Chapter Five

Hal

I take a last look at myself in the mirror before heading next door to begin my date with Anna. I smile as I recalled her hesitation. I understand why. She's forbidden for me just as much as I am for her.

But I don't care about any of that.

Over the past week, we"ve talked every day. I called her after hours and we talked about everything from our childhood to our careers. It intrigued me that she had such a keen interest in psychology and wanted to pursue that path.

"You have guts, Anna. I"ll give you that," I'd said during one of our many nocturnal phone calls.

"Guts for following my dreams?"

"Yeah. Especially because of your background."

"I know. Everyone expected me to be a lawyer or go to Harvard and take over the family business but I have never been interested in any of those things. I have always been a bookworm. Always been fascinated with learning and how the mind works."

"You could be a detective. Work for CSI," I said, teasing her.

"I have thought of that. But I prefer to teach. I love talking about psychology. So I figured I"d pursue a career that would pay me so I can never shut my mouth about it."

I laughed my heart out. "That"s amazing. Though I"m not sure I have seen any professor of psychology that"s as hot as you. You would be setting a new record."

She was silent for a few seconds and I could tell she was blushing. She looked even more beautiful when she blushed.

"You"re blushing."

"No, I"m not!"

"Yes, you are Miss Wilson. Right now, I bet you"re smiling and your cheeks are all red."

"I wish I could punch you."

"You could if you come here right now."

I heard her soft intake of breath and smiled. How I loved to tease her.

"Okay. So, will you go out with me?" I ask again.

"Hal … I don"t think we …"

"Anna … this has nothing to do with anyone in any of our families. It"s just me and you. Don"t think about what they want. I"m asking you what you want."

"You"re forbidden fruit, Hal."

I laugh out loud, but I can't ignore how sexy she sounds when she puts it like that. It takes all my strength not to run round to her flat and rip her door down just so I can get a taste of her.

"So are you, but I couldn't give a damn about it. I have feelings for you Anna and I don"t care about anything else. But I won"t force you if you don"t want to. The ball is in your court."

She was silent for so long that I thought she'd hung up.

"Anna?"

"When?"

"Tomorrow night?"

"I have to be at the hospital. Make it the day after. Is that okay?"

"Done."

"Great … good night Mr. CEO."

I smile down the phone. "Good night Miss Wilson."

We didn't see much of each other in the apartment building after that, due to our tight schedules but I'm hoping that could change soon.

I look at my Rolex. It was 6:50pm. I grab the rose bouquet I bought for her, and an emerald necklace, and head to her door.

I tap twice and wait.

"Just a minute!" She answers.

Upon opening the door, my jaw drops to the floor. How is it possible for someone to be this beautiful? She looks stunning in an emerald, green, low-cut dress that fits her beautiful body perfectly. Her thick coffee-brown hair cascades down her shoulders and back in beautiful waves. I try not to look below her neck but I can't help it. Her cleavage is smooth and I long to press my lips to her olive skin.

"Well?" She laughs.

"You are breathtaking."

"Thank you. You don"t look too shabby yourself."

I smile and hand the bouquet of flowers to her.

"Wow. These are beautiful Hal. I could get used to this! Thank you so much. I"ll put them in water. Come on in."

I follow her inside and watch her place the bouquet into a glass vase full of water.

"I"m ready," she said, grabbing a black velvet cloak.

"Before we go, I have a little surprise for you. Close your eyes."

Anna looks slightly alarmed and yet charmingly inquisitive. "Just trust me, Anna. Please."

She closes her eyes and I turn her back to me. I breathe in the scent of her and know that I am undone. She smells so good.

I remove the necklace from the box and place it around her neck. Turning her towards the gold-framed oval mirror in her foyer, I whisper into her ears.

"Open your eyes."

"Oh," she gasps as she looks back at her own glorious reflection. "This is beautiful Hal," she says, as she looks at me in the mirror and then back to the necklace. She strokes her fingers along the necklace and I find myself yearning to be that necklace. "How did you know I liked emeralds?"

"A lucky guess."

As she turns to face me, it's all I can do not to grab her and rip her clothes off. She places her hands on my chest and kisses me on my cheek.

"Thank you," she whispers, breathlessly.

"You"re welcome. Shall we?"

She puts her hand in mine and I lead her to my car. At this point I'm yearning so badly for her, I'm not entirely sure how I'll get through the date without some sort of physical contact from her. I want her so badly.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"It"s a surprise."

I try to keep my eyes on the steering wheel and the road but I struggle. I can't stop looking at Anna. She is a fucking goddess.

A wide grin spreads across her face as we stop in front of The Aquarium, an exclusive five-star restaurant.

I step out of the car and open the door for her. I hold out my hand. As she takes it, she looks up at the restaurant entrance. Her mouth was still open.

"This is ..."

"Yep!"

"Oh, my goodness. I have heard so much about it. I have always wanted to come here but ..."

"I know. You mentioned it one night when we were talking. So I figured it would be a great idea to have our first official date here. A special place for an incredibly special lady."

Her eyes shine bright as she smiles back at me. I take her hand and we step into the restaurant. The Aquarium exceeded our expectations. There are glass windows all around the restaurant separating the visitors from the beautiful fish. It almost feels like we were dining inside the ocean.

The waiter leads us to a table in the center of the restaurant. In the middle is a glass cylinder filled with water and rays swimming around it. I pull out a chair for Anna and remove her coat.

"Oh, this is just beautiful Hal."

"Yeah. It really is," I say, staring straight at her. She blushes profusely.

"But um ..." She glances around and then leans closer to me. "It seems we"re the only ones here. I assumed all of California would be here."

"Ohh, the place is usually packed but I rented out the place for today. So it"s just you and me."

"What?"

"Yep."

"Oh, you"re good, Hal Torres. It"s no surprise the women around you can"t resist you."

I laugh so hard and look back at her. She's obviously bemused by my reaction.

"I"m not joking!"

"Anna, I don"t know what you"ve heard but there are no "women" in my life."

"But ..."

"I'm sure there's a lot you"ve heard about me that isn"t true and that"s why I want you to get to know the real me."

"No one told me you"re a playboy Hal. I just assumed you were because ..."

"Playboy?"

"Well, you have all the "ingredients" of a playboy. A mega playboy."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah. I mean you"re a billionaire, you"re the face of Forbes, you are crazy successful … and you"re hot."

"Interesting." I grin at her. I like that she thinks I"m hot.

She smiles and blushes again.

"I love it when you blush." I murmur.

"Who"s blushing? It"s just a bit hot here. Shall we order some drinks?" She begins fanning herself with her hands.

I laugh and call a waiter over to order our drinks. We order our meals and the rest of the evening goes incredibly well. We have so much to talk about, we bounce off one another and the chemistry between us is undeniable. Towards the end of the night, the pianist plays a slow version of ‘All of Me' by John Legend. I jump at the opportunity and ask her to dance with me.

"I'm not much of a dancer, Hal."

"I don't believe it. But if that is true, let me teach you." I stand up and hold my hand out to her.

She smiles and takes my hand.

Her eyes are so warm and inviting that I want to swim in them. Having her hold my hand is exhilarating.

"I"m falling for you hard, Anna."

"Oh Hal, I ..."

I cover her beautiful lips with mine. She tastes so warm and sweet, like honey. My pulse races even harder as she kisses me back. I kiss her gently at first then harder. I want to devour her as I feel her body melt into mine. We draw breath and I look at her.

"I think we should go."

"I think so too," she hurriedly says, grinning.

I take her hand and we leave The Aquarium. We drive home in silence and I can tell she's weighing the options in her mind. I completely understand her reasons. But I won't let anyone, family or otherwise, get in the way of my feelings and desire for Annalise.

We get to the apartment building and she takes my hand. I smile at her and lead her to the elevator. It's just the two of us inside and the feel of her hands in mine is like fire. I draw closer and kiss her, pinning her to the elevator. I let my hands run all over her body as she kisses me hard. I kiss and lick her neck. I can hardly contain myself from ripping the dress from her body when the elevator stops on our floor. I look at her face and see the question in her eyes, and I understand why. I'm not going to push her into this. I take her hand and lead her to the door of her apartment.

"Hal ... I ..."

"I understand, Anna. But I just want to make something really clear to you. This isn"t some sort of game to me. You talk about other "women" but the truth is there are no other women and I"ve never been in love before. Yet, here I am besotted by you." I look into her beautiful deep brown eyes as she looks up at me. She listens attentively, holding my gaze. "My life has been filled with work and goals, always trying to prove myself. But now? Well, there"s only one person that has ever managed to take my mind off my goals. And that person is you."

I hear her sharp intake of breath and she looks down at her hands. I lift her chin with my finger so she can look deep into my eyes and know what I'm saying is true. "I know that there are going to be obstacles, but I don"t give a damn about that. I want you and I"m going to fight to have you if I have to. But now, it"s your move. We don't have to move further than this unless you want to. Do you understand?"

Anna nods and a tear slips down her cheek. I take her into my arms and hold her tightly.

"Thank you, Hal ... for tonight ... and everything. I just need some time to ..."

"Take all the time you need Anna."

I turn and walk to my own front door. Tearing myself away from her was almost unbearable, but she needs this time to process what I've said. For her to process her own feelings. But I know what I want. I so badly want to look back but I know that if I did, I won't stop walking back to her. And when I reach her, I wouldn"t stop kissing her and that might lead to something she wasn"t ready for. I want her to be sure.

Once inside my own apartment I hop into the shower and let the cold water run through my hair and down my body. God knows I need a cold shower to cool me down after that amazing kiss in the restaurant and then again in the elevator. Fuck, I want her so badly. But if time is all she needs, then that is what she'll get. I put my head to the shower wall, thinking about our passionate kiss when the doorbell rings.

Who could be visiting at this hour? I don't remember anyone telling me they would come by. Jay usually surprises me with a visit once in a while, but we always hung out at the basketball court three days a week. Maybe it is Jay?

I get out of the shower, wrap a towel around my waist and walk to the door. As I tap on my security camera, I can see that it isn't Jay. It's Anna.

I quickly open the door and stare at her for a few seconds. Her eyes were red and tear-streaked.

"Are you okay, Anna? Is something wrong?" Anna looks up at me and holds her breath, biting her bottom lip. I notice her eyes wander from my face to my chest and down to my towel. I'm suddenly very aware of our proximity to one another.

"I want to be with you, Hal, and I don"t care what happens."