Depths of a River

Chapter 9 - The Fashion Show

 "Who was that guy?" he asked me.

"It's only Jason; we have been friends for years. Why do you ask?" I asked him while frowning.

"I don't want you talking to other guys when you are with me. Do you want to make a fool out of me?" he asked putting his big hands around my upper arms.

"What are you talking about? He is my friend, I..." I said but he interrupted me.

"You don't talk to any other guy when you are with me, understand?" he said with an angry voice and shook me by my arms.

I tried to get away from him, his one hand slipped off my arm but the other one grabbed tighter and he jerked me towards him, hurting me.

"Let go of me!" I said to him, but he grabbed me only tighter.

"Let her go." A voice said from behind me.

I turned around to see a tall person in a suit. Duke looked over to see who it is and shoved me behind him and faced the person.

"What are you going to do about it?" Duke asked him, clenching his fists next to his body.

"Adelynn, come with me." He said holding his hand out to me.

I stood frozen. It was Rodrique from the other night. He remembered my name. 

Duke started walking closer to Rodrique.

"If you touch her again... You will face the consequences." Rodrique said to him. His face was really close to Duke's and he kept a serious expression.

He turned around and walked towards me. Rodrique pulled him back by his shoulder and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"I think you better go. We don't want any trouble." Rodrique said firmly and slowly to him.

I couldn't hear the rest of their conversation. Duke ripped himself loose from Rodrique's grip and turned his head towards me.

"You get yourself home!" he yelled at me before walking out the door.

I felt like crying. What had just happened? What did I ever do to Duke for him to treat me this way? I lay back against the wall to take in everything that had just happened. I felt my eyes burning as I start to cry.

"Are you okay? Is he your boyfriend?" Rodrique came to me, lightly touching my arm to see if I was alright.

"Yes and no, He's just somebody I met the other day. I don't really know him. I don't really know what had just happened." I said to him looking down at the floor.

"I'll take you to the hotel. I will get you a drink to make you feel better. Are you sure you are alright?" he asked me, looking into my eyes.

"I don't want you to feel sorry for me. I hardly know the guy." I said to him.

He looked at me without saying anything. I could see he was waiting for an answer on his drink offer.

"I will go with you; will you take me to Galilani's after? I asked him, hoping he would say yes.

"Anytime." He said smiling at me.

I walked past him out the door. He followed me. There were only three cars left in the parking lot. A cherry red Audi's Lights went on and off as he disarmed the alarm. It was the same Audi I saw at the hotel, it was his. I felt excited, like nothing bad happened only a few minutes ago.

"I've always loved Audi's; it's been my dream car since I was a little girl." I said to him as he opened the door for me.

"Really? That's good to know." He said impressed by what I told him.

He closed the door gently behind me and walked around the car to get in the driver seat. 

The car still had that new car leather smell inside. He drove off into the dark street and I felt nervous as the radio played while he was concentrating on the road.

I looked at him; even from the side he was gorgeous. He had a perfect jawline and long dark eyelashes.

He looked at me from the side of his eye and smiled when he realize I was staring at him. I quickly looked down at my hands in my lap, feeling myself blush.

We drove down River Street and came to a stop in front of the Roseland Forest Hotel The sign still shining brightly. He got out of the car and walked around to open the door for me once again. Mr. Erics walked up to us.

"Had a nice evening Mr. Valdez?" Mr Eric asked as Rodrique gave him his car keys.

"Sure did, thank you," Rodrique replied him.

I walked towards the restaurant, but Rodrique stopped me.

"I thought we could go somewhere a bit more private." Rodrique said while walking towards the stairs.

I followed him upstairs. He walked to the first floor and pressed the elevator button. I felt nervous again. We stepped into the elevator, and he pressed the third floor's button. The doors opened and we stepped out. He walked to a door and unlocked it with a key he took out of his pocket. He opened the door and allowed me to walk first. It was a big open living room. In the one corner of the suite, I could see the kitchen. There is another door in the living room, probably leading to the bedroom. He walked towards the big glass door that lead out on a balcony. He opened them, and a cold wind blew in. I liked the feeling on my skin; I could feel that we were higher up in the air.

"I'm going to fix us a drink. You can go outside, or you could wait for me." He said while he took off his blazer and his watch from his arm and set it down on the glass table in front of the massive flat screen television. 

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