Phillip was shocked when he heard Ali's voice on the other end of the phone. "Ali? Umm, not trying to sound rude but how did you get my number?" Phillip asked confused.
"Oh umm, Seth gave Kate both your numbers. I'm sorry I called, I shouldn't have. I'll just go." Ali felt stupid calling him. He had no idea that Seth gave Kate his number and she was embarrassed.
"No wait, it's ok. Did you need something?"
"Umm well...Kate and I are planning to go out in a while and I just wanted to see if you guys would like to join us. We could really need some friends right now and we would like to get to know you guys a little bit better. If you guys are up to it of course."
Phillip's cheekbones flared at the word 'friends.' He knew that Kate and Seth liked each other and that it would turn into something more. As far as Ali though, it was clear she only saw him as a friend and Phillip didn't want that. He obviously wanted more and he didn't want to risk doing anything about it. Ali obviously had a boyfriend and for once, he didn't want to get in between it. Before, he couldn't careless about a girls relationship status but Ali was different. He felt the need to not approach her in that way. He actually liked her so much that he would respect her. He wasn't so sure that he wanted to go. It would be torture knowing he couldn't do anything.
"Phillip? Are you still there?" Ali asked.
"Umm, yeah sorry about that. Umm, I'm sure Seth would like to go but I don't think I can."
"Oh..why not?" Ali asked. Phillip could hear the disappointment in her voice and it made him feel bad instantly.
"You know what...on second thought, I think I'll go." Phillip gave in.
"Great! I'll text to you to tell you where we are going."
"Alright, see you later." Phillip smiled.
Ali grinned as she hung up the phone. She was excited to get to know Phillip. She really wanted to be his friend and hoped that he did too. Of course, she knew he probably wanted something more but with the ring on her finger, she hoped that he wouldn't try something...and vise versa. She shook her head and started to look for what to wear. Ali wasn't picky so she always got dressed quickly. Once she finished, she went out of her bedroom and saw Kate applying her make-up in the bathroom.
"Hey I'm ready." Ali said leaning against the opened door.
"Already? You're not even going to put make-up on?"
"Nope. I don't like wearing shit." Ali crossed her arms. "By the way, I invited Seth and Phillip." Ali said quickly and ran to the living room to sit down.
"You what?!" Kate shrieked and ran after her.
"Yeah, I invited them. You should be happy; you're going to see Seth again." Ali winked at her. "Let's go so we can find a place that they can meet us at."
Kate shook her head and grabbed her purse. "Let's go." she didn't know what would happen with Ali and Phillip but she hoped everything went smoothly.
Once they were walking around the city, they were admiring all the bright city lights.
"Crap, I should have worn a sweater. It's freezing." Ali said rubbing her arms.
"Look, this looks like a nice place. What do you say?" Kate asked looking through the window of a small restaurant.
"Yeah it's fine. Hurry let's go in before I freeze to death." Ali hissed. They went inside and order a table for four. Once they got seated Ali took her phone out and texted Phillip the name of the restaurant and what street it was on."
"I wonder what Seth is going to wear." Kate laughed.
"You really like him huh?" Ali teased.
"I really do. We had a great conversation on the plane. He's sweet."
"I'm glad he infatuates you that much." Ali said. She was glad that Kate found someone who made her happy.
After a couple of minutes, Kate and Ali noticed Phillip and Seth walking through the door of the restaurant. Ali all of a sudden got nervous. Phillip was wearing a sleeveless shirt. You could easily see the shoulder tattoo that went all the way down to his wrist and also on his chest. He had his long black hair tied in a low bun and was holding his jacket in his hand. You could tell how fit he was. Ali almost drooled at the sight. She composed herself before they approached the table.
"Hey guys!" Kate smiled and stood up to hug Seth and Phillip. Ali just sat there, smiled and waved. Seth of course sat next to Kate and Phillip sat next to Ali.
As the night went on, all four of them had great conversation while eating their food. They got to know each other very well. Ali decided to leave out the subject about her relationship status. Kate of course had to bring it up to know if Seth was single or not. They both would drop hints of flirting and it made Ali and Phillip uncomfortable. Once they finished eating and paid, they decided to walk around the city and Ali and Kate were in awe again. They had never seen anything like that. Of course SF had its share of awesome lights and buidlings but it was nothing compared to Chicago. Seth and Kate were walking ahead of Phillip and Ali
Ali started to shiver as the cold air creeped up on her again. She again regretted not wearing a sweater.
"Are you cold? Here." Phillip took his jacket off and put it around Ali's shoulders.
"What about you? You're not wearing any sleeves. You'll freeze." Ali was going to take it off and give it back to him but Phillip stopped her.
"Don't worry I can manage. I would rather freeze than to have you shiver." He smiled and Ali blushed.
"Thank you" she said and wrapped the jacket around her petite body. Phillip just nodded and fixed the collar for her. Ali for once felt like she was free. She was able to go out and not worry about anything. It had been a long time since she was able to be with a guy out in public. It felt good. Ali glanced down at her ring and frowned. She lifted her head to look at Phillip who was looking up at the tall buildings as they walked.
Ali smiled and bit her lip. She grabbed Phillip's arm which caused him to stop walking to look at her.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"Mhm." Ali responded and stepped closer to him. Their chests almost touching. Ali looked at Phillip's biceps and rubbed them with her hands.
"What are you doing Ali?" Phillip asked looking away. He knew this would happen but then again, she was touching him and he was confused. He grabbed her left hand and touched the ring on her finger. "Don't do anything you're going to regret." he said and lifted her hand so she could regain memory of the ring that was settled on her finger and the person that gave it to him. Phillip knew this would happen. Unfortunately Seth was right. Phillip didn't need to say or do anything for a girl to fall. Ali looked at the ring and sighed.
"It's been too long though." she frowned.
"Too long of what?" Phillip looked at her confused.
"That I've been with a guy out in public." she looked into his gray eyes.
"I don't understand. You have a boyfriend, fiance...whatever he is and you haven't been with him out in public?" Phillip sounded as confused as ever. Ali nodded her head. "Why?" he asked.
Ali sighed again and looked around to notice that Seth and Kate were nowhere to be seen. "Let's go back to my place" she said and grabbed Phillip's hand. As they walked, Ali texted Kate to let her know that she went back home with Philip. Ali decided to tell Phillip about her hidden relationship with James. She never trusted people so easily but she knew she could trust Phillip. She just knew it. Plus, nothing would happen considering they are in different states now and he isn't her teacher anymore.
They soon arrived and Ali allowed Phillip to enter the apartment. They took a seat on the couch and drank from their coffee cups, which they bought on their way to the apartment.
"Okay, so I'm going to explain everything to you...if you're willing to listen."
"Of course I am. I'm all ears." Phillip smiled at her and placed his coffee on the coffee table.
"Ok well you see..the guy that gave me this promise ring..my boyfriend...he's um..he used to be my high school teacher. He's only about 7 years older than me and you can pretty much figure out why I can't be out with him in public." Ali bit her lip as she waited for Phillip's reaction.
"Wow. That's crazy." Phillip said a little taken back. He wasn't expecting that.
"Yeah but I kind of miss being out in public with a guy you know?" Phillip nodded in response. "So, you're not judging me for dating someone who use to be my teacher?"
"No. I guess you can't really help who you fall for. Whether it's a teacher, your boss...or someone whose already taken." Phillip hung his head low.
Ali frowned when she realized what he was referring to. She cupped his cheek which forced him to look at her. Ali found herself in that spell again. She couldn't look away from those mesmerizing gray eyes. Something came over her and she leaned in closer to his face.
"Ali, don't. You don't really want to do this. Snap out of it." Phillip shook his head and tried to move his head back but Ali stopped him and suddenly pressed her lips on his. Philip tried to pull away but this time, he stopped himself and kissed her back. He placed his hands on her hips as they continued to kiss. Ali held onto his biceps and opened up more to deepen the kiss. Phillip groaned and grabbed the opening of his jacket, that she was wearing and took it off her body. Ali didn't know what was happening but she couldn't stop kissing him.
James woke up and looked at the clock. It was 11:00 p.m. He remembered that he was supposed to call Ali so he reached for his phone; hoping she was still awake. He turned his body to face the other side of the bed. His eyes widened when he saw Kristen laying next to him...naked. He all of a sudden noticed that he was naked as well...