The Chauffeur [Complete]

Chapter 11

Hours had gone by. I'd just woken up from my nap after having cleaned the house and completing a few loads of laundry. I yawned, checking the time. 2:30 pm. I still had thirty minutes left before Everly needed to be picked up from school.

Remembering I still needed to pump some air into her tires, I got up and went to the bathroom. After flushing and washing my hands, I stood in front of the mirror to fix my hair.

When I was done with that, I headed downstairs. I paused in the mud room to put on my shoes before going through the garage door. I pushed the button that opened up the garage, eyeing Everly's pink and purple Frozen bike leaning up against the wall in the corner.

Looking around for the bike pump, I curse when my eyes zero in on the black and white pump sitting on the shelf. Sam used it the last time the tires on his own bike fell flat and must have forgotten that I'm short.

I wasn't even going to attempt to jump up and grab it. I exited the garage to see Rade had taken off his suit jacket. He'd popped the hood, my breathing becoming labored when I saw that the sleeves of his white dress shirt had been rolled up to his elbows, revealing more tattoos.

He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, not seeming to notice my presence. Or so I thought.

"Do you need something, Celeste?"

I stiffened, my gaze flickering up to his to see him staring straight at me. I swallowed. The way he said my name wasn't anything like the way Sam says it. I didn't hear any kind of aggravation laced in his tone. He spoke softly, my name sounding so beautiful and unique on his tongue.

He stepped back from the car, his muscles straining against the thin material clinging to his skin. I could see the way his muscles stretched as he moved to run his hand through his hair. He was still staring at me expectantly.

I swallowed for the second time, needing that lemonade again. "Could you help me?"

He closed the hood of the car and nodded. "Sure. With what?" He sauntered over to me as I pointed up at the bike pump on the shelf beside Sam's dumbbells.

I watched in amazement, wondering what it felt like to be over six feet as Rade grabbed the pump for me. I held out my hands, thinking he was going to hand it to me. But then he did like he's always done and took matters into his own hands.

I didn't argue or try to stop him this time. I was too busy trying to remind myself that I'm married and shouldn't be checking out my Chauffeur. No matter how good he looked...

No! Stop, Celeste. You shouldn't be looking at another man.

Rade rolled Everly's bike out of the corner before crouching down low. He attached the air pump to the tire on the front and got to work.

Joder(Fuck).

The veins. The muscles. The-

No. Shut up, Celeste.

When he was finished pumping more air into the front tire, he moved to the back and pushed and pulled on the handle just as he had done before.

Then he straightened to his full height and walked back over to the shelf. The pump was placed on the lower shelf and the bike rolled back into the corner. 

He turned to face me. "Is there anything else you need?"

There was that word again. Need.

There was a lot that I needed. A husband that didn't work so much. Another baby. To go to college and finally pursue my dreams. A fucking orgasm. And one that wasn't by a sex toy.

"No, thank you."

Rade continued to stare at me as if he knew I was lying. But it's not like Rade could give me any of the things I needed. He's just my Chauffeur.

****

Everly came bounding out of the school building, passing by some of the other students as she made her way over to us.

Rade opened the door, expecting Everly to just get inside. Instead, she paused in front of Rade. She held up her hand, her small palm facing him as she beamed up at him.

Rade seemed to contemplate the action for a moment before giving her a high-five with his much larger hand.

The brief interaction between the two of them was cute. Despite Rade's robotic movements, he didn't seem to mind that Everly wanted a high-five from him.

He waited until Everly was buckled in before closing the door and walking around the front of the car. He returned to the driver's seat, the hat he hardly ever wears resting in the passenger's seat.

He turned the radio on, per Everly's request, and we headed home.

Rade would occasionally glance in the mirror, his brooding gaze and stormy eyes only ever on me. He wouldn't say a word. Just stare.

I'd squirm, staring right back until I could no longer take it and have to look away. Every time we'd start this staring contest, I was always the first to break.

I was getting used to his hard expression. He either showed no emotion at all or looked like he was thinking about something. He has such an insane poker face that getting him to smile or even laugh seemed impossible.

That wasn't the only thing I learned about him in the day that we've spent together. I also learned that he's constantly checking his surroundings. Like he's expecting someone dangerous to appear.

I don't know anything about Rade besides him being Greek and English. He's not much of a talker, keeps to himself, always helpful, and annoyingly protective. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he worked in the CIA or something.

Everly had fallen asleep, her head resting on my arm. She must have had a long day at school today.

I looked away from her to find Rade's eyes on me again. His eyes were like a raging storm, hints of blue peeking out every now and then. I could honestly stare into them all day. They were just so beautiful and mysterious. It made me wonder what other kinds of emotions I could bring out of them.

"What?" I finally asked, my voice coming out shakier than I wanted it to.

No matter how hard I tried to get those butterflies to leave, they always came back. And I felt like such a terrible wife for feeling them around a man that wasn't my husband.

Rade looked away, his attention back on the road.

I wasn't the first to break eye contact this time, and it made me wonder what was going through his head.

"Are you bipolar or something?" I blurted out in frustration at not being to read him. "One minute we're having a decent conversation, and the next, you're back to giving me the silent treatment. How will we ever get along if-"

"My job isn't to make friends. My job is to take you wherever you and your daughter need to go. And to get you there safely. I don't want or need friends."

I didn't know why his words hurt me so much. I guess it was because I had been seeking out a friend. My friendship with Harvey was important to me. And now that's he's gone, I feel like I have no one to keep me company when Sam's at work.

So, I've been trying to find some way to connect to Rade. But it's clear now that he doesn't care to make any kind of connection with me. He never has and he never will.