My Boyfriend's Mother

13: I'm in trouble

I got to Monde at exactly 5 pm just like how Elena instructed. I sat at the bar. At the same seat the first time I laid eyes on her. Joe gave a faint smile. "Miss dirty Martini Grace." He greeted. "Oh, I won't be drinking." I informed him. Not tonight. The last time I drank with Elena I ended up on her expensive couch. We don't want that. Keep all the goblets away from my fingers. "Sorry, I'm late." Speaking of the gorgeous devil. There she is. Elena wore jeans and a faded pink shirt covered in a denim jacket. Finishing off with a glint of lip gloss and wedges. Her hair is tied up. Which was new to me. Wow. "Oh hey, Grace. Didn't know you'd be here." She said after smiling widely at me and Joe. "Wh-what?" I asked. Am I in the wrong place and time? Didn't we set up a date tonight? I MEAN A NON-DATE. Is it not Friday today? "I'm sorry I must've.." I grabbed my bag. This is embarrassing. I felt her fingertips on my wrist. "I'm just fucking with you. Sit down." She said in my ear. Yes ma'am. To my surprise I obeyed her. Joe laughed. "You should've seen your face." He said. My cheeks grew red. How I wish I could kill him right now. Both of them. I sighed. "That was not funny," I said. Elena smiled. "Oh come on. It was a little funny." Joe was swept away by another customer. That's when Elena roamed my body and I felt a little dizzy. I didn't even drink anything yet. And I wouldn't. "You look beautiful, Grace." She touched my face. "You always do.." I had to shake my head a little. "Are you kidding me? I feel over-dressed." I looked down at the yellow cocktail dress I chose to wear this evening. Which didn't take an hour long. Nope. "You don't look like you're going on a date with that outfit," I said to her.

"I thought this isn't a date." Shit. "No! It's not.."'

"Sounds like you wanted to go on a date with me."

"That's not what I meant."

"That's not what you said."

"You know what.." I took a deep breath and slowly released. "Let's just get off the bar, find us a table, order some food, so we can get this da- NON-date over with." Elena stood up. "Who says we're having dinner here?" I watched her walk straight out the door. "You coming?"

"We're at the beach.." I said the moment we stepped out of Elena's car. "You can see clearly." She commented. "I haven't been to the beach since 1998." She chuckles. "You've probably been busy. How's Breathtaking Blooms?" She placed her hand on the small of my back to guide us away from the car and into the beach. Once we hit the sand, she took her wedges off. "The shop is.." I felt a little jealous and wanted to feel the sand against my feet as well. "Doing really well, thank you for asking." She took a breath and inhaled the salty breeze of the ocean as she closes her eyes. The sun is setting and it illuminated her face in the most perfect way. "Have you incorporated those new ideas you had?" Is she still talking about the shop? She remembers? "Oh. Uhm.. Well, I finally partnered with that coffee shop just across the shop, The Pink Bean a couple of months ago. It's been great so far. The tropical and floral-like jasmine yet subtle and sweet with notes of brown sugar and vanilla is exactly the kind of aroma I needed to make the shop stand out from other flower shops along the area. Plus I get free morning cups of coffee every single day. Best career move I made so far." Elena smiles. Which showed the tiniest of wrinkles on the side of her eyes with a glint through the sunlight. "Wow. You did that? I'm proud of you, Grace. I too would love to experience that scent. Can I come over to the shop one of these days?" She asked. "Yes! Of course! Please!" I'm always excited to invite people into the shop. "I'd love to give you a card. It has the address on it, but I'm currently out.." A ballpoint pen appeared in front of my face. "Here, write it on my palm." She then gave me her hand. I looked at her. "It's okay. I leave notes all over my hand while I'm working anyway. See this?" She pointed at the back of her left hand. It wrote, 'Read Lauren Harper's newest release.' "Who's Lauren Harper?" I asked. "Oh, she used to be one of my students. "She's now a published writer. And I love reading the works of my former students." She smiles proudly. Just like how she was smiling when I told her the news from my shop. I stared at her. "Now come on. Write the address down. In here." She says. I plucked the pen from her fingertips and held her. "Your hands are cold," I commented as I jotted down on her beautiful skin. "That's because I'm nervous." She whispered. Almost to herself. Elena Richards? Nervous? "What?" I softly asked. Her face inches away from mine. She's blushing. I don't think I've ever seen this side of Elena before. "Are you hungry?" She laughs nervously and retreated her hand back inside her pockets. "I'm starving. So uhh.. food is this way." She started walking away and took a piece of my heart with her. I'm in trouble.