“And I really don’t want to be a crazy old cat lady,” she told him.
But if she didn’t want Watson to continue being the number one male in her life, at some point she needed to let another one in. Preferably a human one. And Michael was already more in than any other man ever had been.
When she was in the moment, she just wanted to be with him. It was only when she was able to overthink everything that she started having issues… so, maybe she should just trust her instincts.
She’d once been able to convince herself into a relationship which had turned out to be a disaster, ignoring the instincts and evidence telling her Lawrence couldn’t be trusted. Now the evidence and her instincts were telling her she should let Michael in… maybe she should stop trying to talk herself out of it.
******
Parking his car, Michael leaned back against the seat, glancing at the clock. Two more minutes and then he was going to call Ellie and find out whether or not they were going to take a step forward. Even if she’d changed her mind now that she’d actually had some time to think, he wasn’t going to be dissuaded from pursuing her, but it would be good to know where he stood.
No matter how frustrating it would be if she’d changed her mind about a club contract after getting his hopes up.
It had been clear from the beginning she wasn’t going to be an easy submissive, so he was just going to have to be patient. After all, she’d warned him and so had everyone else.
As soon as he was done talking with her, he’d be headed into Marquis… which was what they’d decided to name the new club. He’d been stopping by every night ever since renovations started, just to see what had been done. Not because he didn’t trust the contractors or Patrick, but because he liked to see the club coming together and being there just made it more real. More tangible. Pictures didn’t really do it justice, especially since some of the daily changes weren’t obvious at first glance.
So, if Ellie hadn’t changed her mind about a club contract, visiting the club site would be a nice cherry on top of the day; if she had changed her mind, visiting would hopefully cheer him up.
It was time.
Pulling up her number on his cell phone made him feel awkward, like a gangly, unsure teenager. Definitely not a fun way to feel, but one he’d become somewhat accustomed to while pursuing Ellie.
She picked up on the second ring and, as a sop to his ego, sounded just as nervous as he did.
“Hello?”
“Hello Ellie,” he said, keeping his voice smooth, glad of his theatric training which, hopefully, allowed him to sound a lot less nervous than he actually was. Strangely, hearing the slight tremor in her voice made him feel calmer and less anxious. “How was your day?”
“Pretty good. Long.” She paused for a moment and he could imagine her fidgeting. Poor little subbie wanted him to get right to the point. He’d thought maybe a bit of mundane conversation might help ease her, but apparently not.
“Well, you know why I’m calling,” he said, and he thought he heard her let out a quiet sigh of relief. He modulated his voice, trying to keep his tone completely neutral so she wouldn’t feel pressured or like she was disappointing him if she had changed her mind. “Would you like to sign a club contract with me this weekend?”
The pause before her answer had his chest tightening in anticipation. Please say yes, please say yes…
Her voice was a mere whisper when the answer came, her words spilling out so fast they practically ran together. “YesIwouldliketosignaclubcontract.”
The grin that spread across his face stretched his muscles so much they actually hurt. If he hadn’t been in his car, he would have done a victory dance - or at least jumped up and down. As it was, he punched the ceiling of his car when he pumped his fist, and had to cough to cover the inadvertent exhale in pain.
“Great! That’s… that’s great!” Good job with the vocabulary Mike. Very impressive. Clearing his throat to give himself a moment to collect himself - all he needed was his voice cracking to complete feeling like an inept teenage boy - Michael shook himself. Get it together, grouch. You. Are. A. Dom. “I’ll email you the contract tomorrow soyou can read it over. Let me know ifyou want me to make any changed and I can edit the contract before this weekend. Can you be at the club on Friday to sign it?”
“Yes… yes, that sounds good.” Her voice sounded small, breathless, but also excited. Which was a relief.
The contract was already ready, but for some reason he didn’t want to admit that, which was why he was going to send it to her tomorrow. Plus, this way he could give it one last look over before he actually sent it.
“What are you up to this evening?” he asked, suddenly cheerier than he’d been all day. Maybe she’d like to come see Marquis in person instead of just the photos he’d been sending her.
“Oh, I’m going over to Stronghold to help with Angel’s class. Actually, I should probably get going, I need to change and head over early to help set up.”
“Ah, yes. Well, have fun. I’ll talk to you later.” He didn’t bother keeping his regret out of his voice, even though she hadn’t expressed any at already having plans.
It was probably better this way anyway. Trying to push Ellie to come out with him, right after she’d agreed to a club contract, probably wasn’t the best way to go. But he still wanted her to know he would have liked to spend time with her.
Baby steps.
Frustrating, tiny, baby steps.
Necessary steps.
