The Only Exception

CHAPTER 10

The dress fit perfectly, hitting right above my knees and showing just a tiny amount of skin where it dipped into a V at my chest, but not enough that it was inappropriate. I curled my hair, put on enough makeup that I still looked like my natural self, and then slid on my knee-high black boots. When I walked out of the bedroom, Sam and Mac were sitting on the couch watching some slasher movie. Sam turned as soon as my feet hit the kitchen tile.

“Whoa, looking hot roomie. Where are you going?”

I fiddled with the black clutch I borrowed from Melanie, sliding in a tube of lip gloss next to my mace. “Just out to dinner with a friend.”

“Dinner with a friend doesn’t require f*ck-me boots,” Sam said, smacking her lips so loud I could hear them across the room.

“These aren’t those kind of boots. They’re Steve Madden.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “So who is the lucky friend?” She made air quotes when she said friend.

“Just a guy from my classes.” I scanned my dress for any lint.

Before Sam could get in another word edgewise there was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it!” Sam jumped up from the couch and ran for the door. I tried to stop her, but she was quicker. She swung it open to another three dozen roses. I knew exactly how many there were, because that was the same amount Trey brought the last time, and these were identical.

“Whoa!” Sam yelled.

The flowers moved down, and, of course, Trey revealed his smiling face. “Hi, Samantha.”

Sam put her hand on her hip. “A guy from class, ey? I guess that explains all the flowers.”

Trey stood in the doorway staring from me to Sam. “Yes. Monica, these are for you.”

“Thank you, Trey.” I took the flowers and placed them on the counter next to the other set.

Sam gave me the once over and then her eyes widened as I stood in the doorway next to Trey. He was in his usual white dress shirt and blue dress pants with his hands in his pockets, looking like a sexy politician.

Sam smacked her lips. “Seriously? You’re going on a date with Trey?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Sam, I’m going to dinner with Trey.”

“You’re going to have to give me the deets about how this came about when you get home.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“I will,” I said with my hand on the doorknob.

Before I could close the door Sam yelled, “I won’t wait up!”

When I shut the door, Trey stood there grinning, making me melt even more than when he gave me the roses. “You look beautiful.”

“Oh, thanks.” I kept my head down for fear I was probably blushing. The guy had a thing for making me blush, and if he was going to continue with complimenting me then my face would be permanently red.

I followed Trey down to the parking garage where he pulled his keys out of his pocket and a bright red Mustang beeped.

“Seriously? You drive a Mustang? I was expecting something like a Range Rover or an equally over-compensating SUV.” I walked alongside the sleek car and slid into its plush, leather seats.

“We’re in a recession. I need to drive something more fuel efficient and American made to help our local economy.”

He pulled out of the parking garage and out onto Willow Avenue. He had one hand on the steering wheel and the other sitting on the console as if he was expecting me to put mine there with his. I wasn’t that easy, and it took more than a few smiles to hold someone’s hand. No matter how damn attractive he was, or how good of a kisser he was. If he said the right words, though, he probably could have convinced me. He really would make a good politician someday.

“So, where are we going?” I asked as he got on the highway going north. “I hope you don’t plan on driving me all the way to Chicago to some fancy restaurant with a valet and fifty different forks.”

He shook his head, his dimples making an appearance. It took everything I had not to reach over and kiss each of his dimples and then trail up and kiss every single freckle. “Not Chicago. I wanted to take you somewhere special.”

“So what is so special that we had to go out of town? Am I dressed appropriate?”

His eyes briefly flitted over me. “You could wear anything, and it would be fine. You’re absolutely stunning no matter what you’re dressed in.”

“Stop it, Trey!” I gently shoved his arm. I’d never actually seen his bicep, but from what I felt it was like solid muscle underneath his dress shirt. I actually stayed away from the gym inside our apartment building for fear of running into him. To have that good of a body he had to work out, and the last place I wanted to see him was where I would be sweaty and in gym shorts.

“What? I can’t I compliment you?”

I bit down on my lip, trying to keep my libido in check. I wanted to tell him to pull over so that I could grab him and glide my tongue all over his body from his freckles down to his, probably designer, underwear. I had to get a hold of myself. I hadn’t had those feelings for a guy in months and now my body was working in overdrive. My mother always said there was a thin line between love and hate, and the way Trey pushed my buttons, sometimes I didn’t know what side I was on. But at that moment, the good side was winning out.

“Uh, well, it’s hard to believe it when I’m always sitting next to the guy who is dressed like he’s running for office.”

He clenched and unclenched his mouth, bringing out the lines of his jaw. I had to stop staring. “I just like to look nice. I was never one of those guys who walked around in faded jeans and band t-shirts or some random sports gear. Swag is for boys. Class is for men.”

I swallowed hard. Whoever said that a man in a nice suit is to women what lingerie is to men was right. Trey did always look good in his dress clothes. Polished. He wasn’t like the other guys in class that just rolled out of bed and threw on a hat. I was starting to really understand the full sex appeal of it. “Very well said, Mr. Chapman.”

“Thank you, Miss Remy.”

Trey turned off the highway onto the exit for Lake Central. The only restaurant I knew that was near there was a little dive bar they called The Lake Shack. It was a throw-peanuts-on-the-floor type of place that served drinks out of mason jars and usually had a country band playing. I didn’t take Trey for that kind of guy.

But when he passed The Lake Shack, I was thoroughly confused. I hoped he wasn’t planning on taking me out in the middle of nowhere to have his way with me. He didn’t seem like that type of guy, but I had been wrong before. Thank God I brought my mace with me.

He turned down a residential road full of lake houses that weren’t so much houses as they were mansions; sprawling houses with manicured lawns and full views of the sun setting over the lake. He then stopped at one of the last houses in a cul-de-sac, leading us down a cobblestone path to a circular driveway. My mouth gaped open when I spotted the house. It was a long L-shaped building made of stone and gray brick. Black shudders flanked each of the country-style windows, and I could see a baby grand piano in one of the larger ones.

“Is this your parent’s place?” I asked, breathlessly.

Trey parked the car in front of the front door, turning off the engine. “No, it’s one of my dad’s friend’s places, but they aren’t coming in this weekend, so they said I could borrow it.”

“Oh.” It was all I could muster as I got out of the car and stared at all the beauty surrounding me. The lot was lined with weeping willows, pine trees, and rows of colorful flowers. Behind the house I could just make out the lake with the orange and red tinges of the sunset over it.

Trey went around the back of the car and then came back beside me with a folded up blue blanket in one hand and a picnic basket in the other. I tilted my head, staring at the basket. “We’re having a picnic?”

He nodded, putting his hand at my back and motioning me toward the rear of the house. My body tensed up from his touch, and he quickly removed his hand like it was on fire. Keep it together, Monica. Don’t freak out.

I didn’t think I was wearing the right shoes since they poked through the green lawn with every step. But I was too busy noticing the beautiful house to care. Once we got around to the back we were greeted by a large deck with a gazebo at the end. The deck extended down to wooden dock that stretched almost the entire length of the house.

“This is gorgeous,” I said, staring at the water. It was so crystal clear I couldn’t believe it was actually a lake. I swore I could even see the tadpoles swimming.

When we got to the dock, Trey spread the blanket out and then sat down, patting the seat next to him. “I thought I should try something different. You didn’t seem like the type of girl that would be impressed with a fancy restaurant, but I thought this might do it.”

“Mission accomplished,” I said with a small laugh before I carefully sat next to him, making sure to keep my legs crossed in front of me. I didn’t usually wear dresses and was very aware that I could show my lady parts at any moment. “Now what did you pack for our picnic?”

“I’m glad you asked,” he said, opening the basket and pulling out two wine glasses.

“Uh, I, uh don’t drink,” I stammered. Bad things happened when I drank, and I didn’t want those bad things to happen with Trey. I hadn’t had a drink in over four months and I wasn’t about to start again.

“Relax.” His charming smile crossed his face as he pulled out a bright yellow bottle. “I don’t drink either. This is sparkling lemonade. My mom used to get it for me and my brothers when we were kids and when I saw it, I couldn’t resist.”

“Oh, good.” I breathed out a sigh of relief.

He poured it in the two glasses and then pulled out a large box of sushi, two long sushi plates, chop sticks, soy sauce, and two little bowls for dipping. “I took a guess and just hoped you were a fan. I got some of everything, so hopefully there should be something you can stomach.”

“No, it’s great; I love sushi.” I watched as he opened the box and every single one of my favorite rolls stared back at me. “I just didn’t expect this to be the first choice for a picnic dinner.”

“I’m full of surprises, Miss Remy,” he said, his eyes locking on mine.

The butterflies were back in full force, knocking on my stomach and putting my libido to work. I was going to have to stop staring at him so much, or I would lose control. To stop myself from turning into a horny mess, I took the chopsticks and a plate, grabbing a few volcano rolls and some Philadelphia rolls, putting them on the plate.

“So, tell me something about yourself,” I said, pouring the soy sauce in one of the little bowls.

“Something about me? I’m sure you’ve already done plenty of Internet searches to figure out everything you want to know.”

That was true. I did do a lot of Internet searches on him, mainly to make sure he didn’t have any sort of arrest records. Luckily, he seemed to be pretty clean cut.

“No, tell me something I can’t find on the Internet. Something real.”

He twirled his chopsticks between his fingers. “How about you tell me something real. Something no one else knows about you?”

I shook my head and pointed a chopstick at him. “You first.” After I said it I popped a piece of sushi in my mouth, so I wouldn’t be able to say anything else.

“Okay, fine.” He looked at the blanket and then back at me. “My dad didn’t want me to go to Central.”

I almost choked on my sushi and had to pat my chest and take a drink of lemonade before I spoke again. “What? Why not?”

“Well, I didn’t expect that reaction.” He took a small drink before he spoke again. “My dad and both my brothers went to Dartmouth, but I wasn’t like any of them. Trigg was the star football player in high school, and Tripp was the honor’s student who could have any girl he wanted. I was just Trey. I didn’t want to continue to be compared to them, and I knew how bad it would be at Dartmouth if I didn’t live up to the expectations of my brothers and father before me.”

He pushed a piece of sushi across his plate before he continued. “I told my dad I wanted to go to a state school and said something about it being good for his campaign. He didn’t buy it, of course, but eventually agreed that I could come to Central. So, naturally even though I went somewhere other than Dartmouth I still had to join the same fraternity as my father and brothers, and now they’re sort of getting used to the idea of the youngest Chapman son not being an Ivy Leaguer.”

I widened my eyes. “So, you don’t actually want to be in a fraternity?”

He shook his head. “I never said that, Miss Remy. But I already answered one question anyway. It’s your turn.”

I popped another piece of sushi in my mouth, pondering my answer as I chewed. Once I swallowed it, I finally spoke. “When I was in sixth grade I purposefully misspelled a word in the state spelling bee competition.”

“Whoa, conceding to your opponent,” Trey joked.

“It’s not funny,” I said, but couldn’t hide the smile on my face. “Okay it is sort of funny, but my parents were so pissed. They wanted me to go on to the National Spelling Bee in DC and had all these big plans, but I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to deal with all that pressure, so I purposefully misspelled xylophone.”

“I’m sorry for making fun of you.” Trey put his hand on mine. It was so warm that it made the rest of my body feel like it was on fire. For so long I just focused on the political side of him that I hated, but there was a very real side, a softer side that I was really starting to fall for.

“It’s okay, fraternity boy, I’m sure I’ll come up with more things to make fun of you for.”

He leaned in, locking my eyes with his. “Don’t tell me you’re going to say you can’t be with me because I’m the governor’s son and in a fraternity.”

I shook my head slowly, biting down on my bottom lip to resist the urge to kiss him. “I think I can get past all of that if you can get over the fact that I’m not the middle school spelling bee champion.”

He leaned even closer. “If you don’t stop biting your lip, I’m not going to be able to concentrate on a word you say.”

I unhooked my lip from my teeth and moved forward, nibbling at Trey’s lower lip and then letting it go, running my tongue across it. “Is that better?” I whispered.

He didn’t say a word, instead he put his hand to the side of my face and pulled my lips to his, gliding his tongue along mine and running his fingers through my hair. I put my arms around his neck, deepening our kiss. He pushed aside our picnic with his free hand, breaking down the barrier between us. His tongue continued its dance with mine while his hands roamed my body. Everywhere his fingers touched sent electricity straight through me. Once his lips moved from mine and down my neck, I let a soft moan escape.

“Oh Monica, you’re beyond amazing,” he whispered in my ear before gliding his tongue along my earlobe.

I wanted to give myself to him, right there on the deck. I needed to put the brakes on, but he was the one to do it first. He pulled back, putting his hands on either side of my face. “If you don’t say you’ll be with me, I’m not sure what I’ll do. I’d probably still send you flowers every day until you say that you will. What you do to me is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced, and I don’t want to go another day without being with you.”

I ran a finger down the length of his jawline. “I don’t know if I’m ready for something serious.”

He let out a puff of air through his nose. “We can take it as slow or as fast as you want. I’m not going to force you into anything you don’t want to do. I just can’t stop thinking about you since the first day we met, and I don’t want to stop.”

I swallowed. I hadn’t put myself out there in awhile, and I’d never had a guy profess anything like that to me, not even previous boyfriends. “Okay, we can see where things go from here.”

“I can take that answer, Miss Remy, for now.”

I could pretend I had it all together, but if Trey knew the real Monica, I wasn’t sure if he’d still be saying all the things he was.