Chapter 67

Renee’s POV

We need some life back into our days. Eric still hasn’t come to the realization that my denial of his proposal is a good thing and because of that he’s been rather avoidant of me.

I think something else is going on too though because he’s been extra snappy. The other day, Debbie dropped a cup of water and he stormed up to get a towel and threw it on the ground, all while ignoring Debbie as she stood soaking wet next to him.

I told Debbie that daddy is really stressed at work and it was her idea that maybe we need to have a party to make work fun again.

I told her that might not be a bad idea. Though, because of Eric’s bad mood I approach with caution to the basement where he’s been working out a lot lately.

“Eric,” I weakly call out from the top of the steps, the only reply is the sound of metal clanging against one another.

I trot down the stairs the cool chill from the basement becomes stronger as I hear our home gym. Eric must crank the AC down to make it near freezing because he’s working out so hard. I follow the droplets of sweat on the wooden floor to where Eric lays out on a gray bench with two large dumbbells in each hand.

The swell of his chest muscles block his face so I know he can’t see me. I wait for him to finish his set. I watch his arms bend and straighten at the elbow, the vein in his arms pulsate. When he drops the heavy weights at his side, he sits up with a sigh. He sees me and his eyes harden.

“Hi,” I say becoming completely aware how much smaller I am than he is.

“What do you want?” He asks but sounds like he doesn’t really want to know. He grabs a towel off the floor and wipes it across his face.

“A party,” I say. Confusion comes over Eric. I clear my thought and muster up more confidence. “Let’s invite some friends over and have a party to celebrate my growing new business and your rebranding,” I say making it sound like it’s no big deal.

Eric shakes his head and lays back down on the bench. “Fine,” he says.

I stand frozen for a minute only because I wasn’t expecting that reply.

“All right then,” I manage to utter after a minute of disbelief. “I’ll get to planning,” Eric doesn’t say anything, he only goes back to working out but I climb the stairs back to the warmth and get to decorating, reaching out to friends, and ordering food.

Four hours later the house is party-ready. I’ve kept it relatively simple as only Jasper, Emily, and Andrew are coming.

I’ve realized living in secrecy has made it hard for me to let anyone get too close and any other friends I’ve had are all from Blue Moon Group and given the nature of my leaving, I figure it’s best to keep a distance for now.

Either way the smaller guest count made it easier for Debbie to get over the fact that even though the he party is her idea, she won’t be attending. Instead, she’ll be having a sleepover at a friends.

When I put the finishing touches on the black and white floral center piece, I look around the living room.

The theme is a black and white bash, I’ve rummaged through the attic and found some old black and white throw pillows that I tossed on the couch, hung up some sheer lacy black curtains from the windows and crisscrossed them across the ceiling, and set up some clear balloons filled with twinkling fairy lights. The kitchen table is draped with a black cloth and the former sushi platter is spread across white plates.

I myself am in a simple black dress with dainty white-gold jewelry. I told Eric he has to wear black but all I got in response was a grunt, so we’ll see.

Just the the doorbell rings. I go to answer it and before I can open the door all the way, Emily is already pushing her way through.

“I can’t believe this is your house!” She shouts. Her voice travels up to the high ceilings and echoes through the open hallways. She’s been here before, but years ago. She’s mostly used to my tiny apartment.

Once she’s done sizing the place up she faces me, her red lips spreading into a grin. She has her hands full with two bottles of champagne, she holds her arms out and wraps me in a hug. The bottles clink behind me. “Where can I put these?” She asks.

I’m about to show her to the cooler in the kitchen when I hear the door opening. I turn and see Andrew coming inside.

Andrew wears a fitted black t-shirt and black pants. He looks more like a security guard than a guest, especially with the ever-present stoic expression on his face.

I have no idea what he thinks of me, the last time we saw each other was when I was going behind his best friends back to get a divorce and he ratted me out.

But he’s here, if only for Eric, but I’ll assume that means he doesn’t completely hate me- thought I wouldn’t put it past him to kill me if Eric ordered him to.

“Evening,” he greets.

“I’m Emily,” Emily says extending her hand for Andrew to take in his. I’ve known her long enough to know she’s over extending her kindness to make up for his lack of sociability.

Before the door can shut, I see a black sneaker wedge itself between the door and the wall.

Jasper pushes the door open and steps inside.

He’s wearing a midnight black dress shirt paired with very dark jeans. The dark coloring makes the natural lightness in his hair stand out. He looks good, especially with that grin that’s pulling at his lips.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” Emily and I say back at the same time. It’s not until the sound of footsteps descending down the stairs reach the floor that I pull my eyes of Jasper.

I turn to Eric slightly embarrassed for having been caught staring at Jasper, though when I see Eric I can’t remember why I was even looking at Jasper.

Eric is in black pants and a white button down, with his shirt buttoned only enough to just hardly cover the top of his chest. He’s decided to accessorizing with a gold watch and a skinny gold chain. All his working out has been paying off as shown by the size of his exposed forearms from his rolled up sleeves.

My heart race increases and I suddenly feel very hot.

“I’ll go pour these in some glasses,” Emily says with an unexpected coldness. I want to ask her what the problem is, but by the way she’s glaring at Eric I think I have an idea.

“Yeah,” I say clearing my throat and trying to keep the mood of this evening light. “Everyone come in,” I say and paint a smile on my face.

Eric stares at the back of Jasper as he walks towards the kitchen. Just as Eric is about to follow him, I come up next to him.

“You’re going to he fun, right?” I quickly whisper in his ear. Eric tightens up at my touch and I release my hands from him.

He turns his head to speak to me and for a brief moment our noses touch, our breath overlaps until I can’t breathe anymore.

“This is going to be a very interesting night,” Eric whispers back. His words do little to easy my worry.