28. Forgiveness.

[Claire]
"Jean, you have to stop sending me these flowers and gifts, I have no more room for flowers in my house or in my office." I complained on the phone.
"I'll stop if you tell me that you've forgiven me." His voice had me gripping tightly to the phone.
It had been a while since I heard his voice.
Jean continued calling, texting, sending me flowers, food and gifts until I could not take it any more, by this time Sophie had even already softened up to him and she wanted me to talk to him.
Since I was enjoying this too much, I still ignored him, but after three weeks, I was ready to talk to him. He called me one evening after work and I accepted his call.
He was very surprised and he sounded so excited that I felt bad for ignoring him all this while, I honestly thought that he was going to get tired and stood sending things after a week but he didn't and the gifts kept on coming.
Mr. Anders had even noticed and he warmed me to keep my boyfriend away from work.
"This is a working space, have your boyfriend understand that." He had said angrily.
It was not like other girls didn't receive flowers at the office, I wondered why he was so mad when I did.
And when did I ever tell him that they were from my boyfriend?
"Fine, I forgive you." I told him.
He went silent for a while and then he said. "Thank you, Claire."
My name sounded so sexy coming from his mouth that I had to bite my lips and clasp my thighs together.
If he had this effect on me from the phone, I wondered how much he would affect me in person.
"Allow me to take your out on a real date." He said and I froze, I was okay with forgiving him, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to go out on a date with him.
"Please, Claire." He added when he noticed my hesitance.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, she will go." Sophie shouted loudly from behind me.
"Shush, quiet." I shushed her but Jean had heard her and he was chuckling from the background.
"I will like to meet that friend of yours, tell her I am very grateful." He said.
"I haven't given you an answer yet." I reminded him.
"So, what's your answer?" He asked using the same rich seductive tone that caused me to be lightheaded.
I believed he knew exactly what he was doing to me.
"Let me think about it." I told him and then winced at how childish that sounded.
"Okay, at least you will be thinking about me." He said and I snorted. "Thank you for forgiving me."
I dropped the phone and turned to glare at Sophie who was sitting on my couch and eating another box of chocolate that Jean had sent.
"What was that?" I asked her smiling. "I thought you wanted to end him?"
"He came all the way correct, the French way, I forgave him for everything after that besides you like him and you're miserable without him." She responded chewing the chocolate weirdly.
"I am not miserable." I told her slightly offended.
"Are too." She said.
"Am not." I argued.
"Are too."
"Can you guys just stop the bickering, my ears are about to explode." Michele complained and we stopped arguing.
"You will need a dress and I'll happily do your makeup." Michele said after the room became silent.
"I haven't made up my mind to go get." I sulked.
"What do you mean, it's free food, good wine and pleasant company, it doesn't get better than that." He said standing up from the sofa.
"It's what I've been trying to tell her." Sophie added and the two of them gave each other a high-five.
"Fine, I'll go on a date with him, but only because it's free food, good wine, good music and pleasant company." I said.
"That's my girl." Michele beamed and pecked me on my cheek.
"Honestly, I don't think it will go bad but if it does, we're both just one call away." Sophie said.
"Girl, we're tired of your a** staying at home every Friday night, you need to have a boyfriend so if it isn't Mr. French then it might as well be another, either way you won't meet them if you keep staying at home." Michele said shaking his a** in front of me.
"Alright, alright, I'll give him a call now." I said and stood up to go inside.
"Where are you going?" Sophie asked smirking. "I promise not to jump into your call, just do it and stop being a coward."
"Fine." I mouthed and flipped her as I dialed his number.
"Hello, Jean." I started slowly, my heart was beating very fast and I felt like it would explode from my chest. "I agree, I want to go out with you."
"I'm glad to hear that, sugar." He chuckled. "You certainly wasted no time in thinking." He said and my face flushed red, I was so embarrassed.
"I just wanted you to know that." I said and was about to cut the call when he stopped me.
"Wait, are you free tonight, because we can certainly do something today." He said and my lips curved into a smile.
.
.
[Luke]
"How are things going with, Claire?" Liam asked me quietly.
He had closed from work and was about going home before he decided to come and say hello to me.
"Oh, it's going well, we've just been flirting back and forth or I've been flirting, she's can be so bold and so shy as well, the combination stirs me." I responded smiling.
"Yeah, I can imagine, it's kind of the same with Megan except I think she's been so conditioned to being submissive she just doesn't have a rebellious bone in her anymore." He said.
"Do you ever think about what would happen in the long run, what if we fall so in love with these two women, what then?" I asked him a bit worried.
"You worry too much, Luke, let's just enjoy it for now, the future is still a long way from now." He said, he tried to sound certain bit I knew he was just as clueless as I was.
We were both diving headfirst into the unknown.
My phone rang just as I was about to change the topic and I smiled wildly.
Claire never seized to surprise me, I thought she said she would think about it, was she done thinking already?
I picked up the phone and stood up from the bed, Liam laughed and mumbled some words I didn't catch and he flung a pillow at me.
I made a mental note to get him back later.
I relaxed and I felt strangely calm as I heard Claire's voice, as always her voice trembled a bit and she stuttered slightly, she was always nervous.
I'm fact the only time she'd spoken to me boldly was when she was angry and fire leaped into her eyes.
"Hello, Jean." She said slowly, I wanted to urge her to talk but I didn't want to scare her, I hummed into the phone waiting for her to get what she wanted to say out, I had learned to always be patient with Claire.
"I agree, I want to go out with you." I can't say I was shocked to hear that because I knew she wanted me as much as I wanted her, but I will say that I was pretty shocked she came to that conclusion so quickly.
Normally, she would be slow to accepting it, I couldn't help but wonder maybe her friend who has yelled into the phone had anything to do about it.
"I'm glad to hear that, sugar." I chuckled. "You certainly wasted no time in thinking." I teased her and I imagined her cheeks turning red as a tomato.
"I just wanted you to know that." She said and I felt that she was done talking so I decided to come forward with it.
"Wait, are you free tonight, because we can certainly do something today." I said and I hoped the silence that greeted me from the other side of the phone meant a yes.
"Yes." She said after a while and I couldn't help but smile until I felt my face about to break.
"I would love to see you, Claire, I'll pick you up around 9pm." I nearly screamed when I dropped the phone and Liam shook his head at me.
"Man, you're so whipped, you don't need to worry about falling hard for this girl." He said and I frowned.
"Why is that?"
"Because you've already fallen so hard." He said and I froze.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked him cautiously.
"You can't be serious?" He looked at me in shock.
"What?" I asked him, pensive now.
"You're telling me that you haven't noticed the signs?"