Earn My Trust

Chapter 6 - Second Date Disaster

The time had finally arrived, and Ethan stood beside the barriers at Victoria station waiting for Hannah to arrive.
He had decided to wear something a little more formal this time, so he had chosen his tailored trousers and a freshly ironed white shirt under his signature brown leather jacket. He wore black ankle boots and a pair of sunglasses due to how bright the evening spring sunshine was.
He impatiently tapped his foot as he watched the clock. He was here fifteen minutes early, but he couldn't sit in his flat any longer waiting.
It struck him that he'd never been so eager for a date to begin. All the other times, he'd left it until the last minute and practically dragged his feet to the various destinations. Yet now, he was early, itching to see Hannah and take her out for the evening.
He wondered if he'd be able to unravel more information on her tonight, uncover more of her secrets... possibly remove a few layers of clothing, too, if he played his cards right.
He checked his phone for the time once again to see, to his annoyance, only a minute had passed since he last checked. Grumbling to himself, he looked around at the swarm of people milled around either heading home or going out for the evening.
"Robin!" He heard her sweet voice call out.
Snapping his head round, he saw her waving at him, and once again, she made his jaw drop to the floor.
Hot damn!
She looked ravishing, her legs seemed to go on forever, and he distinctly felt his trousers tighten around his groin.
Desperately trying to keep his thoughts clean, he grinned brightly and waved back just as enthusiastically.
What was she doing to him?! He was usually a lot more reserved than this, yet here he was acting like a love sick puppy.
She was a target! He firmly reminded himself. Not a love interest. She will only end up hurting you if you let her in!
Hannah was slightly breathless by the time she made it through the barriers. As soon as she'd seen him, she'd broken into a jog. Now she had reached him though, she grew bashful. She realised she may have come across a little too over excited to see him, or even a little desperate, which she definitely wasn't!
Ethan still couldn't get over how breath takingly beautiful she was. She was as gorgeous as she had been a week ago. Her cheeks were a slight pink due to her brief jog to get to him, her hair she'd left down this time and it called for him to run his fingers through the soft natural waves as he pulled her in for their first kiss.
She's a target! She's a target!
He cleared his throat. "Once again, you leave me speechless at how incredibly beautiful you are!" He grinned.
Her smile seemed to waver and began to show suspicion. "You seem to be well versed on all the right things to say to a lady." She said without thinking first.
Fuck!
She hadn't meant to get all defensive. It had been an automatic reflex, and she couldn't help the tidal wave of guilt wash over her as Robin was taken aback.
"I'm sorry!" She cringed. "I'm sorry, I'm... It's just..."
"It's OK." He soothed gently. "I get you must get a lot of unwanted attention."
She gazed into his eyes and took a slow breath to sort herself out.
Give him a chance! She pleaded with herself.
Ethan had been taken aback for two reasons. First was because he had never said anything like that to a woman since Bianca and actually meant it. Second was because that had been the first time one of his advances had been thrown back in his face.
He didn't know what to make of it.
"You could say that..." she sighed before forcing herself to brighten back up to the way she'd been minutes prior. "So where is this steak house? I have high expectations for you after last week. You better not be ordering it well done, or that's the end of the road for you, buddy!"
Ethan threw his head back and laughed. "Oh god, no. Medium rare for me. Let's head over there now. The weather's warm outside so we can walk instead of getting the one stop on the tube."
"Great." She grinned back at him and let him lead the way out of the station.
"How's your week been?" He asked her, holding back a hand to see if she'd take it.
To his delight, she did after a slight hesitation.
"Busy, but that helped speed the week up. Nice and productive, just how I like it. You?"
He shrugged. "Same. I fill the time in between with the gym, so that helps, too."
"I've never been to a gym." She smirked at him before back tracking. "Actually, tell a lie. I did once, and that was to chaperone my friend when she went for her induction while I sat there pigging out on a gingsters cornish pasty."
"Now that was just cruel." He chuckled, loving her sense of humour.
She shrugged. "I said I would go with her, not participate. I don't do exercise. My exercise for the day is when I'm running late for the train every evening."
"Do you make it, though?"
"Of course." She smirked at him smugly.
"That's my girl!" He gave her that smouldering toothy grin that helped her relax and feel a little turned on, too.
"How often do you go to the gym?" She asked him casually.
It was his turn to shrug. "Whenever I have nothing going on." He answered truthfully. "Which right now is quite often. You're the only interesting part of my week so far."
She blushed and almost went to remind him that she had called him out on the flowery bullshit he had said earlier but held herself back.
Give him a chance she reminded herself.
She gave his hand that she was holding a quick squeeze as they rounded the corner.
"There it... is..." he trailed off when they came face to face with almost fifty photographers, all swarming around like rats in the sewers for someone.
"What's going on?" She pondered aloud as she took in the chaotic scene before them.
"No idea..." he mumbled awkwardly, praying he wouldn't be recognised.
Suddenly, the photographers all paraded across the street with little consideration for the buses and general traffic on the road.
"Bianca! Bianca!! Over here!!"
Ethan took a step back and felt that sickening tightening ache in his chest as Bianca came into view, leaving his block of flats, ushered through the imposing crowd by a body guard.
She had tried to see him. That bitch had the audacity to try and catch him in his flat!
"Are you OK?" Hannahs voice softly wrenched him back from his personal torment.
He tore his eyes away from Bianca and looked at her face of genuine concern.
He gulped down his mixture of anguish and fury and forced himself to smile at her.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm OK. Just... that's Bianca McMillan, you know? It's not very often you get to see such an A list celebrity in person, is it?" He lied pathetically.
To his surprise, she didn't look impressed as her gaze smoothly travelled to where Bianca was now getting into a limousine. She hummed coldly.
"She's hardly a celebrity." She stated boldly.
His eyebrows shot up. This woman surprised him every time she opened her mouth.
"What do you mean?"
He was curious about what she really thought of her. He could sense her intense dislike towards her, but she shook her head at him.
"I'm hungry. Where's this restaurant?"
"Oh yeah. It's just there." He pointed further up the street, thankfully on the opposite side to his ex.
She smiled at him encouragingly and led him by his hand towards the destination.
Hannah couldn't care less about the heartless bitch that was getting all the undeserved attention across the road. She had read all about what she'd done to Ethan Sanders, and she loathed women like that. Using their body to get their own way, cheating and taking everything for granted.
Now she wanted this man back? She really hoped he had told her exactly where to go.
She pulled Robin to the restaurant entrance and glimpsed the menu in the frame beside the door. She did a double take and stared in disbelief at the prices.
Fifty pounds for an eight ounce steak?! Was the fucking cow made of gold or something?!
Her face paled as Robin gave her a quizzical look.
"Hannah? What's wrong?"
She swallowed her pride and hung her head solemnly.
"I'm so sorry, Robin, but... is there anywhere else we can go?"
Ethan was once again taken aback.
"Why? What's wrong with it?" He asked, bewildered.
"The prices here..." she explained timidly. "I can't afford a drink, let alone a main meal."
He blinked at her, then smirked. "My treat?" He offered flippantly.
Her face became hard in an instant, and she avoided his confused gaze. "No. I told you last time I prefer to pay for my own..." she bit her lip and closed her eyes, feeling like she was about to cry.
She was so ashamed. She didn't want to ruin this chance with him nor insult his choices, but she was determined to keep the promise to herself.
Ethan didn't know what to say. He would have continued to reassure her that he'd pay for her food, but she was so damn stubborn. It should infuriate him that she wasn't allowing him to follow through with his plan, but instead, he felt humbled. Enlightened, even.
He admired her!
He saw her close her eyes in an attempt to hide her shame and placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them encouragingly.
"Hey..." he whispered as her face scrunched up at his affectionate gesture. "Hey, it's OK."
He pulled her into a consoling hug, his icy heart melting at this headstrong woman who was ruining his plans. He gently rested his chin on the top of her head as she buried herself into his chest and saw that Bianca was still sitting in her limousine outside his block of flats.
He could see the press still snapping photograph after pointless photograph of the heavily tinted window where she was sitting, and he felt his jaw clench.
He had definitely made a mistake.
Hannah shouldn't be the one he was targeting. He should go back to the original source.
Bianca should be the one who should be suffering, not Hannah.
But what if this was part of Hannah's act... his evil side queried snidely. What if this was part of her plan to make him let his guard down so he'd spoil her rotten without a second thought while she was laughing at him behind his back?
He closed his eyes, continuing to rub gentle circles on her back with his thumbs and battled with himself.
He was so confused. If only there was a way to truly tell if this girl was a one in a million and genuine?
After giving her a moment longer to calm down, he pulled back slightly and lifted her chin with his finger and thumb so he could look her in the eye.
She had definitely been crying a little. Her eyes were tinged red along her eyelashes, and her lip was trembling slightly. Was she as good an actress as Bianca?
"Why are you determined to be so independent?" He asked her slowly, furrowing his brow and giving her a scrutinising look. "Why won't you let me treat you?"
She sniffed and looked away. "It's a long story..." she whispered sadly.
He took a deep breath in through his nose and plastered his fail-safe smile on his face.
"Let's find somewhere more affordable so you can tell me." He took her hand and led her away from the restaurant, the intruding photographers, and Bianca. "How about McDonald's? Or is that too cheap?"
She finally let slip a smile and tilted her head. "That's more along my price range." She admitted quietly.
It was a good thing that London had a McDonald's every five minutes. They ordered their food to go and sat in the park close by.
"I haven't had McDonald's in fucking years." He laughed between mouthfuls of big mac. "Forgot how soft their burgers are."
He glanced over to where Hannah sat beside him, quietly eating her big mac and fries while taking in the surrounding pedestrians and rapidly changing colours in the sky. She looked back at him for a moment before hanging her head.
"I'm sorry I ruined our date." She mumbled into her chest.
Ethan had just taken another bite of his burger. He hummed, shaking his head at her.
"You didn't." He assured her after he swallowed. "You just changed the pace a little bit."
He smiled at her but saw she was still feeling ashamed of herself. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt for now until he could truly work out if this was all an act or not.
"You know, you surprise me." He admitted.
She stared at him. "How do you mean?" She asked in bemusement.
"Well, you haven't once let me treat you. You're stubbornly independent and seem to see straight through me sometimes."
Her eyes widened in horror.
"I'm sorry!" She hastened to explain. "I'm so sorry, I don't mean to! It's just..."
He arched an eyebrow at her.
"I wasn't saying that was a bad thing." He soothed. "I'm saying it's actually refreshing. So many women have such old-fashioned attitudes to dating. They expect the man to take the lead and shower them with praises and gifts, pay for the meal, hold the door open... you know, old-fashioned etiquette."
He cast her a grave smile as she gave him her full attention, her face full of curiosity at where he could be going with this.
"They expect men to do everything for them and worship the ground they walk on. Whereas you... you don't allow yourself to be pampered. You proudly show that you can provide for yourself. You don't need anyone's help or pity. You see a goodwill gesture as an insult to your pride. I am even willing to bet that when you're old and living in a home, you would still tell your carer that you are perfectly capable of wiping your own arse!"
She burst out laughing, having to move her food out of her lap before it ended up staining the chest of her jumpsuit.
She laughed for a while before attempting to calm herself down, nodding as she did so.
"You are so right! I am totally capable of wiping my own arse." She giggled and calmed down enough to take a deep breath.
She was ready. She had to explain why she was like this before he made his own assumptions and walked away thinking it was because of him.
"Please dont judge me too badly for who I am. I was hurt badly." She started to say, her voice barely a whisper.
Ethan quickly placed his empty McDonald's wrappings in the paper bag before giving her his full attention.
"My ex... he used to work a lot. Paid for everything for us. While I actually used to have a job earning more than him when we first started dating, he allowed me to use the money I earned for things that didn't matter. Drinks out all the time, meals, holidays away, clothing that would only be worn once, then shoved into a wardrobe to collect dust..."
She sighed and leaned against Ethan, resting her head on his shoulder so she couldn't see his judgement.
He let her get close to him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders while the other helped keep them propped up in a sitting position.
He found he liked how she was leaning into him for comfort while she told her story. It had been unexpected, but nice to know he had gained her trust.
"We used to be happy. We got our own house by the time we were twenty-five. Accomplishing what our friends wanted but they were still stuck at home with their parents. Then, I got pregnant."
Ethan stiffened at that. Oh god... what had he done to her?!
"He told me I would never have to work again. I could rely on him for anything me and the baby would ever need. The thing was, he would choose work over coming to the many hospital appointments I had to attend. During the pregnancy, I suffered with hyperemesis gravidarum badly. I was basically restricted to the bathroom on most days, holding onto the toilet as I threw up whatever I ate or drank..."
She abruptly sat herself up and cringed at him.
"Sorry, this isn't really a romantic conversation to have just after eating McDonald's."
He smiled at her gently as he shook his head.
"You go ahead. I have a strong stomach, I assure you."
She gave him a last awkward smile before returning to her original spot, leaning against him with her head on his shoulder. He stretched his arm around her shoulders and soothingly rubbed circles on her upper arm to coax her to continue.
"For the whole nine months, our relationship wasn't there. He didn't stay by me, choosing to get out of the way at work. I hoped that once our baby arrived, we'd be back to the way we were. We had a daughter, and I called her Bea... he wasn't there when she was being delivered, arriving just afterwards even though he worked within fifteen minutes from the ward."
Ethan never thought he would feel such pure hatred towards anyone other than Bianca until that moment. What kind of dad misses the birth of his daughter?!
"I thought nothing of it at the time, just figured he was a workaholic. It wasn't until Bea was four months old that he fucked up."
She sat up straight and tearfully looked him in the eye, preparing for him to turn her away once she finished her story.
"The idiot sent me a picture of the view he could see from his work do, with his work colleague just behind him, reflected in the glass, shoving her hands down his trousers!"
He blanched at her. "Are you fucking serious?!"
She scoffed and nodded. "Yep. The cunt sent me a picture of him cheating by accident then had the fucking cheek to deny everything and call me crazy when I showed him the proof."
Her hardened expression vanished as she dissolved into tears, Ethan quickly pulled her back into a tight embrace, comforting her the best he could.
"I left him that night. My sister died because she kept forgiving her controlling boyfriend. While I don't think Jake would have the nerve to kill me, he did strip me of everything. I found out he had been cheating on me for almost two whole years before it came to light. I had to start all over again on my own, with nothing but suitcases of clothes, bottles and baby bits. We had no money! I couldn't get any money from selling the house because he had put the mortgage solely in his name. He never paid child support. He pretends we don't exist. He never messages her on her birthday, at Christmas, nothing!"
She let it all out. All the strength she'd built up holding back her emotions for all these years, finally weakening and showing her vulnerable side.
Ethan was left feeling numb after her admission. His mind was reeling as he held this woman on their second date, allowing her the time to release her pent-up emotions.
Her ex had done exactly what he'd done to Bianca and cut off all sources of income she could have had, but she hadn't deserved it like Bianca did. She had actually needed it and selflessly, too!
His heart pounded in his chest as he made his decision.
She had a daughter. She was a mum making her way through life, struggling on her own. Every choice she made, she had to consider how it would impact her child too, and he had heartlessly targeted her!
The guilt was eating him alive!
He scrunched up his face as it threatened to consume him entirely, holding her ever closer and kissing the hair on the top of her head.
He silently promised her that he would stop the pursuit of trying to expose her as a gold digger.
Instead, he wanted to pursue her properly, this time as an actual date. Not one he assumed would be after his money, but one he wanted to show love to.
Hannah tried to calm her breathing and slowly pulled herself away from Robin, wiping her sore eyes and giving him a pathetic smile.
"I'm so sorry. This isn't something anyone wants to have to explain on a second date, but I felt that if I left it any longer, I would have been lying to you. I come with baggage." She tried to shrug nonchalantly, preparing herself for the worst. "I have a seven year old daughter, and she is my sole reason for carrying on. I understand if this isn't something you want, so I won -"
She was cut off by him pressing his lips against hers. It was sudden, but it wasn't rough. He was gentle, almost caressing with his kiss, and she melted as her lips moved in sync with his.
Her hand lifted up and rested against his chest as she contemplated pushing him away, but allowed it to continue because it felt... right!
Both were breathing heavily when they finally pulled apart, and he cupped her face so she could see the sincerity in his eyes.
"You are absolutely within your right to guard yourself after what you went through. I'm not put off by any of it. It's completely the opposite. I also had my doubts, expected you to try and take advantage of rinsing my bank account, but you surprised me... you keep surprising me, and I would love to truly get to know you. You and Bea..."