The Billionaire's Pixie

Takeout and Wine

Avoiding the inevitable wouldn’t help anyone. Pride was what kept me from reaching for my phone and giving Tinkerbell a call but it had to be done. We couldn’t live in limbo forever. Reaching for my phone even though it killed me inside I gave the woman who clawed me up a call.

“Didn’t think you’d give me a call.”

The teasing tone sounded familiar to me. Flashes of that night came back to me. The dirty promises she whispered in my ear as she straddled my lap while tying my hands came back to me. I could no longer live in oblivion. The night was coming back to me.

It was unpleasant, not the s*x because I knew I enjoyed that very much. Lying about it would make me even a dirtier scumbag than I already was. It had been mind-blowing. Tinkerbell knew what she was doing. She pushed all the right buttons.

Promising me pleasure which she delivered.

“We need to talk.” I reminded her.

Straight to the point which would make things less awkward for me, I hoped. She noticed immediately what I was doing and couldn’t wait to jump in to taunt me about it.

“No foreplay?” She asked, the smile clear in her voice, “I know from experience that you quite enjoy a little bit of teasing before getting to the point.”

She was definitely not letting me off the hook. I caught myself smiling at her words, I might not find her as annoying as I pretended to be.

“I have an early morning tomorrow so I don’t have the time to play.” It wasn’t a complete lie, I did start my mornings early at Merigold, “If you can make some time for me tonight I’d like to meet up. I’d appreciate it and I promise it won’t take up much of your time.”

I relied on my professional attitude to get me through this so we’d leave the night in our past. I should have known Tinkerbell wouldn’t allow me to do that. It was beyond me why she was so attached to me. We didn’t get along so she should have been thrilled to get this over with.

Maybe I was wrong.

“So polite.” She sighed, “You can come over right now.” I heard movement in the background, she was shuffling things around, “If you dare to be in one room with me that is.”

I deserved that, I knew I treated her like she was infected with the Zombie virus which would spread like the plague. She wasn’t that horrible. Right now I was definitely the scumbag who deserved to get kicked.

I sighed, “Look, I need to apologize. I haven’t been treating you right and that’s on me. Meeting you once and forever holding a grudge is not my style. So I’ll come over right now, just send me the address.”

She let out a soft laugh, “You’re nothing like the men in my life. Such a gentleman you are, Merigold.” Another laugh followed, “I accept your apology and to show you that I’ll order in. What do you like?” She asked.

Staying for dinner wasn’t my intention but refusing her offer when she was extending her hand wasn’t something I could do. The gentleman in me wouldn’t allow me to do it.

“I’m in the mood for something spicy, I think.”

“You think?” She asked, “Come on, Merigold, you’re killing me here.”

“Thai food?” I suggested in question.

“I’ll order in.” She let me know, “Come whenever you feel like.” She chuckled at her words which made me roll my eyes, “You can’t blame me for that one, it was easy.”

Tinkerbell was the teasing kind, I was figuring that out now. I didn't hate it exactly but I wasn't as quick on my feet like her. Maybe I was too serious for all the teasing she did. She didn't leave me hanging which I could appreciate it.

“I’ll see you soon.”

She ended the call which made me sigh in relief. The woman was more considerate than I was. If she was taking care of dinner I’d take care of the wine. It was the least I could do. Going through my stash I grabbed a good bottle and collected my things to leave.

Maybe for once, we'd go through a night without clawing at each other, literally.

***

Tinkerbell greeted me with a wide smile when she opened the door. She looked happy to see me which baffled me. I hadn’t been nice to her but maybe the apology was enough for her to warm up to me completely.

"I brought the wine," I said awkwardly, showing her the paper bag which held the expensive bottle.

She grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pulled me in. This woman really knew how to take me off guard every time. I wasn’t annoyed by it, I just needed to get used to it. I closed the door behind me, giving her the paper bag which she happily took.

“You’re amazing, Merigold.” She walked ahead, “Make yourself at home, food came a few minutes ago.”

Following after her I took in her apartment. She decorated in a grey with light green and beige color scheme. It was not what I expected of her. She was so out there so I expected her apartment to express that. Instead, her apartment was very clean looking and it smelled nice too, like fresh laundry.

“I’ll grab us some glasses.” She announced as we entered her living room, “I’ll be right back. Sit and make yourself comfortable.”

She was taking charge, not giving me time to feel awkward. It was appreciated. Her living room and kitchen were open spaced much like my apartment. Glancing over my shoulder I watched her take the bottle out of the bag and grabbing two glasses. She noticed me looking at her and winked at me.

“Told you to make yourself at home.” She reminded me.

It wasn’t that easy even though she was trying to make me feel comfortable. It was supposed to be the other way around. I felt like the little school girl in this scenario which felt odd to me. I had to shrug off all the concerns I had and focus.

Be nice to her since she was trying hard too and get this conversation over with.

Smiling at her, I noticed she loosened up too. She approached me again and handed me a glass. She sat next to me and carefully opened the bottle of wine.

“So I have a feeling I know what you want to talk about.”

Never a quiet moment with this woman, she was always talking. Maybe that was her defense mechanism.

I watched her fill up my glass, “I need to ask because that’s unlike me too.”

Once my glass was filled she filled her glass to and placed the bottle on the table which was filled with boxes of takeout. It smelled so good, it was very tempting to dig in immediately. Tinkerbell took a sip from her wine, placed her glass down too and grabbed a clean plate, handing it to me.

“Let’s dig in, I’m starving.”

Taking the plate I also placed my glass down and let her give me a bit of everything. I was definitely starving too. We settled on the couch, the silence between us a little awkward but not unpleasant.

"I'm on birth control." She told me, "There is nothing for you to worry about." A little smile spread across her face, "Oh, I'm also clean if that's what you were worried about. I don't usually pick up men and you know do the things I did to you."

My mind never wondered to any diseases she might have carried which was concerning. All I worried about was knowing her up. Everything I needed to know had been said, she just laid it out there and now I had no idea what to talk about.

We were both into games I assumed, maybe we could talk about that.

“So did you get a copy?” I asked her.

She flickered her eyes at me, her eyes glittering mischievously, “I ordered the deluxe version and I’m very happy with it. So you have fun with your basic game.”

Chuckling I shook my head at her. There was the sassy woman I knew so well. The never-ending rambling she did was definitely her way to deal with unpleasant situations. She seemed more at ease around me now. I was relaxed, just a little and so was she.

“Oh, I had fun.” I reassured her, “I enjoyed it a few more days than you did. So much experience I managed to get.” I smirked.

She rolled her eyes at me, “So you can totally drop the heir to a f*****g empire act and just be you. I bet I’m one of the few who sees you like that.”

That was true. There were Nina and Owen, they saw the real me too. Tinkerbell managed to see the side of me I rarely showed because I hated to lose control. She managed to do it though.

“Maybe.” I reached for my glass of wine, taking a huge gulp from it.

She smirked, “Right, trying to stay mysterious to keep me wanting.”

I nearly spat out my wine, clearing my throat to keep my composure. She laughed at me, her guard definitely dropped in front of me. She gave my shoulder a slight shove.

“Come on, you can’t be that awkward around me. We’ve shared such an intimate moment.”

That was true, the more I remembered the more I was reminded of how much I truly enjoyed that night.

“We did.” I agreed, placing my glass back down so no accidents were to happen right now, “It was good, I’m not going to lie about that. I enjoyed it-“

“Me too.” She quickly added, interrupting me from speaking my mind, “It was something else.”

It was but there was no way we could repeat that. If did it again there was a chance of things becoming too complicated due to feelings and what not. I had no intentions of getting into a relationship with this woman.

She was cute and sassy but to be real she wasn’t the kind of woman someone like me could marry.

“It was.” I agreed, “The food is great by the way.” I said, hoping to change the subject, “I was craving something spicy.”

She smiled, a flicker of something flashing through her eyes. It wasn’t sadness, I had seen that clearly in Joy’s eyes. Maybe longing, but I could be wrong. I ignored what I saw, it was better to just pretend I didn’t see then to make the situation worse.

“Bet you felt like crap yesterday. You looked like you needed some time to yourself.”

“Yeah.” I didn’t want to feel like that ever again, it was f*****g horrible, “I never drink like that. Owen can ask someone else to join him for a drink when that woman breaks his heart again. I’m not doing it again even though I care about him. My body just can’t handle it.” I trailed off.

“They’re not like that.” Tinkerbell informed me, “At least I think they’re not. She’s not into anyone but herself. She’s been like that ever she became famous, you know.” She shrugged.

I knew the type, I’ve been around them as long as I can remember. Women who were honest were rare to come by in my social circle. I hoped Owen didn’t lose his mind over this woman. She wasn’t worth it.

“I also take pride in knowing I can outdrink you.” She grinned.

That she could. She had been totally fine while I felt like a truck had hit me and came back to get the job done. It was something to envy.

"Whatever," I muttered.

She chuckled, looking quite pleased with herself. We finished our dinner and when the bottle of wine was finished I decided it was time for me to head out. She walked me out, lingering in the hallway as I made sure my driver was downstairs, waiting for me.

“Thank you for tonight.” She told me quietly.

I glanced at her, flashing her a reassuring smile, “It was fun. Thanks for having me.”

Her eyes glittered again, that same look in her eyes. It was definitely longing which I had seen. I was about to protest but Tinkerbell surprised me once again by stepping forward without warning, placing her hand on my arm and leaning in to kiss me.

The kiss was slow and gentle and I definitely kissed her back.

It felt good, how could this be wrong when it felt so good?

“See you around, fancy boy.” She whispered when pulling away from me.

Swallowing I nodded even though my brain wasn’t processing what she was saying. Leaving her apartment I let the fresh air help me clear my mind.

There was no way that was happening again, there was no future for us. I just needed to remind myself of that.