Judged By You (Judge Me Series) Read online

  “I did, but why would I need them?” I was interested in the answer to the question.

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “How about you tell me where we are going, and I will act surprised?” I leaned in a little and battered my lashes. What was I doing? He leaned in towards me, placing his hand upon mine.

  “You’ll like it.” He said in a seductive tone.

  This game was not working in my favour so I gave up. I picked up my wine with my free hand and sipped my wine. Dinner arrived, and it looked incredible. I started by eating my vegetables, they were mouth-watering. “I want to cook like this,” I thought to myself. By the time I got through my vegetables, I was almost full.

  “You have to eat that steak; it’ll be one of the best things you’ll taste tonight.” What was he meant by that statement I had no idea?

  I didn’t even need a knife to cut the meat, it fell apart. I brought it to my lips, and it melted.

  “This is delicious.” I said with half a mouthful.

  Damon just laughed and continued eating. Once dinner was over, conversation with Damon and I just flowed. We picked up where we left off from coffee this afternoon. I got more and more comfortable being around Damon every minute we spoke. By his expressions when he talked about his family. He was loved by his parents, and they were immensely proud of him and his brother and sisters achievements. He had a brother and a sister.

  William was thirty and an executive at a leading record company, and Amelia was some influential person at a bank. That Amelia is married with no children, and William has just ended a long term relationship with his high school sweetheart. By what Damon said she didn’t want the same things as he did, and it just took her fifteen years to work that out.

  Damon excused himself from the table to take a call, and I quickly called Nicole.

  “So how’s it going?” Nicole said as soon as she answered.

  “Good I think, I’m having a good time. Just thought I would check in. I don’t know what he has planned next so not sure when I’ll be home.” I couldn’t stop smiling.

  “Listen to you, all smiles. Just enjoy yourself and I will see you before work tomorrow ok.”

  “Talk soon, Bye Nic.” I hung up just before Damon returned.

  “I’m so sorry Savannah but something has come up. So we will have to cut tonight short.” Damon seemed distracted.

  “Oh…. That’s fine. I have an early class anyway.” I could have stayed out longer, it was only half past nine.

  I took out my purse and stood to pay the bill. “I don’t think so.” Damon grabbed my purse out of my hand.

  “Excuse me; I’m not having you pay for my meal.” I exclaimed

  “No excuses, I pay.” He said in an abrupt manner that stated he was not to be argued with. I agreed, and he gave me my purse. I planned to put my half in his car. He wouldn’t notice until morning I hoped.

  We walked outside and waited while the valet brought his car around. It was getting cold outside. These warm days and cold night were beautiful. But my favourite was when it rained. I loved the rain, and it was even better when I was snuggled on the couch watching TV with Nicole. The car came round, and Damon opened the door, I got in. Whilst Damon was paying the valet I put a hundred dollar bill under the dash mat, I put it under far enough so only a small corner was sticking out. “That will teach him,” I thought to myself.

  “You ready beautiful.” Damon said as he got in. I wanted to say, “No I don’t want to say goodbye yet,” But I refrained. I was once again staring out the window, wondering if I had done something to ruin our evening. We pulled up at my house just after ten.

  “Thank you for tonight Damon, I had a good time.” I said before he could say anything.

  “You’re most welcome, and thank you. I had a good time, and I’m sorry to cut this short but work… you know.”

  “We all have things that come up, it’s OK honestly.” Damon had gotten out of the car and come around to open my door in a hurry. I got out and stood in front of him.

  He put his hands on my waist and pulled me close to him. I could feel his hard body against mine. The heat from his strong hands made my skin burn.

  I searched his face for an indication about what he was thinking and what we were doing. Damon leaned into me, his face millimetres from mine, my pulse quickened. I licked my lips, closed my eyes and held my breath. “Yes or no Savannah?” He asked.

  “Yes”.

  Chapter 3

  That one word………

  He brought his lips to mine. They were soft, and he tasted sweet like expressive wine. I opened my mouth to let His tongue play with mine. I thought I was going to fall. It made me weak at knees. I was leaning against the Aston Martin, and his hard body was pressed up against mine. I could feel his hands move from my waist to the small of my back. At that moment, I wanted him, here or upstairs. I moaned against his mouth as he our kiss became deeper, and in that moment I realised what I was doing and where. I couldn’t do this here. I pulled away.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t. I should go inside it's getting cold.” I couldn’t look at him. I looked everywhere but at his handsome face.

  His hands went to either side of my face. I had no choice but to look into his eyes. He had a slight smile on his lips. Damon raised his lips to kiss my forehead. He was about four inches taller than I was with heals on.

  “Good night Savannah.” Damon released me, and I straightened.

  “Good night Damon, thanks again.” I was flushed, I needed to get inside. And fast.

  I walked up the path to the front door, before I went inside I turned and Damon was gone. What was going on? I was totally confused. I pulled away from the kiss. I wanted it but, not like this. I thought I had some respect for myself. I’m not a first date kind of person, now technically we have been on two and a half but still. I opened the door, and the house was in darkness. Probably a good thing, I didn’t want to face Nicole tonight. I had just humiliated myself I’m sure, and I don’t know if I could ever bring myself to see him again.

  I went up to my room and ran a bath. It always seemed to relax me when I was stressed or upset. I stripped off and got in; it was so hot my skin started to turn red as in slowly lowered myself into it. I replayed the day in my mind. It was great. The best date I have had and one of the best days since my parents died. What was I afraid of? Enjoying myself for once? Or enjoying Damon?

  After our long conversations, I had become more relaxed, and I could open up enough to skim the surface of my life. I didn’t want him to know how fucked up it truly was. Like Stephen said, any person would run. I soaked for an hour and decided to try and get some sleep. I got out, dried off and put my flannel Pj’s on. I picked up my phone and saw a message;

  You truly are beautiful. Thank you for a great day, looking forward to Tuesday. D

  Did he actually want to go out again after tonight? I decided to put it all behind me and take it day by day. I still had that project to complete by Friday, so I badly needed to concentrate on that. I closed my eyes and dreamt of kissing in the moon light.

  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  Nicole had coffee made, and my clothes ironed when I got downstairs the next morning. “So how was it?” Nicole asked.

  “Dinner was good, but…..” Should I tell her I ruined a good moment?

  “But what?”

  “You know, we kissed and I freaked out I guess, I don’t know Nic.” The feel of his lips on mine came flooding back to me. I wanted to do it again. I ran my thumb over my bottom lip, I could still feel him.

  “What do you mean you freaked out? You’ve kissed plenty of guys Savannah you tramp.” Nicole was laughing at me by this point, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to have this conversation with her any longer.

  “Never mind, I’m running late. Thanks for coffee and doing my ironing for me.” I said as I grabbed my things and walked upstairs again to get dressed and get to college on time.

  Last time I was late, was t
he first day, and after the lecture I got, I never did it again. I got dressed and grabbed my bag, which was full of text books and my laptop. I didn’t have a close relationship with anyone, except Sarah. She was not the kind of person who did outside coffees or girl dates. She was remarkably quiet and kept to herself, which was why I liked her. She never asked about my personal life, and I never asked about hers. We did a few group assignments together and sat next to each other but nothing beyond that.

  I sat through class not being able to concentrate on anything other than Damon. I liked him, and wanted to get to know him better. And I defiantly wanted to kiss him again. I needed to call him and explain, or call him just to hear his voice. I wondered if he had sorted his problem that had cut our date short last night. Sarah tapped me on the shoulder, “you better be taking this down, it’s on our exam,” she said with an unimpressed look. I picked up my pen and started writing. I needed to get my shit together and focus.

  The rest of the day flew by once I pulled it together. I went straight home after classes and decided to call Damon. He rang out, so I left a message.

  “Hey Damon it's Savannah. I just thought I would call and see how you are. I have been thinking about you. Anyway, call me if you want or something?” I hung up and realised I probably sounded desperate. I just continued to make things worse. I needed try and relax and not be so uptight about everything. At that point, I heard a knock at the door. I opened it; “hello I’m after Savannah?” The postal guy said.

  “Umm…. That’s me,” I couldn’t help but stare at the huge bouquet of flowers that sat in a wicker basket. They were pretty. He handed me the basket and walked down the path. I put the basket on the counter and opened the card.

  Savannah,

  Thank you for a lovely day yesterday. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you I hope I’m in your thoughts. D

  “Oh my.” Nicole walked in with a glimpse of jealously.

  “They’re beautiful right?” I smiled at her

  “Beautiful…. I’m jealous. I need to get Damon to give some tips to Stan.” She said nudging my shoulder. Nicole grabbed the card from my hand and read it out loud; turning to look at me once she was done.

  “So have you been thinking about him?” She said with a sarcastic smile.

  “Of course, you would too if you had the same intense moment I did last night.” I needed coffee if we were going to have this conversation.

  “You need to screw him and get it out of your system. Women always think clearer after that.” Nicole read my mind because she was already making the coffee with our fancy coffee machine as she spoke.

  “What? I don’t think so; that’s not me, Nic.” I could feel my cheeks heating. Curse this blushing shit.

  “Listen to you,” she said in mock laughter. “Do you like him Savannah?” She placed both her hand on my shoulders.

  “I think so; I mean I want to get to know him better.” I said looking away. She intimidated me with her lectures.

  “Well don’t hide like you always do. He will either like you for who you are or he won’t. Either way you will figure it out. Let your brick wall down a little and have some fun, are you listening to me?” It was hard to not to listen as she was right in my face.

  “Oh yes, Jesus, fine!” I put my hands on hers so she would let me go. She was right, I always had this wall up around people, and she knew me better than I knew myself sometimes. I went to the counter and picked up my phone. He hadn’t called back, so I messaged him.

  Thanks for the flowers. I have been thinking about you too, Sav.

  I wanted him to reply or call. I stood for a moment with the phone in my hands but nothing. Oh well nothings instant.

  “So what do you want for dinner Nic?” I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten all day.

  “Why don’t we order pizza and watch Sex in the City”? She was obsessed with that show. She always told me, she compared me to Charlotte. I didn’t know whether to be offended or be grateful. That girl has morals. We decided and ordered pizza; I went and had a shower while Nicole had hers. By the time, we were done the pizza had arrived.

  “This is not good for my diet.” Nicole said in a sad tone. Why she needed to diet was beyond me, she had the best figure. Curves in the right places, and was slim build. She was not much taller than I was, maybe an inch or two.

  “What are you talking about Nic, you don’t need to diet?” I couldn’t help but laugh at her shocked look.

  “Yes I do, I’m going to Stan’s parents’ house for a few days. It’s at the end of this month.” I could tell she was worried. Stan’s parents love her, but she continues to feel she has something to prove.

  “They love you Nicole, so stop your shit and eat your damn pizza!”

  Watching Sex and the City was good. I wondered if I could ever be like Samantha. She was so confident with her body and sex. She didn’t give a shit about what people said about her, and did as she pleased. If I had half of her confidence, I would be capable of anything. I still hadn’t heard from Damon, and I was a little disappointed. But he was a lawyer and lawyers were ALWAYS busy. I pushed him out of my thoughts, as hard as that was and continued my veg on the couch with Nicole.

  I looked at the clock half way through season two and realised it was almost midnight. “Holy shit, it's late Nic,” I said to her. “I have to get to bed; I have a study session with Sarah tomorrow morning at the library at ten.” I couldn’t be late, or I would never hear the end of it.

  “Good night Sav.” Nicole called as she turned off the TV.

  “Night Nicole thanks for tonight.” I totally loved Nicole. She was my rock, my safe place. Maybe Damon could be that someday I thought. At that moment, I thought how stupid I sounded. I wasn’t the kind to drool over a guy like that; maybe it was his looks, or the way he looked at me? Shaking my head I got that image out of there ASAP. I wasn’t going to lose sleep again. I needed all I could get these days, with assignments and exams coming up I needed the rest. “Your body retains information better if you sleep and aren’t tired.” I said out loud repeating the words of the lecturer. I climbed into bed and set the alarm on my phone for eight in the morning. I didn’t want to be late in the morning. Just as I put my phone down a message appeared.

  Can you come outside? D.

  I jumped up looking outside and saw his car parked on the curb. I think “what the fuck,” came out of my mouth without me knowing it. I put my slippers and robe on and went down stairs. I felt the butterfly’s in the pit of my stomach doing their thing. I walked down the path to where Damon was leaned against his car.

  “Hey.” I said trying not to sound too shocked. I half pinched myself, to make sure it was real.

  “Hey yourself.” He said with a smile.

  “What are you doing here?” I hoped that didn’t come out wrong.

  “I had to see you; I’ve been busy and thinking about you a lot….. And that kiss”. Oh my, he just had to say it.

  “Let me explain that” I said, not sure what I was actually going to say.

  “I don’t want you to explain Savannah. It’s OK, really.”

  “I just….. I just didn’t, you know. I was a little worried about what might have come of it you know.” Gees I sounded like a freaking virgin. Well, I might as well of been one, it’s been long enough!

  “It could have been a lot more on my part, but I have self-control and I would not have let that happen. Not on a first date, gee what do you take me for?” He was laughing at me, and at that point I wanted the earth to swallow me whole. Did I just inherently say I wanted to fuck him?

  “Umm…… I didn’t mean it like that, I just…. I just…. I need to shut up now.” I think I made it worse, note for next time, “SHUT THE FUCK UP” I yelled in my head.

  “I like to hear your voice, it's soothing.” Damon said as he grabbed both my hands and pulled me a little closer to him. He opened the width of his legs, and I was standing between them but not flush to his body.

  �
��Thank you for the beautiful flowers Damon.” I said, but it was more like a squeak.

  “You’re welcome Savannah.” He said.

  I could feel myself leaning a little closer to him. I felt his hands move up from mine, and he held my elbows. In that moment, I don’t know what came over me, but I kissed him. I actually made the first move, and it felt so right. My tongue starting moving with his has he opened to take the kiss deeper. He tasted every bit like I remember from last night, maybe even better. I moved, so I was flush up against him, my hands found his neck. I felt his hands around my lower back, and he pulled me closer. Fuck it felt good. A moan escaped me. I was shivering once again. We both had to come up for air. I put my head between his neck and shoulder.

  “Are you cold?” He whispered into my ear.

  I shook my head. I wondered if I should invite him in. Was he serious about self-control? “Do you want to come inside?” I just had to ask.

  “I actually should go, I just wanted to kiss you goodnight.” He was sweet.

  “Well I’m glad you did.” I said moving, so I was able to look him in the eyes.

  “Are we still going out tomorrow for dinner.” I hoped we still were.

  “I will call you, I have had a few things come up, and it might be a unusually busy week.” When he said those words my heart sunk. I wish now he would have agreed to come up. I could feel the wetness between my legs just from that kiss. I wondered what a bit of friction would do.

  “Oh, ok. I better go then. Bye.” I thought at that moment I might cry.

  “Hey, don’t run away,” He said grabbing me as I was turning away. I couldn’t look at him just in case I did. Emotional much? “Why are you running away? I haven’t finished talking. I was going to suggest coming by my apartment for a late dinner one night when you’re free.” He said with a soft voice.

  “I work every night this week, but Tuesday and I have an assignment due Friday.” God I wish I could chuck a sick day without feeling guilty and that I was smart enough to not have to study and research everything.