Read Sadie Online

Authors: E. L. Todd

Tags: #Romance, #Contemporary, #Fantasy

Sadie (2 page)

2

 

As we walked down the street, I pul
led my dress down every few seconds. My heels scraped the concrete with each step. I hated wearing flashy shoes like that. It wasn’t my thing. He walked beside me, towering over me. He had his hands in his pockets, not touching me, which I was grateful for. I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. But at the same time, I did kinda want him to touch me.

Ethan saw me fix
my dress. “Would you like to change first?”

I would love n
othing more. But that meant I would have to return to my apartment—with Ethan. I was torn.

He saw me pull my dress down again. “Come on. Where do you live?”

“Uh, just up the street.”

He nodded. “Great.”

We walked down a few blocks before we reached my apartment building. Ethan held the front door open for me as we walked inside. When we got inside the elevator, it became awkward. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and cringed. I looked so awkward and unattractive. When I looked at his face in the mirror, I saw him stare at my body intently. There was a hungry expression on his face that made my heart race. His arm brushed against mine and I almost had a heart attack. When the doors opened, I breathed a sigh of relief.

We walked to my apartment door and I unlocked it.

Ethan stood outside while I walked in. I didn’t want to invite him into the apartment, but I felt rude making him stand outside. “Would you like to come in?”

He smiled. “Thank you.” He walked across the threshold and stood in my living room.

I hadn’t been alone with a guy in my apartment in a long time. I immediately felt like I was blundering. He was quiet so I wasn’t sure what he was thinking. When I heard the familiar sound of a bell ringing, I smiled.

Koku, my little dog, came into the living room and walked toward us. He held a toy in his mouth that was bigger
than his head. I kneeled down to the floor to pet him, but he ignored me and walked up to Ethan.

Ethan reached his hand down and started petting the dog. “Who’s this little guy?” He massaged Koku’s fur then scratched him behind the ears.

Koku acted like I didn’t exist. The traitor. “His name is Koku.”

“He’s a sweet dog.”

Koku dropped his toy then wagged his tail, asking Ethan to play with him. Ethan grabbed the toy and tossed it across the room. Koku ran for it, almost knocking over a table, then returned to Ethan. I rolled my eyes. The dog was supposed to protect me, not play with the strangers who entered my apartment.

“I’ll be right back.” I walked into my bedroom and changed into a long-sleeve shirt, a scarf, and dark jeans. For the first time that night, I felt comfortable. I could sit down without my ass
hanging out.

When I walked back into the living room, Ethan looked at me. His eyes drank me in for a moment. “You look lovely.”

I blushed. I tried to cover as much of my skin as possible, making it clear that I wasn’t a slut.

“U
m, thanks.”

He smiled. “You don’t take compliments very well.”

“No, I do.”

He laughed. “Your cheeks are as red as an apple.”

Now I felt more embarrassed. I kneeled down and kissed Koku on the head. “I’ll see you in a little while, okay?”

He whined.

“I love you too.”

Ethan patted him on the head. “I’ll see you later, Koku.”

I looked at him. “No, you won’t.”

He smiled. “We’ll see.”

“I meant what I said. I won’t change my mind.”

He nodded. “I know. And I’m not trying to change your mind.” He walked through the door and stood in the hallway. I locked the door behind me then we returned to the elevator.

“So, what do you do for a living, Sadie?” he asked as he moved next to me.

“I work at a bookstore.”

He nodded. “Which one?”

“Bill’s
Book Emporium.”

He
smiled. “I’ve been there a few times. Do you like working there?”

“I love it.”

“That’s great.”

“And what do you do?”

He was quiet for a moment. “I work on Wall Street.”

“That sounds boring.”

Ethan laughed. “And working in a bookstore doesn’t?”

I smiled. “You have a point.”

He nodded. “Well, it’s the same job everyday but with different numbers, I’ll give you that.”

I fidgeted with my scarf until the doors finally opened. When we walked out to the street, I heard my phone go off with a bunch of different noises. When I looked at
it, I realized I had ten text messages. I had a hunch who they were from.

Ethan smiled. “You’re close with your friends?”

I nodded. “Very.”

“I can tell. They seem nice.”

“I like them—sometimes.”

“Well, if they approve of me
, then maybe you should give me chance.”

“They just want
me to get laid.”

He smiled. “Well, I can help with that.”

I smiled at him. “I already said I’m not like that.”

“I can wait.”

I shook my head. “You’re wasting your time.”

We walked down the street and passed a few blocks. Ethan placed his hands in his pockets. “I’m definitely not wasting my time.”

“Do you think I’m playing hard to get?”

“No
.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Then I don’t understand.”

We arrived at the coffee shop and Ethan opened the door for me. After we walked inside, we stood in line.

“What would you like?” he asked. “I’ll order and you can take a seat.”

“Uh, okay. I’ll just have black coffee.”

“Okay.”

I turned away and moved to a table in the corner. It was nice not to worry about my ass hanging out like it did in my dress. I felt my cheeks blush as I stared at Ethan. He was tall and thin, not too bulky and not too skinny. He was perfect in every way. I didn’t understand why he was taking me out to coffee. I already said I wouldn’t sleep with him. I doubted he wanted anything but sex from me. And I was still surprised that he even wanted to sleep with me. I felt so ordinary compared to everyone else in that bar.

Ethan returned a moment later with our drinks then sat across from me. He took a drink of his coffee then set it down. He stared at me for a long time without saying anything. I looked out the window to avoid his gaze. The heat in his eyes was making me melt. He made me so nervous but so exc
ited at the same time. His blue eyes were paralyzing. It was hard to look at him without wanting to scream in delight. He was beautiful.

“How long have you lived in the city?” he asked.

“My whole life.”

He nodded. “My family is from
Connecticut. I moved here after college.”

“Do you miss it?”

“I miss my family, my aunts and uncles.”

I nodded. “None of them live here?”

“My two brothers do, as well as my sister.”

“Well, that’s nice.”

“Did you go to college, Sadie?”

The sound of my name
made me smile. The command in his voice when he said it made me shake. I don’t know how to explain it. “Yes.”

“And what did you major in?”

“English.”


What do you want to do with that?”

“Well, I like working at the bookstore, but
I would like to get into writing and journalism eventually. I do some freelance stuff with friends, but that’s it.”

“Do you love it?”

I smiled. “More than anything.”

“Then that’s all that matters.”

“Do you love your job?”

He shrugged. “It’s okay. I like having a job that allows me to live comfortably in the city.”

“So you just care about the money?”

He took a drink of his coffee then returned it to the table. “No, but I care about having a better quality of life.”

That sounded like the same thing to me but I didn’t comment on it.

“I like that sweater on you. It really brings out your eyes.”

Absentmindedly, I grabbed it and ran it through my fingers. It was grey. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that because my eyes are green. I realized that I hadn’t touched my coffee yet. I was just too nervous around him to move. I didn’t want to make an idiot of myself in some way.

He took another drink of his. I suspected that he was almost done.

“So, why did you want to have coffee with me?”

“I thought that was obvious.”

“Not to me.”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“Or you thought if you were charming and handsome enough, I might change my mind.”

“You think I’m charming and handsome?”

“Uh.”

He smiled. “Well, thank you for the compliment.”

I sighed. “I know what kind of guy you are so you can save the prince charming act.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And what kind of guy am I?”

“You know, the kind that goes to a bar and picks up a chick, nails her, then never calls her again.”

He said nothing.

“Am I wrong?”

“Well, I can’t say that I haven’t done that before.”

“That’s what I thought.” I shouldn’t have sounded short with him but I did.

“But that isn’t my intention with you.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure.”

He smiled. “I haven’t always been the nicest guy. I’ve done things that people wouldn’t approve of, but I’ve never been a liar. I can promise you that.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.”

“So, what do you want from me, exactly?”

He glanced at my body then focused his gaze on my face. “I want to take you out to dinner tomorrow night.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because I want to get to know you better.”
He leaned further over the table. “And because I think you’re a very sexy lady.”

I felt my cheeks blush.
“And you don’t want to sleep with me?”

“Well, I didn’t say that,” he said with a laugh. “
That’s an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“Well, I’m not going to.”

“I never asked you to.”

I said nothing
, finally taking a drink of my coffee.

“So, will you?”

“What?”

“Let me take you out to dinner tomorrow?”

I stared at him. “You know, you are taking the really long route to getting laid. You would save a lot of time if you just picked up another girl. I doubt you have trouble finding women to sleep with you.”

“First of all, thank you for the compliment. I’m not goi
ng to lie; I enjoy knowing you find me attractive. Secondly, that’s fine. You made it clear that you didn’t want that kind of relationship and I respect that. You can stop repeating yourself now.”

“So
are you looking for a relationship?”

“Possibly. I would like to spend more time with you to figure that out.”

I ran my fingers through my hair then tucked it behind my ear.

His
eyes grew hungry. “But when you do things like that, it makes it difficult to be a gentleman.”

“Sorry?”

“When you act sexy like that. You’re beautiful.”

I felt my heart catch in my throat. “You think I’m beautiful
...and sexy?”

“Duh,” he said with a laugh. “You don’t?”

“Not really.”


Your mirror must be broken.”

I didn’t know what to say. I found it hard to believe that this gorgeous man thought I
was attractive—beautiful. I felt hideous compared to him.

“So, how many times do I have to ask you?” His voice was deep and powerful. Sometimes he was carefree and other times he was aggressive. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

“What do you mean?”

He shook his head. “You lost the right to an opinion. It’s settled. I’m taking you out to dinner tomorrow night. I’ll be at your apartment at seven.”

“Uh.”

“I’m glad we got that straightened out.” He leaned back in
his chair and smiled at me.

“Okay.”

“Good.”

My phone started to go off again. Every few seconds
, there was a loud beep. My friends were pestering me, wondering what was going on with the guy I picked up at the bar. I cringed at the thought. I was on a date with some random stranger, one that I would see again tomorrow.

“Your friends seem very invested
in your personal life.”

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