

“Is that for us?” Hailey asked as I tugged her hand.

“Uh-huh, we’d spend all night looking for a place to park.”

I opened the door and watched Hailey’s legs as she slid across

the seat. We didn’t talk much on the half-dozen-block ride, but

Hailey entwined her fingers with mine and looked at me with an

unguarded intimacy that I’d not yet seen in her before.

“Do you feel like everyone is watching us?” I asked, hiding

behind my menu.

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Robin Alexander

Hailey’s eyes twinkled as she took a sip of her wine. “They’re

all looking at my gorgeous date.”

“I could argue that point.”

Hailey shook her head as she set her glass on the table. “Did

you ever notice how we always seemed to run into each other at

the apartment especially after we first met?”

I shrugged. “I always thought it was cosmic timing.”

“I can see the street from my window. I used to sit in front of

it and watch for you, then Fuzzy and I would make a mad dash

down the stairs.”

I sat back stunned by the revelation.

Hailey made a face. “I realize now that I’ve said it that I sound

like a stalker.”

“Not at all. It’s a sweet surprise.”

“Ladies, have we decided?” the waiter asked as he came to

our table.

Hailey winked at me. “You go first.”

“Promise me you won’t order only a salad because I don’t

want to look like a pig,” I said with a grin, then ordered the

crabmeat Karen. She impressed me when she ordered the filet

mignon Charlemond.

“I know, I’m drinking red wine with a crustacean.” I raised

my glass. “I’m uncivilized.”

Hailey grinned back at me. “I would’ve done the same thing.”

She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Screw propriety.”

“A rebel, I like that in a woman.”

Hailey ran her finger lightly around the rim of her glass as

she looked across the table at me suddenly serious. “You’ve torn

down every defense I have,” she said with a slight smile.

“I’ve torn down a few of my own in the process.”

“You know what I find irresistible about you?” She drummed

her fingers on the table as I gave her a questioning look. “You’re

just you. There’s no pretense, no smooth-sounding lines, just

a woman honestly offering her heart and hoping that it will be

taken by someone who’ll cherish it.”

“The woman I want to give it to keeps running away.” I

smiled.

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Pitifully Ugly

“Not anymore,” Hailey said seriously. “There are some

opportunities too sweet to pass up.”

Salads were placed in front of us, our wineglasses topped off.

“Thank you,” I said, but my gaze was locked with Hailey’s. “So

this means we’ll have a second date?” I asked when the waiter

left us.

“I was kind of thinking it would mean breakfast.” Hailey took

a sip of her wine as her meaning sank in.

“I think my crabmeat would enjoy a ride in a doggie bag.”

Hailey threw back her head and laughed.

I barely tasted my salad. The crab was delicious, but my

appetite for it had gone right out the window as I thought about

what this night would bring. Hailey fed me pieces of her steak,

and I shared the crab. I knew that Hailey was as ready as I was

to leave when the waiter asked if we wanted dessert. “Just the

check, please,” she said with a smile, but something behind her

eyes burned hot. I took that as my cue to call the cab.

The ride home seemed infinitely longer than it took to get

there. I thought I would be nervous, but I wasn’t. I felt longing

and desire that I thought only happened in books and movies. I

wanted to touch and be touched. To share a part of myself that

I realized I’d never truly given to anyone else. I’d had sex and

called it making love, but as I sat next to Hailey, it dawned on me

that this was how it was truly supposed to feel. Like two halves

merging together to make a whole. I would give as much as she

desired and take as much as she allowed.

Hailey squeezed my hand as we stepped into the elevator.

“As bad as I hate to say this, I’ll forgive you if you want to

back out now,” I said, watching her intently. “We’re about to

cross a line that for me is going to make being just friends again

impossible.”

“I know, but I think we’ve crossed that line already.” Hailey

squeezed my hand tighter and held it as if to say she wasn’t

backing down and wouldn’t let me, either.

I watched as Hailey’s hands shook slightly as she put her key

in the lock and pushed open the door. Fuzzy greeted us with a

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Robin Alexander

doggie smile, even though the movie had ended and was showing

the scene index over and over. Hailey gave her a scratch behind

the ears before she popped the DVD out and put in Grease . Fuzzy

walked over to me, expecting the same treatment. I scratched her

behind the ears and rubbed her chest and gave her a wink.

Fuzzy grabbed her sheep and settled back down on the rug

as Hailey took my hand and led me to the bedroom. As I closed

the door behind us, she stepped into the bathroom and washed

her hands. I watched as she looked at herself in the mirror and

exhaled a long breath. Her eyes met mine in the reflection.

I stepped in and reached around her to wash my hands. She

took them between hers and rubbed them with soap. It was a

luxurious feeling to feel her slippery hands move against mine,

something so simple was torturously sensual. Her gaze locked

onto mine when I leaned down and kissed her bare shoulder. Her

sigh as her eyes fluttered shut made my knees weak, and I leaned

heavily against her. She pushed back against me as she fumbled

with the faucet and cut the water off.

The only sound then was her breathing as I kissed my way to

her neck and softly bit into her skin. She leaned her head forward

as her hands gripped the sink. I felt like I was dreaming as my

hands slid down her hips, leaving wet marks on her dress. I pulled

back slightly and kissed down her back as my hands slid down her

thighs until I touched her skin. It was warm and smooth against