Chapter 27: A Billionaire's Mansion

Gwen tried to swallow, her mouth suddenly dry. She saw that coming. Of course she knew what he was going to suggest, she wasn’t stupid.
A split of second was enough for her to make a decision. She was tired of overthinking every single choice she had to make in her life. She should enjoy the chance she had to do something crazy for once, since the last five years have been spent being a good mother to Cody.
All the things she watched young people do, she wasn’t able to have. She loved Cody more than her own life, and she didn’t regret anything related to him, but now life was presenting new opportunities to her, and she had no reason to deny.
“Okay,” she agreed in a low voice. Gwen suddenly felt shy, and was certain that her cheeks were blushing, heat spreading from her cheeks down to her chest. Clyde didn’t seem to have noticed, and if he did, he didn’t care, because he continued to drive with a relaxed and cheerful expression on his face.
Gwen was left more speechless once his car entered the largest condominium of luxury houses she had ever seen. Each house was even prettier and bigger than the other. Solar panels, mahogany doors, inclined rooftops, she lost count of all the things that would drive the price tag into the millions.
Clyde turned onto a road that was going up - were they climbing a hill? - and continued until he reached a dead end, and then Gwen realized he was parking his car inside the garage of a two story mansion.
Its simple appearance and clean lines gave it a very modern look. The backyard had an enormous pool, a lot of flowers and exotic plants, and even a marble statue of a tiger.
They passed through a very large white door at the entrance, and Gwen gasped at the sight of the living room. The floor was made of white marble and there was a black piano in the middle of the room. Everything seemed to be taken out of a movie.
They crossed the house with Gwen turning her neck from left to right to admire every part of the mansion. Passing by the kitchen, Gwen could see that the kitchen island was also made of marble and it had a lot of glasses on top of it filled with cookies inside. Very cute and fancy, she thought. She could never afford to have something like that in her apartment, and Cody wouldn’t let those cookies last a day.
And then she found herself at the back of the house. The view was spectacular. Like she had thought before, they were climbing a hill, and she could now see the whole town below. From up there, it was like an universe filled with little stars. It was breathtaking.
“You were right, your house does have an amazing view,” she whispered, still unable to pull herself back to reality.
It was unimaginable for her to believe that someone could have a place like that to call home. Her apartment was new and had all she and Cody needed, but it was no big deal. Not even Finn had a house as big and expensive as this.
Finn. There she was, comparing Clyde to him again. She had to stop doing that, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the evening like she wanted to.
Clyde excused himself for a moment and came back a few minutes later with two glasses in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. Gwen didn’t think it was a good idea to drink wine after the champagne they had over dinner, but she didn’t want to spoil the fun either, so she decided to accept. One glass wouldn’t hurt.
But then she lost track of it. One glass became two, and three, and by the time she realized, they had emptied the whole bottle. Her head was spinning and she could feel her body getting softer and lighter, like she was walking on clouds.
Gwen was feeling amazing. The night was beautiful, the sky was clear, the city below them creating a perfect atmosphere, and the way Clyde looked under those dim lights only made her even more attracted to him.
He had taken off his blazer and loosened his tie; Gwen took the opportunity to admire his tanned skin. She couldn’t blame the wine; she wanted to be alone with him, otherwise she wouldn’t go on that dinner in the first place.
Clyde was seated right by her side, and she could feel the fabric from his sleeve rubbing the naked skin of her arm, causing goosebumps to ripple across her body. As she admired the view, she felt Clyde’s hand gently turn her head. Before she could think, his lips were pressed to hers.
Though it had started out soft and sweet, the kiss quickly became passionate as he ran his hands through her hair, pulling her closer. Clyde leaned against her body, and started to guide her onto the grass of the garden. And then, something clicked inside her mind. An image of someone. One she was trying to erase the whole night.
Why was he ruining her night again? She couldn’t believe it. She grabbed Clyde with more strength, pulling him against her body, trying very hard to keep Finn away from her thoughts. But it all was in vain.
“Clyde, wait,” she suddenly said, stopping him with her hands on his chest.
The man looked at her, surprised and confused. She could see in his eyes how much he wanted her. And she felt guilty for turning him on only to make him stop at that moment. But it wasn’t her fault. It was Finn’s.
Then a reality hit her hard. She wasn’t ready yet. She thought she was. Stephanie made her get out go her comfort zone, but Gwen couldn’t go forward. She wouldn’t be true to herself if she was with another man just to forget Finn.
“I’m sorry, I can’t do this,” she said, feeling terrible.
Clyde got off her and sat on the grass, running his fingers through his hair.
“I’m really sorry,” she repeated, suddenly fighting the urge to cry. Maybe she shouldn’t have drank so much.
“It's okay, don’t worry,” Clyde said, his voice hoarse. “I am the one who should be sorry, we shouldn’t go too fast,” he concluded, getting up.
He reached his hand to her, helping Gwen up from the ground.
“Come on, I’ll take you home now. You need to rest,” he smiled, clearly trying to alleviate some of the awkwardness of the evening.
Gwen stayed in silence the whole way back. She just wanted to get home, take a shower and sleep to forget about that terrible date.
“Good night, Clyde. And I’m sorry for, you know… everything,” she said, holding the car door and looking at him.
He smiled.
“Don't worry. We’ll have more chances to make up for today. Have a good night, Gwen.”
She closed the door and took the keys out of her purse. She got inside the building and pressed the button to call the elevator. It was already too late for Stephanie to go home, so she would tell her friend to sleep there tonight.
But as soon as she opened the door from her apartment, she suppressed a scream of surprise and shock. It wasn’t Stephanie the one waiting for her. It was Finn.