Page 15

15

Cliff

W aiting outside of the building where the gala is being held, I take a deep breath and tilt my head toward the sky. Tonight is an important night. Not just for my company but for me too, because I’m going to do it. I’m going to tell Jade that I don’t want this relationship to be fake. I want it to be real. I want her to be mine and only mine.

“Hey, Cliff.” I hear a feminine voice from behind me and I turn toward it.

“Jade,” I breathe out softly. It’s all I can do right now looking at her. What a sight to see. “You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you. And thank you for the dress you sent over. It’s beautiful,” she says, almost shyly.

I take three large steps and wrap my fingers around her waist, pulling her into me. “It’s not the dress that’s beautiful, it’s you. It doesn’t hurt that you’re wearing my favorite color too,” I say, grinning at her as I place a small kiss on her cheek.

“It sure is,” she says, looking into my eyes, her hands gliding down the lapels of my tux. “You know you don’t look so bad yourself,” she breathes out.

For just a moment, we’re locked in a trance where the only two people that exist is us. My mind is filled with thoughts of getting her home and ravishing her when the slam of a car door brings us both back to the present. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. It’s time to get this show on the road.

Letting go of her waist, I move to her hand and begin to lead us toward the door of the building. “Shall we?”

“Let’s do this,” she says as I open the door for her, and we walk into the hotel, the staff leading us straight into the room that is holding the gala.

When we walk in, Jade’s eyes go wide and she says, “Wow, it’s beautiful.”

I look around and see the same thing that I see every year: Fairy lights hung around the room, a bar placed in the back, tables covered in black and white tablecloths, and a chocolate fountain with desserts surrounding it. Shrugging my shoulders, I murmur, “It looks like this every year. I guess I’m used to it. Our table is this way.”

We head over to the table that we were assigned to, and Hunter is already sitting there with a few other people from work. We grab the last two chairs right next to him. “Hey, Hunter. How’s your night?” I ask as I pull out a chair for Jade.

“Just got here, but so far, not too bad,” he says.

Jade gives us a quizzical look. I lean over and whisper, “He means so far he hasn’t had to be in the company of Sally Mae Robinson. She’s the CEO’s mother and can sometimes be a little bit handsy.”

Jade’s eyebrows shoot up with my comment. “Isn’t that sexual harassment?”

“She’s like ninety years old,” I say, waving her off. “No one’s worried about it, but she can also go on and on.”

Hunter leans over the table. “Jade, I heard from Mr. Wilkes today.”

“Oh yeah. So did I,” she says smiling.

I grip her hand and hold it in mine. Leaning into her, I say, “You didn’t tell me?”

“I was going to once we got settled, but Hunter over here beat me to it,” she says but doesn’t explain any further.

“Well, what did he say?” both Hunter and I ask.

“They told me that they were happy with how I’ve been with the team this season, on the court and off the court,” she explains.

“That’s great,” I tell her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her into a side hug, giving her a chaste kiss on the lips before whispering, “I’m so proud of you, Elsa.”

She pulls back with mischief in her eyes when she sasses, “You can’t call me Elsa. I’m no longer the ‘ice queen.’”

“You’ll always be my ice queen,” I tell her.

Hunter joins in when he says, “Well, I guess you two can stop this ‘relationship’ anytime now, right?”

My heart drops at the mention of our fake relationship because it has never felt faked. No, it’s very real for me. I look over at Jade when she whispers, “Yeah.”

Before we can go any further though, the lights go out and a spotlight is brought to the stage, interrupting any conversation we might have. The CEO of our company comes out onto the stage and grabs the microphone. “Welcome to our annual Elevate Sports Agency Gala,” he says and the crowd cheers.

The CEO goes on and on about our company, but I tune out most of what he’s saying because my mind is still stuck on the woman next to me. I never thought much about if she would or wouldn’t want to continue our relationship. The idea of asking her to be my girlfriend for real has me panicking.

Jade squeezes my hand, bringing me back to the present and I catch the last part of his speech. “This is one night where we celebrate all the hard work everyone at the company does. It’s not easy working in the sports industry and especially with those who are valued less. But it also has its rewards. Tonight is one of your rewards. Enjoy the music, food, drinks, and especially the good company,” he says before hanging the microphone back up on the podium.

The lights come back on, and the music begins. I let go of Jade’s hand and she gives me a questioning look. Instead of explaining, I just blurt out, “Would you like a drink?”

“Yeah,” she says, dragging out the word, probably super confused by my sudden change in behavior.

I fumble a little, but I’m able to push back from the table. “Great, I’ll go get us one.” Getting up from the table as quickly as possible, I walk to the bar, my head filled with every possible scenario of what could go wrong tonight. I’m not loving that Hunter reminded her of us not being in a ‘real’ relationship. “It will be fine. She’ll say yes,” I mutter to myself.

At the bar, I order our drinks when a large hand lands on my shoulder. “Hey, man, you okay? You were a little jumpy back there.”

“Yeah. Just a little nervous,” I tell him.

“What are you nervous about?” he asks.

“I’m going to ask Jade to be my girlfriend…for real,” I tell him.

Hunter lets out a long whistle right when the bartender comes up and hands me the drinks, raising her eyebrow at us. Ignoring the bartender’s reaction, I take the drinks from her and turn back toward Hunter.

“Now you know why I’m so nervous. Thanks for reminding her that this was a fake relationship,” I say to him.

“Man, you don’t have to worry about anything. That woman looks at you as if you hung the moon. Besides, if something goes wrong, then I’ll be right next to you when we hit the clubs,” he says.

“I sure hope so. At least the part about Jade wanting to be with me,” I say, hoping I don’t have sweat forming on my forehead. I’ve never been more nervous before. Leaving Hunter at the bar, I head back to the table, taking a deep breath, ready to ask Jade.

When I approach the table, I see Jade talking to an older couple, who I don’t recognize at first. Placing her drink down in front of her, I sit down in the chair next to Jade. The couple continue to talk with Jade when I realize that I know the guy she’s talking to. I know he’s one of the guys from HR but can’t seem to think of his name. Not wanting to interrupt, I sit and listen to their conversation when I hear them gushing, “I’m so glad that we get to sit with you. Our granddaughter is a huge fan of yours.”

“Thank you. Does your granddaughter play basketball?”

“Oh yes, she loves it. She’s pretty good at it, too,” the wife says pulling out her phone from her purse. “See here she is,” she says, shoving the phone into Jade’s hands.

I lean over and watch the video with her. They’re right, she’s pretty good. Apparently, Jade agrees because she says, “You have a super star here.” Or maybe she just doesn’t want to offend them, who knows. That’s just how Jade is, she’s kind and thoughtful of other people’s feelings.

The music changes to Jade’s favorite song. Leaning over, I put my hand out and ask, “Sorry to interrupt, but Jade, would you like to dance with me?”

A grin spreads across her face when she realizes what song is playing. Placing her hand in mine, she replies, “I would love to.”

We get up from the table together and walk onto the dance floor. Pulling her into my arms, we begin to dance. “Did you know that this was my favorite song?” she asks.

“Maybe?” I say giving her a grin.

She leans up and gives me a chaste kiss. When she pulls back, my pulse quickens because I’m about to tell her how I feel.

“Jade—” I begin but then suddenly someone interrupts, “Is that you, Cliff Mitchell?”

Glancing over my shoulder, I see Sally Mae Robinson making her way toward us on the dance floor. Oh shit. I do not want to deal with this right now.

Plastering on a smile, I twirl Jade around and reply, “How are you, Mrs. Robinson?”

She waves me off. “You’re such a charmer. You know you can call me Sally,” she says.

“Well, Sally, what can I do for you?” I ask her.

“You are just the cutest and so polite. When are you going to let me set you up with my granddaughter?” she asks.

Before I can even answer her, Jade steps in placing her hand out to the lady. “Hi. I’m Jade, Cliff’s girlfriend.”

I can’t help but smile at the way Jade is claiming me. Maybe Hunter is right, and I don’t have anything to worry about.

“That’s wonderful, dear,” Sally Mae replies.

Ready to have Jade all to myself, I say, “If you don’t mind, I would love to take my girlfriend out onto the balcony to show her the view of the city.”

“Of course. I’ll see you around, Cliff,” she says as she searches the room, probably looking for her next victim to corner.

Intertwining my fingers with Jade’s, I pull her along and out of the side door that leads to the balcony. The sun has gone down, allowing the city lights to shine brightly. When she sees it, her eyes light up as she releases my hand and makes her way to the railing looking out.

“This view is gorgeous,” Jade breathes out, glancing at me over her shoulder.

“Not as beautiful as you,” I say, staring at her.

She gives me a soft smile. Reaching for her, I pull her into my arms, holding her close. I can feel the heat from her body seeping through my tux and warming me from the inside out.

Kissing the tip of her nose, I tell her, “Jade. I’ve been wanting to tell you all night. In fact, I’ve felt this way since the moment I met you. I want you to be my girlfriend…for real. No fake. No end date. Nothing. Just you, me and forever.”

Wrapping her arms around me, she leans in and gives me a small peck on my lips. “I would love nothing more, Cliff Mitchell.”

“I love you, Jade.”

“I love you, Cliff,” Jade says with unshed tears in her eyes, giving me a smile. “Now take me home. I want you to fuck me.”

“With pleasure, Elsa.”