Take me home

"Why do you not like your mother?" He asks, carefully spilling the words. I stare at him blankly and slowly feel a sudden powerful irritation pervade my mood.

"That's a very bold assumption to make about an almost stranger."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to be rude," he explains what seems genuinely.

"But you just can't help it, can you?" I say with a sarcastic laugh.

"You know I'm not wrong. Don't tell me that you don't feel that way," he says and he's right. But that doesn't mean he has any business pointing it out. I let out a deep breath.

"I really don't want to discuss my parental conflicts with you," I tell him with a decisive tone.

Something changes in him. "I'm very sorry. I shouldn't be so intrusive I know but like you said, I can't help it. I want to know you. The emotions are all too vivid on your face, I couldn't stop myself from asking. I apologize." He brings forward his hands to touch mine. I slide them off the table and place them on my thighs before he could.

He continues again, as if that didn't just happen, "I don't know how to do this so you'll have to forgive my insensitivity." Do what? I drown in the sincerity of his eyes and let it go.

"It's alright," I tell him with a smile. I realize it is alright. He was right no matter how he put it. I was just shocked how confident he was when he said it. It wasn't a question, it was a statement in the disguise of a question.

"Are you sure?" He asks with an odd concern evident on his face.

"Does it matter even if it isn't?"

"Surprisingly, yes," he says, eyes still locked on mine.

His phone starts to buzz and I'm glad to have escaped this part of the conversation.

He fetches the buzzing phone out of his pocket and glances at the screen. I realize we were dangerously leaning towards each other across the small table. I straighten my spine and start lazily wearing the shoes Aeson had removed and kept aside for me.

"Excuse me," he nods his head once at me and then walks further away from the pool, to mute the music I suppose. He is still in my vicinity and hearing range. I watch him talk, his back facing me, his free hand shoved inside the pocket of his pants. What am I doing here? I haven't talked to strangers for years and yet here I am with this person I know nothing about. What scares me most is that it doesn't scare me. Instead, I feel oddly safe! I know better than to trust my guts but I just can't make myself walk away, to end this conversation and get out of here.

"Then why have I been called instead?" He snaps to whoever is on the other side of the call. I feel weird, eavesdropping the conversation that is definitely business.

"Get her how you can, that's not my concern. Yes! We need this contract," there's a long pause after that. "Tell her I've been busy and I'll call her when I'm not. Good. No, I'm occupied."

I am hearing the bossy one sided conversation with my bunny ears when someone softly touches me on the shoulders. I jerk up from the stool to see Bella and Robert.

"Bella!"

"Eileen? What are you doing here?" Confusion crowds Bella's face. Her cheeks are bright red from the alcohol but she isn't drunk yet.

"You forgot your purse," I tell her sheepishly and hand it over. The leathery structure of the black purse is now printed across my palm.

"Oh! Thank you. You could have just called me."

"I could have, if the phone wasn't in your purse," I tell her with a smile and she bites her tongue.

"But what are you doing here?" Robert asks and he is almost sober, they always need someone to drive the car. I feel a slow burn across my cheeks as I struggle with my answer.

"She's here with me," Aeson steps in and comes to stand beside me. I see Bella and Robert's jaw drop open at the sight. Robert's lustful stare is more obvious than Bella's. I didn't know men in suits are his type.

I peak at Aeson from the corner of my eyes and see that gorgeously formal smile printed on his lips. It doesn't match the ones he offered to me a while ago but beautiful nonetheless.

Robert clears his throat and Bella nervously shifts pressure from foot to foot.

I break the dense curtain of this unusually awkward silence, "Bella, Robert this is Aeson and Aeson these are my friends."

"Hi Bella...Robert," Aeson pleasantly nods at each of them in turn.

"So how do you guys know each other?" Robert asks after a few more throat cleanings.

"Yeah how do you know Eileen?" Bella repeats Rob. She is actually more drunk than I thought.

"We have met a couple of times now, coincidentally," he says and I feel a doubtful instinct kick in. Is this all a coincidence? Meeting a godly beautiful, seemingly rich guy, three days back to back?

"We were just talking," I add but it doesn't relax their narrowed eyes. I vaguely imagine the cruel questioning sessions with sober Bella this will bring and shudder at the thought.

"Would you guys like to join?" I ask.

"Oh no, that's alright! We were just headed back to the pool," Robert says, in a hurried we-don't-mean-to-interrupt kinda way.

"Thanks for the purse Eileen. Now I can call you," Bella says with a heavy, dripping voice. Robert and I laugh, Aeson just half smiles.

"About that," Robert says, suddenly remembering something gloom. "She had to call you because she needed your car tonight."

"Isn't Mark supposed to give Bella and Courtney a lift home?" That is usually the plan when I don't attend the parties with them.

"Mark left for home when he heard you went there. He said he would tell you to pick the girls up on your way back." I almost curse out loud. Mark went home for me and here I am, in a situation with my friends, I never thought I'd be in and a beautiful man standing beside me with no explanation as to why.

"You see Eileen, I wanted to call you because Mark becomes a total marshmallow around you and marshmallows don't have brain to remember things!" Bella bubble speaks. If the contexts were different I would have admired how cute she is when drunk.

"But that's not needed since you didn't go there at all, did you?" There's a little judgement in Robert's voice and I don't blame him.

"I was headed there but then I returned for her purse," I narrate the lame excuse. It's true but not justified. I decided to have a long talk with Aeson instead of just leaving this place when I couldn't find Bella. And all the while, Emma was waiting for me with Mark.

"Now that you're here, you have to stay to take Bella and Courtney home," Robert states.

"What do you mean stay? Aren't we going now?"

"What? Nooo! How can you want to go from a party like this so early? You are such a party pooper," Bella whines through pouted lips.

"Robert I need to go, it's late and I have works at home. You know I don't drive late nights." They all know it.

Late night drivings remind me of certain things I would rather avoid.

"I know but even Courtney doesn't want to leave just yet," Robert says with a shrug like it's not a big deal. It's all my fault! If I had just stuck to my plan and went to Emma's, I wouldn't have to face all these indecisions. I bet Mark's pissed at me.

"Fine!" I groan, "I'll wait but at least tell me for how long." I really just want to go home but I can't just leave them here alone and drunk.

"I'm not leaving here until midnight," Bella proudly declares.

"What? Bella you have classes tomorrow. We all have classes tomorrow," I tell more to Robert than Bella. She seems almost wasted.

"Relaxxx 'L I think I'll pass, I haven't missed classes since forever. You should do it too, I mean did you see the whole place? It's worth bunking a boring English class," Bella swirls her hands in the air in a poor attempt to emphasize on her point. There's no way in hell I'm staying here till midnight.

"I wanna stay too actually," Robert adds.

"Who asked you? I'm not carrying you home, you can settle here forever for all I care," I tell him, sort of pissed now.

"About that," Robert says nervously and I narrow my eyes to slits. What fucking more? "You are supposed to give me a lift too. My car is under maintainence."

"Sure it will be an honor to escort you home sir," I tell him sarcastically.

"How about I drive you home instead?" Aeson speaks, I literally forgot he was standing right beside me this whole time. Awareness of his presence doesn't really help my already hyped anxiety.

"What?" I ask confused. Bella and Robert are staring at him like night owls.

"You can leave your car here and I can give you a lift home. If you don't mind of course," he explains.

"That would be perfect," Bella claps her hands together before I could completely process his proposal.

"Yeah I think that's a good idea. That way I can drive the car and bring the girls home whenever they want and you are free to leave," Robert says.

"I don't know," I say genuinely confused now. I do want to go home and staying out till midnight is off-limits for me. But I really don't know him enough to trust him in a car alone, at night.

"C'mon Eileen he is not wearing hooded jackets or anything. He looks decent and safe," Bella says right in Aeson's face. I widen my eyes at her but she just stares back blankly.

"I'm sorry, just ignore her," I tell Aeson with an apologetic look.

"No, she's right. They should know you're in safe hands. How about I drop you off in Miley's car, I'm sure that can be tracked down if needed. And you can share your location with their devices?" Aeson says with a godly half smile.

"Yeah..t..that will be..great," Bella stammers, winking at me too publicly to go unnoticed.

"You know Miley?" Robert asks.

"Yeah, sort of," he says with that weird face again.

"You don't need to take the trouble either way Aeson. I'm sure I can manage something. I'll just wait here I think," I tell him.

"You know what?" Robert speaks before Aeson could, "You guys figure out the plans and let us know, we'll be at the bar." He grabs Bella by the elbow and walks away. She keeps staring at me and Aeson with a huge grin as Robert drags her away.