Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
He pauses his stirring and looks at me, until a sizzle from the pan calls for his attention. “If you felt that way, why did you limit things to one night?” he asks, his focus on the food.
“I talked about it that night. There were several reasons why we couldn’t continue.”
He’s quiet for a minute as he finishes the eggs and transfers them to waiting plates. “You know they all wanted to keep seeing you? We all did.”
“Why didn’t any of you say so, or suggest anything?”
“You made your intentions clear that night, and we didn’t know you felt differently. We were respecting your wishes.”
“That’s what I get for getting involved with such honorable men,” I joke, following him to the table where he sets the plates and pulls out a chair for me. “But none of our intentions change the reality of things.”
“Which is?”
“Trevor and Adrian are away, and they might be assigned to jobs far away when their training is done. Garrett’s my boss; we’re not allowed to date each other. He doesn’t even want to go to lunch with me anymore.”
“And you and me?” he asks.
“I never imagined you’d be missing me. I figured I was one of many women for you. Hopefully memorable, but definitely not unforgettable.”
Neither of us has started eating. He finds my hand in my lap and takes it in his. “I’d like to see a lot more of you, and I also think you should go after what you want.”
I stare back at him, imagining what that would look like, and what it would involve. “What if things don’t work out?” I ask.
“What will you lose in trying?”
I think about that for another minute, while Duke takes his hand back after giving mine a reassuring squeeze, and starts to eat his food, which is probably getting cold. After I get into my late-night meal, we start to talk things through, and we make some tentative plans.
When we’re done, and the dishes are rinsed and stacked in the sink, he takes me back into his bedroom and has sex with me in a way that would probably be better described as making love. No, we’re not in love, at least not yet, but you’d never know that from the tender way he strokes my body and whispers in my ear, as he slowly sinks into me, over and over, all night long.
44
Garrett
It turns out my new management position involves a lot more meetings than I used to attend. They make it harder to get my actual work done, but I don’t mind being busier. It almost keeps my mind off of things.
Or rather, people. One person in particular.
I don’t know how I manage to continue working with her on a daily basis, wanting her every single day. I guess I had a lot of practice being in love with her from afar, but it’s a million times worse now. Now that I know exactly how her lips taste, and the softness of her skin, the feel of her mouth on my cock, and what it’s like to be inside her.
She’s so certain that we can’t be together, even though she said she misses us. She made herself clear, and I’d be an idiot to give up my new position for something she may not even want. If she wanted me, we could have been together long ago, and the time we did spend together would have lasted longer than four nights.
At least I found some old school friends in the deal. Not quite a silver lining, but better than nothing — no offense to Trevor and Adrian. Duke’s a pretty cool guy, too. The only bad part about hanging out with him is all of the memories it stirs up.
I’m eating a dry turkey sandwich at my desk between two meetings when Autumn herself appears in my cubicle without warning. “Do you have a minute to talk?” she asks.
I glance at my watch and adjust my glasses, which had slipped down my nose. “Ten minutes. What’s up?”
She twists a strand of her hair around her finger, something she does when she’s uncertain. “The conference room is empty. Can we go in there?”
“Sure.” I follow her to the corner of the floor, using all of my practice to resist letting my eyes sink to skirt level. I close the door behind us and head for a chair, but stop when I notice that Autumn doesn’t appear to be planning to sit down.
“I just had a meeting with HR,” she says, her hands motionless at her sides. “I’ve given my two weeks’ notice.”
“What? Why would you do that? And why didn’t you talk to me about it first?”
“I’m talking to you about it now, but first, I wanted to ask, if you’re not dating anyone, would you like to go out with me?”