Excuse Me Miss... Ch. 02

Authors note: My apologies for the delay in this and the rest of the story, it has been a long time coming for sure so long a lot of you have probably given up hope of it ever coming. I actually wrote this and the next two chapter's right after it seemed popular that I continue the story, but I hit a wall trying to write the ending then walked away from writing for a while. I pondered posting the next few parts without the end, but I didn't want to be one of those authors that writes a bunch of a story but never posts the end. Better to leave it as a standalone short story than a longer story unfinished I figured. I was inspired to take up the tale once again recently though and now that I have a finished product to post I will post it now. Sorry for the delay, I hope you enjoy it. PS

Thanks HJF for editing.

*****

Jeremy awoke the next morning to someone talking on the phone. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was and why he was in a strange bed. As the events of the previous night came back to him he smiled. However, his joyful recollection was interrupted by a raised voice in the other room.

"Mother, would you back off about that damn card already! It's a fucking response card. I think they know I'm coming, and if I don't why should they notice? It's just poor Alicia the girl they used to get what they want." There was a paused, then, "Well, how else am I supposed to take it Mom? My boyfriend dumps me for my spoiled cousin and everyone looks at me like I have three heads for being upset about it! God forbid Jane not get what she wants." Alicia sighed and said in a resigned tone, "You know what, Mom, I'm not having this conversation again; if you choose to side with your niece over your own daughter, then maybe I'm better off not going at all." There was another pause and then Alicia sighed and said, exasperated, "Of course you promised Aunt Carrie I'd come, and no, I don't want to make you look bad. One question, though, Mother, if they already know I'm coming then why are they asking for the response card?" Alicia asked in a surprisingly calm tone. "A date, for me?" Alicia said then after a very long pause she said, "No mother, I don't have time to find a date because believe it or not I work for a bitch who is even more spoiled and self-centered than Jane is." There was another pause, "No Mom, no promotion, yes you're right I should change jobs, no I'm not moving back," she said seemingly flustered by the rush of questions for the other end. "Look Mom, I don't want to discuss this now, I have a lot of work I need to do. I'll send the card soon, I promise, and I'll see you at the wedding." She sighed and then said, "I love you too, Mom."

Jeremy heard the phone get turned off and Alicia let out a cry of frustration as she slammed it down, grumbling something he could not understand but he imagined referred to her mother, boss, cousin, or all three. Not wanting her to know he had overheard the conversation he slumped to the bed and pretended to be asleep, curious what Alicia's next move would be.

He was shaken awake and he opened his eyes to find her dressed in what he assumed were her workout clothes. He turned and went to pull her on the bed, but she resisted.

"Look, Jeremy was it?" she said and he could tell she was purposely acting as if she did not know his name, but he nodded. "I want to work out and then I have a lot of work to do today so if you could get dressed and go I would appreciate it."

Jeremy looked at her confused and said, "Just like that? After last night?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "Don't get all girly on me. Don't get me wrong last night was fun and I appreciate the help with the pass and with my dress, but I've got no time for anything serious right now. I work too much."

"For a woman whom you're stealing from," he thought, also recalling it was a Saturday and the fact that she had just last night told him how much she was going to enjoy vegging this week while the new guy struggled to do a job he was not qualified for. "Yeah realll busy," he thought to himself and smiled. She had to know he knew she was lying. Did she want him to call her on it? To call out her falsehood and demand she strip and spend the remainder of the morning in bed with him?

He gave it a shot, "Okay, but its Saturday, can't it wait a few more hours?" He then looked her in the eyes and said, "Come here and let's give you a workout of a different sort and then since you treated me to dinner I'll treat you to breakfast, or depending on how much of a workout we have, lunch."

She turned her gaze away from his but not before he saw the hint of longing in her eyes. Deep down they both knew she wanted nothing more than to do what he had just said, but something stronger overrode that urge and she said in a feeble tone, "I can't, I have to work out...and I really have work to do." She then left and as she walked away her voice got stronger, "So please get dressed and leave."

Jeremy understood and knew that pushing her would do no good. This was the doing of Joe and Jane; they had hurt Alicia and bad, more than even Alicia would probably admit. She too had enjoyed last night and had felt the same connection he had, but unlike him she was afraid of it. Joe had ripped her heart out of her chest and stomped it to pieces, with the help of a family member no less. The betrayal and pain Alicia must be feeling were too immense. This would take care and time, neither of which, it seemed, he had. Pressing this one would only cause more harm.

He was all too familiar with this act she was pulling; he had done it himself using coldness and lame excuses to prevent himself from getting hurt. He always played it safe. He never took the crazy risk or let his emotions get the best of him, that is, until last night. He had let an impulse lead him to a sexy young woman and it had been the best night of his life. He definitely wanted to see her again, but he had a problem, she was about to shoo him out of her life for good.

It was then he remembered that he too had a bit of a social bind; he smiled to himself and rose from the bed. If openness and understanding would be met with coldness he would play cold too. He would make a deal that would benefit them both in the short term and hopefully buy him the time he needed to soften her defenses. He put on only his underwear and walked out of the bedroom to find Alicia waiting impatiently.

"Why aren't you dressed? I really need to go."

"Because if I get dressed you'll leave and I don't want that until you've heard me out Alicia."

"There's nothing to discuss as I said last night was..."

"I'm not talking about last night." He said cutting her off, "Which was amazing you're right. No, I'm talking about a deal that I think will help us both. You need a date for your cousin's wedding."

"I need no such thing!" Alicia interjected, but Jeremy waved her off.

"Oh, no, not at all," he said sarcastically, "Then that wasn't your mom I woke to you screaming into the phone at. Face it Alicia you rolled the dice on a promotion and failed, so now the best thing you can do to save face is get a date on short notice, and given your height and preference of not being taller than your date, that doesn't leave you with a lot of options. I think we proved last night you and I can certainly get along for an evening and wouldn't it be better to have someone else along that isn't on Jane's side? Face it Alicia, you need me." He then paused and said, "Besides we both know the reason that response card is not filled out is you were holding onto hope that you'd have someone to take with you. I've done it myself several times before finally breaking down and admitting I'm going to another wedding dateless." Alicia gave no objection and looked a little sorry for him to his surprise.

"Now that that is settled, I need something in return for going. I myself am in a social bind of sorts. You see I organized a guy's camping trip with two of my friends awhile back. After talking with another of my friends I decided to invite him, too, which my friend Sam then took as a license to invite his girlfriend along. I should explain that Sam and Beth, his girlfriend, both live at home so he's obviously doing this to get laid, but I digress. Anyway knowing I would object Sam told Tim, the other friend I originally invited, that Beth was coming so he should invite his wife Erin. They have a newborn and somehow got a sitter for the weekend so of course Erin is coming. Upon hearing that Beth and Erin were coming I had to tell Ryan, my third friend, that his fiancée Amber was invited and of course she is now also coming.

"So now my guy's trip is suddenly me and three couples and I can't pull out because they need my car and gear for the trip, so without me Sam doesn't get a night alone with Beth, Tim and Erin are getting a sitter for nothing, and their weekend away from the baby is shot, which would be just cruel after we dangled it in front of them. So in other words I'm stuck."

Alicia took all this in and said, "Let me guess, a weekend with your friends camping for a weekend of wedding with my family?"

"Yep that's about it, and don't worry about not knowing anyone, Ryan's met Sam and Tim once and Amber knows no one but me so it won't be too odd. I plan for us to all get together next Wednesday to discuss food and other stuff before Friday when we leave."

Alicia stared at him, seemingly thinking, and said, "I'll think about it while you get dressed."

He got dressed and when he finished she said, "Look, I still need to think on it. My mind is in a hundred places right now."

Jeremy sighed and seeing a pad of paper and a pen wrote his address, cell number, and the time everyone was meeting on it, ripped it off, and handed it to her.

"Look, it's your call. I think it would work out great for both of us. Call me if you have any questions. If it helps you can have your own tent if you want, up to you."

He had hardly made it down the hall when his phone rang. Assuming it was one of his friends, he answered immediately without looking. To his surprise a relatively familiar female voice asked, "I have one question, chicken or beef?"

"Beef." Jeremy said smiling, knowing it was for the wedding response card.

"Okay, see you next Wednesday." Alicia replied, clearly pleased.

A part of Jeremy might have been pleased with that, but another part, specifically the part that remembered their amazing night together, and the sex, wouldn't let him. So on Monday when it came time for the train ride home Jeremy abandoned his usual spot on the train to search for Alicia. He was unsurprised to find her in the same car he had on Friday. She sat by herself on the upper deck with her laptop open so she hadn't spotted him. He smiled and he made his way to the seat next to her.

Alicia was engrossed in her computer and he noticed as he got closer that she was a bit grumpy about something. For a second he thought better of the idea, but he remembered Friday. "No risk no reward" he thought.

"Excuse me miss, is this seat taken?" he asked and without looking up she said no and continued working for a second. However, as he sat her brain seemed to click and she quickly looked over and he was pleased to see the grumpiness fade, with even the slightest hint of a smile before she returned to normal.

"Jeremy," she said, trying to be cold.

"Ally," he said, not sure why, and she stared at him. He tried to decide if she was mad or not.

"Please don't call me that..." she said definitely fighting irritation. Jeremy had clearly struck a nerve.

"Sorry," he said back pedaling, "I only meant it in the sense that we're allies of sort, you know the agreement..." he said, desperately hoping he had not blown it.

He was pleased when she smiled and chuckled, "No, you didn't, but nice try. You are cute when you're flustered, I'll give you that." She then shook her head and closed the laptop. "You sure know how to ruin a perfectly good funk Jeremy, this is twice now. I sense a pattern forming."

"Is that good or bad?" he asked, teasing her.

"Good, but don't push your luck too much buddy, I happen to enjoy my occasional funks."

"Well, why don't we share this one together? They're more fun that way. Last time it was getting even with your boss. So who is the subject today?"

"Fred." Alicia said and Jeremy nodded. Fred was the guy her boss had picked over her and it was clear from her mood that Fred had not had a rough first day.

Alicia spent the next half hour telling him about how her boss's golden boy managed to impress some important clients and silence more than a few of his critics. Which was all well and good, but it meant more work for Alicia to live up to some of the things Fred promised. Standard stuff mind you, it just annoyed her Fred had actually done well. She was hoping for a big screw up to put him on shaky ground right off the bat, no luck though.

"I'm not worried. He did well today I'll give him that, but he'll forget something and then boom, the heat will be on Fred and Holly both for this." Holly was her boss.

They discussed where she expected him to mess up first for a while before Alicia asked about his. He had done nothing of great importance, just a few data queries for the firm he was working with this week. He was surprised how interested she was in it. Before long it was time for her stop and as she rose to leave Jeremy asked.

"Same time and place tomorrow?"

Alicia smiled and said, "I'd like that.'

"Tomorrow then."

Tomorrow," she said with a wave.

Jeremy was in a daze the rest of the normally tortuous ride, which took barely any time at all as he went over his encounter with Alicia.

The torture came the next day as the hours and minutes crawled. There were a lot of days that seemed to crawl along, but rarely on a Tuesday and never for this reason. When the clock struck five he virtually flew to the station and arrived to find the seats above deserted. His heart sank. He checked that he had the right car, he did, and he checked the time. It was then he realized in his haste to meet his sexy friend he had arrived quite a few minutes earlier than normal. He took the bench seat at the end of the upper deck and waited, figuring if she stood him up he might as well be comfortable for the long ride.

His fears were needless though, it seemed, and as a few minutes later a beaming Alicia reached the top of the stairs and made straight for him. He rose to greet her and to his surprise when she reached him she kissed him on the lips. She then took the other half of the bench and he sat next to her.

"Hey you," she said, very cheerful indeed.

"Hello to you too; that was, ah, quite the greeting."

Alicia blushed, "Sorry, I guess I went a bit overboard..."

"No! Not at all," Jeremy said, wanting to make clear he had no issue with her kissing him.

Alicia smiled and said, "Good, I'm glad. I enjoyed kissing you too."

Jeremy got a bit uncomfortable at that last statement and said, "Ah, well, while I'd like to think I'm the reason you're rather happy I suspect this has something to do with a certain co-worker of yours."

She smiled, "Well, yes, but don't worry I'm glad to see you too. If for no other reason than I'm dying to tell someone, but also because you make the ride home much more enjoyable."

Jeremy smiled at this and Alicia launched into her story about how today went just like yesterday for the most part and was really going to be a drag.

Just then she grabbed his hand and said, "I'm glad I had the ride home with you to look forward to, otherwise it would have been really horrid." Jeremy of course smiled at this and she continued to tell him about how just before the end of the day Fred got caught in a minor slip-up involving an important client that nearly cost them the account. If not for some fast talking from Alicia they would have.

"So not only did Fred mess up, you got to be the hero. That's great Alicia, really great."

She then asked him about his day and he told her a brief account, again amazed at the attention she paid to it. When he was done they still had a bit before her stop so they discussed the meeting at his house the next night, specifically how to get there and such. Alicia was a bit unsure whether she could get there in time when Jeremy had a better idea.

To Jeremy's pleasant surprise they became regular train buddies for the rest of the week riding home together sharing their day events. When Friday came he wondered what would happen whether she would want to hang out or not but unfortunately his suggestion was shot down leaving him a little confused, he was afraid he had taken it too far. His fears were unfounded though as on Monday she was back to sit with him.

On Tuesday after they had finished discussing things he said a little wary after Friday's rejection, "Why don't you take a night bag with you to work tomorrow and stay at my place tomorrow night?" Between the meeting and the food shopping afterwards it'll be pretty late before everyone heads home. You're farther than the others so it makes more sense to stay the night with me. That way you won't have to worry about how to get there or being late. You'll get off the train in the morning with me and on Thursday you can board at my stop."

To his pleasant surprise she smiled and replied, "That would be more convenient. You sure you don't mind?"

"I insist. I don't want to worry about you getting home safe tomorrow."

She smiled, seemingly genuinely touched to hear he worried about her safety. "You're sweet, and in that case how can I refuse?" she said as the train glided to a stop at her station. She kissed him and said, "I'll see you tomorrow with my bag."

Jeremy was in a daze again the whole ride home and he spent the majority of that night cleaning up his apartment. Not that he wouldn't have anyway with having his friends and their ladies over the next night, but now that Alicia was staying over he made an extra effort to clean the place up.

The next day's ride was similar to the others except Alicia had a bag with her; a bag Jeremy was glad to see was small. Upon seeing his smile she had asked and he had commented he was glad to see she was a light packer.

The ride was of course longer and Alicia was shocked at how long it took, although their being together made the time pass quicker than both expected. After the short walk to his place they arrived and he gave Alicia a brief tour of his apartment. It wasn't a big place, but he was comfortable. He was glad to hear she approved of it.

They had a bit of time to waste until his friends arrived so they spent it relaxing and watching TV, both having exhausted their usual topics on the longer train ride. However, Jeremy was pretty sure something was bothering Alicia as they sat watching TV until his friends arrived.

"Don't worry Alicia, they'll love you. You'll fit right in," he said taking a guess at her discomfort. She smiled.

"Thanks for that. I really wasn't worried; from what you said they all seem nice. "

"Okay, I'm glad; just wanted to make sure you're alright," he said, not wanting to directly call attention to her tense nature at the moment, and also wondering if he was wrong.

"Okay..." she said confused, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why reassure me? I told you I was fine."

Jeremy decided to tell the truth. "Alicia you're tense as hell; I want to know why. I thought it might be nerves, but now I have no clue. It started on the train and has only gotten worse. I didn't want to say anything, but you're kind of freaking me out now. Is it me or something I've done?"

"No, of course not," Alicia said a little too quickly and with a smile that was a little forced.

"Alicia, what's wrong?" he asked, grabbing her hand. "Please tell me. I hate guessing; if it's me and I can help please tell me how," he said, trying to keep his voice calm despite his frustration.