The Job Offer (17 page)

"No, I'll stay here.  Did you put
some antibacterial cream on the blisters?"  At the shake of her head, he
frowned.  "Did you do anything?"

"I put on bandages."

Ben sighed then told her to stay put, as
if she was going anywhere, she thought.  He picked up the room phone and
ordered sandwiches, diet sodas, and popcorn from the dining room.  Then he
called the front desk and asked for some first aid supplies and a foot bath to
be brought up to the room.  After that he walked into the bathroom and returned
a minute later with a towel and her shorts.  Walking back to her, he put the
towel on the floor in front of her, then sat down on the table and began
untying her shoes.

"I can do that," she told him
lazily, but she made no move to do it herself.

"I know."  He pulled one shoe
and sock off.  Looking at her bandaged foot, he said 'tsk' and made her smile
before he removed the bandages.  Then he removed the shoe, sock, and bandages
from her other foot, before he set her foot down and reached for the snap of
her jeans.

"I can do that, too."  She
stopped his hands and looked up at his face.

"I know that, too."  His hands
made short work on the snap and zipper before he helped her pull the jeans off.
 Then he reached for her shorts that he had set on the couch next to her.

"You know.  I can dress myself.  I've
been doing for a number of years now."  The man was just too much at times,
she thought lightly, but he gave her a playful smile that caused her heart to
flip.

"Humor me," was all he said
with that charming smile that revealed a dimple before he lifted one leg and
looped her shorts over her foot before he did the same for the other leg.  Then
with him kneeling in front of her, she helped him slide the shorts up her legs
and zipper the fly before snapping them closed.  "Admit it. You enjoyed
that."

"I did not."  She spoiled it
by laughing.

"You'll enjoy it more when I take
them off of you, later."  She laughed again at the exaggerated leer he
gave her when he said that.

"You're terrible.  What's the
popcorn for?"

"Since it looks like we won't be
going anywhere for the rest of the day, that would make this movie night, or
afternoon as the case may be.  Have you seen the new James Bond movie?"

"Twice, but I can watch it
again."

"I knew there was a reason I liked
you."

A soft knock sounded at the door, and Ben
stood up to answer it.  The food, drinks, first aid supplies, and foot bath
were all delivered and placed where he indicated.  Then he tipped the two
employees and saw them out.  The foot bath felt heavenly on her sore feet, and
she soaked them in the warm Epsom salt water while she ate her turkey sandwich. 
Ben pulled up the menu for the on-demand movie streaming service the inn used,
and as she soaked her feet, they watched the latest Bond movie he ordered.  The
food was delicious but she especially enjoyed the popcorn.  What was it about
popcorn with a movie?  About midway through the movie, Ben pressed "pause"
to stop the movie and dried her feet before he saw to her blisters.  He
certainly liked to spoil her, she thought.  But she was not going to complain.

They spent the rest of the afternoon
snuggled up on the couch watching the rest of the movie.  Then they followed that
with a game of cribbage and a Seattle Mariners' game on the television.  During
the baseball game, he told her all of the finer points on baseball in between
their on and off casual conversation on other topics.  At one point, when Ben
became excited at a triple play, Anne stared at his face and was struck by the
strong feeling of affection that she felt while she watched him.  She smiled at
him tenderly.  Later he argued with the umpire over a close play at home plate,
and she laughed over his involvement in the game.

Midway through the game, Ben ordered a
sausage and pepperoni pizza and a couple of beers that were delivered during
the seventh inning stretch.  They consumed the food and beer greedily and
cheered on the Mariners to a tenth inning victory over the Detroit Tigers.  When
the game was finished, Ben turned off the television and stacked up all of
their garbage and foot care products by the door.

"Admit it, you like baseball,"
he said as he sat back down next to her.

"I do like baseball.  It's just a
game that I prefer watching in the stadium instead of on T.V." she told
him as he took her hand in his.

"Come back sometime, and I'll take
you to a Mariners game."  He stared straight ahead at the television
screen.  The room became silent, and she wondered if he was holding his breath. 
Was that his subtle way of saying he wanted to keep seeing her or just a casual
comment people made all of the time?  She just did not know.

"Maybe I will take you up on
that."  She spoke softly and watched him release a slow breath.  Then he
smiled and looked over at her before leaning in to give her a quick peck on her
lips.  She looked into his warm brown eyes and began to hope that he wanted the
relationship to go beyond that week.

"I need to get some exercise,"
he said suddenly.  "I’ve been sitting too long.  Do you feel up to going
for a walk?"

"I think so."

She put her socks and walking shoes back
on and took his hand for him to pull her up off of the couch.  Then he walked
with her to the balcony and opened the door waiting for her to leave before he
closed it.  The sun was setting over the channel, but there still was enough
light to see by, so they took off walking down the path to the dock.  Holding hands,
they walked down to the spot by the water they had stopped at two nights
before.  Ben sat on the tree trunk, then sat her down on his lap, and held her
in the circle of his arms.

In silence they watched the sun finish setting
over the water.  The reds, oranges, and purples of the sky caught in the clouds
giving the night sky a magical glow as the sun set behind Waldron Island.  The
colorful display was replaced by a dark sky filled with stars that twinkled
down at them as if pin holes were made in a piece of paper and a light shown
from behind.  This was why you left the city, Anne thought.  You just could not
get sunsets like that unless you were outside of the city lights.

When the night bugs came out and started
attacking them, Ben kissed her in a passionless meeting of their mouths that
shook her more than a passionate kiss would have done.  The sound of a fish
breaking the surface of the water and the call of an owl went unnoticed.  Standing
up, Ben took her hand in his larger one and walked with her back to his suite. 
They walked in silence, neither speaking until the balcony door to his room was
opened, and they were ready to walk inside.  That’s when Ben stopped to look at
her.

"Anne."

It was one word.  Her name spoken as it
was a question, a statement, a prayer.  Anne took Ben’s hand and pulled him
inside of the bedroom quietly then locked the door behind her.

Once inside, she led him to the bed and
they undressed each other in silence.  Once they stood in front of each other
unclothed, their lips touched until the passion built and they both felt the
need to lie down.  They made love to each other, glorying in each other’s touch
and taste, until they were left lying breathless and sated in each other's
arms.  Eventually, Anne fell asleep snuggled next to him, her head resting on
his shoulder and her hand pressed soft against his heart.  She missed seeing
his expression of surprise.  He forgot to grab a condom again.  He wondered if
his subconscious was telling him something.  His slips the past two days could
either lead to something wonderful or mess up their lives in a very big way.

After a quick shower early the next
morning, Anne pulled her hair back in a clip and decided that she needed a change
of clothes.  So she slipped out the balcony door and hurried down to her parents'
house.  Ben told her before she left to bring back a dress for that afternoon
and evening because she was going with him to the chapel for the rehearsal and
the groom's dinner that followed.  They would be eating at a local steak and
seafood supper club located in Orcas Village instead of driving back to eat at
the inn that evening, so semi-dressy was the attire.  The wedding planner and
helpers were coming to set up for the reception and dance tomorrow evening, and
since no one wanted to be in the way, everyone was making his or herself
scarce.  This included Ben and Ann who decided on a bike ride to Mount
Constitution.

The sun was still coming up when Anne
let herself into the house and walked into the small kitchen where her dad was
reading the paper.  His usual cup of tea sat in front of him on the table.  For
nearly every morning of her childhood this was her dad’s routine, and she
smiled because some things never changed.  Jim Petrovic had never acquired the
American taste for coffee and preferred black tea in the mornings sweetened
with cream and sugar.  He also took tea in the afternoons, hot tea not iced, as
was the European way.

"Morning, Anne," he greeted
her with a warm smile when she walked in.

"Morning, Dad.  Did mom tell you yesterday
that I got the job?"  She could see that the bathroom door was closed down
the hall and guessed that her mother was getting ready.  Like Anne, her mother
liked to get cleaned up for the day before having her morning coffee.  Pulling
a cup from the cabinet, Anne poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot her
mom brewed every morning for herself.  Then after adding cream as she liked it,
she carried the cup to the table and sat down across from her dad.

"She did.  Congratulations."  His
Croatian accent was always stronger first thing in the morning, just as she
remembered.  "You'll be starting after the Fourth?  Will that give you
time to find an apartment?"  Because of Independence Day on the Fourth of
July, it was decided by Ms. Tomlinson that she would begin at Stanford
Enterprises on the first Monday after the holiday.

"Probably not.  I'll contact a
realtor today and see about setting up some showings for the first part of next
week.  If I can't find an apartment, then I'll rent a monthly place until I
find the apartment that I want.  The hard part will be packing up my apartment back
in Cambridge and shipping everything to Seattle.  If I don't find an apartment,
my stuff will need to go into storage."  She sipped her coffee and pursed
her lips at the thought of packing then storing her stuff.

"It will be nice to have you back, Sweetheart.
 Your mother and I worry about you out there all by yourself, especially after
this past year.  Do you need money?"

"No, Dad.  I think I've got it
covered.  I'll lose my security deposit unless I can sublet my apartment, but I
don’t think that will be a problem.  There is a waiting line for people wanting
to move into my building.  But if I lose it, I'll make that up by not paying
for parking."  He nodded his head in understanding.  Parking in the Boston
area was expensive due to the supply and demand problem.

"Your mother and I have been
talking, and we don't like the idea of you driving across the country by
yourself.  So, your mother is flying out and will drive back with you."

"She doesn't need to do that." 
Anne looked up into his concerned blue eyes.

"Maybe not, but, it will make us
both feel better knowing that you are not traveling alone.  Umm, do you expect
to keep seeing Ben when you move here?"  His change of subject threw her.

"I don't know, Dad.  It's kind of complicated."
 It was complicated, and she really did not know where their relationship
stood.  Except for the offhand invitation to a Mariners' game the night before,
she had no reason to believe Ben wanted to see more of her after that week.

"Yes, I suppose it is."  He
gave her a concerned look and watched her face closely.  "I read the
contract over.  I hope you don't mind?  It was sitting on your dresser.  It
looks like you are getting a fair deal from it."

"It was on my dresser?  Huh. I must
have been more distracted than I thought because I thought I put it in my
briefcase.  No matter, it's fine that you read it.  Yes, the contract is fair,
and I have wanted to work for the company for a while."

"Does Ben know that?"

"No, I haven't told him.  Is it
important?"

"Is what important?"  Her
mother walked into the kitchen and poured her morning cup of coffee.  She
looked fabulous, as always, Anne thought.  "So my dear, what do you and
Ben have planned for today?"

"We were planning on biking over to
Mount Constitution after breakfast and having a picnic before coming back to
get cleaned up for the rehearsal.  I sneaked a peek at the reception hall, and
it's going to look great."

"Wait until the flowers and tables
are set up.  Penelope is making the wedding cake to compliment the design.  You
will be so impressed when it all comes together."  She was referring to
Carla's mother who owned the bakery along with her husband.  The reference to
Carla's mother reminded Anne that she forgot to tell her parents about the
baby, and she told them the news happily.

The topic of her new job was dropped as
they began to discuss the wedding, some of the guests who were already at the
inn, and Carla's good news.  Finally, her dad stood up so that he could get
cleaned up for the day, dropped a kiss on the top of her head, and moved down
the hall.  Anne talked to her mother for a few minutes more then went to her
room to change her clothing, putting on her red bikini under her blue shorts
and pink tee shirt.