Chapter 32: In which she gets tricked into...
"Is this it?" Nikki asked as I got into her cab. "It's the sixth one we've visited this month that suits your budget."
"I think this is a pretty good location, but I'll go over the contract and review our previous visits before I finalize anything." I told her, tucking away all the necessary paperwork into my bag.
Nikki turned on the ignition and reversed out of the parking lot, switching gears as soon as she hit the main road.
"You sure about this site? It's a bit far from the city…" Nikki looked at me concerned.
"A bit." I smiled at her reassuringly from the passenger's side. "But it's the perfect spot with the crossroads nearby. It's also close to my hometown. It's about a 10 minutes drive from here."
"I know. I brought you here remember?" She smiled, her attention back on the road.
"How can I forget?" My mom's birthday. I'd been late to reach her but Nikki had comforted me then too. Just like she's been doing this past month. "Thanks, Nikki."
"Hey, I'm a cabbie!" Nikki smirked. "I'll drive you off a cliff if I'm paid well enough."
"And then you'll be cursing me even after my death." I smirked back.
"And why would I do that?" She asked, genuinely confused.
"I'm pretty sure prisoners aren't allowed to visit Pleasure Caves." I copied her words from Thanksgiving day.
We both looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"That's true." Nikki said, still laughing. But my laughter had died down, because those words...that day had been special. Nathan had still been in my life.
"Hey, hang on, alright? Everything will be fine." Nikki gave me a sympathetic look from the rear-view mirror.
"Yeah." But I knew that it had to get really worse before it gets better. My relationship with Nathan was complicated to say the least. He no longer snapped at everyone for every tiny mistake but he had become more closed off day by day. I thought distance made the heart grow fonder but as each day passed, we seemed to grow even more distant.
To say that I wasn’t hurt would be an understatement. This was the first time in my life that I had wanted someone with all my heart and in the end, it seemed only my heart was the one being broken over and over again.
My phone rang at that moment, distracting me from sad and depressing thoughts.
"Hey, Tina," I greeted, having checked the caller ID.
"How fast can you get to Hotel Paradise?" Tina named the most expensive hotel in the city.
"About an hour, why?" I asked, checking the time on my watch.
"Good. Boss has been invited to dinner with one of our most important clients. You have to go with him as his Secretary since I have a family emergency." Tina explained. "And wear a proper dress. Oh, and be there by 7.30p.m." With that, she ended the call.
"Okay....thanks for the info..." I spoke to no one in particular, looking at my screen with a pout.
"What's wrong?" Nikki asked.
"There's a business dinner at Hotel Paradise and...I have to wear a dress." I told her, groaning. “Nathan’s gonna be there…”
"Dress, huh?" Nikki mused. "I think I have just the perfect one for you!"
I'm not sure I was a fan of her excitement.
Nathan's P.O.V:
"Shall I pour you another glass, Sir?"
"Sure."
I took a sip of my wine after the waiter had left and checked my watch for the thousandth time.
"Tina said they'd be here by 7.30." I muttered under my breath, the time on my watch reading 7.42.
Being here today gave me something to do. Lately, I had been doing everything possible to keep myself distracted. Working, staying busy; diverting my mind from things I didn't want to think about. Someone…I didn't want to think about.
But it always proved useless.
She was there all around me, in everything I saw, everything I did. Everything reminded me of her. I remember her all the time. I can't sit at the table without remembering her enthusiastic face, flushed red as she served me something new that she'd tried cooking that day. I can't go into the kitchen without remembering her bossing Beth around as she tried to work, her love for cooking no secret from anyone. I can't sleep at night without thinking about all the times we'd made love in my bed and how her body had felt under my fingers, how responsive she was. Or all the times when we had simply just held each other and slept in the warmth of our body. I can't even take a damn shower without remembering how her scent still lingered in everything I used.
She was branded into my every breath, every heartbeat. I loved her without conditions and yet…she couldn’t trust me. No...I love her. I still do. And always will. But I can't stand this wall that she's built between us.
Only I know how difficult it is for me to keep up my emotionless facade in front of her. Every time I see her, I want to kiss her plum rosy lips, take her hand and plead her to tell me what was wrong.
It's been a month since we've had a proper conversation. Sometimes I just want to throttle some sense into her. It's obvious that whatever she's hiding is taking a toll on her as well. She's lost weight and by the dark circles under her eyes, she hasn't been getting much sleep. Well, I haven’t been either. I stay awake all night reliving all of our memories together. Does she feel the same? Probably. I always know when she's looking at me, even when I'm turned away. And she does that quite often, steal glances at me when she thinks I'm not looking.
Sometimes I feel like it would've been easy if I never met her. If she hadn't come into my office that day, drenched to the bone with a tiny coffee cup in hand, and looking prettier than any woman I had ever met.
I'd looked at those photos a million times by now and I'd finally noticed something.
The way that Savannah looked at that man...it was different. I could see the love in her eyes as she looked up at him...but it was different from how she looked at me. I couldn't quite point my finger to it but there was definitely something there that I was missing.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding...
The huge vintage clock at a corner of the restaurant dinged eight times, snapping me back to reality. Looks like no one was coming. This would probably be the first time I got stood up by a client.
I was thinking of calling for the bill when the waiter announced that my guest was here. Finally!
"Sorry I'm late! Wait-where are the clients?"
Was I dreaming? Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me from all the wine I've been drinking. Glancing up, I saw someone I wasn't expecting to see.
Savannah Tresscot.
The girl I've had a crush on since high school. The woman I love more than anything in the world.
And she looked gorgeous in a mauve dress that reached to her knees and had a sweetheart neckline, fitting till her waist and then flared out into a skirt. The only ornaments she wore were tiny pearl earrings and a watch.
"I've been waiting for a long time but they haven't snow up yet.” I told her past the knot in my throat. “Tina said they'd-shit!"
Tina! My secretary could be a little too much sometimes.
"She tricked us, didn't she?" Savannah asked solemnly.
"Looks like it." I answered.
But right now, with her so close to me, I've yet to decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing. She'd asked me for time. Until Christmas. And Christmas was only two days away.
How much more will my heart be able to take?