Park Avenue Player by Vi Keeland
Chapter 27
Hollis
“Can I help you, sir?”
A clerk caught me in the act of rubbing a pair of silk panties along my cheek. Yeah. That isn’t fucked up. Seriously, what had my life come to?
I’d gone to a high-end lingerie store to make good on my promise. I hadn’t originally planned to use my face as a testing mechanism. I’d just gotten carried away, imagining Elodie in them.
“No, thank you.”
“Are you looking for something in particular?”
“Uh...soft panties, particularly thongs,” I said in a low voice.
She walked to the other corner of the room. I followed her, briefly looking over my shoulder.
The woman opened a drawer and took out a lavender silk thong before handing it to me. “This is definitely our softest material.”
Threading it through my fingers, I said, “I’ll take one in every color.”
She leaned in and whispered, “Are they for you?”
Caught off guard, I said, “For me?”
“Yeah. You know, some men actually like to wear them on the downlow.”
She thinks I’m a cross-dresser?
“No. They’re for my...” I hesitated.
What the hell was Elodie to me? She wasn’t my girlfriend, but she was more than a friend or a casual fuck.
“They’re for my nanny.” I laughed at the word I’d ultimately settled on. Well, it was the truth, I suppose.
“Your nanny?”
“Yes.” I laughed. “A gift.”
“Well, she’s a very lucky girl. I used to nanny for a couple on the Upper West Side. I certainly never got fancy underwear.”
She put together a rainbow pile of thongs and carried them over to the register. She wrapped them in tissue paper and stuffed them into a pink bag.
Looking down at my credit card, she said, “Well, Mr. LaCroix, I hope your nanny enjoys her soft panties.”
“Oh, we will.” I smiled.
***
That afternoon, after I returned from my impromptu Sunday lingerie jaunt, Hailey called me from her neighbor friend’s apartment. She was supposed to be spending the day with Kelsie and sleeping over. It was the first time I’d ever specifically asked her to check with a friend to see if she could spend the night. What can I say? I was desperate to be with Elodie.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Change of plans tonight. I can’t sleep over at Kelsie’s anymore.”
Shit.“Why not?”
“Kelsie’s aunt went into labor. They have to drive to New Jersey.”
Well, there goes my babysitting. I was supposed to pick Elodie up at seven. I’d made reservations at the restaurant she wanted to go to in the Mandarin Hotel and arranged for a carriage ride afterward. Hailey, of course, wasn’t supposed to know. Now what? I wasn’t going to be able to find a sitter on such short notice. I chuckled to myself. Maybe if you weren’t dating the damn sitter, Hollis, you wouldn’t have this problem. Anyway, I’d been looking forward to seeing Elodie all day. I didn’t want to have to wait till next weekend.
“What time are you coming back?”
“They’re leaving soon. Probably in about fifteen minutes.”
I sighed. “Okay, kiddo. See you soon.”
Letting out a frustrated breath, I picked up the phone and dialed Elodie.
She picked up. “Hey.”
My tone seemed less than happy. “Hey.”
She could sense something was off. “What’s wrong?”
“So…I have a little problem.”
“Are you standing me up?”
“Fuck, no.”
“What happened?”
“I have Hailey tonight. Her plans fell through.”
“I thought she was sleeping over at Kelsie’s.”
“She was. But they had a family emergency. So she’s on her way back in a few minutes.”
Elodie blew a breath into the phone. “Shit. Okay. Well, that sucks. But it is what it is.”
Think.“I know you said you didn’t want Hailey to know anything. I think that’s wise…but I still really want to see you.”
“Well, what choice do we have?” She sighed. “We can’t.”
I rubbed my chin. “Maybe we can.”
“How?”
“Can you come to the city?”
“Of course, but she’s going to suspect something if I come over on a Sunday.”
I wracked my brain for a solution. “I’ll take her out somewhere. You can show up and pretend you just happened to run into us. I’ll take her shopping to get stuff to make dinner here. We need to go shopping anyway. When she sees you, I know she’ll beg you to come back home with us.”
“I’ve been telling her I want to check out the new gourmet place downtown, Victor’s Market,” she said. “Maybe I can have an intense urge for pickled artichokes that prompted me to board a train to the city on a lazy Sunday?”
“Perfect. Whatever. She’ll buy it if we make it look coincidental. How soon can you be here?”
“Ninety minutes?”
***
I spotted her before Hailey did. Elodie had a shopping basket hanging from her wrist as she perused the bread aisle. Her long, blond hair was tied into a low ponytail. Her little ears were exposed, and they looked bitable.
I wanted to bite her fucking ears now? Jesus. This woman made me lose my mind.
Our eyes finally met. We shared a smile as Hailey continued to be distracted by a cheese sample.
Elodie approached and pretended to be shocked to see us. Her jaw dropped. “Hollis?”
I acted surprised. “Elodie? What are you doing in the city on a Sunday?”
Hailey’s head whipped around. “Oh my God! What?” She ran to Elodie and gave her a hug.
“Hey, Hailey! What a surprise to run into you guys.”
“Why are you here?” Hailey asked.
“Well, I had the worst craving for pickled artichokes and warm brie. So, since I had nothing better to do today, I decided to come into the city and stock up on my favorite things.”
“You’re gonna carry all that food home on the train?”
“Well, I limit myself to one big bag.”
Hailey looked up at me. “Uncle Hollis is going to make homemade Margherita pizza for us tonight. We came to get dough, and fresh basil and stuff.”
Elodie gave me a look like she was impressed.
I shrugged. “I’m not the greatest cook. But pizza I can handle.”
“Then we’re gonna watch the new Marvel movie after.”
“That sounds like so much fun.” Elodie grinned.
Hailey bounced up and down. “You should come have dinner with us and watch the movie.”
Bingo. Thank you, dear niece.
Elodie feigned hesitance. “Oh, I don’t know. It might be too late for me to get home at a decent time if I come over. It’s a work night, after all. I have to be ready for you bright and early in the morning.”
Hailey sulked. “I guess that’s true.”
Elodie and I shared a knowing look. Neither of us had been expecting Hailey to give up so easily.
What now? “I’d be happy to drive you back after dinner,” I said. “I’m sure Hailey wouldn’t mind the ride.”
“Great idea, Uncle Hollis.” She turned to Elodie. “See? Now you have to come.”
“Well, how can I say no to dinner, a movie, and door-to-door chauffeur service?”
A woman near us was eating something chocolatey on a stick.
Hailey fixated on it. “Where did you get that?” she asked.
The lady pointed. “Sample table in that corner.”
“Be right back!” Hailey said, booking it over there.
Elodie shook her head. “She’s got a one-track mind.”
“I can certainly relate to that.”
She blushed. “You were very determined to see me. “
“You look beautiful.”
“Well, I thought I had a date with a very handsome, sometimes obnoxious man tonight. I’d gotten myself all dolled up.”
“I hope you know he had big plans for you…the Mandarin Hotel restaurant, a carriage ride, the whole nine.”
“I might have gotten a little carried away with my requests. I hope you don’t think I truly care where you take me. I’m thrilled just to be with you. Hanging out at home is great.”
Her use of the word home made me a tad uneasy. It was a reminder that I needed to think before I entered into something serious. But right now, I couldn’t think of much else besides her lips. My eyes were glued to them.
“You want to get a sample?” she asked.
“All I want to fucking taste are those lips.” Checking to make sure Hailey wasn’t looking, I leaned in and attempted to do just that, keeping my eyes in my niece’s direction the entire time.
When Hailey suddenly turned around, I pushed back and muttered, “Shit.”
“It’s gonna be a long night.” Elodie smiled.
***
The kitchen was covered in flour. We’d opted to wait to clean up the mess until after we ate. Elodie cleaned the counter while I hand-washed a few dishes.
Hailey dried each plate as I handed it to her. “When are we starting the movie?”
“Probably in about ten minutes.”
When she finished the last one, she said, “Can I go to my room until then?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Elodie was still wiping the counter down when Hailey’s door slammed shut.
I waited a few seconds, then came up behind Elodie, pulling her into the small utility closet off the kitchen.
It was nearly dark in there, but just enough light from the kitchen seeped in through the slats in the door.
She panted as she looked up into my eyes.
I lowered my mouth to hers and emptied all of my breath into her. We kissed as if we were both starved. She pulled my hair as I grabbed her ass. Tasting the hint of wine on her, I moved my tongue harder and faster to taste everything else. Lowering my head to her neck, I sunk my teeth into her flesh.
That’s when she knocked me out of my trance, pulling back. “We’d better go back out.”
I rested my mouth on her skin then grunted. I peeked out before opening the door to make sure the coast was clear.
She followed and then went back to nonchalantly wiping the counter.
She glanced over at me and blushed. That made me want to kiss her all over again.
“It’s kind of fun sneaking around,” she said.
“I feel like a fucking kid.” I laughed. “I’ve been waiting to do that all freaking night.”
“I made sure not to wear lipstick, hoping you would.” She winked.
“Well, your lips are pretty damn red right now. I did a number on them.”
We continued to stare at each other, wanting more than we could have right now, knowing Hailey could come out at any minute.
Her soft, fair skin was begging to be bitten again. My inability to focus on anything tonight besides touching and kissing her was eye opening. It was like now that I’d given myself permission to touch her, I couldn’t keep my hands off. Maybe it was a good thing Hailey was with us tonight. We might have taken things too far. Or at least I would have tried to.
I was just about to steal one more kiss when Hailey’s bedroom door opened, demonstrating that we were only ever just seconds away from getting caught.
