“I’m not done. I will not give up without a fight. The last thing that my father told me was to never let a moment go by that you didn’t cherish the one that you loved. He was the reason why I had to set my sights on you. He made me remember the girl that had only eyes for me. That type of devotion is something that I have been missing.” It was all starting to make sense. His father was a big influence in his life and losing him quite unexpectedly had sent him into a tailspin.
“I’m sorry for your loss. I think that I understand the motivation for you coming here now. I can’t be your lifeline. I can barely take care of myself let alone somebody else. I don’t even own a cat or plant because I know that they would die under my care. I can’t mend what is broken inside you.” I wanted to in the worst way possible, but that was something that he was going to have to do himself.
“I’ve always wanted to make my father proud. The only two things in my life that made sense were him and you. Everything else was window dressing including any woman that was unfortunate enough to find themselves in my bed. I need to give you a reason to believe that I have changed.” He left me standing there, as he zipped up and walked back to his motorcycle with helmet in hand.
He still had the flowing dark locks that gave him the appearance of some rebel without a cause. He revved the motor and I automatically could feel my legs quake with the memory of how it felt to have that beast underneath me.
“I have to give you credit for being able to pull yourself away from that. I don’t know if I could have walked away in your shoes. I’m not a woman, but I have had a couple of girlfriends that could be that bad influence.” I found August in the office and I told him about my impromptu meeting with Jones.
“I shouldn’t drop this in your lap. I could’ve easily told Gemini all of this, but I think that she would have told me that I should have taken one for the team. She has always stressed that the only way that I’m going to find closure is by getting underneath him or on top of him or having him come up from behind.” I thought for sure that he would run from the room, but August had shown this strength of character that I wasn’t expecting.
“I don’t like that you put your hand on another man, but I wasn’t there. You tell me how you felt. You told me the details, but you never did go into specifics about what it is that you felt when you were touching him like that. That will tell you everything that you need to know. It will also tell me if I even stand a chance at taking you out of his hands.” He sat there with his eyes glazed and still feeling the effects of the bottle of wine that he had consumed.
“At the time, I thought that my feelings had gotten the best of me. The trouble with Jones is that he thinks that any woman is powerless to resist him. I was like that, but I don’t fall for the pretty packaging anymore. There has to be more than physical attraction. It would be nice to have one last time with him to say goodbye, but I don’t think that I need it.” I wasn’t sure what would have happened if those lights hadn’t caught me in the act. I didn’t tell him that part. He would read too much into it.
“It sounds like you have made a decision. Do I take it that I should make the arrangements for two instead of one to go to China? They were very impressed with our preliminary drawings. They are setting us up in a private suite for the duration of our stay. They want us to be comfortable. They told us if we needed anything that we only had to ask. This project is going to be an undertaking. It was only supposed to be a couple of months, but they have expressed interest in a more long-term commitment. It could be that we will never come back here again. Are you sure that you are ready for this? We never did discuss how leaving everything behind was going to make you feel.” I wasn’t sure how to process this. Two months sounded like a vacation. The rest of my life sounded like I was running away from something.
“I am glad that you were willing to listen without going off the handle. I know that Jones wouldn’t have been able to do the same thing. He would have found it necessary to do something about this attraction that I have for you. He knows about you, but I don’t think that he feels threatened. I think that he’s taking you lightly. I’m not taking you lightly and the way that my heart jumpstarts every time that I see you is a clear indication that I’m where I’m supposed to be.” Seeing him sitting there made it easy to envision draping my legs over the arms of that chair and giving him a very dirty lap dance.
“I just want to remind you that I’m not your girlfriend. I’m willing to hear what you have to say, but it still hurts me to think of you with him. I’m just going on the record. It doesn’t come as any big surprise to you that I’m a bit jealous of the connection that you have with him” He was being honest and that was what I had asked of him. That didn’t mean that I had to like what he had to say.