Awakening (12 page)

He puts his fork down and fixes his stare at me but doesn’t say anything. The tension builds and finally I can’t take it any more.

“I still can’t believe you let me think I was going crazy all week. I knew it was you, but then you were such an ass and I thought no way. Was that really you?”

“Yes,” he says, his voice low and deep. “I was just trying to be respectful. It was one dance and we never really introduced ourselves. As it turns out, you have a boyfriend—of sorts. You were saying happy wasn’t the right adjective you would use. What would you use then?”

“I’m not sure. But even if I knew, the last thing I want to discuss with you is what adjective I would choose to describe my relationship.” Now I’m wishing that I hadn’t drunk the wine so fast. I can’t believe it; my sexy stranger and Ryan are one in the same!

“Relationship? Okay. So, you are in a relationship then?” His eyes darken and he sits back against his chair.

Shit. Was that what this is? He’s asking if I’m in a relationship? That thought pulls me back down.

“I don’t know what to call it these days. But yes, I met him three years ago. Senior year.” I want this conversation to be over.

“Oh. Senior year. So now this begins to make sense.” He smiles and looks around the restaurant.

Why does it make sense now? I’m about to ask when the waiter comes over with the check. Ryan grabs for it, but I take it first.

“No way, buster. If you pay, it’s a date. If I pay, then I’m treating the client to dinner in exchange for labor.”

He looks sullen and crosses his arms.

“Okay, Young. When I pay, it’ll be a date.” And with that he gets up and walks off toward the restroom.

When
he pays? Not
if
he pays? My heart skips a beat again. I watch him walk across the restaurant. He really is nice to look at.

~~~

It’s 9:30 at night and we’re almost done. Ryan has been telling me tales of law school to keep us entertained. I’ve never had so much fun working late before. I’m laughing embarrassingly loudly but I just don’t care, this is too much fun.

“Ta da!” Ryan stands, triumphant. “And that is the last sticker done.”

“Great. Let’s start stuffing.” I stand up and start moving towards Julie’s long neglected stacks.

He growls in playful frustration. “I forgot about that part. Will this ever end?” Ryan sags. He does look tired, but even so, still stunningly handsome.

“Oh, come on. We’re in the home stretch!” I walk towards him and hold out my hand. “Don’t quit on me now.”

He stands, grabbing my hand, and our eyes lock. The copper in his eyes is swirling with chocolate. They are magical. His hair is swept up, sort of sticking up in a messy way, but wow, does it work on him. His collar is open, showing me just a hint of what might be underneath. And that slow smile spreading across his face is just so inviting, I can feel myself falling into him. Now that I know he is the same man from the club, I know what he’s capable of and my body is craving more.

My breath stops and electrical currents shoot from his fingers straight to my sex. “No,” he says. “I won’t quit on you.”

We are so close I could kiss him. Another thrill shoots through my body as I realize that I actually need to look up at him to maintain eye contact.

Get a grip, Nora. Shaking my head, I pull away from him.

“Um. Good.” I walk back toward the piles of papers and start working.

I feel him walk up behind me. Heat radiates from his body to mine. I want this man! The thought pops into my head so suddenly I almost gasp. But I know it’s true. I can admit it, finally. I’m so attracted to him I can barely breath, and now that I sense him standing behind me, feeling the heat coming off him, my entire body starts trembling with desire.

Taking a deep breath, I steady my nerves. To be fair to everyone involved here, I need to finish things off with Darren before jumping into something else. I feel Ryan move to my side and start stuffing the folders.

We work side-by-side and finish quickly. Still, it’s after eleven before we’re done. I know I’m tired, but I don’t feel it. I wonder if I look tired.

“Okay. That’s it for now. I couldn’t have done this without you. Thanks for hanging in there with me,” I say, trying to keep my voice level.

Somehow, knowing who he really is and admitting to myself how attracted I am to him makes me nervous. Ugh. What a pain.

“Yeah sure, Young. You really know how to show a guy a good time.” He smiles, satirically.

A thrill shoots through me as I register his nickname for me. Laughing I say back to him, “Yeah, Cole, next time maybe we can have some real fun.”

His whole body stills. He steps forward as if he is going to kiss me and I suck in a breath. Damn, that was loud.

After a beat, he steps back. “Come on. I’ll walk you to your car.”

“Okay.” Trying to steady myself, I hide the disappointment in my voice. “That would be gentlemanly of you.”

After gathering my coat and bag, I lock up and we walk to our cars. The cool night air seems to clear my head.

“Seriously, Ryan, that was the most fun I’ve had working late. I appreciate you staying with me. Now I have the whole weekend to rest and get ready for Monday.”

I beep my car open.

“No problem, Nora. I enjoyed myself, too. I hope you use your free weekend to its fullest.” He smiles.

Maybe it’s the late hour, or the poor light, but he looks a little sad.

We wait, looking at each other. Hmmm. Do I kiss him goodnight? That seems awkward. If this were a date, I would, but it’s not. I have worked exceptionally hard all night to reaffirm that. Now, I wonder why?

And then, without thinking, my hand reaches up and brushes his face. I once again look into those swirling eyes.

“Next time we stay out late it’ll be pure fun, okay?” I say, my fingers touching his lips.

His eyes widen and a lascivious smile blooms across his mouth.

With that I get in my car and start the engine. I watch him walk back to his car and get in. When his lights flash on, I watch him drive out of the parking lot and I notice my heart is still racing.

CHAPTER NINE

Afternoon light streams into the apartment while I sit and enjoy a cup of tea. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable Saturday. I slept in, cleaned my apartment, and did the laundry. I need to go to the grocery store to stock up for next week. Knowing that it will be a hell week, my goal is to stay as well rested and organized as possible. Other than the cryptic message Darren left, I haven’t spoken to him all day. Darren’s message was on my home phone, an odd choice even for him, saying that he might see me later, that I should be ready. Whatever that means.

In between laundry and cleaning I’ve been thinking a lot. The spell of Ryan Cole seems to have dissipated, somewhat, so at least now I can think this all through without my hormones getting in the way.

Fact one: Darren has been a real jerk lately. Fact two: I’m getting on with my life and I need to have people around me who are going to support that, not try to sabotage it. Fact three: Ryan Cole is one hot guy who gets my blood going.

I put the book I was pretending to read down. The sad truth is, I feel like Darren is stuck. I was too, but now I want to move on. Even without Mr. Spinning Gorgeous Eyes complicating things, I feel like I am ready to go to the next phase of this life of mine. And Darren? Well, Darren is making it pretty clear he wants everything to stay the same.

I know for a fact that I don’t want things to stay the same. Living here, waiting for a law degree to drop out of the sky and waiting for Darren to become Prince Charming is no longer an option. We either move ahead together or we move apart, I owe him that much.

For the first time in a long while, I am in a good place. Not fueled by ambition or hormones or anger. This is just the place I need to be, on the precipice, spreading my wings and getting ready to fly.

Stretching out on the couch and letting the sunlight wash over me feels so good. I’m so relaxed, all of the anxiety of the last week, all the confusion, it all just seeps out of me, and I close my eyes.

Complete darkness greets me as I open them several hours later. Whoa! It’s late, so much for shopping this afternoon. Walking into the kitchen, I notice that it’s already 8:45pm. Holy cow, I slept a long time. I’m still dressed and fully awake; there’s no way I’m going to bed soon. I might as well go shopping now.

This is a great time to shop, it’s just me and the stock guys. About every other aisle has a man or woman restocking the shelves. Other than that, I feel alone in the store. I easily pick up what I need and head to the front to pay. Self-checkout is the best thing to happen to grocery stores since sliced bread.

Getting a parking spot in our lot is a bit of a challenge late at night, but I find a spot just around the corner. Walking back to the elevators, I look for the cart but can’t find it anywhere. Fine! I’ll do this the old fashioned way. I load up as many bags as I can and head back up to my apartment. At this rate it will take me three or four trips.

On the third trip I have two bags left but can’t manage anymore on this round. I gather all the freezer stuff and leave the canned goods and pasta and bread. When I get to my apartment I unload everything, cleaning out the freezer while I am at it. I know I’m screwing up my sleep pattern, but what the hell. I have all day tomorrow to get back on track for Monday.

Freezer organized, refrigerator full, and groceries put away, I head back down to the car for the last load. Yawning, I walk down the stairs; maybe I’m getting a little tired, it must be getting close to midnight. As soon as I reach the parking lot, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. Fully alert now and looking around I don’t see anyone, but man, it feels like something is out here.

Feeling as if I’m in some stupid horror movie, I make my way to the car. Every hair on my body is standing up and adrenaline pumps through my blood. I open the car door while glancing back and forth and quickly grab the last two grocery bags from the car.

On the stairs I hear someone behind me. I know I should turn around and face whoever’s back there, but I just can’t! I run up the stairs and fling my door open. Slamming the door, I lock it as fast I can with shaky fingers. Oh my God! I start laughing hysterically. What was that?

I have enough adrenaline in my system to run a marathon. Making tea while putting the rest of the food away, I try to calm down. I don’t know what the hell was out there, but I never want to go out again.

“Okay, Nora. It’s okay.” I say this out loud over and over again. Repeating it seems to help—a little.

Taking the tea to the bedroom, I settle into bed with a travel magazine. A good hour goes by before my eyes even feel heavy. After another hour I turn off the light and pull the blankets up, hoping that now I’ll be able to sleep.

The doorbell becomes urgent in my dreams, insistently buzzing while I am sipping pear juice in the clouds. And then, knocking. How can there be knocking in a cloud, there’s nothing up here to knock on?

“Nora. Nora!” I hear Darren’s voice and start to look for him.

Just then, I sit up and realize that I have been asleep. The knocking is my front door, and Darren is still yelling my name.

“Yeah!” I yell from my bed. “Hold on. I’m coming.” I stumble out of bed and pull on my robe.

“Nora! Are you okay? Open the damn door!”

Opening the door I find Darren standing there, fist in the air, looking flushed.

“Jesus. What’s wrong? I was asleep.” He looks at me with a hard look.

“It’s almost noon. Since when do you sleep till noon? I thought you were dead or something.”

“Okay, well that’s a bit of an overreaction.” I step aside to let him in. “Please, come in.”

He walks by and sniffs me. “You smell funny,” he says, accusingly.

“Wow. Thanks.” What the hell?

I walk back toward the kitchen. Now I am desperate for coffee. Darren is already in there, looking around.

“We need to talk,” he says, sternly.

“You think?” I snort.

I put coffee grounds into the coffee maker and can feel his eyes watching me. Ignoring him I wait for the coffee to fill my mug. I get the cream and sugar, pretending not to notice that he is watching my every move. I stir my cup a few extra times then finally take a sip. Ahhhh. Heavenly.

“Well. Hello. Good morning.” I check the clock 11:43. “Yep, still morning. So. I want to talk too, but I need to finish this. Did you bring in the paper?”

“You want me to read the paper while you drink your coffee before we talk?” He asks sarcastically.

“Yes, Darren, that is exactly what I want to do. I had a late night, thank you very much. I was just dreaming about clouds and pear juice, and you quite literally knocked me out of my dreams. So, yes, I would like to read the paper and drink my coffee. And then, we can talk.”

Without waiting for a response, I pull my robe tighter and walk back to the front door with my coffee. The paper is waiting for me just outside the door.

I still feel his eyes on me as I gather the paper and get comfortable on the couch. What the hell is his problem? This man has become almost psychotic. Sitting and pulling my feet underneath me, I spread the throw over my lower half, and snuggle in. I sip my deliciously hot coffee and savor the moment.